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344 days ago

Life Coaching and Mindfulness - A trendy fad?

Steve Brown from Hibiscus Life Coaching

People often come to life coaching wanting help to change. For example, to change habits they have or the way they usually tend to respond in particular situations. These changes are often hard to make because most of us operate on ‘autopilot’ or ‘muscle memory’. We respond without conscious thinking, to situations as they come up. We have habitual responses that are often quite deeply ingrained.

Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company famously said that if we always do what we’ve always done, we’ll always get what we’ve always got. To change we must turn off the autopilot and respond consciously or ‘mindfully’ to each particular situation rather than just ‘doing what we have always done’.

To ‘turn off the autopilot’ we must be able to recognise or notice the point where we would usually react automatically, so we can consciously modify our response in a way that will better move us towards our chosen goals. Mindfulness helps us ‘notice the gap’ that very brief interval just before making a habitual response where we can consciously choose a more positive response.

Following extensive research, mindfulness training has now been widely adopted in both coaching and counselling because it helps us be more aware of our thoughts and feelings, and therefore recognise when opportunities to make conscious change arise.
In a simple form of mindfulness, our coaching client sits quietly, often focusing on their breathing. They practice daily or weekly simply noticing their thoughts and feelings, not engaging with them or judging them.
If you would like to develop more mindfulness, here is a simple practice to start.
• Find a quiet space and sit comfortably.
• Close your eyes or soften your gaze.
• Focus on your breath, feeling the rise and fall of your chest or abdomen.
• When your mind wanders gently notice your thought and guide your attention back to your breath.
• Practice for just a few minutes each day, gradually increasing the duration as you become more comfortable.

Contact Steve to book a FREE initial coaching session 021 264 2506

More messages from your neighbours
3 minutes ago

Chicken nuggets recall

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

A popular Pam's frozen food has been recalled.

What you need to know:
- Pams brand Tempura Coated Chicken Nuggets (1kg) have been recalled by Foodstuffs.
- The product may contain foreign matter (blue rubber).
- This product is sold at Four Square, Gilmours, New World, Pak’nSave and Social Supermarket stores throughout New Zealand.
- The affected batch has the marking of Best Before: 16 Oct 2025
- Customers should return the product to their retailer for a full refund.

For other recent food/product recalls, check our list here.

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1 day ago

🧩 Crack the Code: Today’s Riddle Challenge! 🤔

Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

I’m a three-digit number; my tens digit is five more than my ones, and my hundreds digit is eight less than my tens—what am I?

Do you think you know the answer to our riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm.

Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.

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4 hours ago

Dementia Friendly Living at Ryman

William Sanders Retirement Village

All of Ryman’s New Zealand villages have gained a Dementia Friendly Accreditation as recognised by Alzheimers New Zealand.

This reflects our commitment to creating safe, supportive communities to improve the experiences of residents living with dementia.

Our purpose-built care centres and personalised support ensure residents feel comfortable and secure while maintaining their independence.

We offer specialist dementia care at William Sanders Village in Devonport.

Click the read more below to learn more about our dementia friendly approach.

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