What Does Happiness Mean To You? #MondayBlogs

I was invited to do a talk for a motivational group recently on the theme of ‘Heaven on Earth.' I spent a long time thinking about what that meant to me.

Eventually, I decided that happiness was the one thing that gave me contentment. But sometimes we think that happiness is out of our reach – it’s something to work towards – a goal if you like.

When I’m at home, and I talk about setting goals, I can see my kid’s eyes begin to glaze over. ‘Oh god, she's off on one of her hippie trips again!’

That’s okay; they’re young. Goals aren’t as important to them. For them, happiness is already a huge part of their life; they don’t need to think about setting goals to achieve it.

Mindfulness in 3 Easy Steps #wwwBlogs

When I tell people how much I enjoy mindfulness, I am often met with a slight resistance. Occasionally, people will be positive about the benefits of mindfulness in their lives. However, far too many people believe it to be too difficult, or worse, time-consuming.

I can’t emphasis enough the importance of being in the moment. That means, not stressing about the past, or worrying about what’s in the future. Anxiety increases when we live in a constant turmoil of ‘why did I say that last week?’ or ‘will I be able to make that speech next month?’

Being mindful helps us in so many ways:

Taking Small Steps Towards Better Health #ThursdayThoughts

If you follow my blog, then you’ll be aware that I’ve struggled with my health over the past couple of years. I remain undiagnosed and, unfortunately, I still suffer from symptoms and pain.
It’s safe to say that I sulked – for a long time – and still have bouts of the blues over this issue, however, as September arrived, I was filled with an overwhelming desire to feel better – even if it was just a little bit.

As you all know, I do love a challenge and what better way to push myself than to sign up for the 90 Day Shape Shift Sustain plan (yes, 90 DAYS!!) developed by the hottie, Joe Wicks, aka The Body Coach.

Believe to Achieve at the Wellbeing Festival, Birmingham #MondayBlogs

In 2015 the Mind Body Spirit Wellbeing Festival arrived in Birmingham. For me, this was a huge bonus as I live a mere ten minutes away from the National Exhibition Centre, so there was no early morning train to London, or late evening return loaded down with shopping bags and good intentions. My favourite festival was on my doorstep!

This year, I’m more excited than usual but not for the reasons I mentioned above, no, this year I’m actually taking part in the Wellbeing Festival!

Make Time For What Matters - Now!

Everyone knows how much I love writing lists and goal setting, and it’s commonly known that I enjoy a good New Year resolution or two. The New Year is a great time to work on new beginnings and fresh starts. However, you don’t need to wait until January 1^st to make relevant changes to your lifestyle, career, health, or wellbeing.

September, for me, is the perfect month to embrace those new adventures, start a new academic course either online or at night school, or begin a health regime that will keep you mentally and physically fit during the winter. It’s a month of crisp weather, the promise of home grown apples and blackberries, and let’s not forget the oodles of back to school stationery just waiting to be purchased.

For years I put off getting started, not just with my writing projects, but with my health, and wellbeing. I would grumble about my muffin top and back fat but then demolish a cream bun at the local coffee shop. I would tell myself that ‘this year’ was when I’d finally write that book. Year after year I did this until finally, something clicked – I was only letting myself down.

How to Use One Month to Make Small Changes That Last.

If you’ve just experienced that horrific realisation that you go on holiday in a month and are having those ‘where is the svelte figure I promised myself’ thoughts then panic not.

There’s still time to turn your bad habits around and install a better mind-set so that you can enjoy your holiday and return with a clear focus for the remainder of the year.

Here’s how:

Days 1 – 6

Turn to your trusty journal and note everything down. Write down all the times you reach for the biscuit tin, or smuggle a Mars bar under your t-shirt so the kids don’t spot it. While you’re at it, jot down how you were feeling at the time (angry, upset, etc.) and the time of day. By doing this, it helps to give you an insight into your activities and the behaviour associated with each act/habit.

What's Your Favourite Inspirational Quote? #wwwBlogs

If you scroll down any social media feed you will find an abundance of memes with a variety of quotes – some are inspirational, some humorous, and some are very thought provoking.

I share quite a few of these on my Resolution Challenge Facebook page. Not because it fits my personal needs – although, some days these affirmations have been spot on! – I share them in the hope that they’ll help someone else.

When I ran my holistic health business, my clients were always at the forefront of my mind. If I read an inspiring article, I would save it as I knew it might resonate with one of my ladies. When I heard about a new meditation class or spiritual workshop, I would forward the details to the people I knew would enjoy these events.

How to Change Bad Habits

Why change the habit of a lifetime? I have no idea who said that, but it has certainly resonated with me over the years. Why indeed? Our poor brain categorises our actions as habits so that we don’t end up with mental fatigue. Having to make constant decisions depletes our energy and it’s, therefore, a welcome relief if there are habits in place to make that decision making easier.

But what if you really want to change a habit? Maybe it’s a bad habit that makes you feel guilty or sad, or perhaps you want to create a good habit and have it stick as a regular in your life. How on earth do you go about this?

I joined a gym yesterday. Don’t panic; I will NOT be clambering on any rowing machines or sprinting down a treadmill anytime soon. I joined so that I could utilise their swimming pool and abundance of yoga and Pilates classes (the added bonus of a coffee shop swung the deal!). I want to create a good, healthy habit in my daily life and meet like-minded people.

#BookReview Moon Wisdom by Heather Roan Robbins #Astrology

#BookReview Moon Wisdom by Heather Roan Robbins

Author: Heather Roan Robbins
Category: Mind, Body, Spirit/Astrology

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Review:

For the past couple of years, I have convinced myself that my emotions and overall mood has been linked to the moon cycle. After being diagnosed with severe depression last year I monitor my state of mind on a regular basis and try not to overwhelm myself with too many activities. I noticed that there were certain times of the month when I felt much lower than other times.

I decided to investigate this further and found Heather Roan Robbins’ book, Moon Wisdom, about transforming your life using the moon’s signs and cycles.

Heather explains how the moon sets the tone of the day and that it changes signs every two and a third days. By knowing where the moon is on any given day, you get a snapshot of the mood and general attitude for any particular day.

Turn Stress Into Something Positive #Stress #Wellbeing

We’ve all experienced those days or weeks that wipe us out.

As we become bogged down by work, family life and a hectic social scene, we may begin to forget certain things such as a friend’s birthday or to cancel a hair appointment. Neither of these scenarios are life threatening and certainly shouldn’t tip us over the edge, but when we take too much on, the cracks begin to show.

Stress is a part of who we are. We deal with pressure, deadlines and multi-tasking regularly.

There have been many books and articles written on the benefits of a certain amount of stress in our lives. It can keep us on our toes, motivated to succeed and help us focus on an important task.

However, regardless of whether we believe that stress is good or bad, it can still have a detrimental effect on our health and wellbeing.

When we deal with an excessively stressful situation our body produces adrenaline and cortisol to help us deal with the threat – this is our fight or flight response. 

Project You - Learn To Let Go

Project You!

Week 5: Learn to let go.

Last time we looked at how self-love must start on the inside, you can read that post HERE. Today I want to talk about letting go of old emotions.

I’m one of the world’s worst for holding on to things from my past. I’ll admit that I’m getting better with age, and having a background in holistic health has certainly steered me down the right route, however, when our past is still impacting on our present then something needs to be done.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will have spotted the occasional post about my invisible illness and subsequent depression and anxiety. These are ongoing issues that I deal with in a variety of ways. Yesterday, for instance, I had my first EMMETT treatment, and it blew me away.

Today, I have woken up feeling human again – it’s been two years since I felt ‘normal.' A recurring theme that came up during my treatment was the tension in my neck, shoulders, and back (represents support issues). As a single parent to three teenage children, I guess it’s inevitable that I can feel unsupported on a day-to-day basis.

I’m sure many of you can recall a time when you tried to either ‘fix’ a friend or relative instead of sorting out your own health/emotional issues. I’m great in a crisis and can advise anyone on the perfect course of action, but if I need to turn that support around, I’m often unable to help myself.

The illness and depression have taught me to abandon any hope of being in control. It’s a doomed mission! Instead, I choose to be positive no matter what is thrown at me, and do you know what happens when I take this attitude? I started the process of healing.

Annual Blogger Bash 2016 #BloggersBash

I've been blogging for three years now and I love it! I write this blog as well as a book/writing related blog over on Word Press - you can find it HERE.

The blogging and writing community is fabulous, and I’ve made many new friends through sharing, interacting and commenting on the incredible blogs that are out there.

To celebrate the best bloggers around, Sacha Black and her awesome team launched the Annual Blogger Bash back in 2015, and I’ve very pleased to say that it’s returning this year and looks to be bigger and better than before.

The physical event takes place on 11^th June 2016 in London and tickets can be found HERE. Regular blog readers who are unable to make the event can follow all the fun and frivolity via Twitter or Facebook.

Project You! Self-Love Starts On The Inside

Project You!

Week 4: Self-love starts on the inside.

Last week we looked at abandoning our to-do list, you can read that post HERE.

Today, I want to talk about self-love. It’s a phrase that many of us struggle with and one that I’ve pondered over many times. Last year I joined a slimming group in the hope of shedding the two stone in weight that crept on during the initial months of my ill health. I thought that by losing the weight, I would start to feel better about myself.

Losing weight and feeling fitter and healthier, slimmer and more energetic is a worthy goal but it doesn’t change the essence of who we are. I look in the mirror and still see the dark circles under my eyes, the stretch marks and ‘laughter lines.' Losing weight won’t change that. I just need to embrace everything as a whole – inside and out.