February is here, the month of love, so it’s the perfect time to look at what you love in your life right now, and what would you love to change/happen and be doing this year?
An Emotion such as Love is so powerful and important, as it gives you drive and determination. Relationships are also so important. The relationships you have with your family, friends, and community can really matter but what about the relationship You have with yourself!
Do you ever look at how you treat yourself?It’s important to recognise if you put your self down our put limiting beliefs out there that stop you doing what you love.
It’s a good idea to look at what your current personal priorities, Identify how much they mean to you and the impact they have on you.Also It’s good to look at How much responsibility you have towards these priorities.
Can you make them change if there not what you want anymore, can you take control of them? if you are able to be in control what can or would you like to work on first, to make your life better and more enjoyable?
The happier you are, the more likely that you will find those around you are!I find it helps with all of the juggling and work life balance we all have to deal with at times making sure time out for yourself is factored in and planned.
There is no time like the present, me time can happen, you need to just ask yourself these questions to get the ball rolling and start to make plans!
It’s helpful to look to ask yourself and Work on these 4 questions:
1, if I could do anything what would I love to be doing?
2, What would I love to happen this year that’s within my control?
3,What do I love and enjoy in my life and how Can I factor it in more to my routine?
4, look at when you can start some of the above, Pick a date when the first step is going to happen! It’s more likely to come true if you write it down and commit to it!
Remember you are steering your direction, you can change it,make a life you love with the things that you have the control over and have the power to make change.
Sometimes life is hard and we all at times are dealt cards that are unexpected, negative or out of our control! and these can therefore take us off course. But with the things that you do have control over and are able to have responsibility for positive change, why not make it all lead to something you want!
Remember there is no failure in trying! Don’t regret things make things happen you deserve to be happy! You can’t change yesterday but tomorrow is yours for the taking…………enjoy!
With 2023 on the horizon and 2022 closing to an end,here’s some helpful steps on how to make the New Year yours….
1) Think about what makes you really happy and make time for this as much as possible! like the old saying goes “you get out what you put in” your happiness is the best investment you could ever make so prioritise this whenever possible.
2) Make a small permanent change in direction you want. choose things you can achieve, maintain and sustain, make a lifestyle as supposed to drastic measures that will just leave you back where you started.
3) Move more, Look at any form of exercise you would enjoy doing and try to include this regularly in your life. If you don’t like the exercise you have already tried then find out what makes you have that buzz for movement again, for example if you don’t like running then don’t run! look at alternatives. if you love dance maybe look at aerobic dance forms of exercise, that you could take up instead.
4) Progress over perfection always choose progress it’s more sustainable and doesn’t leave you feeling un accomplished and exhausted, if your making progress where you want then isn’t that the most perfect outcome!
5) Accountability one of the best things you could ever do is face where you are and decide where you want to be and look at what you can do to own the situation and make it yours.
6) Learn to let go, you will feel so much lighter mentally, than when you hold onto things that are toxic, Draw a line on what cannot be changed.
7) Get outside and as much fresh air as you possibly can, it really helps to gain perspective by having a change of scene some light movement and fresh air . It’s so good for your well-being too!
8) You tribe is definitely your vibe, pick wisely, Invest your time in people who radiate positive energy that make you feel your best self, that leave you feeling inspired not drained.
9) Recognise what you have accomplished and achieved already, celebrate you! start to recognise the steps you have already taken, they are so important every step know matter how small counts! Remember how far you have come and you can do this!
10) Make time for “Me Time” it is incredibly important make sure you make time for yourself regularly, it’s not selfish, it’s you investing in you.
11) Do things that challenge you in the right way, this will stop things becoming and feeling stagnant for you, it’s good to take steps outside your comfort zone and try new things, challenges and experiences, enjoy being inspired
12) Recognise your own strength. It’s really is a true strength to own your situation, deciding to start making that change in the direction you want, knowing it’s not going to be easy but it’s going to be worth it. Owning the hard days as well as the good, learning and working on strategies that help you move through these times.
13) Declutter,make space for you! make your environments feel supportive to your mind if you feel clutter does overwhelm and affect your mood,try to support yourself for making time to Declutter and make your space better for you. Give things new life by donating to charity or upcycle projects, use it or lose it.
14) Review anything you’ve been doing for a long time that you feel needs tweaking, revamping in your life, anything around your lifestyle, if you start to feel things have be become a bit stagnant and you want to feel more inspired make a tweak or change here or there to keep yourself on track and still progressing and more importantly enjoying what you’re doing.
15) Ask yourself what inspires me,what makes you feel really motivated and take inspiration from this whenever possible. Sometimes it’s helpful to have visuals whether it’s photographs or pictures,do whatever helps you feel inspired, draw upon these especially in moments where you feel you might be slipping back to old habits and needing motivated.
16) Have confidence,look at things that will boost your confidence this can be simply a wardrobe change a exercise routine change, new activity or club, new skin or nutrition routine something that will just give you that piece of “newness” you feel you want for 2023.
17) Revisit some of the goals you may have set, ask your self have these changed? it’s okay if they haven’t or have. If you have some new ones get them down on paper, it’s also okay if nothing comes to mind there’s no pressure there for you, know one else.
18) when did you last feel the best version of you? take a moment to look at when you last felt the closest to the you, who you identify as yourself , the you, you really are and want to be more of! Ask yourself,who where you with? what where you doing ?what was the environment you where in and just take a moment to think about this and see if you want to include any this in any of your thoughts when looking at your future and goal setting and the changes that you want to make to your lifestyle.
19) Get creative, look at things that you might like to try that help you visit your creative diet, this can be anything from New recipes, New craft projects, writing photography art see if anything takes your fancy and enjoy exploring your creative side.
20) Sign up to something new, if something takes your fancy and makes you feel excited and inspired why not sign up to that new challenge you come across next in 2023, what’s the worst that could happen you decide it’s not for you but you’ve achieved something different and you go for it!
21) Take a moment, grab a notebook and pen find somewhere you feel inspired to be a bit reflective and ask yourself what do I want? jot down everything that comes to mind, then choose something you have written on the page, that jumps out to you, to help give you some direction if you feel a bit lost about where to start, when looking at setting goals yourself.
22) Visit new surroundings, places and environments take inspiration from the things around you, enjoy exploring new settings.
23)Live in the moment more, be you,Do what you want to do, what makesYou happy and be as present in the moment as possible. Remember your mental Health matters, look after yourself and know you are enough.
Remember there is absolutely no pressure to change or do anything, unless you want to!
We all have mental health just as we have physical health however, it is not always something we look at regularly supporting and training, or exercising and reviewing. It would be wonderful to think we soon will be in a world where we could openly ask each other ” how you feeling today and how’s your mind”, without it being uncomfortable. We all have those moments in life where things can cause us to feel lower in our mood. This often affects our mental health. Times of this “low mood “ or any ongoing sadness can happen to any of us at any time, feeling as if it comes upon us without any warning. It is important to recognise your own personal triggers. It’s important to ask yourself;
1,what are my triggers?
2,What sends my stress levels over the edge?
3, Is there any changes you can make to help you manage these things?
4, what helps you to keep going when you feel like this?
The triggers could be anything, such as a memorable date, topics you are sensitive to and don’t want to face yet, family, relationships, self-limiting beliefs, traumas, life events, medical reasons, life pressure, public speaking, anything! It is so important to take the time to look at any trigger patterning you have. By looking at triggers you can possibly unlock a resilience strategy for yourself that just might help you cope better when you are in need. Emotional stress can be really overwhelming, it can impact both your physical and mental state. Strategies to support your resilience can work wonders in helping you through this time, along with of course any support groups, professional outreach etc available to you.
Examples of resilience you can use when this happens are things such as supportive building blocks to help manage your stress levels. Some of mine are below:
When life is busy I have to make sure I have me time,
Personal head space-time, walk, read, chill out somewhere away from everything to just clear your mind (a pause moment)
Something that makes you feel a sense of belonging such as socialising with the right community,
Things I enjoy, things that make me happy, as happiness is so important! Such as hobbies (Creative Diet).
I try to goal set my activities into my weekly plans, looking at how I can review and improve and identify the priorities I have. These keep me on track and both my physical and mental health are in better shape for it (Muscle Motivation).
Predict my stress triggers. When I know something is coming up that is likely to cause stress good planning is key. I look at what I can do to manage it as best I can, and what best supports me.
Make sure you tell someone. If I am worried about things or stressed, just saying things out loud to someone can make a huge difference as you then own your true feelings.
Choose to hang out with people that make you feel uplifted,Someone you can text, call, meet and have that support with,
I ensure I take regular pause moments; so important!
Even when you don’t feel like it connect with the world daily so you don’t become withdrawn.
Remember you are often not alone with these feelings and it is so important to tell someone. Don’t suffer in silence, it will only get worse.
With 2022 on the horizon and 2021 closing to an end,here’s some helpful steps on how to make the New Year yours….
1) Think about what makes you really happy and make time for this as much as possible! like the old saying goes “you get out what you put in” your happiness is the best investment you could ever make so prioritise this whenever possible.
2) Make a small permanent change in direction you want. choose things you can achieve, maintain and sustain, make a lifestyle as supposed to drastic measures that will just leave you back where you started.
3) Move more, Look at any form of exercise you would enjoy doing and try to include this regularly in your life. If you don’t like the exercise you have already tried then find out what makes you have that buzz for movement again, for example if you don’t like running then don’t run! look at alternatives. if you love dance maybe look at aerobic dance forms of exercise, that you could take up instead.
4) Progress over perfection always choose progress it’s more sustainable and doesn’t leave you feeling un accomplished and exhausted, if your making progress where you want then isn’t that the most perfect outcome!
5) Accountability one of the best things you could ever do is face where you are and decide where you want to be and look at what you can do to own the situation and make it yours.
6) Learn to let go, you will feel so much lighter mentally, than when you hold onto things that are toxic, Draw a line on what cannot be changed.
7) Get outside and as much fresh air as you possibly can, it really helps to gain perspective by having a change of scene some light movement and fresh air . It’s so good for your well-being too!
8) You tribe is definitely your vibe, pick wisely, Invest your time in people who radiate positive energy that make you feel your best self, that leave you feeling inspired not drained.
9) Recognise what you have accomplished and achieved already, celebrate you! start to recognise the steps you have already taken, they are so important every step know matter how small counts! Remember how far you have come and you can do this!
10) Make time for “Me Time” it is incredibly important make sure you make time for yourself regularly, it’s not selfish, it’s you investing in you.
11) Do things that challenge you in the right way, this will stop things becoming and feeling stagnant for you, it’s good to take steps outside your comfort zone and try new things, challenges and experiences, enjoy being inspired.
12) Recognise your own strength. It’s really is a true strength to own your situation, deciding to start making that change in the direction you want, knowing it’s not going to be easy but it’s going to be worth it. Owning the hard days as well as the good, learning and working on strategies that help you move through these times.
13) Declutter,make space for you! make your environments feel supportive to your mind if you feel clutter does overwhelm and affect your mood,try to support yourself for making time to Declutter and make your space better for you. Give things new life by donating to charity or upcycle projects, use it or lose it.
14) Review anything you’ve been doing for a long time that you feel needs tweaking, revamping in your life, anything around your lifestyle, if you start to feel things have be become a bit stagnant and you want to feel more inspired make a tweak or change here or there to keep yourself on track and still progressing and more importantly enjoying what you’re doing.
15) Ask yourself what inspires me,what makes you feel really motivated and take inspiration from this whenever possible. Sometimes it’s helpful to have visuals whether it’s photographs or pictures,do whatever helps you feel inspired, draw upon these especially in moments where you feel you might be slipping back to old habits and needing motivated.
16) Have confidence,look at things that will boost your confidence this can be simply a wardrobe change a exercise routine change, new activity or club, new skin or nutrition routine something that will just give you that piece of “newness” you feel you want for 2022
17) Revisit some of the goals you may have set, ask your self have these changed? it’s okay if they haven’t or have. If you have some new ones get them down on paper, it’s also okay if nothing comes to mind there’s no pressure there for you, know one else.
18) when did you last feel the best version of you? take a moment to look at when you last felt the closest to the you, who you identify as yourself , the you, you really are and want to be more of! Ask yourself,who where you with? what where you doing ?what was the environment you where in and just take a moment to think about this and see if you want to include any this in any of your thoughts when looking at your future and goal setting and the changes that you want to make to your lifestyle.
19) Get creative, look at things that you might like to try that help you visit your creative diet, this can be anything from New recipes, New craft projects, writing photography art see if anything takes your fancy and enjoy exploring your creative side.
20) Sign up to something new, if something takes your fancy and makes you feel excited and inspired why not sign up to that new challenge you come across next in 2022, what’s the worst that could happen you decide it’s not for you but you’ve achieved something different and you go for it!
21) Take a moment, grab a notebook and pen find somewhere you feel inspired to be a bit reflective and ask yourself what do I want? jot down everything that comes to mind, then choose something you have written on the page, that jumps out to you, to help give you some direction if you feel a bit lost about where to start, when looking at setting goals yourself.
22) Visit new surroundings, places and environments take inspiration from the things around you, enjoy exploring new settings.
Remember there is absolutely no pressure to change or do anything, unless you want to! Wishing you a very healthy and happy 2022!
It’s that time of the year when Christmas is around the corner and I feel it’s important to make sure you ask yourself; Is any of my Christmas planning filled with things that I want ? Does the planning reflect What is my ideal Christmas? What am I allowed to do around restrictions in place?
This time of year can come with so much pressure because we all put ourselves under pressure for everything to be “perfect”
Make sure you don’t use a lot of your energy on things that don’t promote your happiness nor do things that may add extra financial pressure.
Christmas really is a mixed bag when it comes to emotions too, ether it may be due to past experiences or loss of persons or a change in personal circumstances. Christmas is different for everyone.
This time of year is also typically when our routine goes out the Window and as nice as it is to have days off from the norm, I find this impacts me. If you need routine or notice if you don’t have routine that you struggle with the change of pace, just make sure you keep some of the structure you personally need. For me I need to still clear my head and push myself physically, so I have to stick to strategies that allow me to do this, for me this is my running, and Exercise, I need routine over the festive holidays to keep me on track.
A tip of survival is to avoid a stressful Christmas and just remind yourself to consider your own feelings on things; what matters and what really does not matter …. such as perfection!
Spend your time wisely, and try not to put pressure on yourself, it’s ok if it’s not the perfect Christmas you had in your mind. If things are fun and make you happy and you get to surround yourself with those who matter to you then isn’t that a success in itself?
This year I am trying to aim for the following steps and tasks for myself;
1,Go with the flow days, were I go with how I feel and enjoy the lack of pressure and expectations I put on myself.
2,Social days with those who make me feel happy, uplifted and good.l
3,Days to be productive, to get those things done that I didn’t get a chance to until now, and want to have done ahead of the new year.
4,Fresh air outdoors days where we can just get outside on a crisp winter day and enjoy ourselves.
5,have Creative days, it’s important to feed your creativity and if you want to make something or bake or attempt something new just do it!
6, If you find your mind has a few thoughts swimming around about the near future or for the new year etc try to make the time to acknowledge what you are thinking about, make time to write them down. Following on form this….
7, Allow Forward thinking time, It’s good to ask yourself;
•What do I want for 2022?
•What do I want to do in 2022?
See what come to mind. Get it down on paper it’s more likely to be something you commit to if you see it written it comes to life.
8, It’s good to also be reflective and learn from 2021 what you enjoyed, didn’t enjoy and what you have learnt from these things. Ask yourself if they present again Can you approach things differently, can you change these things, again what do you want and how do you feel?
9, it’s good to ask yourself,what where my memorable happy times of 2021? reflect back at the year’s highlights, whenever possible use visuals such as photos, Keepsakes etc things that made you feel happy and what was it about this moment and memory, can it be recreated for example ‘photo of a lovely place you walked with friends why not plan more walks and dates to do this again, make it part of a life style for 2022.
10, Give yourself time, the gift of time to sit down for a moment and listen to your thoughts and feelings; find your creative space, your pause moment and let things come to you that need to be considered, process then and write down any questions and goals they set.
Remember the past has happened and can’t be changed but you can be the change you need to make your Christmas and new year 2022 yours!
Brain Biscuits Coaching 