How often do you look at a text as it pings in and wrinkle your forehead in disbelief? Our reactions to others’ choice of words can be strong and as those words encroach upon our private life, it all seems quite public without us realising. How did we get to this place where quotes online encourage us to ‘think before you text’ or ‘open your mind before your mouth’?
Voltaire is quoted as saying ‘everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said’. A reminder that we have a choice about how we say things and what we say. Bringing in the human element to your communications, remembering the person you are speaking with is essential; can you imagine the person who is going to be reading what you write, for example?
To help you could ask yourself these 5 questions, one for each of the letters of THINK: is it true?; is it helpful?; is it inspiring?; is it necessary?; is it kind?
So much of our communication now is instant and includes social media groups and apps, mobile phones, emails, text messages. Looking after each other and living by our Girlguiding values is now more than ever, important. Have you come across the term ‘digital etiquette’? It’s all about conduct in a digital world, making sure you don’t type in anger, pausing before you press ‘send’, and thinking about how it will land with the other person. Manners of respect for the modern era.
What about this book from Lauren Hug with her emphasis on kindness:
https://laurenhug.com/product/digital-kindness-being-human-in-a-hyper-connected-world/
With Self Care Week coming up in November being kind to yourself automatically extends to kindness towards others. One of the ways to do this could be to know when to turn off the phone or laptop and give yourself space, to reflect. That reflection might include how your tone of voice has an impact and how you might bring it more in line with the Girlguiding values of being caring, inclusive, and inspiring.
From what we hear from the girls we look after in Girlguiding mean comments and harassment are one of the real negatives of the online and digital world they are growing up in. Let’s also be the fun, empowering, and challenging part of their lives as we model ways to communicate in a connecting, healthy way. Here’s the link to our 2022 Girls’ Attitude Survey:
https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/girls-making-change/girls-attitudes-survey/
Lots to keep us engaged until next month. See you then for our end-of-year connections blog!
With the new term underway, units back up and getting into the swing with new faces brightening the line up, and potential volunteers coming through the door in the form of parents, we know it’s autumn. October is likely to bring changes, not least of all, a drop in temperatures. A change in season can remind us of the seasons of our lives that inevitably change and there will be a percentage of you who will be in perimenopause or menopause.
October is World Menopause Month with October 18 being World Menopause Awareness Day. What might you do to make a positive impact on those around you with menopause in mind? Do you know anyone who is struggling with symptoms? We certainly need to bring this topic into our daily communications as it affects so many of us. You might experience any number of unwanted symptoms; sleeplessness, flushes, anxiety, joint pain, or loss of confidence.
Sharing resources with friends might be one way to make an impact. And remember it’s not all doom and gloom, we’ve gone beyond the days of a ‘shut up and just get on with it’ attitude. You may find that your perspectives on life change as you go through menopause yourself; how you view your body, what your life goals might be, what your priorities are or might be going forward.
Getting a balance in your life could be key, with a promise to put some more good habits in place to navigate the menopause and put us in a good position health wise for the rest of our lives. We know that addressing the bad habit of unhealthy eating can have a transformative impact on how we feel about ourselves and making sure we keep our sense of humour about it all is crucial. This book came out in 2020, ‘Still Hot!’ by Kaye Adams and Vicky Allan: https://www.waterstones.com/book/still-hot/kaye-adams/vicky-allan/9781785303371 Some solidarity from lots of names we know.
If you know of anyone who might be interested in finding out more about menopause this site offers some resources in the form of podcasts: https://www.nhmenopausesociety.org/resources/ and this one is more geared towards workplaces with a variety of useful resources like apps, posters and booklets and you may find something to download that would suit your volunteering locations locally https://www.balance-menopause.com/balance-for-the-workplace/
Wishing you a healthy October with plenty of interesting communication in your work life, your guiding life and your personal time. Here’s to a menopause confident month! See you in November.
September already! Doesn’t the summer fly by when we are outdoors and taking holidays? This time of year brings us back to getting back into our volunteering as the new term for schools is due to start soon. Some of you will know exactly what your plans look like, while others might want a visual support for getting organised; remember you can always ask for help. We’re here at the region office if your local help is not immediately available: get through to us in the contact area here: https://www.girlguiding-anglia.org.uk/contact-us
Here’s a great little reminder page from our national website:
So did you enjoy your ‘no-plans’ days and can you approach your ‘new plans’ days in a relaxed way? Did you consolidate any friendships over the holidays? There’ll be plenty of opportunities for thoughtfulness, sharing your skills and knowledge with newer members and creating connections for new friendships. Could you include a walk with the catch-up meeting locally? It would be like a ‘wellbeing walk’ and a way to check out where your fellow member is at and what areas you can work on together. Being allies and helping each other out.
If we’re online with fellow members being kind and supportive and sharing positive comments is always preferable, getting a harmonious start to the month when it can be quite hectic with new girls starting and older girls moving up.
You may also want to take care of the parents and carers of your girls and fortunately, there’s some guidance from Girlguiding which you can find here, in short list form:
And finally, not forgetting ourselves and self-care in all this, take some inspiration from the Self Care Forum here https://www.selfcareforum.org/ and a chance to celebrate with
EveryWoman Day on 3 September, see their website here: https://everywomanday.com/
Wishing you all a healthy if busy September and here’s till next month.
A change of pace for the month, time to take stock and get your ducks in a row for the autumn, or just a space for doing less, taking a break, getting to camp and enjoying the outdoors.
Girlguiding has introduced an item in their volunteer newsletter celebrating International Day of Friendship which falls this year on 30 July; see the UN site for more information https://www.un.org/en/observances/friendship-day
On that page you can explore Fuzzy friends, Brownie town, My support chain and Allies unite!
The areas of focus chosen are empathy, diversity and allyship. Do you know if empathy is one of your strengths? How would you develop more empathy if you felt it was lacking? It is something we can develop. Showing an interest in those around you without leaving yourself out would be a start. Self-empathy is essential, being kind to yourself and doing something you love doing and planning it in for this month. You might like to include a space for rejuvenation if you are feeling exhausted, for those hobbies or interests that matter to you. A re-charge month.
There’s some interesting and useful worksheets on this site: https://positivepsychology.com/empathy-worksheets/
Diversity has been on our minds recently and a Pride celebration is coming up soon in our county here at region office. We are feeling the excitement of preparing for a successful, fun and inclusive participation. What do you think about when you hear the word ‘diversity’? Check out the inspiring background to how the national diversity and inclusion, and programme teams created the Know Myself materials;
And this blog about diversity and the walking scheme:
Hoping you can relax this month, find an ally, get some walking in and reflect on your wonderful abilities and traits. Until the next time!