The School of Life

Most businesses run into trouble not through a lack of technical skills, but because they fail to appreciate the role that emotions play in determining whether or not a group of humans can work together effectively. That’s why we set up The School of Life at Work: a place for learning about and developing those critical human skills that define the success of individuals and teams. Watch our film to learn more about what we do – and discover all the different ways we can help to upskill your business. https://lnkd.in/eAqTPfvw

It’s time to ‘pause for thought’: to set aside a few minutes to ask ourselves some simple yet searching questions. We’ve suggested a few you might start with…

In life and at work, we are often our own worst enemies. Not because we are uniquely defective; more likely because we are still following a script written in childhood – partly by our caregivers, partly by ourselves – with which our adult lives no longer cohere. Let us know how you self-sabotage in the process.

If we were totally sane, we would respond to the present only on its own terms; we would worry or be angered only as much as the circumstances dictated. But most of us are not quite sane, as evidenced by our disproportionate responses to certain events. We tend to feel and respond according to precedent, following emotional tracks laid down in the distant past when many of us were victims of unusually painful experiences. A tricky email may convince us this is The End. An item in the news can plunge us into guilt or fury. The prospect of a party or a speech can bring monumental terror. The triggering happens so fast that we lose our bearings, and our rational faculties shut down. We get triggered because we lack a direct link with objective reality; we approach the world through a prism of our inner histories. Crucially, the inner world isn’t the outer world. If we experience anxiety or anger above a five out of ten, it’s likely fueled by a past we’re overlooking. To free ourselves from being triggered, we must refuse to believe in our overwhelming fears. It’s a milestone of maturity to understand what triggers us and to take steps to mitigate our responses. https://lnkd.in/eSCEA9C2

One way we can better understand stress is through visualising it in a new way: introducing the ‘stress bucket’. The "stress bucket" is a metaphorical concept used to illustrate how stressors, which are various demands and pressures in life, accumulate and contribute to a person's overall stress levels. Imagine a bucket that represents an individual's capacity to manage stress. As stressors enter this bucket, it fills up. When the bucket becomes too full, it can overflow, leading to various negative outcomes such as emotional distress, burnout, and physical health issues. But we can add taps or holes in our bucket to empty it – these are coping mechanisms for stress management that typically include rest, connection, sleep, and nutrition. We can use the stress bucket to monitor and mitigate stress before it reaches crisis point. How full is your stress bucket currently? We work with organisations to increase wellbeing and employee engagement. Everything we do is informed by our commitment to engage your employees and deliver real-world behavioural change - whether it’s core content, or tailored to meet the needs of your business or an entirely bespoke programme. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/g9vBen3B

The sophistication of any civilisation could be measured via a people’s readiness to accept – whatever the inconvenience – a primary role for the siesta and the extent to which it can build in measures to accommodate it in its architecture, social routines and works of art. https://lnkd.in/ejHszCtG

At The School of Life at Work, we’re interested in the skills most businesses overlook – namely emotional skills. Here, we’ve highlighted one such neglected skill: maintaining our own – and others’ – wellbeing. https://lnkd.in/g9vBen3B

In writing an email we never send, we are giving ourselves an opportunity to feel legitimate in our own eyes. We realise that the real audience we needed all along was ourselves. https://lnkd.in/eBraxZbh

Running from our feelings takes a lot of energy; it is exhausting  not to realise how sad, scared, lonely or fragile we are. We have to choreograph endless relationship dramas; we have to worry needlessly about work and reputation. We have to stuff our days with projects and get into arguments and find fault with those close by. We have to move very fast indeed when we have rabid racing dogs behind us. We should reduce the frenzy by more willingly ceding space to what has been sorrowful; by creating a more welcoming home to our distress; by allowing ourselves to mourn. To learn more, click the link below. https://lnkd.in/gTuaZrxV 

Confidence is just one of the 60+ emotional skills we teach at The School of Life at Work. Follow the link to explore our curriculum and speak with a member of our team today: https://lnkd.in/g9vBen3B