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Posted by Emily Gillatt-Ball on Mar 23, 2015 in Motivation |

9 ways to live like Tyrion in Game of Thrones

No question: Tyrion Lannister is the world’s coolest dwarf. He may be short, but his personality strides like a giant over the petty sniping and hidden intrigues...

Posted by Emily Gillatt-Ball on Mar 10, 2015 in Motivation |

Career changes in middle age: 5 ways to make job loss work for you

You can make a career change yourself, or have it thrust upon you. Either way it can be scary.

When you’re in your 40s or 50s, leaving a job you’ve had for years makes you feel the way a snail would feel about having its shell removed – it may have weighed you down and slowed your progress, but losing it hurt you a lot, and now you’re unprotected and on your own against the world. And a slug.

Posted by Emily Gillatt-Ball on Feb 17, 2015 in Motivation | 1 comment

Beware of the tigers: Create a plan to change your life and hack your way through the jungle

Do you want to change your life?

It’s a jungle out there. You’ll have to take some protective clothing and mosquito ointment, don’t forget a stash of provisions to keep you going, you’ll need a map to find your way – oh, and look out for the tigers!

Setting out to change your whole life can be like mounting an expedition through uncharted jungle. All around you are obstacles you’ll need to get past, things which can tangle you up and hold you back.

You don’t know exactly what’s out there or even where you’ll end up, but you know it’s not gonna be a walk in the park. You’ll need to be intrepid, determined and ready to face whatever comes your way – but most of all, you’ll need to be prepared, so it’s important to plan carefully before you start out.

Posted by Emily Gillatt-Ball on Feb 10, 2015 in Motivation, Self-Control | 2 comments

10 ways to live like a warrior: a code of honour for a better life

The concept of honour may be ancient, but it can never be out-dated. You don’t need to slay dragons or rescue maidens to follow a warrior code – it’s as valid in a modern family or a business setting as it was in days of old.

Being a decent human being is its own reward – when you know you’re basically a good person instead of a slimy, back-stabbing weasel, it makes you feel good inside.

Long-term, it can win you warm and loving relationships based on genuine liking instead of smarmy flattery. It can get you further in life than any amount of clever scheming and office politics. And it can give you a better life – instead of trying to achieve a popularity-seeking, artificial personality you’ll never truly possess, you’ll have a life based on what you really are.

Because what you really are is someone worth knowing.

Posted by Emily Gillatt-Ball on Jan 13, 2015 in Motivation |

Get Lucky: why the Law of Averages is your new best friend

Did you know it was possible to THINK yourself lucky? It’s been proved that people who believe they will be lucky have better luck than people who don’t...

Posted by Emily Gillatt-Ball on Dec 4, 2014 in Motivation |

Changing your life: 10 steps to turn a midlife crisis into positive change

When a midlife crisis strikes, changing your life in a good way can seem like an impossible dream. You feel like you’ve painted yourself into a corner, and you can’t see any solution for you that doesn’t involve suffering for someone else.

That may not be the case. Before you put on your shades, don your leather jacket and take off to freedom on your Harley Davidson, check out these 10 steps for making a better life.

Posted by Emily Gillatt-Ball on Nov 22, 2014 in Motivation |

Being good in bed: why it’s hard to get motivated in winter

I must admit I’m excellent in bed. Especially during the winter months.

I can do it all – snoring, rolling over and taking all the covers, rearranging my pillows just as my partner is dozing off and sleeping in a variety of imaginative positions. I eat and drink there, play on the computer, write stories, watch films and phone my family.

I snuggle up surrounded by a carefully-constructed wall of books and defend my territory from intruders with a boiling hot water bottle called Fluffy.

Posted by Emily Gillatt-Ball on Nov 9, 2014 in Motivation |

Healthy lifestyles for middle-aged couch potatoes: the impossible dream?

For most of us middle-aged couch potatoes, changing to healthy lifestyles seems about as possible as making our first million.

We’ve had these bad habits a long time, and we’re rather fond of them. The thought of eating healthily and taking regular exercise doesn’t inspire us to put on our jogging shoes and grab a lettuce – it makes us want to hide under the bed with a plate of chips.

When we were younger, it didn’t seem to matter that much. We could always start a fitness campaign tomorrow. But now we’re middle-aged, we keep seeing news items of people who’ve died of heart disease at the age we’re at now, and we’re starting to panic that we’ve left it too late. Our drinking and smoking habits have crept up over the years, and it’s costing us a fortune to feel this lousy in the mornings.