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Motivation & time management
“Too much too soon makes it obvious you don't know what you're doing.” - Taylor Jenkins Reid
Alice in Wonderland
...when suddenly a white rabbit appears and says “Oh dear! I shall be late!” For a moment, the rabbit doesn’t strike Alice as odd at all, until she realizes that she has never seen a rabbit in a waistcoat or with a pocket-watch before. Instinctively, she follows him across a field and, before she has a chance to think, down a rabbit hole...
Reflecting on Life's Journey: Are You the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland?
Do you ever feel like the White Rabbit, rushing around in a hurry and feeling empty inside? Where are you heading to? Have you noticed if you've missed out on certain moments and people along the way?
Behavioral Activation, a popular technique in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (in fact the first line of treatment for low mood), forms the foundation of this course. It emphasizes the relationship between our actions and moods, and how we can use our behavior to enhance our quality of life. Contrary to common belief, the approach doesn't focus on waiting for a boost in energy or positive thoughts before engaging in activities. Rather, it follows the principle of "motivation comes after action," where we change our behavior to increase energy, motivation, and positive feelings.
While some individuals may feel low due to a lack of motivation, others may experience the same symptoms despite being incredibly active. This often happens when we take on responsibilities or activities that don't bring us pleasure or fulfillment. It's essential to avoid overworking ourselves and neglecting our needs and feelings, even if we're fulfilling our home responsibilities and taking care of our family. Dedicate time to activities that align with your values and bring you joy. You can’t help others if your own energy and emotions are depleted. Put on your own oxygen mask before helping others, and you'll be in a much better position to support family, friends, colleagues, and employees.
In this course, we invite you to examine your daily routine and find a healthy pace in life. We'll help you identify the areas of your life that matter most and plan activities that align with your values. Accomplishing activities that align with our values often leads to positive and enjoyable experiences, which can help improve our mood and outlook on life.
Finally, we'll address the common obstacles that prevent us from following through with our schedules: neglecting our limitations, procrastination and distraction. We'll explore how our brain functions in these scenarios and offer techniques and tools to overcome them.
It's important to remember that our mood is not solely determined by external circumstances. While it's true that events in our lives can impact our emotions, we also have the power to influence our mood through our actions. By taking a proactive approach and finding balance in your daily activities, you can cultivate a more fulfilling and satisfying life.
Course Tutor
Renee is a registered nurse in Hong Kong, and a Qualified Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner who delivers Low-intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (LICBT)- based intervention to clients with mild to moderate anxiety and depression in public and private sectors. She has undergone additional training to effectively support clients with insomnia, obsessive compulsive disorder, health anxiety, and long-term conditions, and working with interpreters. She is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English.
She worked as an Assistant Teacher for the Science of Happiness credit-bearing module at the University of Bristol. She facilitated the learning and development of first-year undergraduate students in weekly happiness hubs, supporting them to build evidence-based wellbeing habits into their lives with findings from Positive and Cognitive Psychology.
Renee is pursuing a Ph.D. in Health Psychology, which helps her shape the resources and services at Person Centre with an additional emphasis on the relationship between mental and physical health, as well as general wellness.
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What are the limits of the Person Centre?There is no magical bullet. We don’t have the answers of what to do with your life and we cannot do the work for you. Our work is a collaborative and active process based on the guided self-help model. We can guide you to get deeper insights into your situation based on psychological science, and, together, we identify strategies and tools that can help. It does require you going away and putting them into practice to make a real change. We are a confidential service with the exceptions if there are concerns about your safety, or the safety of others. We are not a crisis service. Please contact these services if you need immediate mental health support. We are not able to offer you a formal mental health diagnosis. We are not trained to support you to manage certain mental health conditions. If we cannot offer support, we will try our best to signpost you to other services that better suit your needs. We cannot offer support while you are receiving other therapies. We have zero tolerance for aggressive, violent or abusive behaviour.
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Do you offer any low-priced option?We would never want money to restrict you from accessing support for your mental wellbeing. Please get in touch if you need to discuss a payment plan or a reduced fee option. We dedicate 5% of our profit to offer low-cost support individuals with financial difficulties. Families and friends can purchase gift vouchers to support your loved ones to access our service. You will only be charged if the voucher is used.
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Who will offer me the support?Renee is a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner who delivers Low-intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (LICBT)- based intervention to clients with mild to moderate anxiety and depression in public and private sectors. She has undergone additional training to effectively support clients with insomnia, obsessive compulsive disorder, health anxiety, and long-term conditions, and working with interpreters. She is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English.
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What equipment do I need to access the services at the Person Centre?We offer support through online platforms. You will need the Internet and a device such as a computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone.
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How is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy different from Counselling?Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy that helps you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave. CBT does not remove your problems, but helps you manage them in a more effective way. It encourages you to examine how your actions and thoughts can affect how you feel. CBT is an active therapy and you will be expected to work on your problems between sessions, trying out different ways of thinking and acting, as agreed with your therapist. The aim is for you to develop the skills to become your own therapist. CBT is usually a short-term treatment. For example, a traditional course of CBT may consist of between 6-12 sessions. CBT differs from other types of psychotherapies because it is: pragmatic – it helps identify specific problems and tries to solve them highly structured – rather than talking freely about your life, you and your therapist will discuss specific problems and set goals for you to achieve focused on current problems – it is mainly concerned with how you think and act now rather than attempting to resolve past issues collaborative – your therapist will not tell you what to do; they will work with you to find solutions to your current difficulties Counselling is another type of talking therapy that allows a person to talk about their problems and feelings in a confidential environment. It helps individuals who want to understand issues causing their distress. It can provide a safe and regular space for you to talk and explore difficult feelings. This approach encourages reflection and exploration of underlying conflicts, as well as providing a listening, supportive and containing experience. Counselling can help you to: cope with a bereavement or relationship breakdown cope with redundancy or work-related stress explore issues such as sexual identity deal with issues that are preventing you from achieving your ambitions deal with feelings of depression or sadness, and have a more positive outlook on life understand yourself and your problems better feel more confident develop a better understanding of other people's points of view