Changing Habits - Changing Lives

Top Gun Fighter Pilot - Habit Patterns, Meditation, and Stress - interview with Mark Williams

My guest Mark Williams is the real deal when it comes to being a Top Gun Fighter Pilot! We do cover his time as a fighter pilot and the approach you need to fly fighter jets at high speed (10 miles a minute). Mark is also a keen meditator and is a Director of Mindfulness Programs at Veterans PATH. In this episode we cover: What it takes to be a fighter pilot Similarities between military training and Bhuddist monks Meditation Self compassion - why it's important when you look to...

Thinking of Leaving Corporate and Going Solopreneur - Interview with Anna Britnor-Guest

If you are thinking of leaving your corporate role and going solopreneur then this intervew is for you. My guest, Anna Britnor-Guest, gives us her experience of making the move to working for herself. We cover: Expectations vs. Reality of going it alone What were the biggest challenges What Anna learned about herself along the journey What help and support did she find helpful & useful Which habits and routines helped along the way What Anna would differently if she started ag...

Social Anxiety and Introverts with Mark Metry

From social anxiety and being an introvert to helping people going through similar challenges. My guest Mark Metry talks us through when he realised it more than just being shy. He had social anxiety, and how it even made him make plans to take his own life.  Listen to his journey from realisation to learning to manage and overcome the his social anxiety. We share some of the things we have learned through our lives which wil help you make changes to your mood, and mindset.   If yo...

Telling Your Story And Making It Entertaining with Jordan Gross

We explore personal development from a different angle in this episode. My guest Jordan Gross is an author, entrepreneur, TED Talk speaker, and helps people make storytelling entertaining and using it as part of their personal growth. Which he calls "Magitivational". Lots of life lessons and reimagining personal development! He is the author of 3 books: 'Getting COMFY' 'The Journey to Cloud Nine' 'What happens in Tomorrow World' All available online and local book store - please ...

What's going on in the brain when we create new habits

A quick look at what goes on in our brain when you start to create new habits. Hope this explains what needs to happen to help you create and embed new habits. I cover the following: What does a habit look like to the brain What happens when we start to create a new habit What happens as we try to embed the habit - make it stronger The changes to make the habit automated How long does all this take What happens when we stop repeating a habit Why does the brain dismantle new ...

Communications Strategies with Michael Mosely

The Art of Storytelling with Michael Harvey

I was curious about how to tell a good story. So, I invited master storyteller, coach, performance artist Michael Harvey to the podcast. Michael explains what makes a good story and how you can become an impactful storyteller.   If you enjoyed this episode please give it 5 stars/thumbs up. You can help me immensely by subscribing and sharing with one friend. ___________________________________  To get in touch with Michael Harvey:  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michael-harvey-bb67...

If You Have New Year Resolutions Then Listen To This

Do You Have New Year Resolutions? First episode for 2022! After a short break, I'm back with tools, tips, and strategies to help you make new habits stick. Today, I look at New Year resolutions, and what you can do to make them work for you. If you want me to cover different examples or want help in making your specific resolutions to stick then drop me note. Email is on the podcast.  If you found this episode useful, please subscribe, give it 5 stars (or thumbs up), and share with o...

The Small Habits Which Helped Recovery From Severe Covid - Interview with Radha Ruparell

Severe Covid and the small habits to recovery My guest Radha Ruparell is a global cross-sector leader, with expertise in the fields of leadership development and personal transformation. Radha contracted Covid and at first it was the usual symptoms but quickly developed into a severe form. Even today Radha is building back her way life and health. Working with organisation from around the world, Radha turned to the skills and habits she was helping leaders with to help her get back her...

If You Are Thinking About Suicide Please Listen To This

If you are in a tough place and even thinking about suicide, please listen to this I’ve been off for a few weeks and no podcasts have been uploaded recently. The main reason was some devastating news I received.  I lost a friend to suicide. A friend I had known for nearly 30 years. Someone I thought would be the last person to take his own life. If you find yourself even thinking about taking your own life, then please take a few minutes and listen to this episode. You are not alone. T...

If You Are Think About Suicide Please Listen To This

If you are in a tough place and even thinking about suicide, please listen to this I’ve been off for a few weeks and no podcasts have been uploaded recently. The main reason was some devastating news I received.  I lost a friend to suicide. A friend I had known for nearly 30 years. Someone I thought would be the last person to take his own life. If you find yourself even thinking about taking your own life, then please take a few minutes and listen to this episode. You are not alone. T...

What's The 4-Day Week All About?

What is the 4-day week? You must have heard about the 4-day week. If not, then this episode will shed light on exactly what it is. I am with my guest Charlotte Lockhart, CEO of The 4 Day Week, an organisation which is not only spreading the word but also helping companies to test and take the step to moving to a working 4-day week model. The subject isn’t as simple as moving to working 4 days a week. It covers everything from how to make it happen to the (positive) impact to the organi...

Are You Burned Out?

Or Are You About To Burn Out? In this episode I go through the six signs that you are burning out or already burned out.  As the changes occur over time, sometimes a long time, we don’t realise we are burning out. The 6 areas which I see often with people who are burned out are: Motivation and passion for things which are one point were important, take a nose-dive Are you or are you becoming moody and irritable? Have you started to disconnect from people, your work, the world? Are...

Fasting, Food, Weight Loss, And Healthy Eating - Interview with Ashley Messias

Food, food, food! We need it. We can’t live without it. Yet it’s also become a pain in our life. But hold on, it’s not really the food which makes it pain, but it’s our relationship with it. My guest Ashley Messias (along with a friend) runs The Habit Society where they provide 3-minute newsletters every Monday morning with something you can do to make a difference in your life. Link is further down to sign up. Ashley is a physiotherapist and a holistic nutritionist, and in this episod...

How To Clear Your Mind - A Simple Approach

Clear Your Mind There's a tonne of things you can do to help clear your mind. From meditation, journaling, sitting in a calm environment, listening to music, or concentrating and focusing on just one thing in front of you or in the distance. Our daily lives appear to be full of things to do. Things we could do. Things we want. We are also constantly bombarded with more information from our surroundings, our devices, our work, and from family and friends. At times, the mind overdose...

Start Moving Your Body And Change Your Life - Interview with LeAnn Smith

Start moving your body to change your life and work! One the foundations to living a full and vibrant life is to look after ourselves. I say there are three foundational pieces in living well – Sleep, Nutrition, and Movement (or exercise). On this episode, my guest is LeAnn Smith from Seattle in the USA. As we started talking, we ended up with a mini episode within the episode! Asking LeAnn how she got into Yoga and the wellness world led us to talk about transitioning from the corpora...

Stop Obsessing About The End Goal

You must do this! Stop obsessing about the end goal, objective, or target. Continually obsessing about the end goal is a waste of time. There’s a whole lot of other things you can obsess about which will help you to hit your goal, objective, or target. Please check out the home page of my website, it’s had a bit of a refresh. Working through refreshing the whole site bit by bit. Aim is to make more get the best and helpful information shown first. Let me know your thoughts or ideas o...

How Can Leaders Lead In Times Of Uncertainty?

Leaders and leadership in uncertain times. A little different to the usual episodes but one useful (I hope) to all you leaders out there. How are you finding the current environment and world? What does it mean to be a leader in current times? I am with John Holmes, Director of Frontline Training Solutions. John is a trainer and has worked with companies across Europe as well some of the large institutions including Central Banks, Regulators, NATO, and the UN. John runs an Internationa...

Just Give 5 Minutes!

Do you have things on your list you just don’t want to do? We all do! We all have things at home or at work which we know we must do but we just don’t want to. They can be really boring or plain tough. We try a variety of strategies but even then, we just don’t get things done put it off again for tomorrow. On this episode I look at what you can do to get started and make progress each day or at least a few times more than you normally manage. If you have any questions, comments, or ...

Should You Visualise In The First Person Or As An Observer?

Quick follow up episode on visualisation I got a great question after I posted the visualisation episode a few days ago. It’s about how you see yourself in the visualisation. Should it be as an observer (third person), or in the first person as you would in real life. Hopefully this gives some clarification. If you want to get started with creating habits and routines using visualisation, book a free 30-minute consultation: https://comentra.com/information-call  If you find this ...

Dealing With Life Long Anxiety - Interview With Wendy Tamis Robbins

Many of us will have had a panic attack and moments of anxiety. We learn to deal with these odd occasions. But what if you suffer more than the odd instance? My guest Wendy Tamis-Robbins shares her story of she has dealt with anxiety for most of her life. The first time she noticed her panic attack was when she was six years old. Wendy speaks about how the anxiety started, how it brought her to the point of calling a suicide helpline, and how she now shares her approach to dealing and ma...

How To Use Visualisation In Making Changes In Your Life And Work

Use Visualisation In Making Changes Visualisation is a secret weapon which is under used when we are making changes in our life and our work. It a powerful way to re-wire your brain, the neurons, and neural pathways. Visualisation is also a skill. A skill you can learn and develop with practise. I talk through a simple exercise you can do to help you develop the skill of visualisation. In fact, you can create your own visualisation exercises. As you get better, you can then use visua...

How Enthusiasm Can Stop You Making Changes

Enthusiasm is a good thing, overall. But sometimes it can get in the way or upset your plan as you start your changing making journey. Why can enthusiasm be a problem? It can make you think you are ready to do more than you ready for right this minute. When you aren’t ready for the next level you can set yourself further back than where you started. Take injuries in sport. If you are good for running 15 minutes at light speed, jumping up to running faster or longer after a few days ope...

Work Out How Much Sleep You Need With Sleep Cycles

How much sleep do you need? Although an alternative question could have been – are you getting enough sleep? You probably aren’t. Depending on which study you read anything from 40% to over 60% of us are sleep deprived. The latest neuroscience studies in sleep are helping us understand just why we sleep, and getting more and better sleep is a real benefit for our mind, body, and soul! So, knowing how much sleep we need is the first step to addressing our sleep shortage. In this episode...

How To Make The Most of Your Ideas

Do your capture your ideas? Ideas pop up all the time. Our mind is constantly working. Thoughts are constantly coming and going. In amongst our thoughts, ideas spring to mind. Stuff we were wrestling with yesterday and suddenly, as you are about wash your hair in the shower an idea comes to mind. They always seem to find the most awkward time and place to appear. In this episode I look at what you can to capture your ideas, why they pop up at strange moments, and what to do once you ha...

How To Dramatically Improve Your Chances Of Getting Things Done

Want to get more things done? Want to build better and new habits? Then start by removing the options and obstacle which will stop you from NOT doing the action/activity/habit. One sure way of helping you get things done is to be precise and specific about what it is you are going to do. In the podcast, I cover one of the stories which James Clear has in his book ‘Atomic Habits’ which resulted in a much higher number of people taking action. It’s a short episode today and focused on ...

One Thing This Week – Break It Down To The Smallest Action

One Thing This Week – Break It Down To The Smallest Action. Another short episode to look at how you can tackle the big goals, objectives, and target you have or want to achieve in the second of this year. Keep it simple and build habits to reaches the most challenging of goals. Please share this episode and this podcast with one person you know. Thank you so much for supporting my podcast. Have a great day and check-in to more episodes next week. -----------------------------------...

How Do You Live A More Fulfilled And Happier Life?

It’s a question which is always asked. There are two parts to this episode. The first part answers the question and is based on various studies over the ages. The second part is how do go about living a life which is fulfilled and happier. Back to the first part. There was a study by Harvard University which as been running for over 90 years! It was the study of adult development. Along with studying how adults developed and changed over time it also looked how happy people where. And what...

A Short Personal Message on Father's Day

A short personal message on Father's Day to all fathers out there, and to daughters and sons.   Wishing you all the very best today....and every day. If you find this episode useful, please subscribe and share with one friend.  _________________________________________________   How to connect with me:   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/azzyaslam   Twitter: https://twitter.com/AzzyAslam   Subscribe to my new YouTube channel:    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6UoRoVrNj...

Learning To Breathe, Breathwork, And Dealing With Cancer

Shaun Doherty was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 24. Hodgkinson Lymphoma, one of the cancers which has a good success rate of being treated. But he fell into the small group where the treatments were having less effect than usual. It was during his fight with cancer he decided to look at how he could help himself, along with the varied treatments he was going through, to give his body the best chance of fighting and beating cancer. It was then he came across Breathwork. Using brea...

Why Are Bad Habits So Easy To Acquire?

Why is it so easy to acquire bad or unhealthy habits? They seem to be so easy to pick up, yet the habit we want or are good for us are so difficult to the create and stick with. Do you find this happens to you? Don’t worry, it’s not just you, it happens to all of us. There is good science behind why bad and unhealthy habits are so easy to acquire. It’s because of the Habit Loop. It’s worth reading the book ‘The Power of Habits’ by Charles Duhigg where he goes into detail about the habi...

What Are Your Values And Do You Live By Them

On this episode I am joined by Dr Keith Amoss. Our discussion centred around our values. Do we know what they? Do they change over time? Keith goes through an exercise to help discover what are our values, so have a some paper and a pen handy when we get to that part. If you want to do the exercise then after the first set of instructions pause the podcast and come back to when you written down your thoughts. We conversation took a few twists and turns as we explored topics linked to val...

One Thing This Week - Sunshine

 New Milestone: 100 episodes of Changing Habits Changing Lives! It’s been a great journey, experience, and a huge amount of learning for me. I want to thank all who listen and subscribe and helping to reach this milestone. A big thank you to all my guests who have shared their lives, experiences, and expertise. I look forward to creating many more episodes!  There is also giveaway on the podcast for reaching the 100 episode milestone!  Today’s episode: There is always one small thing y...

From Addiction To Mindful Leadership

My guest on this episode is Angie Chaplin. When we first spoke, it was about Mindful Leadership and the plan was to cover things leaders can do to be more mindful, more aware or what’s happening around them, within their organisations, and in particular the lives of their people. With all the turmoil over the last 18 months it is a great topic to explore. However, whenever you start having a chat with someone, you discover a little more about them. And as we talked it became clear there we...

Is Reading Too Many Self Help Books A Problem?

The self-help industry is massive. It's worth billions of dollars a year. Books play a significant part in it. Books come about because someone has a story to tell and share how they made changes to their life, or the author wants to share their method of change they used for themselves or with other people. Many times it's just an opinion which they think works. There are countless books from the days of Napoleon Hill to James Clear (Atomic Habits) and many more nowadays. Making sense of ...

Two Things You Can Do Next Month For Your Mental And Physical Wellbeing

Welcome to the Sunday episode. Normally I look at one thing you can do and focus on for the next week. In this episode, as it's at the end of the month, I look at what you can do in the next month to help with improving your mental and physical wellbeing. Thank you for listening and enjoy the episode - and Subscribe! __________________________________________________________________ Thank you for supporting my podcast! You can book a free 30-minute coaching call to help you get st...

How To Keep Working When You Don't Feel Like It

We all have tough days at work. We all have days when we know we need to get things done but just don’t feel like doing anything. There could be all sorts of reason to feel this way. And this the time when you must show up. This is when you must push beyond the feelings and get on with it. Even if we don’t feel like working or perhaps are not enjoying what you’re doing there is a way to help you get through and finish the day productively. I cover four key things you can do to help you...

Escaping Abusive Relationships - An Interview

You may remember my guest Janine Mitchell from episode 76 when we talked about EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). On today's episode, Janine is talking about part of her life when she found herself in an abusive relationship. As you will hear at the time there were no clear signs it was going to become an abusive relationship.  Now, looking back she can join some of the dots which would have given her some early signs. When we are in the thick of it, it’s difficult to see what is really ...

How To Build Your Mental And Physical Resilience

Mental and Physical resilience are linked. They go hand in hand and will support each other. But what we believe about mental resilience isn't accurate. At one point I thought, as did many others, it was some sort of shield. If I could become mentally resilient then I could weather everything and anything which the world could throw at me. We don't come through tough times unscathed but we can learn to deal with those time much better and get through them, if you build you resilience wel...

One Thing This Week - Smile

Sounds simple - Smile Listen to the short Sunday episode and give it go!

How To Strengthen And Automate Your Habits

I have spoken often about how to create habits, and you will probably hear more in future episodes! But in this episode at look at 3 ways (was 2 orginally) in how you can help strengthen and automate the habits you have consciously created to improve performance of make changes. I also cover a little bit of science on what's happening around our neurons and neuralpathways which help the process of strengthening and automating of habits.  Any questions drop me note on [email protected]

Stop Relying On Motivation To Help You Be Successful

You already know this - motivation is fickle! One minute it's there and the next it's gone. It doesn't always get you started either. It feels good to be motivated but it does little to move you forward. So what can you do? Listen to the episode for the best way to keep moving forward and not rely on motivation to give you a push a each day. Book a free 30 minute call if you want to discuss what you can do instead of relying on being motivated:  https://comentra.com/information-call/

One Thing This Week - How To Read More Books

Do you wish you had the time to read a book or several? Here's an easy way to start reading more books. Short and simple way to get started and keep reading. Will work for audiobooks too if you prefer to listen!

Why An Evening Routine Is More Important Than a Morning Routine

Morning routines are great. They help get started and also look after your health and wellbeing (depending on what your routine involves!). However, far more important is what you do to prepare for the day ahead. What you do each evening has an impact on what you will do in the morning and also for the rest of the day. I talk through why your evening routine is important and what you can do to have an awesome day. Want help creating your evening and morning routines? Book a free 30 m...

The Real Reasons People Work With A Coach

It's a serious commitment to work with a coach. And it's a big decision. I had thought people simply wanted to get things done. Achieve a goal, reach a target, and usually this is what prompts someone to start working with a coach. A coach will help a client with the starting objectives/goals/targets which brought them together. However, when I ask clients what they valued in the coaching some the answers surprised me.  It wasn't just about reach a goal! More on coaching https://comentra...

One Thing This Week - Don't Let Tension Build Up

Sunday Short Episode One thing you can do this week to help you reduce stress and tension.

How To Start Exercising Using Your Existing Habits And Routines

We all want to be fit and healthy. Getting started in taking regular exercise can be a difficult, particularly if you think you have to hit the gym for 2 hours or run a 5K each day. If you haven't trained for some times this approach can lead to injury and then put you back further. In this episode I look at using your existing habits and routines to get you started, one step at a step...in some cases literally! If you want some help in getting started, take advantage of a free 30 minute...

What Happens To Old Habits?

Building new habits is one thing, but losing those old habits is a totally different challenge. They always seem to get in the way when you want to change. I look at what happens to old habits and why they are so difficult to lose, and what you can do the help you put some distance between them and your new life. Want some help with the habits you want to lose? Book a free 30 minute call: https://comentra.com/information-call/

How To Make The Next Month Productive

One thing you can do this coming week to make you focus on the next month. Short episode and one action you can take as we head to the end of the month.

How To Wake Up Not Feeling Like A Zombie

Regular topic for discussion with my clients, friends, and colleagues. Sleep is so important for our well being, understanding aspects of it to help us sleep better is valuable. In this epsisode I talk about the 'sleep cycle'. How this affects how we sleep and whether we wake up feeling refreshed or feeling groggy. Worth reading Matthew Walker's book - Why We Sleep for more detail and the science behind sleep or listen to the episode to get the core info you can use immediately! Sleep ...