Author Archives: charlottesheridan

Collaboration is an odd word, meaning both traitorous co-operation with an enemy and working together to create something better. It comes from the Latin collaborare (col means together and laborare means to labour). Over the ages we’ve been encouraged to labour together for the benefit of society: “It is the long history of humankind…that those who learned to collaborate andContinue reading “Collaboration: how labouring together gets you further”

I was 21 when I took a careers test. I didn’t do particularly well on the mechanical stuff or the diagrams. And don’t get me started on the numbers questions. The careers consultants did their bit, marked it up, and sent me back their report. In capital letters, they wrote the words: “Don’t go intoContinue reading “Where did it all go wrong? It’s probably simpler than you think.”

What if we could go back in time? I’ve found a way. I’m interviewing 100 people going through career and life changes and I ask them what wisdom they would share with their younger selves. Here are some of their pearls: “Be brave.” “Why wait? Why not start now? You don’t need permission.” “Worry less about whatContinue reading “If you could turn back time, would you be more brave?”

We are more and we are less. This is the strange conundrum of our lives today. We are more isolated than ever before. Nearly half of the planet is in lockdown and freedom of movement is severely restricted. The things we took for granted have been taken away. We know it’s for our own goodContinue reading “Small acts of kindness that can change the world”

It is slowly dawning on us all that this is not going to be a sprint. We are beginning to understand that we’ll be living with this virus (and our radically different lives) for some considerable time. I’m not surprised it’s taking us a while to adjust. It’s only three months since the first casesContinue reading “How to pace yourself during the Coronavirus lockdown”

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, itContinue reading “The best of times, the worst of times: how good can possibly come of Covid-19 (eventually)”

“What we try to do in the face of very difficult conversations is we try to make things better…What makes something better is connection.” Brené Brown (professor and writer on courage and authenticity). It’s mid-March 2020 and we’re in the midst of a global pandemic. We’re all hunkering down, fearful of the future. Worried aboutContinue reading “Listen up, here’s a way to help others through the Coronavirus crisis”

Thank you David, or interviewee 62 (if I refer to my list). Oh yes, I have a spreadsheet. I was listening back to a recording I made last week (I have these too) and was taken by something David said. We were talking about difficult times. Me: “What helps you get through them?” David: “AcceptingContinue reading “Which time would you prefer: “kairos” or “chronos”?”

Edith Piaf once sang “Non, je ne regrette riens,” but in my Spoon by Spoon conversations I’m finding we all regret a bit. I ask my interviewees, “If you could have your time over again, what would you do differently?” At least half launch into a list of things they would change: different choices, different actions,Continue reading “Regrets? We have a few, so make them count”

Human beings are poorly named. We are more comfortable “doing” than “being”. We rush from place to place, rarely stopping to smell the roses. When we ask each other “how are you?” we love to say, “oh you know, just really busy.” American author Annie Dillard once said, “How we spend our days, is ofContinue reading “Spoon by Spoon: why we must feed ourselves with wisdom”