Do you have an allergic reaction when you think of your job?

Want to know the signs?

• It’s Monday morning….
• The alarm goes off and you wish it would shut up!
• You hit snooze and hope that it buys you an eternity under the bedsheets or the opportunity to re-start your weekend starting 6pm Friday!
• You’d genuinely rather be sick than have to go to work!!
• Instead of bouncing out of bed excited about what the day has in store, you wake up  feeling sick to your stomach, full of dread, wondering how you got here and when will it ever end!

Sadly, if you are suffering from all of the above, then you do indeed have an  allergic reaction to your work!

For those of you who have met me or seen me in action you will know that I love my job! I love every bit of it… EXCEPT admin!

Yep even  I recognise those feelings! I remember when I started my third business not long after University. It was great, we had a team of over 30 people, it was doing really well, I bought my first home, a lovely 4 bedroom town house near the river… frankly it was amazing!  FROM THE OUTSIDE!

Inside however, I was starting to hate what I did,  I had promoted myself into a managment and mainly administrative role, which was not good for me and most definitely not good for the company,. I started to become unhappy, was useless at it, and it took me forever to get the simpliest task completed!! So I have been there, and can relate to the above.

Whilst I don’t experience that dis-ease around my work now (as I have admin help) there are some administrative tasks that are unavoidable and  I do tend to procastinate now and then depending on what is involved. However I have learnt some very effective  recipes to make the experience much more enjoyable, a lot less time consuming and frankly much more effective all round!

Last week I  posted a little blog on my facebook page saying how much I loved my work..  I received several emails from people telling me that they wished they felt the same way about their work… and that got The Life Chef juices thinking, that maybe this week I should share some of my tasty tips on how to avoid turning an allergic reaction to work into  full blown food poisoning!

SO FELLOW CHEF’S WATCH OUT FOR ……

• Tomorrow’s 10 Tasty Tips on how to avoid your work making you sick!
• Then later on in the week I will share  -How to avoid promoting yourself out of your passion!
• And finally -  How to bite the bullet and go it alone- The mouthwatering road to Entrepreneurship!
  

Have a fantastic day!

With love The Life Chef

Cooking up a storm in the universal kitchen of life! x

Allergic reaction to work? is a post from: The Life Chef

Why do so many strong women hand their power over to something outside of themselves? Why are so many strong, talented and gifted women lost.

Whitney Houston, aged only 48 , found dead in her hotel room..Ladies this is a story more powerful than the tradegy of a great singer, artist, it goes way beyond the music industry, adoring fans, and fond memories. This is a story about saving all of your love for you.

This morning I woke up to a story that really shocked me and moved me to tears, Whitney Houston was dead, another great star has moved on. Yet the tears I wept were not for the loss of her contribution to the music industry, (which trust me, growing up as a huge fan I am fully aware of the impact) . It was for the loss of a female icon who lost her battle with herself.

Who on so many levels struggled to find the love for herself in her own life that she sang about so often through her songs. Trust me, I am not speaking as a critic on the outside looking in for I too can relate to the challenges I have experienced and I am sure we can all relate to the struggle that faces every woman around self love, over loving in a relationship and loving yourself out of your own authentic power.

So my tears today are for all women who struggle to remember or would love to connect with that part of themselves that deserves unconditional love, for all women that struggle to see how amazing they are,  for all women that  desperately want to dance with somebody that will love them. The time for compromising is over. Celebrate who you are, know what you want and recognise that the greatest love of all should be the one you have with yourself…

And so Whitney Houston, my childhood hero, a legendary icon and a mother of all Diva’s, in the truest sense of the word, ‘Where do all the broken hearts go?’  Hopefully somewhere beautiful ….. And as I sit here staring at my first Whitney Houston album, I can truly say ‘I will always love you!’

Cooking up a storm in the universal kitchen!

With love The Life Chef!

Mx

Whitney Houston, where do broken hearts go? is a post from: The Life Chef

Deeper Conversations …Yuna is a post from: The Life Chef

Is it possible to live a life unattached? Especially in today’s western society?

Can we really travel through life as centred, spiritual beings, observing but not expecting, enjoying but not attaching. Many people have told me that is not realistic and for some not living.

If we are ‘spiritual beings have a human experience’, how human is this experience supposed to be? Emotions, attachment, expectations are all part of being human. Is too much of our time spent looking at ways to shut out our human side, change it, pretend we have transcended it? Instead of studying ways to escape the human experience should we not embrace it? Or are we completely disillusioned as to what the human experience is all about?

This morning I picked up my little book by Jon Kabat -Zinn ‘Arriving at your own door’. A dear friend of mine recently shared how he has been reading a chapter a day of Jon’s  book, Full Catastrophe Living, another great read.  Arriving at your own door is a great little book containing simple daily tips for Mindfulness. Ironically as I flicked through the book it fell open on the page

‘Fixed ideas of you’
“Nothing is to be clung to as I , me or mine” In other words no attachments – especially to fixed ideas of yourself and who you are”!

Hmmm accident….lol…I think not, especially as I don’t believe in accidents….

One thing I hear a lot from my clients though is,

• “Well if we are not attached to anything how can we set meaningful goals?
• “What is the point of having a relationship?
• “What is the point of anything?”

For me the meaning is in the moment. For it is only in this moment can we find meaning to anything and everything.  The joy of being human is that we have the  freedom/ preference to choose how we experience any and each moment, what importance we place on it, how we are going to show up and what beliefs we are attached to. However to really exercise our rights fully there needs to be a level of awareness.  Being present without setting any rigid criteria or high expectations is what brings our being alive!

Now I am not proclaiming to be an expert at non attachment by any means but my awareness, hanging out in nature, daily practises, learnings and people I spend time with continuously remind me I always have a choice.

Tasty Tips for Non attachment -  Moving from Knowing to Doing to Being

So how do we move from knowing to doing,

Here is one of my personal favorites a very simple yet effective recipe especially if you are looking to set goals or your intention.

My preference / intention is…. ( state the intention or preference) That way you can still move forward with some direction in life, whilst still maintaining a sense of freedom around the outcome. I am strong believer that in life we get what we need, which might not necessarily always be what we think we want. Life is a great teacher as long as you are willing to become an attentive student.

The second bit to my personal mantra is

I release attachment to the outcome and it defining whether I am… (lovable, successful, capable etc).. This is really important for whatever you feel the intention/ preference will give you, you need to be willing to release it.. there is always something even if it is simply reinforcing a belief.

I trust I will learn from, be grateful for and appreciate any outcome that may come my way as a result of my intentions.

Again very important, be grateful and appreciate the outcome, there are no lessons to be learnt in resentment, appreciation and non attachment are a powerful and empowering state to create an amazing life, or should I say enjoy a great human experience!

So there it is, my short but effective recipe for moving from attachment to preference. If you have any tips or recipes of your own please feel free to share, like all great recipes there are plenty out there to suit all taste buds. Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth is a great read as well if it is an area you wish to develop.

With love The Life Chef! x

Cooking up a storm in the universal kitchen!

Preference versus Attachment is a post from: The Life Chef

As workshop co-ordinator for Alternatives, St. James, I always feel very blessed that I can meet some really inspirational figures in the mind body spirit world!

Earlier on this month I had the pleasure of meeting Deepak Chopra, I was first introduced to Deepak several years ago when I bought a ticket to a talk he held in Kensington Town Hall, after reading his book Ageless body, Timeless mind and it really increased my hunger to explore the intricate relationship and amazing connection between the mind and body.

So to be able to host and support him as part of the Alternatives team many years later was a magical moment and reminded me how life is full of it’s own little gifts!

So here’s me wishing all you master chef’s a fantastic day and remember to continue to cook up a storm in your own Universal Kitchen of Life!

TLC x

The Life Chef meets Deepak Chopra! is a post from: The Life Chef

BBC Radio Home Counties is a post from: The Life Chef

Valentines gone pear shape?

As the cards on the shelf get stored away until the next time love can be sold commercially, I would like you to spare a thought for those whose valentines dreams, turned into a valentines nightmare.

February 14^th might be a day of love for many but according to statics apparently a couple of weeks after valentines day bar two weeks before Christmas is the highest time for relationship break ups.

With spring fast approaching our homes are not the only things a lot of us are deciding we want to clear out! If you fall into the category of a relationship spring clean then do not despair!

Love is like the seasons and sometimes a change is exactly what we need even we think it is NOT what we want.

The most important relationship however you should always be focusing on is the one you have with yourself. Rather than get into the blame game, spend your time seeking revenge or lower your self worth to get the person back, do your own internal break up and spring clean, what do you need to learn from this time in your life, how can you positively move on. Acceptance, learning and gratitude are a great part of self healing.

Start setting some positive intentions, invite some fun into your life, reconnect with people that make you feel good, spend the time setting goals for YOURSELF!

Go out there and give the world the best version of you possible and before you know it you will have another reason to be buying someone special a ‘Be mine’, card!

With love

The Life Chef

He loves me, He loves me not! is a post from: The Life Chef

NEW YEAR, BETTER YOU! is a post from: The Life Chef

HAPPY DIGITAL CHRISTMAS is a post from: The Life Chef