There are many different quotes, proverbs, and sayings to inspire us to live our best life. One such quote comes from a revered Indian spiritual master, Sai Baba. He said, “Life is a game; play it. Life is a challenge; meet it. Life is an opportunity; capture it.” Life is a game – play it […]

Gratitude is the art of being thankful. The word coming from the Latin word, gratus, which means pleasing or thankful.  It is being able to show appreciation and return the kindness of others. Gratitude is about showing that you don’t take life, circumstances and people for granted. Research by Dr Martin Seligman, known as the […]

There is so much talk about mindfulness lately. It is an important practice for students and adults alike, especially when teaching and promoting higher order thinking and wellbeing. So what is it? According to the Headspace website, mindfulness is the quality of being present and fully engaged in whatever you are doing at the moment. […]

Decision fatigue. That’s one of the main reasons I was so exhausted! Some days even the smallest decisions seemed impossible. Just like the meme going around on Social Media – I had 375 tabs open in my brain and was trying to juggle, multi-task, be everything to everyone. What should I have for breakfast? Lunch? […]

Most of us avoid conflict – maybe we have been conditioned to or maybe wired to, neuroscience has answers for both sides. Lately, however it seems more and more choosing to be uncomfortable is the best choice to make, for the sake of humanity and the planet. I was recently on a flight from Wellington […]

Recently I was privileged to visit Khan Lab School in San Francisco*. The school is the brainchild of Salman (Sal) Khan who started Khan Academy – a non-profit educational organisation with a goal of creating a set of online tools that help educate students. The school is innovative, learner centred, is pioneering new models and questions […]

The 11 of September will always be a date that is remembered world wide, perhaps as the day the world changed. To me, however, it has another meaning – the day I started my business, Spectrum Education, 21 years ago in 1994. As I sit and reflect on this incredible journey and the mission I am on, […]

A few weeks ago I was privileged to hear Travis Bell speak at a dinner in Auckland. Travis is known as the Bucket List Guy http://www.thebucketlistguy.com/ . He inspired me to take his message home and share it with my family – little did I know that it would be a wonderful heart filled activity that lasted two […]

In his book, Give and Take, Adam Grant discusses recent neuroscience which shows that giving actually activates the reward and meaning centres in our brains, which send us pleasure and purpose signals when we act for the benefit of others. “One study of more than 2,800 Americans over age twenty-four showed that volunteering predicted increases in […]

It was only this last weekend that I became aware of a quote by Maya Angelou. Maya Angelou sadly passed away today and suddenly I am surrounded by her wonderful quotes on several social media platforms. I’m not sure where I have been over the past few decades to not come across her work and philosophy as from what I have […]