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It’s supposed to be the Summer, but the high winds and miserable rain in many locations appear to have other ideas about that. Although some would argue that that is precisely the definition of an English Summer!

It’s tempting to let ourselves be ruled by the weather here. When it’s stifling we look forward to Winter snow and when it’s wet and cold we moan about the lack of sun. Are we ever happy?

I am. It doesn’t have to be hot to go to the beach. Warm will do. There’s always a breeze on the beach so a lightweight jumper is a must in the UK. What people don’t often realise is that the water can be warmer than it looks and last week it was warmer in the sea than it was on the land. (Statistics obtained from my children, as I refused to venture in further than my knees, being of a sensible disposition).

The beach is what you make it. We have to prepare for it and adapt to it. That way we can have, as we did, a jolly weekend of picnics and swimming and laughter.

Waiting for the perfect day would have meant no days on the beach. Good enough is just that …good enough weather to go and have fun.

We can wait for perfection in business before we do anything. Delay until everything is all lined up before we launch a product, or keep finding fault and tweaking our idea to the point of oblivion.

Business is about doing it. Getting to the point of ‘good enough’ and then getting on with selling and marketing our product.

Waiting for perfection can leave the field open for a competitor to scoop us in the market place.

Beaches and weather can teach us to be prepared, plan our strategy and then get on with it.

We can apply the same logic to our business. Maybe even treat our colleagues to a thank-you ice cream?

So, this week which projects are you delaying? Where are you seeking perfection, when what you have is good enough already?

Have fun being good enough this week!

Or maybe just take a break and go for a paddle in the warm sea. It’s always good to get away from our office and think new thoughts and get a fresh perspective.

Next week: How To Say No!

I’m in the car a lot. Driving to clients and back. Driving to the shops. Dad taxi too. I don’t mind driving really, but I do mind getting a stiff neck, such is the way of a life spent driving and then sitting.

However, I’ve discovered yoga neck rolls. Less sugar than mini chocolate Swiss rolls (you know you want one now) and less fat than a roadside diner’s sausage roll, a neck roll is pretty much what you think it is.

I used to get a lot of headaches, caused no doubt, by the stress build up of driving and then sitting when with clients. Now though I’m constantly rolling my head from shoulder to shoulder (not when driving, officer) and I love the feeling of tiny crunches in my muscles as the tension is massaged away.

Now, I’m not suggesting you put your pen down and start to exercise, it may harm you, so perhaps watch some yoga videos online first, or seek professional guidance.

What I am saying, is that physical stretches are good for us. I have fewer headaches now and I’m all for that.

It’s also well worth considering career and skill stretches. I’m a firm believer in continuous development and love to keep learning. Honing a skill can lead to promotion. Developing a new skill can lead to a new career, or new clients.

With this in mind I began psychotherapy training last October and have just finished year two. Don’t worry about the maths there, my existing formal Transactional Analysis training meant I skipped jauntily past year one and started in the first clinical year.

It’s been so much fun to do, and what a lot of learning for me. The precursor to therapy is counselling, so I’ve had to learn to shift from a coaching mindset to a counselling one.

I still love business coaching and enjoy being with all my clients and that’s not going to change. However, taking on new counselling clients has meant changing the way I work in a therapeutic space. I’m loving that work too and it’s really enabled me to listen in a different way and develop my empathic resonance.

I’ll be honest here though, my first practice wasn’t great. I was still locked into coaching mode and was pushing for a quick solution to the client’s issue. At best, it was a practice and at worst, a failure.

That was last year and since then I’ve relaxed into the flow of counselling and am enjoying myself now. We often learn most from our failures and it’s good to fail in the classroom and then get it right in a live environment.

I’m looking forward to year three and more stretching after the Summer. Already this new learning has fed back into my business and opened up organisational well-being work that I may otherwise have not seen.

Maybe my business motto should be: Stretch for success!

So, I wonder what your stretch is?

Which part of your skillset has gone a bit rusty, or needs to be sharpened? Perhaps there’s a whole new skill you’d like to develop?

Leadership and communications skills are at a premium today in business and a manager who lacks them is going to be under stress. I love teaching these skills too and embed TA into my workshops for extra sticky learning. If you know a leader, or team, who need a boost then feel free to get in touch.

And a simple way to stretch ourselves is to read a book. Maybe there’s one on your wish list, so perhaps treat yourself today and give yourself a little stretch!

We can all have fun this week stretching ourselves!

Next week: Beach Time UK Style