I was recently asked to write a piece for an accountancy magazine on ’stress management’. The term ’stress management’ is upsetting to me in the first place - suggesting that the objective is to manage the stress you have rather than find ways you eliminate it - as if you have no choice but to be stressed.

I was asked to respond to the following five questions:

What are the most common causes/symptoms of stress in offices?
What are the Special challenges that stress poses for young, ambitious high-fliers?
What are the best ways to prevent and/or combat stress (and why) - and the worst?
Our readers are accountants - who may be regarded as more immune from stress than those in other occupations - is that nonsense and why/why not?
How should employers help their workforce de-stress? What benefits do enlightened employers provide that contribute to successful stress management?

If you want to read my rant… (more…)

As you may or may not know we are running our next Certified NLP Practitioner course in June. “But you have a nice calendar on your website with these dates already so why is this Noggin News now?” you might be asking yourself.

Well, in March Daryll has successfully completed his New Code Trainers Training with John Grinder and Carmen Bostic-St Claire (congratulations!) and has come back full of enthousiasm about sharing some of the latest New Code developments with you on this course.

Interesting to you? Contact me to find out more!

About ten years ago I worked in a bar/restaurant during my weekends and holidays. I guess you can describe it as a bit posh with its marble floor, black leather seats and impressive half-round, wooden bar. The main reason for me to be there (besides the pocket money) was to learn, it was during my time at Hotelschool.

This was a busy business and some days of the week there were a lot more people having their drinks at the bar than at others. After a while it occurred to me that this was always with the same guy behind the bar so of course I wanted to find out what it is that he does! “What is going on here?” One evening we were having some drinks after we finished and I asked him for his trick. He started laughing and gave me a one-liner that has stuck with me to this day. (more…)

I was listening to an interview with David Walliams of Little Britain on the radio the other day. He was talking about his swim to Africa through the Strait of Gibraltar with James Cracknell for Sport Relief.

Listening to him reminded me of the classic sketch of Vicky Pollard being questioned by her school teacher about her homework. Her infamous “No But Yeah But” response occupied my mind whilst I was driving, and I began to ponder on why it was such an memorable selection of words. (more…)

Last night I was sitting at home clicking through Stumble, one of my favorite websites, when a page was served to me about gut feelings.

A team at the University of Leeds have done research into these feelings. The research shows that on a subconscious level our brain provides us with information, in the form of gut feelings and intuition, based on our previous experiences and what is happening around us. (more…)

It was one of those typical moments for this season; cold, windy, bit of drizzle in your face, I’m sure you know how it feels. I think it was Friday, some of my friends came around my place for a few drinks before going out.

After a while the conversation drifted from the usual small-talk catching up to something I find intriguing since I started working at noggin. Do you ever not see something that is right in front of you? Or drive somewhere without really knowing what happened along the way? Maybe you’ve seen some of the very many optical illusions (like on this website from the University of York)?
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Today another group has successfully completed their 8-day Certified NLP Practitioner for Business course with noggin!!!

We will post some of this group’s testimonals here as they come in (let’s give them some time to enjoy their new skills in real life!). If you would like to know how delegates from previous courses feel about their course please have a look here.

Our next NLP Practitioner course is running in June and there is still a space available for you.

Intrested? Have a look at our NLP Practitioner course offering or contact us direct.

That’s what you would think before having had the conversation I had a little while ago.

I was in one of the coffee shops in Reading enjoying a nice, hot cappuccino with a few friends. Just a general catch-up, we hadn’t seen each other for some time and after going through the usual small talk one of them made a remark that stuck with me…. (more…)

So we think we are pretty clever these days having so many ways to study and publish research about the brain. We have come a long way. We even have “Brain Awareness Week”

If you get the chance to see the Tutankhamun exhibition at the O2 you might be amazed by how advanced a civilisation could be 4000 years ago.

They also had an interesting take on the usefulness of the brain - given they didn’t have the technology to know what it’s role might be. Suffice to say they didn’t include it on the list of vital things to bury with the Pharoah for use in the afterlife.

Pretty stupid these Ancient Egyptians eh? Or were they? (more…)

This week sees the start of Brain Awareness Week. BAW is a series of events held around the world to increase public awareness about the brain.

With this in mind, we thought we would keep ourselves (and you) up to date with all the latest neuroscience research. Here is a list of brain questions to get you started, with links to the research for answers.

1. What mechanism in the brain tells us to drink something after eating a salty snack? Answers

2. What forbidden activity in public places has been found to combat the effects of schizophrenia? Answers

3. What recently discovered hormone decreases our desire to eat and could lead to targeted treatment to help people control their weight? Answers

4. What areas of the brain are flooded with dopamine (the pleasure chemical) when we anticipate financial gains? And what other physical activities are associated with the same chemical? Answers

5. What can have as big an effect on driving performance as drinking? Answers

For more fascinating research on the brain look out for an event near you by checking Brain Awareness Week and reading more on The Dana Foundation.