In processing too much information we limit our ability to perform at our best and increase the risk of decision fatigue. This is why finding ways to avoid brain overload is key to our effectiveness.

Each day we’re faced with making thousands of decisions. Some are mundane, like what cereal to have, while others are more serious. For example, whether to sell our home or undergo surgery.

Decision making is also taxing on our working memory. That is, our ability to hold, process and use new information to guide our behaviour (Hall & Jarrold, 2015).

Similarly, as we use our decision making muscles, our ability to self-regulate and make sound choices reduces. This results in an increased risk of making poor, unethical, and possibly costly decisions (Kouchaki & Smith, 2014).

So what can we do?

The mental demands of responsibility

It's not uncommon to feel overwhelmed or stressed by the number of decisions you need to make on a daily basis. Some may also find...

The connection between your thoughts and feelings can be so strong that you respond to events on autopilot.

These default responses can develop into unhealthy thought cycles, which result in you becoming more and more tense and anxious.

In this video, I share three basic distraction techniques you can use to overcome worrying thoughts that might be preventing you from performing at your best.

Reviewing your wellbeing is good for your health. Learning what affects you is also helpful for making decisions about any improvements needed to take better care of yourself.

Management expert, Peter Drucker, stated:

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” 

For high achievers, I believe this maxim applies to performance and wellbeing. So, just as tracking your habits can help you achieve more, mood tracking is worth consideration as a method for analysing and improving your wellbeing.

Defining emotion and mood

In addition to feelings, the terms emotion and mood are often used interchangeably to describe a state of wellbeing. Due to this, there can be some confusion about their meanings, so let’s take a brief look at each.

Emotion

An emotion is your reaction to something and generally connected to an event. It’s a term used to define the affect you experience and usually occurs immediately or shortly after...

Overthinking is a learnt behaviour, which can develop into an unhealthy habit. And if you struggle with it, you wouldn't be alone.

But with time, overthinking can to lead to procrastination, place tension on your relationships, and result in severe anxiety and depression.

In this video, I share five ways to stop overthinking, which can help you with managing your problems and making decisions in a healthier way.

Fear can be crippling. It has the potential to stunt growth, limit progress, and derail dreams and ambitions. It’s also real and more common than many care to admit.

Not only is it real, it looks different and shows up in our lives in different ways. For some it hides behind perfectionism, for others, it becomes more evident in their procrastination.

In some cases, fear can have physical effects; tightness in the chest, fatigue or ongoing illness. In other instances it can lead to unhealthy or destructive behaviours, like alcoholism or overworking.

Whatever your relationship with fear, or however it shows up for you, here are three helpful strategies you can use to move on from it.

1. Be clear on what you’re afraid of

The first step in addressing the impact of your fears, is to work out what you’re actually afraid of. You could simply start by asking yourself: “What am I afraid of?”.

Having identified what you’re afraid...

Dave, a twenty-something professional that I've worked with for some time now, lives with social anxiety but is learning to overcome it - one day at a time!

From the outside he appears calm. To his work colleagues reasonably composed and confident. But to his closest friends and partner, Dave's anxiety has been, on occasion, a disruption.

Take for example his partner changing plans for a day trip at the last minute because he was anxious of being alone until evening. Or, his friends being unable to enjoy an evening out, as a result of him having a panic attack at the thought of being around a crowd.

Social anxiety

But Dave's story isn't uncommon. Though anxiety disorders are twice as likely to affect women than men, along with depression, they're the most common type of mental ill health in the UK, with approximately 8 million diagnosed in 2013.

And despite what some might think, social anxiety is more than shyness or feelings of awkwardness in...

With everyone fighting for your attention, it can be hard to find space for focusing on meaningful work and performing at your best.

You might also find yourself being constantly interrupted by less important tasks which pull you away from what matters most to you.

In this video, I share four tips that can help you avoid distractions on a daily basis, and focus on the things that will get you the best outcomes.

Stress is an all too familiar struggle for most people. So much so, that it can easily become viewed as something we just need to learn to deal with. To get on with. To live with!

But it doesn't have to be that way. In fact, with a little thought and a commitment to regularly practicing some simple techniques, we can learn to keep a good handle on the stressors we face in life.

Now, let me be clear; there's no silver bullet that will eradicate stress from your life forever. And this is because stress is a natural response to situations your brain views as being a threat to your safety.

And this is actually a good thing, as it can serve to keep you from danger, keep you alert to making better decisions, and motivate you to make changes when needed.

However, being in a constant state of stress can become a problem you'll need to address if you want to avoid more significant health risks like high blood pressure, heart attacks, and strokes. 

So, to...

A High Performance Mindset is a way of using your mind to find, be, and do your best. It's about harnessing a healthy way of making sense of your inner world, and organising your outer world for maximum impact.

For this reason, developing a HPM involves getting a better understanding of your values and beliefs, and making improvements to your thoughts and actions, so they align with your goals.

But more than this, a HPM seeks to develop mastery. Put differently, rather than achieving a goal in itself, it's an approach which gives emphasis, and places value, on process.

It's also one which, with practice, can be developed by anyone committed to their personal growth and development.

Characteristics of a HPM

Someone with a HPM will typically be open to feedback, adaptive, and creative in the way they solve problems. But alongside these general traits, here are three essential characteristics common to those...

The idea of boundaries can be easily misunderstood. As can the importance and value of having them in your life.

But when it comes to your wellbeing and the health of your relationships, the benefits of being clear about your own boundaries are huge.

In this video, I share four types of boundaries key for maintaining your health and relationships, and some examples of how to communicate them.