What a Difference a Year Can Make

When I started this blog I had a clear objective, to record the highs and lows of the fifty-two challenges I set myself on New Year's Eve in 2012.


Lose weight, get fit, be happy, do something new...the list was as varied as it was long.

It was a personal journey of self discovery but I felt it important enough to share with anyone who may be interested.  365 days later and the blog had received over 15,000 visits, two blogger award nominations and was attracting followers from across the globe.

The year came to an end but my journey continued, in fact it picked up speed!

Seventeen months later I am now able to take the next big step towards achieving my goals and ticking off another very big item on my to-do list. 

From 'blog' to 'book', the story of how my year of challenges changed my life is out now as e-book and paperback.

How To Give Yourself a Spring Clean

The last of the chocolate Easter eggs have been devoured, the lazy bank holiday is behind us, and now it's time to crack on (no pun intended) with life, until the Summer arrives.

The sun is trying to break through the grey wash of clouds, the flowers are beginning to bloom and the trees are sprouting new leaves, and yet we still find ourselves nodding off at 2pm - oh, is that just me?

I'm waiting for results of a recent blood test and of course the waiting is always the worst bit.  What could be wrong?  Is it serious?

Every lump, bump and creak of the joints has me thinking the worst.  I am an incredibly upbeat person and I don't normally worry about such things so I began to tick off a health checklist in my head.  I realised there was nothing wrong with me (other than a possible lack of iron) and I needed a few early nights and more fruit and vegetables in my diet.

How To Think Outside The Box

Our brain is very complex and a single thought is enough to re-wire it.  Thinking outside the box can help us be more creative and improve our well-being.  'Thoughts become things - pick the good ones' is a favourite quote of mine and an affirmation I try to use daily.



Taken from Pinterest

It really is as simple as thinking happy thoughts to be able to shift a bad mood or change a situation to your advantage and yet millions of people get stuck feeding negative thoughts and attracting more negativity in to their lives.  I saw this in action earlier this week.

Standing in a shop queue on Monday I listened to a conversation between the cashier and a woman with her young son.  'Can't wait for him to go back to school,' she said as her son nibbled on his fingernails, 'school holidays are a nightmare, they get bored and under my feet and I count the days before I can send them back again.'  She packed her bags and departed with her young, thoroughly depressed son shuffling along behind her.

How To Have 100 Happy Days

My regular readers know how much I enjoy a good challenge.  After successfully completing my fifty-two challenges last year I was excited about the prospect of finding a few new and unusual 'projects' for this year.

In January I took part in Cancer Research's Dryathlete challenge.  I am looking at a number of personal challenges over the coming months which will help me to evolve at home and work.  All very worthwhile but where is the fun? 

I then stumbled across a Twitter revolution - the #100HappyDays challenge, now THIS was more like it. 

The concept is to take one photograph every day for a hundred days, of something that makes you happy.  You add the hashtag #100HappyDays and post your photo on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram (or on all three if you are that talented with social media!)

The Four Zone Approach to Resolutions

When I started my Resolution Challenge blog, it was a way to keep focused on my goals for the year ahead.  I succeeded in completing every challenge I set myself and finished the year with a sense of fascination mixed with a touch of excitement.

If I could change my life in 365 days, just imagine what I could do if I kept going...oh, the possibilities.

I then had to decide what I could do in the new year to keep the momentum going and give my readers something worthwhile to read.

This was when I decided to mix it up and break my resolutions in to zones (that's the reflexologist in me talking).

Zone One - Well-Being Resolutions.

This section includes all the resolutions/goals that can help make life a little easier and less stressful, take my Vision Board post for example -

How to Embrace Your Inner Child

So far this month I have looked at how to be grateful, happy, confident and complimentary.  To finish off my October challenge; this week I decided to look at how to be silly!

Picture courtesy of
 http://belldorafashions.com  

Yes, you read it correctly, I said - silly.  Why should the kids have all the fun at this time of year?  Autumn has so many opportunities to be silly and my children have had years to get used to how daft I can be at times.

Let's take Halloween for example, for me this is a magical time and I thoroughly enjoy getting into the spirit (no pun intended) of it.  My house is decorated with cobwebs, giant spiders and skeletons and I am suitably dressed up as a witch to greet any little gremlins who call at my door.

Compliments and Confidence

Paying someone a compliment is such a natural thing to do, you have the ability to make somebody's day.  Why then do we squirm when we are on the receiving end of a compliment?



Image courtesy of emergencycompliment.com

Picture the scene - you have just bumped into an old friend who you haven't seen for a few months and they've lost four stone in weight.  It is an automatic reaction to say...

'Oh Doris, you look amazing!'

Your initial reaction is to pay them a compliment because you are genuinely happy for them and they DO look amazing.

Now let's look at the flip side - you are wearing a new coat that took five months to save for and you bump into a friend, they say...

10 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy

Back in March my blog featured in our local paper.  The reporter asked me which challenge I thought would be the toughest - interesting question.  At the time I said October's challenge, to be grateful and happy.

In times of stress and worry, happiness can often be the first emotion we switch off and I see this all too often with my clients.  You may ask yourself, 'how can I be happy when I've got too many bills to pay?'  You may wonder how it's possible to smile when there isn't anything left to smile about.

Watching The Pride of Britain awards the other evening made me smile (and cry).  These amazing people are just the same as you or I and yet despite what 's going on in their own lives they still have a smile and a kind word for everyone.  Inspirational people indeed.