Good Fences Make Good Neighbors?

The Real Secret to Success and Happiness

A Weekly Political News Magazine

Can the U.S. Attain a Satisfactory Deal With North Korea?

Can Spain Find a Path to Political Stability?

Issue 1699 - June 08/06/2018

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors?

The Latest from Brexitland www.majalla.com

A Weekly Political News Magazine

Issue 1699 - June 08/06/2018

Can the U.S. Attain a Satisfactory Deal With North Korea?

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The Real Secret to Success and Happiness

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Christopher Chessun, the Bishop of Southwark talks to Muslim community leaders at the corner of London Bridge on the first anniversary of the London Bridge terror attack on June 3 when three men drove a van into pedestrians on the bridge then descended on the busy Borough Market, killing eight people and injuring 48 others. (Getty)

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A man rides a horse among the red poppies and purplish and yellowish flowers at a field near Ercis road, in Van, Turkey on June 2018 ,04. (Getty Images

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Good Fences Make Good Neighbors?

The Latest from Brexitland

by Ronald J. Granieri*

they promised to have hard borders against people while opening borders to goods, services, and capital.

At the heart of the Brexit debate lies the question of borders.

Advocates of leaving the European Union emphasized the need for Britain to “take control� of its borders, with special attention to reducing the flow of immigrants, while not harming British global trade. Brexiteers claimed that decoupling from the EU would allow Britain to pursue future free trade agreements superior to anything they could get within it. In other words,

Of course, wanting something and getting it are two very different things, especially if getting it depends on complex negotiations with one’s soon-to-be-former partners. The problem for the British government has been multi-faceted. Domestically, the British have struggled to decide among themselves what Brexit actually means. Do they want to maintain some of the connections

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Any Irish border deal that watered down the connection between Northern Ireland and the UK would bring down Theresa May’s government Theresa May sought to provide clarity by announcing that “Brexit means Brexit” and providing a series of programmatic speeches, fissures within the government have remained. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond is suspected by his Tory colleagues of favoring a soft Brexit and of being a stalking horse for Prime Minister May on some kind of secret plot to remain in the EU, while Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, as well as cabinet colleagues David Davis, Liam Fox, and Michael Gove, seconded by popular Euroskeptic tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg argue for a hard Brexit, or no deal at all with the EU, unless Europe acceded to their wishes.

British confusion leads us to consider the other complex side of the equation, the European position. European leaders have made clear that they would prefer that the British reverse their referendum decision. That being extremely unlikely, Europeans have to decide whether to drive an especially hard bargain (thus discouraging future possible “exits” from the Union), which risks damaging Anglo-European relations, or rather to signal maximum accommodation, in the hopes of limiting damage all around.

Two men dressed as customs officers take part in a protest outside Stormont against Brexit and it›s possible effect on the north and south Irish border on March 2017 ,29 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Getty)

with Europe in order to enjoy continued benefits (a “soft Brexit”) or do they want simply to cut off all connections and build their global economic relations anew (a “hard Brexit”)? Do they want a connection to the EU similar to Norway or Switzerland (who make some payments and accept some EU regulations while staying outside of the Union) or do they imagine themselves a completely independent world trading power, striking some kind of independent deal with Europe? During the Brexit referendum campaign in 2016, advocates of leaving the EU were studiously vague on their detailed plans—in large part because they did not have any. Leaving the EU would somehow liberate Britain from the Brussels yoke, provide untold millions for the British treasury, and allow “Global Britain” to reclaim its position as a word power even as Britons were promised that they would lose few if any of the advantages already offered by EU membership.

The details could be worked out later.

Since the British public has voted, however, “later” approaches with increasing and worrying rapidity. Although Prime Minister

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Neither the internal nor the external process is completely independent; they influence each other, and both processes are conducted largely in public, with sometimes unintended consequences. Thus, some British politicians may feel that insisting on a “hard Brexit,” with minimal to no connection to the EU, will force Europe to make concessions, and result in some variant of the Norwegian option, which they secretly prefer.

British truculence could however just as easily lead negotiators in Brussels also to lean toward a hard line, making the hard Brexit a self-fulfilling prophecy. Meanwhile, there is no guarantee that a softer approach from either side will lead to a deal, as softness from one side could just as easily provoke greater demands from the other. Both sides have an interest in driving the hardest possible bargain, even if both also have a strong interest in an ultimate deal that leaves Britain and the EU on reasonably good terms. So, Theresa May’s government and the EU are locked in a game of chicken facing a March 2019 deadline. It’s very unlikely that all issues will be resolved by that date, and both sides already speak of transition periods, but that is yet another potential cause for conflict. A hard deadline would make a hard Brexit more likely.

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Such discussions are theoretical, but they have been complicated of late by some practical concerns, which reveal just how much remains to be resolved in the months ahead.

The most obvious and pressing issue is that of the Irish border, which would be the only land border between the UK and the EU after Brexit. One of the greatest diplomatic accomplishments of the last two decades has been the reduction in tensions along that border. Thanks to the Good Friday agreement of 1998, Northern Ireland has self-rule within the United Kingdom and peace between Catholics and Protestants while also enjoying seamless trade relations with the Irish Republic thanks to their common membership in the EU. A post-Brexit situation in which that border needed to be hardened threatens all of that. Can a border exist that is both hard and permeable? Anything is possible if both sides negotiate in good faith toward common interests, but so far negotiations are stalled. Brexit Secretary David Davis first advocated the application of new technology to allow the smooth movement of goods, but there is little precedent for such a plan, and it is already too late to implement it in time for next year.

Davis’s subsequent suggestion of smoothing over the process by creating a ten-mile buffer zone in Ireland merely extends the problem, and was denounced as “bonkers” by the British Irish Chamber of Commerce.

A hard border in Ireland would not only reverse the trend of greater commerce and movement on the island, it threatens the political settlement at the heart of the Good Friday agreement.

Good options are few, and negative consequences are easy to see.

A hard border poses the stark choice of deepening Irish division after decades of reconciliation; some kind of special status for the island, even if the UK and EU could work out the details, would threaten to divide Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom, placing the hard border somewhere in the Irish Sea. An optimist (especially one living in the Irish Republic) could argue that this would be a step toward Irish reunification, and

Both sides have an interest in driving the hardest possible bargain, even if both also have a strong interest in an ultimate deal that leaves Britain and the EU on reasonably good terms

the ultimate resolution of the Irish Question. But such thoughts are not likely to create much enthusiasm among Protestants in Ulster. This is all that much more complicated because Theresa May’s current governing majority depends upon the votes of the Democratic Unionist Party, a party whose very existence is built on rejecting unification with the south and maintaining Northern Ireland’s connection with the UK. Any Irish border deal that watered down the connection between Northern Ireland and the UK would bring down Theresa May’s government.

The question of the DUP is but one example of the intersection of Brexit and British domestic politics. Although both the ruling Tories and the Labour Party are committed to managing Brexit, May’s government enjoys a very slim majority. Bickering among Tory cabinet members over the proper pace and degree of Brexit makes her government feel shaky. The House of Lords, where the government does not enjoy a majority, added to the constitutional chaos by using its rights as a consultative body to pass fifteen different amendments to the government’s proposed Brexit bill. The Lords’ objections touched on specific concerns such as environmental policy and other regulations, but provoked extreme reactions from pro-Brexit politicians, who charged the aristocrats planned to thwart the will of the people. That the ensuing discussions led former Tory politicians

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The recent Windrush scandal offered a stark example of what could happen to EU nationals in Britain if the government did not develop clear policies for protecting their right to remain nationals in Britain if the government did not develop clear policies for protecting their right to remain. That the Home Office’s proposed “user friendly” app for applications for permanent residence only completely worked on Android phones was another black eye for the process. News reports Lord Nigel Lawson, the chair of Vote Leave and longtime Euroskeptic peer, who lives in France, recently applied for a French residency card, created another public relations problem. Lawson makes no secret of his preference for living in his French chateau, and even less about taking advantage of the clear French requirements for securing residency, essentially preserving for himself a comfortable back door arrangement in Europe even as he preaches the benefits if Brexit for his unfortunate brethren on the other side of the Channel.

Artist Kaya Mar holds his latest painting of Theresa May dressed as a police officer holding a truncheon with ‹Hard Brexit› written on it in front of the Houses of Parliament in London, England.

(Getty)

and newspapers such as the Daily Express to speculate about abolishing the House of Lords is a stark indication of how Brexit continues to roil and divide British conservatives. Labour’s own internal disagreements about Brexit (Leader Jeremy Corbyn, true to his political roots in the leftist politics of the 1970s, is much more hostile to Europe than much of Labour’s urban educated bourgeois clientele) mean that a change of government will not likely reverse the decision to leave, but new elections will only add to the uncertainty surrounding Britain’s negotiating positions and its ultimate fate.

Then there is the ongoing debate over the status of EU citizens living in Britain and British citizens residing on the Continent. Both Prime Minister May and EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier have declared their desire to reach a mutually acceptable agreement, but EU nationals in Britain remain suspicious of the government’s long-term willingness to guarantee their rights. The recent Windrush scandal, in which former citizens of the British West Indian colonies who were brought to the UK in the 1960s to deal with local labor shortages, suddenly discovered that their lack of formal papers meant they were vulnerable to deportation as illegal aliens, cost Home Secretary Amber Rudd her job. More than that, it offered a stark example of what could happen to EU

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Recent moves by the Trump Administration to impose tariffs on European steel and aluminum have a negative impact on British producers, and also raise the question of whether post-Brexit Britain will really be able to strike favorable free trade deals after leading the Bloc. President Trump and his team may be generally favorable to Brexit, but that does not mean that this American administration, which does not shy from punishing even longstanding allies in its pursuit of America first trade policies, will do Britain any favors in the name of the special relationship.

A Britain no longer part of the larger European Union may even have less leverage with the United States than previously.

Any stories written about Brexit must end with the recognition that the future remains open. Although one can regret the British decision to bet the future of their economy and global role on a vaguely worded referendum decided based on misleading premises on a single day in June, there is at present no way politically for the British to disavow their desire to leave the European Union. It is certainly possible (and even more desirable) for that division to be managed smoothly, and for the future borders to encourage good neighborly relations for those on both sides. Many things are possible, but the clock is ticking. * Ronald J. Granieri is Executive Director of FPRI’s Center for the Study of America and the West, editor of FPRI’s The American Review of Books, Blogs, and Bull, and host of Geopolitics with Granieri, a monthly discussion program at FPRI.

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Can the U.S. Attain a Satisfactory Deal With North Korea?

The Gap Between Expectations and Reality

By Joseph Yun Over the past few weeks, the on again-off again U.S.– North Korean summit has drawn a considerable amount of attention to the question of whether the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will even take place. But the danger of focusing on Trump and Kim’s game of hot and cold is

that it is diverting focus from the more fundamental issue at hand: what a minimally successful agreement between Washington and Pyongyang should look like.

Achieving a substantive and mutually satisfactory agreement is a particularly complex challenge, as the two sides are starting from widely disparate positions that at the most obvious level seek sharply different outcomes. As Trump has made clear, success is defined as immediate CVID

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If Kim agrees to a swift timeline say by -2020 - the cadres of skeptics in Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo will be silenced that have emerged between the two sides since the first round of bilateral denuclearization negotiations in the early 1990s.

The stakes have grown far higher since last September, however, when the North Koreans successfully tested a thermonuclear device that yielded a blast approximately 15 times stronger than the bomb that struck Hiroshima in 1945. Two months later, Pyongyang launched its Hwasong15- ICBM, which is capable of reaching virtually any place in the United States. At the same time, Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign has begun to squeeze the North Korean economy more effectively than past sanctions and his warnings of a U.S. military response “like the world has never known” have rattled both China and South Korea to urge Kim to decelerate.

U.S. President Donald Trump, center right, shakes hands with Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of North Korea›s ruling Worker›s Party Central Committee, next to Mike Pompeo, center, on the South Lawn of the White House after a meeting in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, June 2018 ,1.

(complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization), a difficult-to-grasp phrase that would elicit eye rolls from my North Korean counterparts whenever it was mentioned during our encounters. As for Kim, he is focused on the survival of his regime, beginning with the recognition of his country as a legitimate state, followed by an easing of economic sanctions. This mismatch between U.S. and North Korean goals has remained more or less consistent over the decades and has so far stymied all agreements

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As a result, the parties’ divergent goals are now matched by equally differing perceptions of their relative negotiating power. Trump feels that he is the one holding the cards—that Kim has been so punished by the effects of the maximum pressure that he is ready to bargain away his nuclear weapons. Although South Korean President Moon Jae-in is adamant that Kim is serious about denuclearization, it is clear that, as the leader of a demonstrated nuclear weapons possessing state, Kim also believes he will enter the talks from a position of strength.

In Kim’s mind, why else would the U.S. president agree to meet him one on one, a goal that both Kim’s father and grandfather were never able to achieve?

Given this gap, what can be realistically expected from the summit?

Whatever Trump promises, North Korea will not agree to what National Security Adviser John Bolton has in mind: an immediate surrender of all its nuclear arsenal and equipment, in which it will simply pack them up and ship them to Oak Ridge. Even Trump recognized that this was an unrealistic demand, opening the door to phased denuclearization when he told the press in his meeting with Moon on May 22 that while he would prefer an “allin-one” deal, he recognized that North Korea “may not be able to do exactly that.” At the same time, Kim knows he

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needs to give up something to get the economic relief he clearly wants.

On the denuclearization side, there are easy, immediate deliverables, including memorializing North Korea’s current self-imposed moratoriums on nuclear and ballistic missile testing and opening the Yongbyon nuclear facilities for inspection and monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency. A much more difficult but nevertheless vital initial step is to provide a “true” declaration and accounting of all North Korean nuclear sites and fissile material. Pyongyang has adamantly resisted giving such an accounting in the past, a key reason for the collapse of the 1994 Agreed Framework and the six-party talks. But such a declaration, accompanied by an agreement on full verification, will test the seriousness of both Kim’s claim that he is seeking a different type of relationship with the United States and Moon’s claim that Washington should believe Pyongyang this time.

Beyond the immediate steps, the negotiation must produce a clear timeline for the ultimate goal: the disablement and dismantlement of all North Korean nuclear and ICBM facilities, material, and devices. If Kim agrees to a swift timeline—say by 2020—the cadres of skeptics in Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo will be silenced. (Although they will continue to assert, rightly, that implementation is everything.) More realistically, the United States must at the very least initiate a serious process to get there.

On the other side of the ledger is what Kim gets in return. The most obvious and immediate win is his meeting with the U.S. president, a sign of recognition that the North Koreans have sought for decades. In my meetings with North Korea’s foreign ministry, its officials have repeatedly emphasized that only a leader-to-leader dialogue could break the nuclear impasse. At the root of this desire lies their central concern: regime survival.

To reach a clear outcome on denuclearization, there has to be a corresponding clarity on security guarantees.

Diplomatically, both North Korea and the United States

Given this gap, what can be realistically expected from the summit?

should show their serious commitment to normalizing relations by agreeing to an end-of-war statement and the opening of liaison offices in Washington and Pyongyang.

A declaration from the United States that it does not have “hostile intent” and will begin normalization and peace treaty negotiations is equally needed as a security guarantee.

On the economic side, an immediate deliverable would be humanitarian assistance, if not from the United States then through South Korea and the international community. The

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U.S. President Donald Trump, right, stands with Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of North Korea›s ruling Worker›s Party Central Committee, stand on the South Lawn of the White House after a meeting in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, June 2018 ,1.

larger agreement for sanctions relief should correspond to verified progress on denuclearization. On the military side, the Pentagon should agree to review and, as appropriate, adjust future plans for the upcoming August U.S.– South Korean joint exercises and, especially, any drill involving strategic assets (those capable of delivering nuclear devices). Above all, the summit should establish a diplomatic process to negotiate a peace treaty that formally ends the Korean War.

to complete. Therefore, in the brief remaining time before the summit, U.S. diplomats, led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, should concentrate on both a broad vision for the future of U.S.–North Korean relations and on the immediate steps needed to finally reach an agreement that will get Washington the denuclearization that it wants and Pyongyang the security guarantees that it seeks. Only then can the two sides bridge the gap between what they hope to achieve and what is realistically possible.

This, of course, is a tall order that will likely take years

This article was originally published on ForeignAffairs.com.

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Can Spain Find a Path to Political Stability?

What Comes After Rajoy's Ouster

By Omar G. Encarnación Call it the revenge of the separatists. At the end of last week, Spain’s leading nationalist-regionalist parties, the Basque Nationalist Party and the Republican Left of Catalonia, delivered the crucial votes for the censure motion that ousted Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of the right-wing Popular Party (PP) from power. The motion was orchestrated by the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE). An obscure stipulation in the Spanish constitution borrowed from Germany, such a motion allows for the removal of a sitting government if a successful vote of no confidence is accompanied by the selection of the next head of government with an absolute parliamentary majority. The vote last week made Rajoy the first Spanish leader in the post-Franco era to exit office in such an ignoble manner. The Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez, now Madrid’s new prime minister, had given Rajoy multiple chances to resign, but Rajoy chose to be forced out rather than to leave of his own accord.

This was a spectacular fall for one of western Europe’s longest-ruling premiers, but not an altogether surprising one. An uncharismatic politician from the northwestern region of Galicia, Rajoy had been defying the laws of political gravity for decades. He twice sought the prime ministership, in 2004 and 2008, before finally prevailing in 2011. Along the way, Rajoy accumulated plenty of powerful enemies, especially in Spain’s separatist regions, Catalonia most notably. His most memorable and consequential decision was last year’s controversial shutdown of Catalonia’s autonomous regional government,

after that government’s separatist leaders boldly defied Madrid by declaring the region an independent republic.

Rajoy’s removal of a popularly elected regional government, a removal which is allowed under the Spanish constitution, was preceded by his disastrous decision to send the national police to Catalonia to prevent the separatist government from holding a referendum on independence, a referendum that Spain’s Constitutional Court had already declared unconstitutional. The sight of police officers physically preventing people from exercising the right to vote was one of the darkest moments of Spain’s still young democracy. Rajoy’s overreaction foreclosed the possibility for a dialogue to solve the impasse in Catalonia, if only because it handed Catalan separatists a moral victory that overshadowed their own reckless and unconstitutional behavior.

Last week came the straw that broke the camel’s back: a stunning string of corruption indictments, including the charge that the PP had operated a slush fund to pay for bribes, an accusation that Rajoy had denied when it first arose about five years ago. According to reporting by The New York Times, Luis Bárcenas, a former PP treasurer, received a -33year prison sentence and a 44 million euro (51.3$ million) fine for benefiting from a kickbacks-forcontracts scheme. The judges overseeing the case also sentenced another 25 party operatives and businesspeople on corruption charges, resulting in sentences collectively amounting to more than 300 years in prison, and they fined the PP 245,000 euros for operating a slush fund, a first for a political party in Spain.

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Spain›s new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) shakes hands with the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko (L) as they pose for the press at Moncloa Palace on June ,4 2018 in Madrid, Spain. (Getty)

What comes next is not altogether clear, but it is unlikely that Rajoy’s departure will put an end to the political instability that Spain has endured in recent years. The editorial page of El País, Spain’s leading daily, summed up the sentiment of the moment in one short headline: “An Unviable Government.” The PSOE controls only 84 of 350 parliamentary seats, which means that the party will have to rely on negotiations with the rest of the political parties to enact any legislation. These include Podemos, a left-wing populist party with which the PSOE has a toxic relationship, and nationalist parties from Catalonia and the Basque Country. Both pose significant dangers for the PSOE: Podemos will try to push the PSOE to the left on economic issues, such as by encouraging it to undo the labor-market reforms introduced by the Rajoy administration to reduce unemployment, which would upset the business community, and the nationalist parties will attempt to extract more autonomy for their regions from Madrid than the general electorate is willing to

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And if one political party in Madrid can manage to at least get a handle on the situation in Catalonia, it is the PSOE tolerate. After all, Rajoy, despite his lack of popularity, was able to stay in power by projecting an image of himself as the protector of national unity.

Reasons for optimism, however, do exist. Sánchez has already promised to continue Rajoy’s conservative economic program, which is credited with restoring stability and growth to the Spanish economy after the economic crisis triggered by the bursting of the housing

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bubble in 2007. Clearly, embracing Rajoy’s economic policies is intended to calm the markets. More encouraging, perhaps, is Sánchez’s pledge to negotiate with the Catalans, something Rajoy flatly refused to do. Of course, it is questionable that the genie of Catalan independence can be put back in the bottle at this point. But the prospects for a breakthrough in Catalonia cannot be ruled out, given that the new government has every incentive to strike a new deal with the Catalan leadership to improve its own chances of staying in power.

A new regional government was recently inaugurated in Catalonia that, although still committed to independence, has tried to put some distance between itself and last year’s aborted attempt to gain independence. And if one political party in Madrid can manage to at least get a handle on the situation in Catalonia, it is the PSOE. Going back to the liberal Second Republic of the 1930s, the party has supported the aspirations for autonomy in Spain’s regions, much to the chagrin of Spanish conservatives, who worship at the altar of a unified and culturally monolithic Spain. Spain’s last Socialist government, headed by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, endorsed the Catalans’ previous proposal for upgrading their autonomy charter with Madrid. But Rajoy blocked the proposal when he entered office, in 2011. He took the Catalans to court, and won, triggering the current crisis.

Sánchez, whom Rajoy defeated twice, in 2015 and 2016, will likely call for new elections to fully legitimate his government. Accusations of a democratic deficit are already being lobbed by the PP. All parties want to avoid the nightmare of what happened in 2015, and again in 2016, when no political party won a clear majority of the seats in the parliament and Spain remained without a

The sight of police officers physically preventing people from exercising the right to vote was one of the darkest moments of Spain’s still young democracy

government for almost two years. The biggest electoral threat for the new Socialist government is not its old rightwing nemesis, the PP, but Ciudadanos, or “Citizens,” which is currently challenging the PP’s standing as Spain’s leading conservative party. A Catalan party with statewide ambitions, Ciudadanos has benefited from the Catalan crisis; it has been a strong defender of Spanish unity and a fierce opponent of Catalan independence, but without Rajoy’s heavy-handedness (or authoritarianism, as some might call it). The party also enjoys a reputation for centrism in an environment of extreme political polarization. Despite having come to prominence in 2007 as an anticorruption party, Ciudadanos declined to support the no-confidence vote. The price that the party’s

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Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy (L) speaks during a debate on a no-confidence motion tabled by Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) at the Lower House of the Spanish Parliament in Madrid on May 2018 ,31. (Getty)

leader, Albert Rivera, put on his party’s support for the censure motion was simply unacceptable to the Socialists: that a consensus candidate be named the next head of the government. Rivera is clearly already looking ahead to the next elections, encouraged by polls that show Ciudadanos to be ahead of all the other parties. By not supporting Rajoy’s ouster, Rivera was likely trying to avoid upsetting conservative voters, who remain loyal to Rajoy. Rivera is well aware that any chance his party has to dislodge the Socialists from power hinges on either peeling off conservative support from the PP or entering into a coalition with it.

procedure, and now looking forward to having to negotiate public policy with a multiplicity of political parties whose only common ground appears to be a distaste for the departed administration, Spain’s new Socialist government can expect rocky times ahead. But if it manages to get some things done, especially a new autonomy agreement with the Catalans, the new government can set itself up for a successful reelection. This, in turn, could put Spain on the path back to the remarkable political stability that the country has for the most part enjoyed since it became a worldwide symbol of democratic transition and consolidation some four decades ago.

Having gained power though an arcane constitutional

This article was originally published on ForeignAffairs.com.

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The Real Secret to Success and Happiness The Importance of Reconnecting To Your Own Needs In a World of Plenty 22

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Embrace your wonderful uniqueness and step out in confidence! Remember the old adage: ‘Be yourself, because everyone else is taken ! up a following of over 1000k or more on social media. Whilst on the other hand, some people may place greater emphasis on their health, a thriving relationship, or a balanced and happy work/personal and family life.

REAL SUCCESS IS AN INSIDE JOB Although you can absolutely create the life you desire (and perhaps you already have!), the danger comes when many people believe that success and happiness relies only upon the approval and acknowledgement of others, or perhaps when they believe that success can only be achieved after you have reached the golden pot at the end of the rainbow? For example, I work with successful people who have already achieved or are on the road to achieving success either within their personal or professional lives, yet I am asked ‘if they are successful why would they need coaching?’ The truth is that no matter where you are on your path to creating a successful and happy life, it certainly does not buy you or guarantee you a one-way ticket to lifelong happiness.

by Samantha Morris* Wow! It’s a big question and probably one with many answers. However, perhaps certain images or goals spring to mind?

Perhaps you already own, or are on route to acquiring your dream home, car, to be working in the right job, to being in the right social circle, or have you worked solidly to be promoted to the top in your industry?

Other people place great emphasis on the need to be famous, to be the next ‘It girl’ or ‘It guy’ for their name and face to be spread across media and to build

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So… what happens when you are waking up every morning or going to bed at night having either achieved or on your way to achieving those goals, and you don’t feel totally fulfilled? For most people, the temptation is to continue on this search for happiness and success. They may even live their lives ticking off each of the ‘next best things’ according to a socially approved checklist. Certainly for a British woman in her 30s, I have witnessed and experienced the effects of peer and social pressure to work your way up into a career, to meet the right partner, to move into a house, and to have children.

However, It’s easy to get swept along with the fast pace of life rarely stopping to breathe, let alone to pause and ask yourself ‘am I really happy?’ The secret is that in order to be truly happy and successful, you must first re-connect to your own needs. Once you have

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nourished yourself from the inside, you will naturally shine, take action and attract all that you want from the outside world.

8 TOP TIPS TO RECONNECT TO YOUR NEEDS

1. BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF Take a step back and take a few long deep breaths.

Perhaps find a sanctuary/ a safe place where you can really connect to yourself. Now be honest with yourself and ask whether your current situation is making you happy? If it is- fantastic!

If it’s not, it’s time to be honest with yourself: are you thriving or merely surviving? Reconnect to what lights you up from the inside, so that you can begin to shine from the outside and attract all that you desire.

2. THE POWER OF VISUALISATION, ENERGY AND MANIFESTING WHAT YOU WANT A good way to begin to manifest what you want is to create a vision board. This can be done on pin interest, or on a board. The important thing is to cover the board with images that define what success and happiness means to you! It might be the colours, the images, or the words, which appeal but just go with your gut instinct. From there, actually start to visualise and feel that you are experiencing all that is on your vision board. Remember the thoughts are not enoughyou need to actually feel that you have all that you desire! From there you can take the smaller and larger action steps to get there.

Acknowledge that what you once wanted or needed may not be what you want now. Although this can be a scary prospect, it is a reality. We all change and develop so why wouldn’t our situations change as well?

Ask yourself what’s working for you now and what isn’t? Then question do you want to change your current situation or not? If it isn’t working question what is needed in order for change to happen? Then start to plan and take the action steps needed.

3. SHIFTING YOUR MINDSET

4. YOUR INNER HERO AND HEROIN

In order for change to happen, you also need to shift your energy and mindset.

Who inspires you? What qualities do they have? What is it about their story that you admire? Where and how can you begin to acknowledge these qualities or stories within yourself?

Life is not forever, and today is a gift

We all need heroes and heroines. These are the characters or people who have stepped outside their comfort zones and have fully and unashamedly embraced their uniqueness to achieve fulfillment and success. As a result of working from the inside out,

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also work or live life more effectively. Try meditating, reading, listening to music, walking into a different environment, or daydreaming.

6. DON’T BE AFRAID TO BE YOURSELF We are all completely unique and have so much to offer. However, so often it’s easy to get swept along with social, peer and cultural expectations to conform.

If you do worry about what other’s think or being judged you’re definitely not alone! We are born to survive and to do this we must remain with the pack.

However, ask yourself ‘how is this serving me?’ and ‘am I really thriving or just surviving?’ ‘Who am I pleasing?’ and ‘how is this impacting my happiness and success?’

Embrace your wonderful uniqueness and step out in confidence! Remember the old adage: ‘Be yourself, because everyone else is taken!’

7. FUN, SPONTANEITY AND INTUITION they have manifested and attracted their own success and happiness. The secret is that deep within you exists your own hero or heroine!

To remain in touch with your needs, I always find creating and listening to your own power playlist helps. This is important as whatever energy you feel, you will attract back to you! Perhaps you may even have a power soundtrack to your life?

5. RE-BALANCING YOUR LIFE We’ve all experienced the rush of daily life! However, it’s equally important to take a step back and to pause and to take a birds-eye view. Life is not forever, and today is a gift. Yes, we all have to complete the practical things in life, however, it’s equally important to refuel and nourish yourself throughout the day. You wouldn’t run your car on an empty tank, so why would you do it to yourself? By incorporating 8-6 ten minute slots within your day for wellbeing or ‘me time’ (‘business meetings’ with yourself) you will be able to not only reconnect and nourish your own needs, but

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As children, we are intuitive, curious and are naturally creative, yet we can lose this ability to have fun as adults. Our identities are shaped according to our family, social, cultural and media expectations. However, what is lost is an energy and a zest for life! We begin to conform, to lose our way and eventually the light dims within us.

However, in order to truly reconnect to your needs and attract more happiness and success into your life, you need to reconnect to your intuition and sense of fun!

How did you have fun as child? How can you incorporate fun back into your life now? How would that feel? If you didn’t have fun as child, consider what would be fun now? Be spontaneous and try to step outside of your comfort zone!

When you begin to create space for your needs, you value you’re your worth! From there, you will have the opportunity to fully embrace fulfillment, happiness and success in their truest forms! *Samantha Morris is a Certified and Qualified Life Coach and an Integrative Art Psychotherapist.