Thinking and feeling. Making considered decisions and being led by emotions. Opposite ends of the spectrum.

I watched Moonstruck this weekend, a film that won three Oscars: two for actresses, Cher and Olympia Dukakis, and one for the screenwriter, John Patrick Shanley. 

Now Moonstruck isn’t a new film. It was made in 1987. But its themes are universal.

What have all these things got in common?

• David Attenborough

• A puppy

• A cloud full of rain

• A star

• The girlfriend of a clown

Life can be full of big questions. Like, is this soup or is it a facemask?

It’s getting a bit darker as November draws near and I was craving something comforting and in the mood to do a bit of cooking.

Did I want to find a recipe and line up my ingredients on the kitchen worktops or did I want to be a bit cavalier and chuck in a bit of this and a bit of that, tasting as I went along.

You know how some coaches have their own coach? What do they talk about? This is what they talk about …

“So, you said you feel like a pinball in a machine?" my coach asked me.

“Yes,” I said.

I’d had a busier than usual week with two courses on top of things and extended working hours. I was juggling more.

A story of heels, hiking boots and help for navigating change. "Does she still wear red as much?" I recently met with an old university friend and he was asked by our other uni’ friends to find out the answer to this question.

From my first pay check working at a supermarket check out, I bought a tomato red jogging suit.

You climb the ladder, and through a small cloud, there it is… new people to meet and new experiences to be had. And each time a new land to explore: the Land of Birthdays, the Land of Goodies, the Land of Take-What-You-Want and the Land of Do-As-You-Please.

I recently re-read one of my favourite books as a child, "The Enchanted Wood" by Enid Blyton. It was written a while back, in 1939, but in many ways it was the Harry Potter of its day.

How many emotions do you experience that you can identify as you’re experiencing them? And what are these emotions?

This was the question asked to 7000 people*. And guess what they said? How many emotions could they identify?

A tale of apple strudel, interpersonal dynamics...and monkeys. And why this is important if you’re thinking of getting some training and coaching for the folk in your organisation.

At our table was coffee, apple strudel and vanilla sauce. It was perfectly appley and the vanilla sauce was mmmm-mmm, sublime. We were in downtown Frankfurt and in front of the monkey enclosure at the zoo.

Why talking about your feelings is good for you.

Researchers at the University of California asked people to give a series of impromptu speeches in front of an audience. Which meant they felt like this 😱.

A story of managing change, finding freedom in new places and spicing up Saturday afternoons

I look forward to going there and I LOVE the feeling of having been there. And once I’ve been, I feel lighter.

Time to move on: Time for new learning, time to get unstuck, time for a new job. Here are some techniques to help create and manage change.

As a qualified coach when I’m working with someone there are 3 tools that have the biggest impact.

Congratulations, you've been promoted! Your stellar communication and leadership skills have been noticed and you're now in charge of motivating, guiding and looking after a group of people. Your team.

Whilst getting results is about doing stuff, a lot about being a manager is asking the right questions to help shift people's thinking to help them make decisions to get their own results. You can support your team members by using the following simple framework.

You’re stuck. You know what you need to do but you’re bamboozled about how to do it.

That goal you’ve written on a post-it is becoming an ornament on the edge of your screen and you’re convinced the words are actually sneering at you because you’ll never get it done. Here’s a simple and fun coaching technique to get you unstuck and find a solution.

What’s coaching got to do with a cream tea? Quite a lot actually. A scone with just the right amount of crumble. Clotted cream that delivers heaven. Jam that is jamish in all the right ways. Served on elegant china and savoured with a great pot of tea.

If you’re thinking about coaching, here are a few things you should consider. And yes, what with the power of metaphor and the mention of yummy cakes, reading this might make your mouth water.