It does, however, illustrate beautifully just how far they have come, how they have grown and developed over the years. It’s a real benchmark of their progress in life.

Now I am not suggesting that you air your innermost thoughts to the listening public (!), but in difficult times it can be very uplifting to remind yourself just how much knowledge and experience you have accrued over the years.

Feeling Low?

Next time those feelings of low self esteem invade your thoughts, or you get a knock back at work, take a few moments to reflect. In your mind’s eye conjure up an image of you as you were just before you entered full time employment. In my case, wet behind the ears and convinced I could save the world by being the best social worker ever. I was pretty sure that coming from my working class roots, with my 5 years of further education, meant I knew it all!

And of course, I didn’t. In retrospect I blush. My real learning began when I acknowledged that I didn’t know it all and that the people I worked with were adding in significant measure to my education.

You’ve Come a Long Way

It is almost impossible to go through life with out developing and learning but sometimes we don’t give ourselves enough credit for how far we have come. Whether you kept a diary or not, imagine you are on that radio programme. What knowledge and skills does your teenage self have? Contrast that with the knowledge and skills and experience you now have. Many of those skills, attitudes and knowledge will have been gained in the hard times. In fact, some of my best life learning (in retrospect) has come because of those hard times.

Try asking yourself this question: What three things would you tell your younger self from the perspective you now have on life?

The pace of life today sometimes lulls us into the idea that everything can be done quickly and that there must be an answer.

Many of the problems to do with our lives have taken time to develop and the quick and easy answer is often only transitory and ultimately unhelpful. And some things we experience are part of the human condition. You cannot short cut grief, for example, and a loss of any kind produces a grief reaction in us. And we need to honour that time before rushing to fix ourselves.

So my advice to you today, if you are facing a difficult problem, is to let yourself off the hook for a while. You cannot be happy all the time and you cannot know the answers all the time (yes, even coaches, maybe especially coaches!). Sometimes the best and most restorative thing you can do for yourself is to accept what is happening and give yourself space to simply accept it, before you try to move on.

And you will be all the wiser for it.

We chatted with the gentleman who told us he and his family had owned the land and adjoining cottage for several generations and then invited us to see his flower garden.  It was glorious, a text book cottage garden with a green house full of geraniums so amazing that the Royal Horticultural Society had been to photograph them!

Elderflower

His wife joined us in the garden, introductions were made, and she offered us a chilled glass of her home made elderflower cordial. As we complimented her on it, she then offered the recipe with the extra advice that we should pick the flowers heads when the sun had been shining on them as they released most flavour then.

Pass on Your Gifts

This Sunday afternoon I have been making my own elderflower cordial and have been thinking of her and her husband and their generosity and kindness to strangers. And it made me reflect, what can I pass this on during this week ahead? What small thing, advice, or piece of knowledge could you share with work colleagues, friends, family or,  if the occasion presents itself, complete strangers? And with us, maybe, via the comments section? I look forward to hearing from you!

Maya Angelou was interviewed by Oprah on her 70+ birthday. Oprah asked her what she thought of growing older. Maya replied that it was ‘exciting…’

And she also said:
‘I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.’

‘I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.’

‘I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.’

‘I’ve learned that making a ‘living’ is not the same thing as making a life.’

‘I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.’

‘I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back…’

‘I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision..’

‘I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one..’

‘I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back…’

‘I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn..’

‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’

This link will take you to Maya’s official site. And incidentally, Maya is now in her eighties and still phenomenal!