Friday 21st December 2018
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| 21 Shillings make a Guinea - although no longer circulated (it ceased being minted in 1814), the term guinea survives as a unit of account in some fields, including horse racing, Oxbridge May Ball tickets and the sale of rams to mean an amount of one pound and one shilling (21 shillings) which is £1.05. It was the first English machine-struck gold coin, originally worth one pound sterling, equal to twenty shillings, but rises in the price of gold relative to silver caused the value of the guinea to increase, at times to as high as thirty shillings. From 1717 to 1816, its value was officially fixed at twenty-one shillings. |
I am not going to be back in the office until after Christmas - it has been so full-on over the past few days and weeks that that feels really weird. We had a great party last night. Today I am driving to Somerset to take my mother to hospital. All being well, she and I are looking forward to going out to dinner tonight with friends and some other members of the family. It will be wonderful to spend some quality time with loved ones. The older I get the more I appreciate the importance of love and relationships. Is there someone or some people you can see or renew contact with at this festive time? My mother is sliding into severe dementia; I am so glad that we made and cherished our moments together over the years, as you can never get that time back.
Today's post is reflective and open. It is by Sara Duxbury, whose post last year caused a lot of positive and active discussion about mental health, friendship and the workplace. Sara is an amazing lady, full of energy and ideas; she works as a business psychologist and is Head of Commercial at Carter Corson. After studying Psychology, Sara commenced her career in Retail and held operational roles before moving into Learning and Development and through that into HR. She has been an award winning HR Director with particular expertise in Professional Services. Sara has an excellent reputation as a thought-leader and is an active and engaging member of the social media community; you can connect with her on Twitter (her handle is @SaraJDux).
All the illustrations and music in this post were selected by Sara herself.
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#MyStory – the sequel
If last year’s blog was about putting myself out there, this
year is about how I lost myself out there.
When I wrote my Advent Blog this time last year (http://kategl.blogspot.com/2018/01/mystory-day-37.html)
the response I received was completely
unprecedented. I was incredibly humbled by words of respect, admiration, love
and the “we knew you were mad, and we love you anyway”. I was in fact quite
speechless (which for those who know me, you will know the world must have been
considerably quieter for a moment!). The whole experience at the time, felt
like the ultimate high five!
Martin Luke Brown - Opalite
When I reflect on the year that has passed since, I can see
that there have been unexpected consequences, which have caused me heartache
Having a public support network meant that what I used to
keep private, I now get support from my work colleagues and my friends – I have
help. I bet you’re thinking how can this be a bad thing Sara? But all my coping
strategies involved up until then… me. To now have people caring and wanting to
share the burden was and is strangely difficult. I find it hard not to withdraw.
My self-confidence took a serious battering – I felt afraid
and doubted myself. I still do on an hourly/daily basis. By being so honest to
myself, I think I have made myself vulnerable and my imposter syndrome just
LOVES that. I’m still learning how to channel that negative drain into positive
energy.
My worst fear did come true – some people did and do judge me.
Some do view my behaviour without understanding where it might be coming from.
I think if they could spend some time inside my head, they might be kinder?
I’m overdoing it – my off-switch has completely left the
building. You know you need to look at your wellbeing when you are conducting a
three-week sleep study on yourself to determine if you are getting enough sleep!
Maybe I think I need to prove myself more? (see previous two points)
Linkin Park & Kiiara – Heavy
I remember disagreeing with quite a few people last year who
described me as brave. I feel more like this year I have needed to be brave,
and I think I will need to continue to be brave to begin/carry on making good
choices in this brave new Dux world.
The
Wombats – Lemon to a Knife Fight
I can only do my best and I think I need to learn that my
best is good enough. Hope is seeing photos of me like the below (thank you
Kelly Swingler!) where I see captured, just for a moment, a glimpse of that
girl who still gets so much joy from a wonky life (especially if it involves
tacos!).
So, if you are someone who doesn’t struggle with your mental
health, use your powers for good.
To quote this awesome girl I know: “My biggest hope is that
by sharing my story, you who are sitting there battling on both sides, or you
managing someone with mental health struggles. Look at me and see you CAN be
the best version of you, be DAMN good at what you do, and be a bit bat-shit
crazy” Here’s to hope…
Curtis Walsh – Full Recovery
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