Be First Class

“I try to be grateful for the abundance of the blessings that I have, for the journey that I’m on and to relish each day as a gift.” James McGreevey.

Christmas Day is just a few days away and it’s a time for joy and celebration. Sadly, whilst we take time to celebrate this week, there is some gloom and doom around in the world at present. I am referring to the ongoing conflict Ukraine and the awful attack at Bondi beach in Sydney, Australia as people celebrated the start of Hannukah. It’s sad to see the loss and suffering of so many innocent people. As a result, watching news bulletins can make us feel quite miserable.

We can’t control the issues being reported on but we can control our reactions to them. In an effort to counter some of the negativity and sadness that we are all exposed to on a daily basis, I make a conscious effort to think in an abundant way, whilst acknowledging the challenges faced by others.

An abundant mindset is when you believe that there are enough resources for us all and you have greater appreciation for all that you have. Abundance isn’t just about money. It’s also a belief that life provides what is needed and a confidence that love, care and support aren’t scarce. It’s also being confident that giving, growing and sharing won’t diminish you. When you think about life in this way, it takes on another meaning and has a different look and feel to it. I have noticed that my shift in thinking has made me feel lighter and more positive.

In life we have a choice about where we put our attention. We can focus on our weaknesses, our limitations, lack of opportunities and what’s missing in our life. We can have a lack of appreciation for our material possessions and what we’ve earned. This can be combined with not fully appreciating the people in our life and what they bring to us.

In contrast we can choose to focus our time and mind in an abundant way and appreciate all that we have including our possessions and the contributions people make to enrich our life. We can have gratitude for our natural strengths and talents, the opportunities and all the experiences that we have. In this state we will view any challenges we’ve encountered as a lesson or insight instead of a chance to see ourselves as a victim.

The mindset we choose to adopt will have an impact on our body and energy. When we think abundantly, we feel more optimistic and this helps us to feel lighter and more energised. As a result, we’re more likely to attract positive circumstances as our self-talk will be more empowering and drive positive behaviours which help to create great results.

Conversely, a scarcity mindset will have a negative impact on our mood and energy levels. Our bodies will feel heavy; our self-talk will be negative and create dis-empowering behaviours and poor results. This kind of mindset can be a self-fulfilling prophecy and create more results that reinforce a feeling of lack.

Thinking in an abundant way contributes to a feeling of security. It helps us to feel confident and have high self-worth levels. As a result, we feel secure when interacting with others. We form positive relationships, where we look to be collaborative rather than overly competitive and create “win/win” scenarios. As I said earlier, adopting this mindset doesn’t prevent us from feeling empathy for other people’s challenges and for those less fortunate than ourselves.

In contrast when we have feelings of lack, we may have difficulty sharing credit or recognising the contribution of others. The scarcity mentality is limiting and may mean that too much time and energy is wasted on conflict, negative thinking and repressing creativity. On the other hand, the abundant mentality is fearless; it’s free and immune to criticism.

In order to feel abundant, we need to get better at noticing and recognising what’s available to us in terms of opportunities, resources and choices. We aren’t wired to notice things or be particularly observant.

It doesn’t make us stupid if we fail to notice things, it just depends on what our brain has been primed to see. If we focus on scarcity, we will find evidence to support this. If we want to notice abundance, we will find it.

As previously mentioned, we can’t control all events. However, we can choose our reaction, the attitude we adopt in the present moment and where we place our attention. We get what we look for! What we choose to focus on grows.

I send my very best wishes to you and your family and wish you all a very joyous and happy Christmas period.

This week, why not take a few moments to reflect and consider which mindset you adopt the majority of the time. Are you thinking in an abundant way? Do you regularly notice things to appreciate? Are there any changes that you need to make?

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk

“There are three methods to gaining wisdom. The first is reflection, which is the highest. The second is limitation, which is the easiest. The third is experience, which is the bitterest.” Confucius.

As we’re rapidly approaching the end of the year, it’s a good time to take stock and think about the year and all that we’ve experienced. As we get immersed in the arrangements for the festive period it’s easy to neglect taking time to reflect on the past year and to review our progress and growth.

The end of the year provides a great opportunity to celebrate our successes and achievements and to think about the things we can be grateful for.

Investing our precious time in this way helps to provide some positive energy to carry into the New Year. This reflection time is a great way to wrap up the current year before turning some attention to creating some plans and goals for the year ahead.

Review of 2025

Over the next few weeks, prior to the start of 2026, I recommend that you get yourself a notebook and dedicate some time to reflect. I suggest you think about the following questions and record your thoughts:

• What has been great about 2025?
• What lessons have you learned this year?
• What have been your greatest challenges this year? What have they taught you?
• What are you grateful for in life?
• What has brought you the most happiness?
• What do you need to let go of?

 
Planning for a First Class 2026

Once you have completed the reflection, you can turn your attention to thinking about what you would like to accomplish and experience in the New Year. Completing the reflection will provide some clarity and great insights to use in this process. Here are some possible questions for you to use to do this:

• What are your main personal and professional goals for 2026?
• What are your financial goals for 2026?
• What steps do you need to take to improve/maintain your health and fitness?
• What can you do to improve your relationships?
• What steps can you take to increase your happiness?
• What plans do you have to grow, develop and learn?

 
I hope that you find the process and questions useful. Hopefully they will help you celebrate 2025 in the best way possible and prepare for a happy and healthy 2026.

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead.

I was watching a news bulletin recently which amongst other stories included the conflict in Ukraine and the reaction to the budget speech in the UK. It appears that politicians of all political persuasions have taken to launching personal attacks on each other which isn’t particularly constructive.

Later in the week, I heard a news report on the radio about a BBC investigation into social media abuse in football. It stated more than 2,000 extremely abusive posts, including death and rape threats, were sent about managers and players in the Premier League and Women’s Super League in a single weekend!

The analysis, conducted with data science company Signify, focused on posts made during 10 Premier League and six WSL matches on the weekend of 8 and 9 November and also found messages including racist slurs, homophobia and threats of violence. Managers were targeted more than players, with 82% of abusive posts made on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Premier League bosses Ruben Amorim, Arne Slot and Eddie Howe were the most common targets of abuse in the men’s top flight, while Chelsea and their manager Sonia Bompastor faced 50% of all abuse in the WSL.

It caused me to reflect on how unkind the world is becoming and how we all need to make an effort to make it kinder. I genuinely believe that we can all play a part in making the world a better place. Although some things like war, inflation and political turmoil are outside our control, there are things that we can control and influence. These are the areas where we can place our attention.

Every day we have a choice about where we put our focus and energy. It is within our gift to choose how and where we can make a positive difference in the world. We can all take small actions and collectively create a positive ripple to counter the negativity, fear and nastiness that is prevalent in the world.

Detailed below are some thoughts about where we can all have influence and help the world to be a better place. We can: –

• Choose to count our blessings and be grateful for what we have in life rather than focus on what we lack.
• Do things to make our part of the world and our environments more pleasant.
• Be compassionate to our fellow human beings. Keep in mind that greater compassion creates better relationships and inspires others to follow this approach.
• Carefully consider the impact on others of our actions and decisions before we speak or act. Ensure that our language and words are always temperate.
• Be less judgemental and have greater empathy for people suffering challenges and hardship.
• Be present and give people our full attention. This includes listening more than we talk. This will help people we interact with feel heard, valued, and important. This can include spending less time on technology in the virtual world and more time in the real world.
• Be kind and nice to people. Look at what is positive about others. We can ensure we are encouraging and supportive of other’s endeavours and happy for their success and achievements.
• Avoid posting negative and nasty comments on social media and encourage others to do the same.
• Give credit where credit is due. Recognise people’s value and contributions and express gratitude for the positive impact they have on our life.

 
A final suggestion. We can regularly perform small random acts of kindness. This can be simple things like letting someone go in front of us in a queue, holding a door open, offering a compliment, giving an unexpected gift or even making someone a cup of tea or coffee!

This week, why not pause for a few moments to reflect. Consider what actions you can take to help make your part of the world a better place. Are there are other people you can encourage to do the same?

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk