Moving to a new country is a big step in everyone’s life and a memorable experience and golden opportunity to discover yourself and expand your horizon. Getting adjusted to the new norm and country routine can be exciting but intimidating at the same time. It’s important to understand people you come to and break into the local community. You might face countless barriers, but mixing outside with the local society, it’s a crucial part in adjusting to a new environment.  A good start point is to examine the history of the country and their impact on the nation.

I’ve been living in Ireland for the last 15 years. Still, I constantly learn something new about the country surviving Viking Invasion, the Great Famine, Easter Rising and War of Independence.

The Story of Ireland Documentary explains Ireland’s history and its cultural, social and economic evolution.

Inspiring reflection on the history of Celtic Tiger.

Why should you read it?

We all face problems, either in our professional or personal life.  When problems come, we tend to overthink and fear them. Fear blocks us to take essential actions to overcome and solve them.  But what if we change problems into challenges and shift our negative mindset into motivation, and create a plan with the actions and desire to improve ourselves and our life?

What is the book about?

I’ve always been a big fan of Wladimir Klitschko. A couple of years ago I was able to attend his speech during a Web Summit in Lisbon where he spoke about his personal philosophy and the preparation to take the next step in his career, after being active sportsman (but I will write a separate article about it).

Challenge Management shows the way how to overcome the challenges (that’s how Klitschko calls problems in his book) in a constantly changing world. Using his own experience as a professional athlete, Klitschko provides a framework which lets you build a successful action plan to overcome those challenges. The framework is easily transferable into business or personal life.

During his journey as an athlete, he developed the philosophy himself, showing 5 steps of success:

1. State your goal clearly.
2. Be aware of the consequences.
3. See yourself at the goal.
4. Find companions.
5. Become obsessed with your goal.

This book is an inspirational guide how to change problems into challenges, with a list of the recommendations of action plan to build your positive attitude and motivation to overcome them, by recognising opportunities where others see problems.

Last week we were celebrating Mental Health Awareness Week. Not that many of us know that from Friday 9^th of October to Thursday, October 15^th runs Baby Loss Awareness Week in the UK to show support, raise awareness and recognize on such an important subject that many people have no idea how to act with when they hear about it. Each day focuses on a different topic and on Monday 12th there was an emphasis on bereavement in the workplace after a baby loss.

Did you know that baby or pregnancy loss is NOT a rare experience?

Baby loss affects 1 in 4 women in the UK through the miscarriage, stillbirth, or very early death of a newborn. Miscarriage occurs in around 25 % of the pregnancies, where 1% of women experience recurrent miscarriages. When you look at the number, you can see how common that is, and yet still feels like a taboo topic in general. Losing a baby is associated with the women’s physical pain, where depending on the medical procedure might last up to a couple of weeks.  But according to the research, pregnancy loss is also linked to post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and sleeping disorders, an extended state called “complicated grief”, affecting both mother and father. It is important to note that return to work following the loss of the child or pregnancy is extremely difficult and heavy for parents, especially if it is poorly managed.

The impact of pregnancy loss and returning to work. 

Grief is often associated with crying in the corner, but we have to be aware that, in reality, it is a very individual thing about how grief is expressed. Energy and effort to engage at work during the grieving process is difficult. People who come back to work after such an experience might be different, and their perspective on life may have changed too. Returning to work is extremely difficult for grieving parents, as they have to not only cope with their own feelings but also with other people feeling awkward with them. Support from others is one of the crucial things in this process, and it impacts their experience directly. We don’t talk enough about pregnancy loss in society, and we don’t know what to say or how to react to it.  As a result, bereaving parents may feel isolated and alone.

There is a huge misconception that people should manage bereavement themselves.  No reaction is the worst thing that can happen, so is the lack of acknowledgment. Be mindful. Think about the language on how to handle the conversation as words in the conversation are most important. Silence doesn’t really help. Never assume that they are fine, and they move on. There is no getting over; people who lost the baby will always feel that emotion. Simple kindness can do a lot, and reassurance that they are not alone can make a big difference.

Break the silence- raise awareness!

There are plenty of organizations (list below) helping raise awareness and break the silence around pregnancy and baby loss, providing help for parents but also offering training for employees and managers to understand the journey of bereaving colleagues. Building knowledge can help you to get the confidence to best support your colleagues at work, going through such a difficult experience.

sands.org.uk

heldinourhearts.org.uk

babyloss-awerness.org

Irish Miscarriage Association 

Why should you read it?

If you are worried about too many things in your life, this is definitely a book for you.

I came across Mark Mansons’s blog almost 2 years ago, and I must admit- it helped me a lot to change my approach to how I live my life. Why? It was a wake-up call to realise that I  worry about too many things in my life. There is a certain level of energy each of us has. Make sure that you utilise it wisely and spend on things that are important in your life so you can live an enjoyable and meaningful life.

What is the book about?

It’s a self-help guide based on both academic research and authors personal experience, showing his shadows and struggles with finding happiness, mixed with joyful stories and silly jokes. It gives advice which aims to help you to focus on the most important aspects of your life. Mark Manson, the author and well-known blogger, argues that in reality, it isn’t really practical or helpful to be “always positive”. Most of us struggle in our daily lives by carrying for too many things where care don’t deserve to be given. The author recommends that you have to figure out what really matters in your life and develop the ability to control and manage it while accepting your own limitations. Sounds easy, but in reality, it’s not!