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International Women's Day

NM327316 — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 21:40:55 GMT

IWD 2025 - Inspiring the Next Generation of Women and Girls

An inspiring morning in Portsmouth listening to some amazing women at the top of their game:

- Becky Lodge, Host, leader in UK Tech and passionate advocate for neurodivergent individuals and women

- Livvy Breen, multiple award and medal winning para-athlete

- Donna Jones, Police and Crime Commissioner (Hampshire and IOW) and former leader of Portsmouth City Council

- Tammy Markley, Marriott Hotels Director of HR

- Becca Dean MBE, co-founder of the Girls Network among other things

- Hollie Smith, Operations Director, Navis Consulting

Lots of discussion during the morning regarding the need for personal cheerleaders, mentors, allies and inspirational leaders, to create a legacy for the next generation.

At hygge associates we are proud to be part of this community offering mentoring, coaching, menopause and mental health awareness support.
#IWD2025 #desk2educate

How are those New Year's Resolutions going?

NM327316 — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 11:51:54 GMT

Keep reading if you need some inspiration and support

It’s finally the last Friday in January (if you are anything like me, it now feels like January has been about 100 days long). I thought I’d take the opportunity to check in to see how everyone is doing with their goals or new year’s resolutions.

I discovered this week that the second Friday in January is typically known as ‘Quitter’s Day’ when you are most likely to throw in your goals or resolutions for the year. If you are still going, well done, congratulate yourself. But if you haven't quite achieved what you set out to, then maybe you need to revisit to those goals to see if you made it achievable for yourself? Here’s a few things to consider:

It takes a while to get back into a routine after Christmas, have you been kind to yourself?
If you were trying to eat more healthily or exercise every day on top of that - take time to consider whether that was realistic or not. Do you need to take smaller steps?
How can you break the problem down?
Where did you start from?
What's worked before?
Check your motivation level. If it's not 9 or 10, what can you do to make it a 9 or a 10? If now just isn't the right time, that's ok, park it and try again later.

This year I have thought about my goals in a different way – making them sustainable and taking small steps. We live in a society where we want and expect things to happen right away. The result is that we set our goals too high and when we can’t reach them, we give up and brand ourselves hopeless or lacking motivation, or we tell ourselves we’ll try again next year. But life is happening now, so why wait for another year to pass? You are worth more than that, right?

If your goal or resolution was really important and urgent, then you might consider working with a coach.

Coaches can:

Provide a non-judgemental space
Help you identify blind spots and different options
Provide fresh perspectives and help you challenge limiting beliefs
Celebrate your achievements with you

To help you get started, I am offering a limited number of FREE, first coaching sessions for February/March. Get in touch to book a spot today* hello@hyggeassociates.co.uk

*Please note these sessions are only available only Thursday evenings or Friday daytime. Spaces are limited to 5 individuals on a first come, first serve basis. FREE session applies to the first coaching session only, which will be offered online. If you wish to continue with coaching we can discuss pricing with you during that session.

International Men's Day

Sun, 19 Nov 2023 13:33:04 GMT

"It's okay not to be okay...."

TRIGGER WARNING – this post talks about suicide:

Today is International Men’s Day and the theme is zero suicides. In the UK, in 2021 there were 6,757 deaths as a result of suicide. And sadly, men are 3 x more likely than women to take their own lives. They are also less likely to access support like talking therapies and more likely to have a dependency on alcohol or take drugs. I’ve been working in the mental health field for years and unfortunately these figures don’t tend to change. Why? Well, my personal view is that men still find it hard to speak up and say that they are not okay.

Despite some progress, I feel that we still live in a society where men perceive asking for help as being weak. We need to change this. It’s okay for men not to be okay, it’s okay for men to need support, it’s okay for men to cry, it’s okay for men to not have all the answers or to fix everything. Personally, regardless of gender, I believe it’s a sign of strength to be vulnerable enough to say, ‘I’m not okay’.

Do you know a man who needs to feel it’s okay to admit that they are not okay? In conversations, I’ve had in the last couple of days, I’ve heard about deaths of two men by suicide and that definitely is not okay. Men shouldn’t feel that this is their only option, there other options out there. If you are reading this and need support, please reach out to someone you trust or call Samaritans on 116 123, or go and see your GP.

To end on a positive note, this International Men’s Day remember to take some time to celebrate the brilliant men in your lives, and say thank you to them for all they do. My husband is my absolute rock, best friend and now business partner!!

Sunday Runday

Sun, 19 Nov 2023 13:20:10 GMT

A lovely morning for a run....

We discovered running a few years ago, and haven’t stopped running since. This morning we’ve both been out for a run, which we find so important for our physical and mental health. Sometimes we run together, and sometimes we run independently. It’s taken us all over the country and we’ve met some fabulous people as a result. Today my run gave me the time to do some thinking on the business and generate some new ideas. That wasn’t my intention when I stepped out the door, but I often find I do some of my best thinking when I am outdoors and running.

Note - the image is from when we ran in New York's Central Park whilst on a city break.

Mental Health at Work

Sun, 12 Nov 2023 21:15:03 GMT

A Crucial Support System...

Mental Health Awareness is an essential program that equips individuals within businesses with the skills to recognise and respond to mental health challenges experienced by colleagues and team members. Similar to physical first aid, it teaches employees how to provide initial support to someone facing a mental health crisis, until professional help can be obtained.

In the fast-paced and demanding work environment, fostering a culture of mental health awareness is paramount. By incorporating mental health awareness into businesses, organisations demonstrate their commitment to employee well-being, de stigmatise mental health discussions, and create a safe space for seeking help.

Investing in mental health awareness not only enhances employee morale and productivity but also ensures a compassionate and resilient workforce that can tackle challenges with empathy and understanding. Let's prioritize mental health within our businesses, cultivating an environment where everyone feels supported and valued. #mentalhealthawareness #WorkplaceWellness #MentalHealthMatters #SupportiveWorkCulture

What is Coaching?

Sat, 11 Nov 2023 20:59:44 GMT

And what is it not....

Coaching:

Is a conversation or a series of conversation to help you explore, develop and grow personally, professionally or both
Is about giving yourself time and space to think things through in a safe, confidential and non-judgemental space
Raises your self-awareness
Takes effort and commitment from you – it’s an investment in yourself so you need to be committed to it to get the most out of it
Can be transformative – with support and feedback, as well as the expertise of your coach, it will get you thinking in ways you may not have considered before and challenge some of those limiting beliefs

Coaching is not:

About giving advice – you are the expert in yourself and your own life
There to solve problems for you – as your coach I believe you have the answers, we just need to unlock them.
Therapy – although we may explore values, beliefs and emotions in your coaching sessions, if you are unwell you need to seek appropriate support from medical professionals, and we can signpost you to that

Do you have an area of your personal or professional life that you would like support exploring and helping you move forward with? Choosing the right coach for your needs is really important, it’s an investment in yourself after all. To find out if that coach is me, why not book a FREE, no obligation Discovery call with me today!

A new business is born!!

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 20:51:56 GMT

We're so excited, and we just can't hide it!!

Over the last couple of years we've talked a lot about creating a new business. Julie has worked hard to get her coaching qualification and we both feel we are at the point in our professional lives that we have the experience to support others. Since the summer we have been working on material for coaching, mentoring and training packages and in the last month have been creating our social media presence on Linked In, Facebook and our website. We are pretty adept at Linked In and Facebook, but creating a website has been a brand new experience. We think we have just about got it cracked and are very pleased with the result that seems to work across all devices.

In parallel we have created hygge associates as a limited company. We had no prior experience in doing this but it proved not to be too difficult except it is very easy to tie yourself up in knots on the HMRC website. It's definitely not designed to be easy with various codes and different ways in, we could easily compare it to an escape room!

We went live with the business on 5th November, so it should be too hard to "remember remember" when it comes to our anniversary date each year. We've spent most of our free time this week promoting the business and tweaking the website content and design. We've already had lots of interest, in particular a lead to provide a workshop and some fellow small business who are keen to join forces.

It's been an exciting week and we are really looking forward to what lays in store in the coming weeks and months.