Stop Comparing Yourself to Others #SelfLove

At the start of the year, I was a woman on a mission. 2017 was going to be the year I got my mojo back, the year I would feel normal again, and the year I would dedicate to the personal development of my mind, body, and soul.

I’ve already made positive progress towards nurturing my mental and physical health. However, during my mindfully-infused sessions where I take the time to learn and grow, I’ve noticed an uncomfortable trend – comparison. We all do it, but it’s in varying degrees of intensity. I’ve often wished that I could live in a warm country like my hugely successful cousin, Becky. Or that I drove a super sexy Land Rover Evoque like my bestie, Liz. These are the kind of comparisons that are merely fleeting thoughts rather than crippling destruction for our self-esteem. I love these thoughts because they shape my ambitions. I want to earn enough to buy a lovely car, and I want to travel to interesting places.

In January I bought a

Ditch the Guilt #SelfLove #Happiness

February is the month of love, but here on Motivate Me! we’re looking at loving ourselves rather than joining the masses who are celebrating with their one and only. If you do have a true love close to hand, then feel free to engage in the odd snuggle, a romantic meal, or a deep and meaningful discussion about your relationship. Communication, interaction, and respect are key elements to any successful partnership.

If, however, you want to join me on a journey of self-discovery and take a deeper look at how we can love ourselves first, then stick with me.

Last week I shared my 5 Top Tips for Working on Self-Love, you can read that post HERE. This week I wanted to discuss an area that might impact on our personal development, and hold up our well-laid plans of loving ourselves unconditionally.

That issue is GUILT. Not in an ‘oh my god, I slept with my husband’s brother!’ way, although if you did do that, then you might want to skip off and sort that issue out!

The guilt I’m talking about today includes all the mistakes or mundane nonsense we beat ourselves up about. It could be that we weren’t there when someone needed us, or you’ve shouted at the kids over something trivial. For me, I feel guilty about my overwhelming ironing pile (I know, it sounds ridiculous doesn’t it!). In truth it makes me feel like I’m neglecting my family, failing as a mother and adds to my ever present ‘I’m not good enough’ limiting belief, I mean, seriously, who beats themselves up because of the ironing?

5 Top Tips for Working on Self-Love #wellbeing #happiness

February is upon us, and everywhere you turn there are hearts, overpriced chocolates, and an explosion of cuddly toys. It can only mean one thing – Valentine’s Day is imminent.

Fluffy teddies and flowers aside, the theme of ‘love’ that invades all of our senses at this time of year doesn’t necessarily have to be directed at a partner, lover, or spouse. It’s perfectly okay to indulge in a spot of self-love.

I recently attended a networking group for women where we had the opportunity to briefly talk about ourselves and our businesses. It was interesting to observe each lady proudly talking about their family but then clamming up when the conversation turned to themselves. We were all successful business women, but the thought of ‘bigging’ ourselves up, and selling ourselves was visibly tough.

January in Review #Blogging #Goals

January Review

I didn’t strictly adhere to my ‘must write a new year resolution list’ at the start of the month, in fact, I adopted an altogether new approach for 2017 which involves only a few goals, and a more laid back attitude. So far, so good.

One of the goals I did set for my blog was to publish a monthly review where I could check stats, assess the posts I’ve written and the interaction they received, as well as sharing the links in case anyone missed one. Over previous years I’ve been a bit lax with analytics, but I’ve come to realise that if I want to provide valuable content, then I need to see what you, my dearest blog reader, enjoys.

I have also been asked to provide a few guest posts for other blogs this month, and I’ve embarked on a couple of advertising boosts to lift the profile of my blog and hopefully get my articles in front of a wider audience, after all, that’s the whole point of writing. I want to help as many people as I can to embrace their best self, to be confident in their skin, and to believe that they can achieve anything they want.

How was January?

Stats:

I’m delighted with the increase in views. Overall, the blog received 15,075 new visits which is an incredible leap. Yay! The most popular post of the month was Adopt a Skinny Thinking Routine to Help with Your Weight Loss.

Published Posts:

Week1 – How to Ensure You Have a Great Year Using a Happiness Jar

Week2 – Releasing Negative Emotions

Week3 – How to Avoid Self-Sabotage

Week4 – Adopt a Skinny Thinking Routine to Help Your Weight Loss

Guest Posts:

Rosie Amber’s Blog – Week 1 How to Review the Last 12 Months

Rosie Amber’s Blog – Week 2 Power Words for 2017 

Rosie Amber’s Blog – Week 3 Setting Goals for 2017

Rosie Amber’s Blog – Week 4 Planning for a Perfect Year 

Socially Shared Business Network – Change Your Beliefs and Change your Life

Goals for February:

February is the month of love! Those of you who know me well will understand when I reach for the sick bucket. I don’t ‘do’ romance. Actually, that’s not strictly true; I’ve never met anyone who does romance and I therefore only know about flowers, chocolates, and romantic weekend trips because I’m a sucker for a rom-com film (sshh, don’t tell anyone).

As I can’t produce love infused blog posts from a personal perspective (unless we count my horrific experiences on a dating site!), I thought I’d concentrate on self-love. I know a great deal about this topic as it’s one of my main goals for 2017 – learning to appreciate myself, flaws and all, and turning the negative inner dialogue into positive self-talk. February’s theme will cover this in more detail, and I hope you enjoy reading my posts on this subject.

Over to You:

Your mission if you choose to accept it is…

I thought it might be a fun twist if at the end of every monthly review I set you some fun exercises. I want you to think about the following questions, grab your journal and note down any thoughts or feelings that bubble to the surface or feel free to add your thoughts in the comments below.

Q1. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What small steps can you take between now and December 31^st to achieve it?

Q2. What does a day in the life of your dreams look like? Write your perfect day from the minute you wake up to when you go to bed. Where are you, who are you with, what would you do?

Q3. If money was not an issue what career would you have or what lifestyle would you adopt?

I’ll add another three questions to the February review. You don’t need to share your answers; they’re for your personal development. If you can keep all your notes together in one journal then by the end of the year, you’ll have a great overview of 2017 to work with when you want to do a review, set goals, or release anything that isn’t serving your greater purpose. Until next month.

Thanks for visiting my blog, I hope you enjoyed this post. Want more? Connect with me here:  Twitter @ShelleyWilson72, Instagram or check out my Facebook pages http://www.facebook.com/FantasyAuthorSLWilson and http://www.facebook.com/MotivateMeBlog. You can also find me on Pinterest

Adopt a Skinny Thinking Routine to Help Your Weight Loss

I recently re-joined my local Slimming World class to help me shift the extra pounds that crept on last year. Aside from the weight loss goal there is another reason for going back to group and that’s the social aspect. I love the camaraderie at the meetings, and the support at weigh in.

I spent a huge portion of 2016 climbing on my scales only to find that needle kept getting higher. I would then spiral into doom and gloom and end up attacking the biscuit tin. Why we choose to abuse ourselves by adding to the problem can probably be explained by using the techniques I wrote about in last week’s post – avoiding self-sabotage, which you can read HERE.

There have been plenty of articles and books written about the benefits and pitfalls of slimming groups. I fully believe that

How to Avoid Self-Sabotage

For thousands of people across the globe, the New Year is a time for goal setting. Whether you believe in resolutions or not, we can’t help but feel slightly inspired to create a few ‘I’d like to do…’, or ‘I will achieve…’ situations for the year ahead.

As you all know, I do love a good list writing session, and jotting down all the possibilities a new year brings would be my perfect Saturday night! I haven’t been as regimented with my resolutions for 2017. My recent illness and battle with depression and anxiety have taken the shine off setting too many challenges. However, the goals I have set for myself are still bold enough to push me out of my comfort zone and keep me focused.

One of my main faults is a tendency for

Releasing Negative Emotions

I’m only into the second week of the year, and I’ve already steered away from my lovingly constructed blog schedule! However, in my defence, I have a valid reason for needing to throw all my well-laid plans aside and share this story, and that’s because it HURT!

Since the middle of last year, I have had regular acupuncture sessions with a wonderful therapist called Jo, who is insightful, compassionate, and highly skilled. I know without any doubt that the sessions are making a difference, not just physically, but emotionally.

We talk through so many issues, and Jo has an incredible knack for getting

How to Ensure You Have a Great Year by Using a Happiness Jar

When I was younger, I would write my New Year Resolution or goals list based on what I wanted to do, be, or have that would make me happy. It took me several decades to understand that happiness comes from within and isn’t a physical object, place, or person.

It’s human nature to want to make our lives better. However, we have an inbuilt security system that resists change. So how do you make improvements to your life without upsetting that inner control freak?

Several years ago I saw a meme on Facebook which suggested starting a gratitude jar. The idea appealed to me, but in the example, you were told to write down something that you were grateful for each day, week, or month. While I approved of the sentiment, I was already adding my thoughts of gratitude to my daily journal. So, I improvised.

Happy Birthday: My Blog is 4 Today! #WeekendBlogShare

Achievements come in all shapes and sizes. They can be related to weight loss, fitness, creativity, habits, friendships, romance, or career. For me, the first day of the year is always a reminder that one of my greatest achievements was starting this blog.

Today, Motivate Me (formally known as Resolution Challenge) is four years old! Now that’s an achievement worth rejoicing.

A Year in Review #wwwBlogs

A Year in Review

At this time of year, it’s hard not to reflect on the past twelve months. However, it can be too easy to dwell on the negatives and forget about all the positive things that might have happened - births, marriages, new friendships, events, laughter, and love.

Before I shuffle off to enjoy a mince pie or two, I thought it would be nice to round off 2016 by doing a blog post dedicated to a review of my year. As many of my regular readers know, I do love to set goals and challenges, and I equally enjoy sharing the highs and lows with all of you. Why not do your own year in review? Feel free to add a brief summary in the comments below, or jot it in your journal. It’s a fun exercise to try.

Books I’ve Read: 50

Every year I set myself a Goodreads reading challenge. For the past couple of years, I’ve aimed to read 50 books and managed to achieve this. Some of my book blogger friends have read 200+ books this year. I think I’ll stick with my lower target of 50 for 2017! 

Here is a selection of the books I’ve read and enjoyed this year.

Using Numerology to Discover Your Life Purpose #BookReview

Numerology has always fascinated me, and I’ve read as many books on the subject as I could find. I worked out my life path number quite a few years ago (it’s a 3 by the way) and found the description of a three-person to be pretty spot on for me.

When Hay House brought out their ‘Hay House Basics’ series, I jumped at the chance to add their version of Numerology to my growing collection. Numerology: Discover Your Future, Life Purpose and Destiny from your Birth Date and Name by Michelle Buchanan is just one book in a growing catalogue of back to basics mind, body, and spirit books ranging from Angels to the Qabalah, and Astrology to Tarot.

The author, Michelle Buchanan is a numerologist and Certified Law of Attraction Practitioner who studied numerology for more than 20 years. She was formerly the spiritual counselor for Woman’s Day magazine in New Zealand, as well as the resident numerologist for Television New Zealand’s Good Morning. Michelle has a numerology show, Numerology Guidance, on Hay House Radio and provides personal readings, workshops, and seminars to clients all over the world. She is also a talented singer/songwriter and dedicated mother of two based in Auckland, New Zealand. You can find Michelle on her website HERE.

With a difficult couple of years behind me, I’m had periods of feeling out of sorts, and a bit lost. I am still trying to find my way and recapture that passion and drive that has motivated me for so long. Using numerology to discover my life purpose and destiny seemed like a good place to start! Would it show me an alternative route, or confirm that I’m still on my proper path? Armed with a notebook to jot down the relevant dates and corresponding numbers I began.

Top 10 Tips to Get Motivated for Christmas

I’m typing up this post as the rain hammers against the window. My cat is curled up in my ‘in’ tray, and I’ve accumulated several empty mugs as I make coffee after coffee in a bid to stay warm.

Yesterday, I realised we only have a few weeks until Christmas, and I haven’t even started to think about buying gifts, sending cards, or arranging various seasonal events. My regular gym sessions have also dwindled to an ‘hmm, I’ll go tomorrow,' and my healthy eating regime now involves far too many Jaffa cakes (they’re orange, so technically they count as your five a day, don’t they?).

When it’s cold and wet, our motivation to get even the most basic tasks done isn’t as powerful as it was in the warmer months. Looking out of the window this morning I knew I’d be staying in the comfort of my writing cave for the day.  

However, Christmas looms, and if I want to prepare that delicious turkey dinner, eat copious amounts of mince pies, and delight my family with thoughtful gifts, then I need to get organised. So, how am I going to do it when my motivation has shrivelled up in the cold?

I’ve got a few tips to help motivate you at this time of year:

Top 5 Tips for Small Business Networking

Networking is a relatively new thing for me. When I ran my holistic health business, I worked five days and two evenings a week, so any spare time I had I divided between family, friends, and my writing. Attending any of the networking groups in my local area was an impossibility. Once I closed that business and focused on my books and blog content, I discovered a necessity to get out from the home office and speak to another human being.

Working from home, in any capacity, has a host of benefits, from holding a conference call in your pyjamas, to saving hours on a long commute. Many mums are starting small businesses from their kitchen table to enable them to keep childcare costs to a minimum and reap the advantages of being around for their child’s early years.

With the influx of mumpreneurs, the need for friendly and supportive networking groups is more important than ever. Women empower women; it’s a beautiful thing to witness and an even more satisfying thing to do, or indeed, receive.

The groups I attend primarily are targeted