The Positive EQ Perspective

Anxiety UK estimates that at least 1 in 10 people experience fear of flying. In today’s episode, I’m sharing 4 ways that you can deal with the fear of flying. You'll learn how to train your brain to feel less afraid about air travel, how to strengthen your resilience so you're able to cope better, and how to calm yourself when you find the anxiety rising.

Feeling unclear about who you are and what you want can create a lot of anxiety and have you questioning the path you’re taking at any given moment. In this episode, you'll discover 3 ways that emotional intelligence can help you to figure out what you'll enjoy when it comes to work, what motivates you, and what's important to you.

Did you know?! The brain doesn’t actually support the idea of you “exercising”... but the good news is that there are ways around this. In today’s episode of The Positive EQ Perspective, I share two easy-to-apply perspective shifts that you can make to boost your motivation to exercise, so it feels easier to get yourself going. You’ll learn how to work with, rather than against, the brain’s natural wiring so you’re naturally more motivated.

Ever felt anxious but you don't know why? In today's episode, I'm helping you to uncover 4 things that anxiety is trying to tell you. You'll discover the key beliefs that are at play whenever anxiety is present, and how to counteract these so you feel more confident. This is consistently one of my most popular teachings!

Have you ever struggled to sleep because your mind is racing? In today’s episode, you'll learn how to help yourself get into the habit of falling asleep more easily, a key attitude shift to overcome insomnia (a game-changer for me), and what to do when you find yourself lying awake at night thinking.

Do you have a creative project that you’re itching to put out into the world, but in the back of your mind, there’s this niggle of self-doubt? In today’s episode, you’ll learn how I recently reframed fear when it came up during my own creative project, a key to be more resilient when things aren’t received well, and a reminder for more creative confidence.

Understanding what resilience looks like at a practical level has given me a sense of peace in difficult times that I didn’t have before. In today’s episode, I'm sharing what I learned with you. You'll discover one counterintuitive thing you must do to help yourself move forward from difficult experiences, rather than staying stuck, and how we can shift from "waiting to move on" to feeling better faster.

Do your relationships feel one-sided? In today's episode of The Positive EQ Perspective, I share two things I learned and personally implemented to make things fairer in all my relationships (and neither of them involve talking about it).

You’ve probably heard about the many benefits of meditation - but what if it just isn’t “your thing”? In today’s episode, I share 10 ways you can get the benefits of meditation that don't involve any sitting down cross-legged. We begin with a new perspective on why meditation can feel so uncomfortable for many of us.

"Money can't buy happiness." It’s a popular saying, but is it true? In today's episode, we'll look at what the research says about how much money we need for emotional wellbeing, and when the benefits plateau. We'll also consider how to get maximum happiness for your money, even if you feel you don't have enough.

Have you ever had that experience where you have so much to get done, and yet, you’re so stressed that you just can’t seem to focus? In today's episode, you'll discover what's going on in the brain when we're in a state of stress or depletion, a key way to access your productivity again, and a new strategy for how to structure your days to be more productive in general.

Your negative emotions contain wisdom you can use to become happier, and in today's episode, I'll show you how to unlock it. You'll learn why negative emotions are about so much more than just safety, 3 questions to ask yourself to discover what these feelings are trying to tell you, and how to use this wisdom to guide your actions going forward.

Is there something you’ve been dreaming of doing, but you find yourself lacking in self-belief? In today's episode, you'll discover how, since the biggest obstacle to achieving our goals is fear, any goal you set needs to be designed to reduce fear and increase this key factor. Step 2 covers a key thing you must do in order to maintain self-belief even when things don’t work out, and step 3 includes some key questions to ask yourself to boost self-belief.

If there’s one thing that’s bound to trigger anxiety, it’s uncertainty. In today's episode, we'll talk about why uncertainty can be such a compelling trigger for 'worst-case scenario' thinking, and how to maintain a healthy balance between being aware of risks while keeping anxious thoughts in check. You'll also learn what to do to feel calmer and more grounded.

It’s easy to enjoy the bigger moments, but life’s daily joys slip by unnoticed, or we struggle to connect with them. In today's episode, discover one of the biggest obstacles to feeling joy (an ah-ha moment for many people wondering "where did my joy go?"). You'll also learn 2 practical strategies to increase the amount of enjoyment you get out of daily life.

The theme for this year's Mental Health Awareness Week offers us a way to feel *naturally* calmer and less caught in negativity: spend more time in nature! In today's episode, you'll discover what 2 research studies found about the benefits of nature on mental wellbeing (this will be of particular interest to you if you experience depression or feel your mind has a tendency to fixate on negative thoughts). I cover why being in nature works to relieve stress and quiet the mind, and how you can easily bring more nature into your everyday life.

Today I welcome our first guest, Kendra Blake. Kendra is a Wellness Occupational Therapist, movement instructor, and the founder of Blake Wellness. We covered so many great topics, such as what it means to “come home to ourselves” and our bodies and the importance and slowing down, how to make movement more intuitive and joyful, and the power of having compassion for ourselves. I hope you enjoy this discussion as much as I did!

In today’s episode, you’ll discover why not facing your feelings actually keeps you stuck in negativity for longer - and what to do instead. We'll also talk about how to use negative emotions as a useful source of wisdom and guidance for your life and why it’s key to develop an “emotional safety net” of coping mechanisms.

When your mind is constantly busy, it’s exhausting. Uncontrollable thoughts make life’s hard experiences harder, and they can also get in the way of you enjoying life's good moments. In today’s episode, you’ll learn about the network within the brain that’s responsible for uncontrollable thoughts, the behaviour that unwittingly strengthens your brain’s ability to engage in negative thinking spirals (I was doing this!), and 2 essential steps to take to calm this brain system and quiet the constant background noise of your thoughts.

You know you want to make a difference and do something with your life that feels meaningful, so how do you go about finding your purpose? In today's episode, you’ll learn how you can find a stronger sense of purpose in your life right now, without changing what you’re doing, as well as 3 questions to uncover your unique purpose if you’d like to make a change towards what feels meaningful. When you’re clear on what gives you a sense of purpose, you’ll feel more satisfied with your life and more motivated now that there’s a bigger reason behind what you’re doing.

When there’s a habit you just can’t kick, it’s frustrating. In today's episode of The Positive EQ Perspective, you'll learn how habits are formed and maintained, and how you can leverage this knowledge to regain control. I also share why the typical advice of “do something else instead” doesn’t work to overcome a habit in the long-term, and a 2-step process you can apply to make changes to any habit that isn’t serving you.

Discovering Positive Psychology and pursuing a career in emotional intelligence has been one of the most amazing journeys of my life, but I didn't always know such a career existed! In this episode, I share how how Positive EQ came to be, and the many experiences and people that inspired me to head in this direction.

In this episode, you'll learn about the relationship between joyfulness and negative thinking, how to use joy to reduce negativity, and what to do about the “self-care feels selfish” feeling so many of us face. I also cover what the research says about the relationship between joy and productivity, and how to find time for joy (even when you don’t have time).

Do you feel like you're on a self-esteem rollercoaster? In this episode, you'll discover the real reason your self-esteem seems up-and-down, and how to accept yourself in a more long-lasting, stable way. I share a key shift to start valuing yourself more so you can live life on your own terms, and how, by changing the way you respond to yourself, you can build up your sense of worthiness one step at a time.

In this episode, you'll discover why the traditional idea of telling yourself “I can” often feels contrived — and the belief that research suggests you should adopt instead. I'll also share a trick for getting your brain to accept confident beliefs on a deeper level, and how to reduce your fear and increase your confidence step by step. Here's to feeling calm and confident!

The Covid-19 Pandemic has challenged our resilience more than ever. In this episode, you'll learn some key practical strategies to alleviate loneliness and feel less isolated whilst physically distancing from family as friends, as well as how you can stay present and feel more in control during this uncertain time.

In the first episode of The Positive EQ Perspective, you'll learn how practicing gratitude can help you to feel more satisfied with any area of your life. In particular, I share some practical strategies and examples from my own life of how I've used gratitude to change perspective, dramatically improving my happiness and overall mental health - and how you can, too.