Hélène Scott Interview

Hélène Scott is a Business & Brand Alignment Coach.

Creator of workshops StoryFlip™ and The StoryBoard Effect™.

 

Briefly describe yourself.

I’m intuitive, an optimist, highly creative and a mom of two.  Quick to laugh, lover of trees, cheese, and clouds of all kinds.

I’m also a business and brand alignment coach for multi-passionate, soulful women who feel things deeply and see things a little differently.  The Dreamers. The Healers. The Creatives. 

 

Do you have a morning routine that sets you up for a calm day?

I wake up at 4.30 am so I can have time alone before a busy morning of getting kids off to school.

I usually start by reading, listening or watching something that sparks a bit of self-inquiry and/or is inspiring.  And then I meditate. The purpose is to start my day grounded, calm and grateful.

Once the kids are out of the house, I go for a walk, which can be another form of mediation for me - like a long shower or swimming laps.

On these walks, I’ll sometimes listen to podcasts, sometimes music, but more often than not I walk in silence. There’s something about the rhythm, the motion, and the fresh air that puts me in my most creative and productive ‘solution finding’ times.

If specific ideas come from that I’ll either quickly record the thought on my iPhone or jot it down when I get home. Walking and pondering and being outside offers a really positive start to my day, and I’m so very grateful I get to do that. 

 

What is the no. 1 thing you find most stressful and what do you do to alleviate it?

Juggling being a mom with running my own business means my day-to-day has me switching gears from work mode to mom mode quite a few times.

Although I have it down to an art/science now, there are times that the transition isn’t so smooth. Like when I’m in a highly productive and creative zone with my work and then my timer goes off, yanking me out of my flow to let me know it’s time to pick up the kids.

Sigh… that can be stressful for sure.  But honestly, the stressful part of that is how I react to it.

By having my morning routine of self-care, self-inquiry, my walk… it sets the tone to start my day in a state of feeling grounded. So when an unexpected ‘thing' takes me out of my zone… my response is less reactive and more going with the flow.

 

Do you follow any systems to stay organised during your day?

I draw a household calendar every month and hang it in the kitchen. Having things visually represented helps me stay organised and lets the family know what's going on as well. 

For business, I have a yearly calendar on my office wall covered with sticky notes.  I don’t write day-to-day tasks on these, more the bigger projects coming down the pike.  This gives me a master-plan visual and also the fluidity to move things around and to see how and when things connect.

I then have a day planner of what I have to do and what's coming up, both on paper and online.  It definitely helps me to have things physically written out in addition to my digital iCal calendar. 

 

When you feel overwhelmed with a task, what do you do to feel calmer and more in control?

The most helpful thing for me to do is step back and define clearly for myself what's really important and to ask myself whether what currently feels overwhelming is something I’m making bigger than it needs to be.

Because oftentimes, I’ll find myself stressing on something that I can’t even influence, or just isn’t as important in the grand scheme of things as I made it out to be. 

The process is akin to taking a huge machete to everything that’s non-essential.  I’ll also look to see if there’s anything else that might be attributing to overwhelm and then ask myself how I can make things easier.

Imagine what your day-to-day would be like if you let go of those things that you make more important than they need to be.

I can say from experience, it’s been a game-changer for me.

 

Do you have any tips to help with procrastination, which often leads to stress?  

First off, if you’re procrastinating on something don’t beat yourself up about it. That will surely lead to stress.

Instead, take a moment to ask yourself why you’re putting this thing off?

At work after asking that question, I might find I was procrastinating on something I ‘thought’ I should do because that’s what ‘most people do’.  But when I stop to really look at it, I realise it’s not what I want to do. So I drop it. Done.

At home, I might procrastinate on household chores and if I stop to ask myself why (rather than beat myself up)… the answer might be that I had one heck of a hard week and I’m tired and I’d rather go do something fun like a bike ride with my kids.

Now those are two ‘light’ examples, but the habit of stopping to ask yourself why you’re procrastinating on something is often an insightful one, which usually leads to a lot less stress.

 

How do you keep a calm mind when you start to feel stressed?

Breath deeply and change the paradigm.

I know myself well. I'm an introvert, highly sensitive and intuitive.

So if, for example, I’m with my kids and whatever is stressing me out is beginning to feel all-consuming, I’ll tell them I’m feeling stressed (or angry if that’s the emotion) and that I need to be alone for a minute.

They know by now what that means (and they take their own time-outs when needed).  I’ll then go into another room, take a few breaths and ground myself. By changing the paradigm of my emotion, it no longer has such a stronghold.

Another example where I might feel stressed is in a crowded situation. As an introvert, that can be really stressful. So I do things beforehand to prepare myself, or I simply don’t put myself in that situation that I know stresses me out.

Part of that is growing older and wiser.  You learn and accept yourself, where you thrive and what takes the lifeblood out of you. At this point, I pretty much refuse to do things that take the lifeblood out of me.  It's just not worth it.  

 

How do you stop yourself from worrying about the future?

I don't find worrying about the future a very productive place to be. Not that I don't go there. I certainly get stressed and worry about the future at times.  But through very purposeful practice, I don't spend time there. I catch myself as quickly as I can and just do and think about something different.

I'm very sensitive to how I feel and the tension that arises when I’m thinking about something I can't do anything about. So I concentrate on what I can do right now and the things that I actually want to happen. 

 

How do you stop yourself from dwelling on negative past events?

That’s where I'm currently in my learning phase.  It ends up being similar to the question around not dwelling on the future, with a key component of a huge amount of self-compassion and forgiveness.

I'm very much an optimist and feel that everyone does the best they can in the situation they're in, based on wherever they’re at.  So I have to allow that same compassion to myself.  

The other thing is that although a negative experience may have been painful, it still allowed you the wisdom and life experience to bring you to where you're at right now.  So it's also gratitude and appreciation for knowing you’ve lived through it, you’re here and you’re OK.

Dwelling on the past really doesn't do you any good.  You can't change it and spending time thinking about it will hold you in place - frozen - not allowing you to get to where you want to go.  

 

What is your favourite distraction from worry?

I love listening to audiobooks for distraction.  Not big thinking, philosophical books, I prefer to read those in paper form.  Rather, fun and easy reads, such as science fiction, fantasy & dystopian tales.

I find that if there’s something I’m stressed about that I can’t actually do anything about right then — that finding a distraction away from that thinking is my best way to get off that path. 

Getting lost in a good story takes me out of that stressed place really quickly.

 

What scenes, sounds, tastes and smell would make up your perfect calm sanctuary?  A place where you could retreat to feel calm - imagined or real?

I love nature such as big trees, open fields, water and big clouds.

The sound of rain is something that’s very soothing, along with running water like a stream or river and the sound of wind through leaves or tall grass.  

I love the fresh smell of walking through a forest after the rain and the scent of jasmine and gardenias. 

So I guess my sanctuary would include all of the above, being out in nature.

 

What’s the no. 1 thing you love to do to de-stress?

Walking and moving through space without having to be responsible for anything.  

If I had easier access to a pool, swimming would be something I'd do as well.

Luckily walking is something I can do every day.  I can walk right out my door.  I just put on my shoes and go.  

In my neighbourhood, there are a lot of trees and beautiful gardens.  It’s also hilly enough to be relatively aerobic. I’ll sometimes walk twice a day, depending on what’s happening.  If I can do that, that is really helpful.  

I also enjoy watching a show with my husband at the end of the day.  Having that time together with a glass of wine or sometimes a scotch is a really nice way to end the day.

 

What would make your life easier?

I would adore it if someone cooked all my meals. I love the subtleties of flavour.  I love the smell of it. 

It’s very comforting when food is cooking and I'm not the one that's doing it.  It’s the anticipation of the nourishment that is coming.  

 

Do you regularly unplug and disconnect?

Not as much as I would like. My business is fully online which makes it difficult to unplug regularly.

I have most notifications turned off on my phone.  Of the notifications I do get, they’re usually silent banners, rather than interrupting dings.

Which means that when I am away from my desk, I am as unplugged as possible. 

I don’t use social media much for myself.  It's more for business, but I’d love to take week-long social media breaks every few months…that would be awesome.  

 

Do you manage to fit exercise into your day?

My daily walk and pilates a few times a week are my main form of exercise.

 

Do you like to keep your home and desk organised?

Well, there are pockets of chaos, certainly.  But for the most part, it's a pretty clean slate.  I feel better when I walk through my living room and through our main areas and things are relatively clear of clutter.  

It’s not spick-and-span at all.  I don't vacuum every day or dust all the time.  But I like to keep clear the main surfaces that are seen and used often.

There’s something about having those pockets of ‘chaos’ within minimal surroundings that I adore, though.

In my office, I have a wall of pictures which looks a bit chaotic, but they all hold meaning to me in one form or another.  And I keep little baubles and meaningful objects on my desk that my family members have given me too. They serve to remind me of people I love and what’s important in my life.

 

How many hours of sleep do you get on average? 

Six or seven hours.  Even If I don't have my alarm clock I still wake up right around 4.30 am, so I'm kind of wired to that timing right now.  But I probably could use more sleep. 

On weekends I usually get a little bit more.  But I love my morning routine so much.  I would not give it up.

 

Do you have a relaxation routine to wind down for bed?

Sometimes I will stretch before getting into bed.  We have a little spot in our bedroom for doing that.  But usually, I'm just tired and quite happy to get straight into my bed.  

 

If you have any essential tools in remaining calm - a technique, app, object, product or service - what are they?

For meditating I use a simple meditation cushion that sits upon a soft wool blanket.

Sometimes I’ll use the Abraham Hicks meditation app (found in iTunes), or other prompts, but usually, I sit in silence.

If you’re not familiar with Abraham-Hicks, the book “Ask and it is Given” was my first introduction.

 

What is your favourite quote?

"It is by going down into the abyss

that we recover the treasures of life.

Where you stumble,

there lies your treasure.

The very cave you are afraid to enter

turns out to be the source of

what you are looking for.

The damned thing in the cave

that was so dreaded

has become the centre."

 ~ Joseph Campbell

 

What is the one book you would recommend to help readers achieve a calmer life? 

One of the biggest books for me was 'The Untethered Soul'.  I recommend getting the book, not the audio due to the narrator.

The Untethered Soul draws a lot from Buddhism but it also provides a distillation of many wisdoms, philosophies and religions. The author has a gift of simplifying complex ideas.  

I can’t tell you how many powerful ahas I had while reading it. It opened my eyes to just how much you can be in your head about things. Highly, highly recommend!

 

If you could give one piece of advice to help anyone feeling stressed with his or her life journey, what would it be?

The journey of the soul - of self-inquiry and learning who you are...

People can achieve inner peace and inner understanding through so many different modalities. 

For some, it might be physical activity, for others religion. Take the time to find what works for you and don’t let anyone’s opinion or whether they agree or not, sway you.

It’s a journey that excites and delights the longer you’re on it, and the most rewarding adventure you’ll ever experience.

For out more about Hélène at https://helenescott.com

 

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