The Sloth, The Hippo, & The Squirrel

When I first left school, I completed an electrical engineering apprenticeship with Fords Motor Company at their famous Dagenham Branch/training centre (Still to this day, one of my proudest achievements). So naturally, I spent the first 14 years of my work life in the recruitment industry... (Probably one of my biggest regrets. Don't ask.)

Anyway, during my time as a recruiter, I got to observe a lot of people and learn a lot about people's behaviours at work. Since becoming self employed and changing industries, I also got to observe a lot of networkers.

I've come to the conclusion that there are 3 kinds of people in the world.

The Sloth, The Hippo, and The Squirrel.

The Sloth is someone that does the bare minimum. They'll be the ones who do enough to keep their job, they fly under the radar most of the time and only really wake up if they sense danger or they need to go for a coffee/pee break. The sloth, in my opinion, isn't a team player and after a period of time tends to be the first to go if there are cut backs and are usually resented by their fellow team. They may be the nicest person in the world, but in the work place, they just ain't pulling their weight.

The Hippo is the plodder of the group. Now, many of you will take this as a negative. Absolutely NOT! I am a hippo and i'm very proud of this. Have you ever seen a hippo plod along? Those bad boys start off on a mission and they don't let anything get in their way. They just keep charging along until they hit their goal. Then they chill out and wait for the next assignment. Hippos are the bread and butter of any work team. They get things done, they are quite social so usually bond well with others and they can pick up some serious speed when needed.

The Squirrel is the go getter of the team. They get excited by the new and shiny, they chase after their goals and flit around all over the place. They are usually seen as the most dynamic of the group, are great at socialising and networking but they tend to get distracted easily, need constant new things to chase or they get bored and lose interest in things.

If I was going to hire someone it would be a hippo. If I was building a team, I'd have a heard of hippos and a few squirrels. A group of people that will keep pushing the company forward and a few that are dynamic enough to bring in new business.

Ideally we'd all be HippoSquirrel Hybrids with a tendency to "sloth out" on our days off. I'm not sure i've quite mastered mixing all 3 together perfectly but it's a goal of mine. In the mean time, I'll just keep Hippo-ing along.

I'd be interested to see what you think and even better, what you ARE!

Until next time,
Much Love
Dee
Miss Make It Happen
Website - Facebook - Twitter - Podcast

Yoga - The Truths (well mine anyway)

What do you think of when you imagine yoga? My initial response when asked this question was hippies, "peace & love, man", impossible bending and stretching, and something stay at home mums do... oh, and skinny minnies on a beach at sun rise.

HOLD ON! Before you all run off and form a pitch fork wielding mob, let me explain....

I tried yoga many moons ago and all I got from it was wind and (rather weirdly) cravings for McDonalds. I actually got up mid way through a group session, grabbed my stuff and walked out.
A later attempt at yoga meditation left me restless and moody. I couldn't find something at home that I could follow easily and if i did find something I couldn't find the 60-90minutes to actually get it done properly. Catch 22.

Fast forward to 2017, and a friend of mine explained to me about a company called 'Movement For Modern Life'. At the time of recommending them, I was almost at breaking point. I was so exhausted I could hardly sleep, when I did sleep I had regular night terrors and sleep walking/talking episodes, I felt stressed, depressed, my confidence was shot, paranoia was setting in and I was a walking disaster zone on the inside. To the outside world, I was a confident, happy, hard working, go getter.

I can almost hear you nodding as you read that. You too? Don't worry, you really are not alone. You'd be surprised how many people are feeling like this. A lot of your "perfect" friends are probably losing their proverbial on a daily basis.

Anyway, back to yoga...

I decided to sign up to Movement For Modern Life for a 14 day free trial. It's free, I couldn't lose. Now, to say I got a little excited was an understatement. This is a site for everyone. Not just the stereotypical Yogi but for people who want to do yoga at home - IN THEIR PJs!

THAT'S ME! THAT'S PROBABLY YOU! THAT'S US!!!!!

Next thing I noticed about this company is that they understand us. They realise that we don't all move, bend and think the same. There are literally 100's of videos starting from 2.5minutes upwards. Even I can manage 2.5 minutes in the morning.

I'm starting to get suspicious... what's the catch? Am I going to get hit with a £100 a month membership fee at the end of the 14 day trial? Will I need to sell part of my soul? Truth is, i'm about 6 weeks in now and I can't find a catch. The membership prices start at £10.99 a month. They even have a section teaching you about the anatomy and offer online classes for people with mobility issues. ANOTHER WIN! I have Ankylosing Spondylitis & RA, so this is something close to my heart.

So, I picked out some different classes in the 'beginners' section and gave it ago. Over the next month, I was genuinely blown away. The changes in my body, my head, my mood, my life started to show a lot quicker than I could have imagined. I was doing 2-10 minutes in the morning and focusing on relaxation techniques / breathing at bed time (usually 30minutes). Nothing "special", no difficult moves, no legs around my ears, just me getting to know... me and my body.

I was going to share my first 6 weeks with you in this blog but I decided I wouldn't do it justice. You'll have to read next weeks blog to find out more. On a seriously note, it's been a life line but this is me we're talking about so i'll tell you about the uncoordinated two left feet, my gurning because even the easiest poses are difficult at first, and how this journey has effected me on a day to day and emotional level. The only 'down side' to yoga is actually realising you're human... *rolls eyes*

(Yes, there will be pictures of me gurning.)

Until next time,
Much Love
Dee
Miss Make It Happen
Website - Facebook - Twitter - Podcast

**Please note, I have not been paid or influenced by MFML in any way in regards to my views on yoga, meditation or the company in general. This is a personal, unbiased view.**