Blog

St. Patrick's Day in the Yellow House

Published on March 23, 2017

Once again, on 17th March we celebrated St. Patrick's Day together with friends and neighbours of the Yellow house.

In the morning, everything was set up: the Yellow house was decorated in green, the smell of Irish stew and scones filled the rooms, the dart board hung on the wall and the Dubliners played in the background. A friend of ours made a delicious cake in the Irish national colours and we welcomed everybody with Irish Coffee and – for those who preferred this – later on with a cold Guinness.

The main event was the two airplanes that cruised above us and painted a shamrock in the sky.

The sun shone and we spent the whole day sitting on the terrace. You could feel the Irish spirit in the entire house.

We are grateful for the people that are around us and that make our days and lives so rich.

We would like to wish everybody, also those who could not be with us, a Happy St. Patrick's Day. May good luck always be near you, may good friends always be there for you, may every day that comes bring you a special happiness that brightens up your day.

Your Yellow House team

Getting rid of ballast for a fulfilling life

Published on March 14, 2017

One of my clients told me about a book she liked very much. Basically, the book was meant as a guide for tidying up, in which the author describes how she picks up every single object in a room and then decides whether or not this object makes her still feel happy. For example, this could be a present which she actually never really liked, but kept because she liked the person and appreciated the gesture behind the present. After reading the book, she was able to throw away the present, while keeping the associated emotions in her heart.

To what other parts of our lives can we transfer this idea?

  • Experiences from the past, which weigh us down, can be looked at, learned from and then discarded as unnecessary ballast.
  • We can stop worrying about the future and, here and now, start to shape the future of which we dream.
  • We can begin to question beliefs that that we learned when we were young, such as „Never trust a stranger“ or „Don’t blow your own horn “, and replace them with values and rules that strengthen and support our current life and situation.
  • Also look at how often we spend our time with people who hold us back, instead of associating with those who really do us good?

What ballast are you carrying that you need to get rid of in order to make “room” for a fulfilling life?

I, for my part, also tidy up my life regularly and ask myself the following questions:

  • Who am I today? What motivates me and what are my central needs?
  • With what do I want to fill my life? What makes me happy?
  • What is holding me back from leading such a life?
  • What do I need in order to shape such a life?
  • What resources do I have and what do I want to learn for this?
  • Who or what can support me?

I wish you a lot of fun tidying up and shaping your life so that it meets your personal needs and wishes.

Renate Pasch-Donohoe

New Year's Resolutions

Published on February 1, 2017

A new year always offers us the opportunity to reposition ourselves, e.g. by deciding to do new things that can strengthen and develop us. However, instead of stuffing our days with even more actions and resolutions, I would suggest taking one hour to reflect on how a perfect life could look for us.

Let me share with you an experience that I had last week, while I was planning to refurnish one of our rooms. Together with an interior designer, a friend of ours, I created a room in my imagination where I could already see my husband and myself sitting and enjoying the atmosphere. With these impressions in my mind I planned how to implement our ideas, step by step.

Without this vision I am sure I would have bought or found a lot of nice objects and furnished and decorated the room. In the end, the room would be finished but the result would not have completely met our needs or expectations.

A vision gives us the orientation and energy necessary to take the right steps sustainably, instead of losing ourselves in hastily and – in most cases – unsustainable actionism.

Every now and then, take one hour to reflect on how your life could look in an ideal future. It's worth it because only you are the only person who can shape your life so that it fulfils you!

  • What shape should your life have, so that it meets your expectations, motivations and needs?
  • How would such a life feel?
  • How would you be different and what effect would that have on your environment?
  • What is leading you towards or away from this vision?

I wish you a fulfilling 2017 with enough room to follow your dreams.

Renate Pasch-Donohoe

The Sleeping Beauty Syndrome

Published on August 30, 2016

Over the last couple of years some of my clients told me about their unmet expectations, i.e. their managers failed to actively reward their proven competences by promoting them.

Sometimes the reason for this is that an employee's excellent performance in his/her current position is a good reason for the manager to keep him/her there: "Never change a winning team!" And sometimes the manager assumes that the employee is very happy in his/her current position and that he/she does not want a change.

When an expected promotion doesn't come, employees often become frustrated, which results in a negative, grumpy behaviour that gets on everybody's nerves, isolates the person concerned and might even lead to the conclusion that the employee is actually not suitable for higher tasks.

Unlike the Sleeping Beauty, don't wait for someone to come along and awaken you with a kiss. Blow your own horn and market yourself instead of waiting for your manager to recognise your competences and ambitions.

The first step is to think about what kind of promotion you actually want and whether you are willing to pay the price for it.

  • Be clear about your strengths and the value-added you could generate for your manager and your company in a higher position.
  • Reflect on what your manager needs in order to promote you.
  • Actively look for opportunities to communicate your competences, goals and intentions and ask for support.

Strategic self-marketing will help you achieve your goals faster than waiting for someone to "discover" you.

Renate Pasch-Donohoe - Das Gelbe Haus

How Full is Your Fuel Tank?

Published on June 15, 2016

You know the situation! You want to work on an important project but just can’t get going. You are motivated, have the necessary competences and enough time… In vain. When our inner fuel tank is low, our inner resources are limited.

We can’t win the race with an empty tank.

I often see that we have a better understanding of our car than of ourselves. We know its power, its energy consumption and when it is necessary to do maintenance or refuel. In most Formula 1 races, success depends on strategically and consciously planned pit stops.

If we transfer this competence to our own lives, we can not only protect our energy levels but also gain more quality of life.

Energy Protection is a central competence, which can stabilise our power and vitality.

Questions that we should ask ourselves:

  • How much fuel do I have and how long will it last?
  • What can I do now to consciously TREAT myself?
  • Can I give what I don’t have?
  • Do I have the option to say “No”, because, right now, I’m simply worn out?
  • Do you talk to yourself like to a good friend – honestly and attentively?

Renate Pasch-Donohoe - Das Gelbe Haus

Aim for Success, not Perfection

Published on May 1, 2016

Creative thoughts and actions cannot flourish in an environment dominated by a fear of failure. Many people consider success and failure opposites. However, they are really just two sides of the same valuable coin. Both sides strengthen us and bring us the insights that we need to develop ourselves and be creative in finding new approaches to old problems. Thomas Edison discovered 1,800 ways how to not build a light bulb. His motto: “Every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward”.

He recognised the value of every single mistake and used it as a stepping stone to a new idea. The world’s greatest achievements would not have been possible without this principle. So, let’s use it!

Renate Pasch-Donohoe - Das Gelbe Haus

 

Can Strengths Turn into Weaknesses?

Published on January 4, 2016

Being uncontrolled is one of the biggest risks for our strengths. This is why we need a complementing characteristic to generate a balance so that our strengths don’t become our weaknesses.

For example:

  • Impatience, coupled with assertiveness, can overemphasise the effect
  • Empathy, coupled with goal-orientation, can lead to inner conflicts
  • Perfectionism, for a pilot, is a must, but for a manager, and his/her team, it can be a burden
  • And humour atthe wrong moment can create more frowns than smiles

Being conscious of our strengths – especially those that can turn into weaknesses – gives us stability and (self-)confidence.

My strengths and those that turn into weaknesses (situation – intensity)

  • Think of challenges that you mastered.
  • What strengths supported you in this situation?

In which situations did the known strengths not lead to the desired effect?

Were you, maybe, too goal-oriented, understanding or analytical?

What complementing strengths can balance imbalances?

Charisma can be perceived as self-importance. Here, down-to-earth modesty, as the complementary strength, can have a helping effect. Goal-orientation can turn into tunnel vision. What strength could help here?

  • What complementary strengths can protect your strengths?

Renate Pasch-Donohoe - Das Gelbe Haus