7 Books To Inspire You



Reading is not, in my opinion, a luxury, but a necessity.  When we are young, it is our gateway to everything we are about to learn during our school days.  As we reach our teens, it often becomes an escape from the schedules and demands.  Then we ‘grow up’ and time takes over, life becomes so busy and reading slides down the to-do list faster than that first glass of Chardonnay on a Friday night.

 

For many people, this isn’t the case, and reading is still a huge part of their lives.  I am one of these people.  Not having a book in my hand is unthinkable.  But a few years ago I couldn’t find any comfort in reading.  Stress and anxiety had its hold over me, and I couldn’t sit still long enough to focus on the words. 

Interview with Peter Jones, author of How To Do Everything And Be Happy.

Last week I spoke about using self-help tools to heal yourself, and in particular the use of motivational and inspirational books.

On occasion you will come across a book that has the potential to change your life.  I have a shelf full of self-help books, but there are the odd one or two that I recommend to everyone I know.  Why?  Because these books changed me at my core and made me think about how I live and what I can do to improve my environment/life/career.

Today I am joined by Peter Jones, author of How To Do Everything And Be Happy - one of the outstanding books that changed my life.

Helping Yourself To Heal

A couple of weeks ago I shared a post about Numerology and Lucky Charms; you can read that here http://myresolutionchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/looking-at-numerology-and-lucky-charms.html

I am a great believer in reading the signs around you.  Of course, this may be my inner writer looking for a new story arc, either way we are sent messages on a regular basis.  It’s up to us to tune in and hear them or carry on regardless.

When I host my vision board workshops, I help students tap into those messages to create a vision of how they would like their life to be.  If you are interested in learning more about Vision Boards you can read about them here http://myresolutionchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/a-new-vision-for-new-year.html

At the start of each year, I prepare a board for all the exciting things I want to achieve, be, have or work on during the next twelve months.  I’ve done this for years, and I continue to be astounded at how varied my boards are from year to year. 

Find a Little Me Time With Lava Shell Massage

Hands up who does everything for everyone and leaves themselves until last.  Go on, put your hand up, you know who you are.

I run a holistic health practice and offer numerous feel good therapies to my clients, I also offer them advice on what they can do for themselves in-between sessions.  So you would think I was able to take my words literally – apparently not. 

In my day-to-day work/life balance I momentarily forgot the fundamental goal; make time for me.

This lack of self-care has manifested into a physical ailment.  I am kicking myself for not taking care of my health sooner.  However, feeling very much like I’ve just closed the stable after the horse has bolted, I am taking time out for some self-help.

Looking at Numerology and Lucky Charms

Do you have a lucky pair of pants, carry a charm with you at all times to inspire good fortune, or consult the astrological gurus before you set foot outside your front door?

I believe that we can make our luck, and I am also a huge advocate for the affirmation ‘thoughts become things, pick good ones’.  However, lately I have started to question if there may be a higher force at work.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have seen the number 2222 everywhere.  I’ve seen it on receipts when I’ve done my food shopping (in the code NOT in the price tag – I don’t eat that much!).  Every time I glance at my alarm clock or check the time on my phone it reads 22:22.  It happened so often that I decided to investigate.

I'm Enjoying Not Living In The Now

My topic for this week was going to be about living in the now.  However, I can’t stop thinking about at an exciting future event, or the past event that allowed this future event to happen – you still with me?  To summarise - I haven’t got a hope in hell of living in the moment, at the moment.

Is that a bad thing?  I don’t think so.  When time allows, I enjoy nothing more than being silent, or absorbing myself in a task such as walking, drawing, crafts or my writing.  Each of these activities enables me to be in the now, and I feel so much better for it. 

For today though I am somewhere else!

 

The reason for my abandonment of all things meditative is, in my opinion, a just and valid cause.

Do-It-Yourself Meditation

Back in 2011 I began teaching meditation classes for those of my clients who kept asking me how to do it.

I think they initially believed it was a mystical practice for the spiritually initiated.  Did I have to roll up my one trouser leg and levitate over the coffee table?  Had I attended a secret club hosted by Yoda and the Dalai Lama?  The answer, of course, was no…I just sat still for a couple of minutes and listened to my breathing.  No secret club.  No initiation.

I knew then that I wanted to show people how easy it was to meditate.

In 2013, I published a simple pocket guide.  Meditation: A beginner’s guide.

Here is an excerpt:

If you don’t know a chakra from a chorizo, prefer a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes over walking barefoot on dew-covered grass, and the only labyrinth you’ve heard of was a 2006 Del Toro film, then you’ve come to the right place.

Create A Monthly Care Plan To Achieve Success

Over the past two weeks, we’ve looked at using a Daily Practice and Weekly Intentions to achieve our goals and stay motivated.

If you’ve been following my series of posts about staying on track with your resolutions, goals or challenges, then you will be well on your way to success.  Your daily practices will be as routine as brushing your teeth, and the list of weekly intentions will be driving your goal forward.  This week I am going to share tips on creating a Monthly Care Plan. 

When I started my blog in 2013 – and subsequently wrote my book, How I Changed MyLife in a Year – I had to create a monthly plan to inspire me to succeed, month-after-month.

As with any goal, you will only achieve success if you are 100% committed.  Alongside the commitment comes planning.

Let me ask you a question – what have you achieved in your life that made you felt great?  Big or small, it doesn’t matter, just remember the feeling that washed over you and settled in your stomach; it’s called pride.

Making Weekly Intentions Will Help You Achieve Your Goals

Last week we looked at the advantages of including a ‘Daily Practice’ into our routine to help us achieve our goals.  You can read that post here.  Today I’m talking about ‘Weekly Intentions’.

We used 'running a marathon' as our example for last week so this week we'll look at another type of goal.  I know so many people who wanted to 'learn something new' as part of their resolution list.  It’s an admirable goal!  Keeping our brain active has huge benefits for our mind, body and soul.

So where do we start?  Let’s ask ourselves those all important questions:

1.      Why am I doing this?

2.      When am I doing this?

3.      What do I need to do to achieve success?

How to Stay on Track with Your Goals by Using a Daily Practice.

The majority of our New Year Resolutions, goals and aspirations fail because of a number of reasons; a lack of planning, not being fully committed or setting ourselves unattainable challenges.

It’s like we purposefully set ourselves up for a fall.  We don’t have to operate in this way.  Setting a challenge that may test us can be liberating and life changing.  Writing my book, How I Changed My Life in a Year taught me that.

Yes, we all scribble down a list of changes we want to make each year, and yes, be the end of the third week many of us have abandoned them.  I heard on the news this morning that today is the day our weight loss ambitions are discarded and we attack the biscuit tin!  If we looked at that list for a moment, we might see the reason:

What's Your Power Word of the Day?

Last week I talked about leaving behind the rigidity of goal setting to allow for the relaxed beauty of ‘flow setting’.  You can read that post here.

Today I want to introduce you to a new motivational past time that I stumbled upon whilst writing up last week’s post. 

 

It’s no secret that I adore journaling.  My home and office are full to the rafters with pretty notebooks, matching pens and folders.  ‘My name is Shelley and I am addicted to Stationery!’

So, as I spent a luxurious hour on Pinterest, my ‘super-stationery-senses’ were activated when I found a link to the seaweedkisses blog.  Michelle’s beautiful page is dedicated to her passion for journaling.  As well as sharing her tips, she invites us to take a sneak peek into the notebooks, journals and organisers from people all over the world.

Before I go on, I want to set the scene of just how excited I was to find this site.  First of all, let me ask you a question.  Who has watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)?  That’s the one with Sean Connery in it.

In Loving Memory & Tribute to Kathryn Treat

IN LOVING MEMORY OF KATHRYN CHASTAIN TREAT

 

No Need For Goal Setting - Try 'Flow' Setting Instead

Normality has returned to the Wilson household (well, as normal as you can get with three teenagers under one roof!)

We all shuffled back to school, college and work this week with as much enthusiasm as a wet mop.  I’m not surprised about the kids – that comes with the territory, but I’m a different story.  I love my job very much and yet I returned with a melancholy aura.

 

My evenings aren’t much better.  At the end of last year, I would finish work to do my household chores.  I’d feed the kids, clean the fish and then settle down in front of my laptop to bash out a chapter or two and tackle an article or blog post.

 

Instead, I find myself staring at the wall with a bewildered expression plastered to my face.  It’s not writers block.  I know this because my head is crammed full of story and blog post ideas that scream at me with every waking moment (thank goodness for post-it notes!). 

 

It finally hit me at 2am the other morning as I tossed and turned in bed and eventually turned the light on to empty my thoughts onto paper.  I’ve been so busy organising my blog content to help motivate my readers that I forgot all about setting my goals!

 

I feel like a balloon let loose in the sky and is floating aimlessly.  That perfect quote, ‘a dream without a plan is just a wish’ is on repeat in my brain.