Glow Coaching and Learning - for Personal and Professional Development

01/09/2026

01/09/2026

Spring has always been one of my favourite times of year. The smell and sight of spring flowers always lifts my heart and promises brighter days ahead after winter.

It's a great time of year to check in on your own goals and vision for yourself too. I know that I'm taking some time right now to do that very thing.

If you've been thinking about your own personal or professional development - get in touch!

17/08/2026

Have you ever thought about your words and thoughts are like ripples in a pond?

Each and every day, you may think or say words that are unkind to yourself or to others. I call this stinking thinking.

The other day, I dropped a can of cat food on my foot. It could have been all too easy to have accused myself of being clumsy or useless or any of the other negative words that may come to mind. Instead, I just noticed the instant pain of that connection, picked up the can and thought nothing more of it until I noticed the bruise!

So here’s the thing. If I had used those negative words in that moment, I would have carried a residual of that around with me all day. In every thought or action that I took, there would be a subtext of those unhelpful words that would just ripple out.

Those negative vibes would then impact those around me, and before you know it – it would form a tidal wave of dissatisfaction.
Take a moment to ask yourself how you are doing today, right this moment? Now, remind yourself of one thing that you are absolutely awesome at or that you love about yourself. Let that sit for a moment.

Next time you start to have some stinking thinking going on – just stop and acknowledge the moment and consider this. Does it really matter?

Chat soon
Sandra

Send a message to learn more

02/07/2026

The word of the week for me this week has been resilience.

Resilience is that thing that happens when something happens, and not only get back up again - but bounce forward learning from either the experience of the event or from how you grew from it.

6 years ago today I put an end to the constant daily pain of arthritis in both knees and underwent a bilateral Total Knee Replacement!

Most people do them one at a time, but my surgeon recommended that they were both done together. I guess it keeps them even! I think he picked up on the fact that I was confident that I had the mental resilience to

There were both advantages and disadvantages to this - but I chose not to delve too deeply into this. I had seen a knee replacement operation done on TV years earlier - so knew a little about what to expect.

There's a lot more to this story obviously - but the key thing here is what I learnt from the experience that helps me continue to be resilient and continue to grow my skills and experience through this and more.

Here's my key learnings:

1. Asking for and accepting help is crucial.
2. Putting myself and my needs first is okay!
3. Keep having adventures and appreciate each day as it comes

So happy anniversary to my knees!

Chat soon
Sandra

Send a message to learn more

11/05/2026

Do you ever just stop for a moment to focus on what you're enjoying or thankful for? It's a practice that I know I want to do more of. It's a great way to keep your focus on what brings you joy!

Here's my top 5.

1. Split Enz - Got to soak up all the great music on Sunday night at their concert.

2. Remarkably Bright Creatures - Netflix - Fabulous movie - with a wonderful storyline.

3. Miranda Hart's book (listing on Spotify!) I haven't been entirely honest with you. A good insight not just into her life, but also about how she's setting healthy boundaries so she can be her best self.

4. What's up / Messenger groups to keep connected with friends and family.

5. My grandie - every photo, every video clip, every visit just lights up my heart!

What's your top 5?

Chat soon!
Sandra

Send a message to learn more

07/05/2026

The art of successful communication is more than just giving a speech or an elevator pitch.

It's about patience, preparation, persistence, pacing and perception!

Today I'll share a story about one of my early experiences at Toastmasters.

We were forming a new corporate club in the company that I worked for. I knew it was going to be of fantastic benefit for not just me - but for so many of the people that I worked with. As a trainer and facilitator - I felt that it was important that I overcame my own fears when it came to being put on the spot with an unknown topic.

(Never a problem when it's about something I am working on or a pet topic!)

How I learned how much I struggled with random impromptu speaking (aka Table Topics) was when I was called up to speak about a picture of the blue sea.

I stood up, went to the front of the room and all that came out was ' It's blue, and it's the sea'... and promptly returned to my seat with a bright red face filled with embarrassment.

Over the following years, I've learned a range of techniques from using the picture as inspiration to talking about something it reminds me off or take control and talk about something else entirely!

What helped me improve? The evaluation. The evaluator was able to give feedback in such a kind hearted and helpful way that I felt that making my first effort was worth it. I learned from the experience and some tips to try for the next attempts. And even after 14 years - I'm still learning - and still occasionally get thrown for a loop! But then I listen to the evaluation for ideas about how I can approach it differently next time.

If you're keen to hear more about communication and other personal and professional development topics - subscribe to my newsletter Glow and Grow!

Sign up page for Glow Coaching and Learnings' newsletter