How to Identify Your Life Lessons

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At my creative writing class this week we worked on character development.  The exercise our tutor set for us challenged us as writers' but as I sat staring at my notes, I couldn't help but apply the writing exercise to my own life.

The exercise went as follows:-

1. Think of a person you know and make them your main character, they can be family, a friend or neighbour, work colleague or a fellow club/church/slimming group member and they can be dead or alive.
2. Write a single sentence, including physical descriptions, of how this person looks.
3. Write a second sentence and describe how they show emotions.
4. Write a third sentence using key words to describe gestures they use.

We then had to interview each other and took on the role of our characters.  We asked basic questions about age and name (most of us used fictional names) and interests we had.  The most interesting part for me was when we asked about family - it really stirred up an emotion in all of us.

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.

Feel That Fear - Then Step Forward

How many opportunities have you passed up because you were too fearful to try?  I've done this more times than I care to remember and in a way, writing my blog became my unique way of feeling that fear and then taking the next step.

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I committed to journaling my story as I took on fifty-two challenges last year and knowing I had an audience who would laugh and cry along with me, made facing those fears less overwhelming.

One of my favourite self-help authors, Peter Jones, put fear in to perspective for me very neatly in his book 'How to do Everything and Be Happy.'  He said that if we have those funny, tummy turning feelings then it means something in our life is about to change - it's your choice if you want to step forward and accept that change.  This was all I needed to hear to understand that I was reasonably normal and it was okay to 'feel the fear.'  After reading his book, I began to take more of those forward steps.

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!)