For years, the first few days back after a holiday were total write-offs for me.

I’d come back from some really lovely time off, rested and excited to dive back in, only to find that for some reason, I just couldn’t get any momentum going.

What I finally figured out after years of going through this myself and talking to loads of other women is that this is because periods of time away from your normal routine tend to be times of very deep reflection and change. When you can set aside all of the things that you “have to do” on a daily basis, you can really dive deep into your ultimate purpose and your life values.

But when you fail to account for all this internal shifting when you start to get back into the swing of things, it makes it very hard to build up any momentum. There are four areas that you should particularly watch out for:

Attitude

If your attitude towards work is one of obligation — you know, that “Arg, I’ve got to get back to work” feeling — you’re setting yourself up for a really rubbish first day back before you even begin. This kind of attitude can creep in even if you really love what you do, usually out of habit or because of cultural paradigms about work, so make sure that you really keep an eye on your conscious and unconscious attitude towards getting back to work.

Similarly, if you’ve had some really exciting planning and dreaming time on your break, you might find that you have an attitude of wanting it all to happen, and wanting it all to happen very easily. While it’s great to dream big, if you come back to work with the expectation that everything is just going to fall together instantly, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.

So remember, good things do take a bit of effort sometimes. Think of your projects like a garden — it’s going to take some fertilising, planting of seeds, watering, and patience before you’ll see results.

Energy

It’s really common to have an “energy hangover” when you come back to your professional life after a holiday. You’ve been in this energy of replenishment and relaxation, this very yin energy, for a while, and you tend to bring this back into your work. While you do want to keep the effects of this energy going, you need to make some time to consciously shift your energy to get it in sync with the work you’ll be doing, otherwise you’ll just feel off and out of alignment.

Planning

If you come back from a holiday expecting that you’ll just be able to pick up where you left off and treat your first day back like it’s any other day, you’ll run into trouble. It’s really important to give yourself plenty of time to incorporate all of the new perspectives, ideas, and energies that have come up during the holidays, so make sure to set aside some time in your schedule either while you’re on holiday or the first day back to accommodate this. (More on this next week!)

Awareness

Holidays are often times of reflection and introspection, times when we sort of unconsciously sum up how our professional life is actually rating with our life values and what’s important to us at that level. If you end up finding a misalignment with your work and your life values during your time away, you’ll definitely struggle to get started again, because you’ll be trying to do something that your mind and body doesn’t want you to be doing.

Any of these sound familiar to you? You’re definitely not alone — why not share your best tips for working around these “trouble spots” in the comments below?

Louise George: One of Many Women

I always look forward to our wednesday women! So this week I would love you to meet the delightful Louise George. Louise attended the March One Woman Conference, and has become one of our powerful women in our Voices Forum.

It was Louise’s interest in the Emma Watson #heforshe campaign that caught my eye, so I asked her if I could have a little virtual “get to know you”…here’s our chat, so you can get to know her too!

What do you do?

I’m an actor, presenter and the founder of bodhibabes.com – a blog dedicated to celebrating and supporting women. Through Bodhi Babes I lead Desire Map Workshops and 1-1 sessions: guiding women to uncover their core desired feelings, enabling them to make more powerful decisions and to feel good more often.

Give us the big “why” you do what you do?

Freedom! Every being deserves that.

Give us a daily routine (or a normal day in the life of you)…

My days vary quite a lot, depending on where I am and what I’m working on (acting/ coaching/ workshops). When I don’t have clients, castings or acting work booked in I work from home.

My morning routine is important to me, as the way we start our days has a knock on effect. It’s usually:

• 6am up
• Write my ‘morning pages’
• Write my day plan and my core desired feelings in my Desire Map journal
• Drink of warm water and lemon
• Then 30 mins- 1 hr of exercise: run/ yoga/ niketraining.com, depending on how I’m feeling
• Walk my dog ‘Troy’ if my partner is out early.

 How does femininity and Soft Power feature in your business?

Femininity and soft power are at the forefront of my business and career. My business, Bodhi Babes, is all about celebrating & supporting women, through Desire Map workshops, coaching and my blog. I can be a bit of a tomboy and am quite athletic but I am generally very feminine and lead with soft power in my business and work. Although, my most dominate character archetype is that of a warrioress, so I do flow between yin and yang energies. I am also an actress, so have lots of fun playing with different character archetypes and feminine energy. I am fascinated by non-verbal communication and how our body language can change the way we feel about ourselves and literally changes our biochemistry- how amazing is that!

What is the most common emotion you feel as a woman on a day-to day basis?

Love.

Although my ego can be quite loud, so self doubt and fear can pop up from time to time. I am getting better every day at noticing and silencing those fears. It’s a daily practice, which has become more habitual.

 What’s the most common emotion you think the man that is closest to you  feels each day?

I would’ve said my partner feels optimistic. He is always so calm, upbeat and positive. Nothing really fazes him and he takes most things in his stride. I cheated a bit on this question and asked him and he said “excited”!

How do you think tapping into your femininity (playing to your strengths as a woman), impacts your relationships with men?

I first really noticed how much femininity impacts my relationships with men in my mid 20’s. I had lost a lot of weight around that time and really grown into being a softer, more feminine woman, after years of being more of a tom-boy and neglecting my femininity. Men (and women) began responding to me differently. If I’m honest, it completely knocked my confidence… I knew how to interact with men as ‘one of the boys’. It took me years to understand exactly who I was and to find my confidence again. I had spent most of my life behaving in a way people expected me to behave, without really getting to know myself. Then due to my loss in confidence I began suffering from depression and I was forced to question my place in the world and get to know who I really was. I learned to love myself no matter what. Learning to get comfortable with my femininity and how to use my feminine power has taken time and will continue to evolve during the different stages of my life. I am now comfortable in my own skin and I love being a woman. The key to being able to play to our strengths as women, regardless of how we look and who we are; is having love and respect for ourselves first. When you can do that, people mirror those feelings. People generally reflect back to you what you feel in yourself.

Do you think you people around you (on social media, and face to face) understand who you authentically are?

Yes, I pretty much wear my heart on my sleeve and if anything, I share too much. I try and stay true to myself and am honest with the people around me. I am very confident when I have a ‘role’ and with people I know well but I am naturally quite shy and I can be a bit quiet in a new group of people or if I feel uncomfortable.

 How important do you think vulnerability is in life and career?

I believe vulnerability is extremely important. We learn the most about ourselves and grow the most when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and put ourselves outside our comfort zone. Our vulnerability is what makes us human, it is what connects us and when we are vulnerable it gives others ‘permission’ to also be vulnerable and we are all more authentic. I pretty much live my life in a state of vulnerability, perhaps too much. I am rarely in my comfort zone, as I navigate my way through business and as an actress, to live a life of purpose and aligned with my core-desired feelings.

How do you juggle your relationship and business?

That’s actually been one of the most difficult parts of my life in the last 8 years. My partner and I are both self-employed business owners and have also worked together a lot. It can be difficult to draw the line between business and our personal relationship and we’ve certainly had our ups and downs. It’s important to have quality time together, as well as separate and with friends. Finding that balance is key to maintaining a healthy, intimate relationship. It’s not always easy and it takes work from both sides to keep the love alive. It’s helpful to agree on set boundaries around work and family time and to keep the lines of communication open.

What’s one “breakthrough” you have had in your life, that shifted the way you saw things?

Uncovering my core desired feelings and understanding why: knowing how we want to feel is so important, was a game changer for me. My whole life has changed since I’ve known how I want to feel. Knowing my core desired feelings: gives me inner clarity, which I can match to my external goals, to ensure I am setting them for the right reasons. This has enabled me to make more powerful decisions, with clarity and focus. I am now clear on my “why” and helping others to find theirs through workshops and coaching. I now also feel the way I want to feel more often and don’t chase external things to bring me joy- that comes from within… it really does! It’s so liberating. I have become a much calmer person and stay more in my softer feminine energies. All of my relationships have improved as a result as I can now be more ‘present’, without constant distraction of decisions to make and white noise of comparison…. We are all unique and desire different things from life but in striving to meet other people’s expectations we can lose ourselves.

 Who have you listened to lately that motivated you to take action on something, anything? And why?

I recently went to a Q&A with Emma Watson on the #HeForShe campaign and she’s inspired me to get more involved with the movement towards equality and working more towards helping women rise into their power.

What are you doing to help elevate the women of developing nations?

I have a meeting this week with Action Aid to see how I/ Bodhi Babes can help support them with their work on women’s rights worldwide.

Who do you look up to as a woman?

There are so many women I look up to and who inspire me. I have some incredible friends, who support me in all my crazy ideas and adventures and who are out there making a real difference in this world. Most of all I look up to my Mum! My parents are my biggest fans and have always supported and encouraged me in all I do. My Mum is such an inspiration to me, her work ethic is incredible and she always managed to create flow with work, home and family life and make it all look so effortless. I wouldn’t be doing what I do now without my Mum instilling in me from an early age that: I could be whoever I wanted to be.

Where do you look for inspiration?

I have become more spiritual in recent years and get inspiration from many places. Nature inspires me most of all and as I mentioned above, I need to retreat to ‘the wild’ often to re-charge. I meditate regularly, which brings me peace and clarity and I spend a lot of time on personal-development. I have an amazing ‘tribe’ of friends who inspire me daily, many of whom are coaches and very spiritual themselves. I also take inspiration from amazing women like:

Danielle La Porte (creator of The Desire Map), Gabrielle Bernstein, Marie Forleo, Kris Carr, Rachel MacDonald from In Spaces Between and Tara Bliss- they’re all out there living life on purpose, with love and inspiring others to do the same.

What do you tell yourself when times are tough (what’s your mantra)?

I am Brave, I am Bold, I am Beautiful.

Who’s voice do you think we need to hear in the One of Many Community?

Ebonie Allard – The Entrepreneur Enabler

You can learn more about Louise and her voice here:

Twitter handle: @bodhibabes / @louisetgeorge

Facebook page: facebook.com/bodhibabes

Website: www.bodhibabes.com / http://www.louise-george.com

This morning, as with so many mornings, I am doing three things at once and thinking about five more. So I thought it would be a good time to talk about multi-tasking. That’s what we’re good at, right? Women are known for their ability to spin several different plates at once. I would love it if we started being proud of that, instead of constantly thinking in terms of ‘spreading ourselves too thin.’

As women we can be super self-critical. Right now there’s a little voice telling me that either my family or my business deserves 100% of my attention, and that by blending the two I am somehow failing them both. But there’s another voice, a softer more compassionate voice that says: You know what? You are totally capable of writing a blog post and watching a small child playing with LEGO at the same time.

I like to think of this voice as coming from the source of my soft power. Not only does the voice tell me I am capable of multi-tasking but also reminds me to be grateful for the flexibility in my schedule that allows me to blend my family life and my career. After all, I have designed this life for exactly that purpose. My family is part of the reason I work from home. What’s the point in convenience if you don’t take advantage?

Sure, every so often my family or my business need 100% of my attention if they are to thrive but not every hour of every day needs to be portioned up so neatly. Sometimes it can’t be.

And that’s okay.

That’s more than okay. It’s awesome.

Dr Joanna Martin: Founder, oneofmany.co.uk.| Author| Women’s Speaker| Entrepreneur| Ex-doctor| Loud Sister| Baby Wrangler = No professional training but do a fine job nonetheless!

Recently I was speaking to a friend who was feeling a little bit blue. She had spent the previous weekend at a personal development seminar and left feel upbeat about the road ahead for her business. But over the next few days she had felt that positivity drain out of her, one good intention at a time.

It got me thinking about positivity and how important it is to maintain a positive attitude, especially at the beginning of a new journey. As things progress you will start to see evidence of positive progress. But at the beginning you have nothing but faith in yourself and your ideas. So how do you keep positive? How do you create positive conditions so that positive change can flow?

According to psychologist Shawn Achor, positive people are 31% more productive. When your brain is happy, it “performs significantly better than it does at negative, neutral, or stressed. Your intelligence rises, your creativity rises, [and] your energy levels rise”.

So here are some simple ideas to get you feeling positive.

THE THREE GRATITUDES

Write down three new things you are grateful for each day. Pretty soon your brain will start scanning for the positive in your life rather than the negative.

YOUR STORY

Write down a positive experience. Describe what happened and how it made you feel. Try to be as detailed as possible. Reliving a positive scenario will allow your brain to experience it twice.

MEDITATION

We are so busy spinning on the roundabout of our daily lives that the chance to step off is invaluable. As women we pride ourselves on our ability to multi-task but a few minutes of meditation every day will give you the chance to pause, reflect and focus on the task at hand.

THE SUNSHINE MAIL

Each day when you open your inbox send a positive message to someone. You could be thanking them for something they did, or showing your support for their journey, or congratulating them for something they achieved.

Positive change cannot come from outside. But it can come from short, simple exercises that, done regularly, will rewire your brain to work more optimistically and more successfully.

How do you stay positive? Have you tried any of these? Let us know how they work for you.

Dr Joanna Martin: Founder, oneofmany.co.uk.| Author| Women’s Speaker| Entrepreneur| Ex-doctor| Loud Sister| Baby Wrangler = No professional training but do a fine job nonetheless!

How much do you trust yourself? Everyone has intuitive potential – men and women. But it’s widely acknowledged that women tend to be more tuned into their intuition than men.

So how can we turn this to our advantage, ladies? How can we develop this intuition into a powerful tool for life?

Your intuitive voice is always there, you just need to tune into it. Start paying attention to and trusting those little hunches or gut feelings that you have.

1. Clearing your mind

If you’re anything like me you probably have lots of thoughts running through your mind at any given moment. All of this “noise” makes it difficult to hear your intuitive voice. Let them go. Picture your thoughts floating away on a cloud. Try meditation.

2. Imagery

Imagine yourself in a quiet place in nature, surrounded by beauty and wonder. Make this image as vivid as possible by using all of your senses. Then, imagine a treasure chest nearby. You feel excited as you approach the chest because you know that the answer to your question is inside. Take a deep breath and imagine yourself opening the treasure chest.

3. Dream

Take some time before you fall asleep to ask for an answer to come to you through your dreams. Your answers may come symbolically and may need some interpretation. Look for the emotions and themes of your dreams and see if this sheds light on your problem.

4. Affirmations

Here are just a few examples of affirmations to increase your intuitive abilities: I trust my intuition. My intuitive voice is consistently accurate. I access my intuition easily. Can you think of others? Find one that work for you.

5. Practice

The more you use and trust your intuition, the stronger it will get and the more confident you will feel about it. The whispers from your soul will always guide you to the path that is for your highest good.

Enjoy developing this incredible gift you have. And don’t forget to let us know how you get on!

Dr Joanna Martin: Founder, oneofmany.co.uk.| Author| Women’s Speaker| Entrepreneur| Ex-doctor| Loud Sister| Baby Wrangler = No professional training but do a fine job nonetheless!