Tag: thinking

Christmas, lifestyle

Your Christmas preparation plan 2022!

brainbiscuitscoaching

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?

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 2023?

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 2022 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 2022? 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 2023.

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 2023 yours!

2022, autumn, autumn lifestyle, Christmas, Uncategorized

Let autumn be your winter “Prep”

brainbiscuitscoaching

With autumn well and truly here, it’s a season full of change and I use it as a season to prep for the winter and enjoy all the wonderful inspiration autumn has to offer. It’s a great time to declutter, forget spring cleaning enjoy “Autumn Organising”.

This time of year, I like to make changes to my living environment as I know over the coming weeks I will spend more time indoors as winter approaches. I like to change items in my living space as it creates a new mood and therefore a new energy in my home. My living room is the heart of my home so I always focus on this space and of course my bedroom. Things I aim for is looking at soft lighting as this keeps me feeling positive in the darker days as unfortunately unlike summer there isn’t long amounts of natural light so this is important to me and of course colour, I tend to change colours in my home once for spring/summer and then autumn/winter, choosing colours you are drawn to is so important. Right now, I am drawn to a cosy soft forest greens and warmer shade of Grey, For my living space. I like to change my throws, cushions, flowers and try to minimise things ahead of Christmas. This also could be items you can change, update, up-cycle or find on-line with little to no cost.

Autumn for me can affect my mood I notice now that I start off feeling a little flat when October approaches. However interestingly, Autumn tends to be a great season for me personally to focus. Autumn for me has a pattern I notice where anything I set out todo goal setting wise works. It’s important to work out if you have a season which you are at your best! Make a mental log of what season works best for you, this is a great tool and should be used when planning something that needs lot of focus and motivation, as this is when you’re at your optimum peak of positive mindset!

My Personal Autumn must dos are;

1, Take a bag and fill it with anything in your house you feel you’re ready to move on from, no-longer wear,use or need. Fill the bag and send it off to your local charity shop collection bags that come through the post or find out what food banks etc in the area are accepting at this time.

2, Try a new recipe and make something hearty to enjoy. I personally love using a slow cooker this time of year for seasonal vegetable stews, soups and dishes.

3, Pick a space in your home such as an area your drawn to and want to change. Try quick go-to changes first for example if it’s the sofa in your living room change the cushions and throw and see if it makes you feel uplifted or any different feeling to the space, more cosy, calm etc. Put up new photos and pictures that inspire the changes and new things going on in life right now, positive Visuals are great!

4, Pick a new scent, try a new perfume for you, a candle for your home, I went with an Autumn scented candle, lots of Sandalwood, pumpkin spice (a personal favourite)Amber and burnt Orange to bring the crisp Autumn feeling in the home!

5, Have a go-to basket for inspiration and when you’re feeling inspired to do something like goal set, list right, plan-things or get creative. Have things in the basket like notebooks, pens, books, craft projects you want to do this season. This positive pod,means they are all conveniently ready for you, prep again is key!

6, With the darker night’s drawing in, I like to review my exercise routine, either get equipped for running in the dark or make routine changes and try some new remember winter creeps up on you so plan your new exercise routine now. Remember with exercise preparation is key!

7, This time of year can get expensive especially in todays current economys challenges, so maybe look at any positive changes that you can make to your shopping and outgoings, sometimes being organised with homemade lunches, prepared meals from scratch not only healthier but cost affective to, these things can really help make a positive spin on the pennies

8, Have list of things you want to go and do this season, step outside the comfort zone and do something that challenges you in a positive way, from new classes, learning, reading that book, visiting new outdoor spaces or trying a new hobby or exercise, go for it!

9, Go through your kitchen cupboards/pantry and see what you have that’s in date, but you won’t really use that you could give to your local food bank most super markets now have a trolley at the front you can give items to. You could even get some extra bits to give, I like to get pasta to add to my items I donate.

10, This is one of my favourites, get your diary full of social catch ups with all your friends, it’s so important to keep connected especially with people who make you happy! Organise face time or zoom catch ups outdoor walk meet ups,social distancing of course.

11, Something you might want to do is set a goal that can be complete between now and Christmas or winter ask yourself,

Q: By Christmas I would like to (blank)

Fill this answer in with something you would like to achieve in these time frames.

12, I like to go through my clothing and make a capsule wardrobe (collection of a few essential items) and put a few full out fits together that I want to wear and that make me feel positive. Things that make me feel more well’ me’ It’s fun to sometimes get ideas for AW22 fashion, hair, accessories and makeup for inspirations.

Enjoy your Autumn Organising!

2022, blue monday, blue monday 2022, health, lifestyle, Mental health

Blue Monday… Brain Dump Time…..

brainbiscuitscoaching

Struggling with your thoughts and feelings….Learn to enjoy a good brain dump!

Ever have times where you feel incredibly overwhelmed, like your really processing a lot of thoughts and feelings or just feel in a withdrawn state?

You may have a mind full of all sorts,This is the perfect time to have a good brain dump.

A brain dump is where you literally take every single thought that you can catch, that’s swimming around in your mind and get it down on paper, wether a word, complete sentence of thoughts or feelings. Write it all on a page and off load it there from your mind and make a subconscious brain dump.

It’s an ideal strategy when you need to clear your mind, I recommend that you find a place you can have a moment and take the time you need to complete this exercise;

The exercise should help you to understand and identify more about your thoughts and feelings and this should in return help your mental health. It allows you to keep your mind as clear and as aware as possible. By regularly doing this as a strategy.

This will help you Identify when your overwhelmed or stressed, which is so important as your mental health is just as important as physical health. I hope this practical exercise for the mind feel that it supports you just like an exercise routine for your body would.

This exercise gets the words, feelings and thoughts out that you need to expose to yourself and helps you exercise your thoughts, outward rather than harbour them inwards and keep them bottled up inside, where they manifest into something else if not addressed, like anxiety, anger, fear, worry, sadness and what you actually really need is to talk them outward, release them on to paper.

Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom on Pexels.com

When brain dumping, Start with all the things that come quickly to mind first, as they are normally trigger words that open up more depth of your thoughts and feelings.

An Example is, if I wrote the word “Pressure “ I could look at that word and ask myself why did I write this? My answer might be, I wrote pressure because I feel, I am someone who regularly has presume in there life. The next question is why do you feel pressure? I feel pressure because I’m juggling a lot of things all the time. By asking this it helps you identify some context to the thoughts and words.

The next thing to then do is ask yourself what can be done about this? Can anything be done?, is it in your control? How can I feel less “pressured” what are my options, can I get help with X, Y and Z that I am juggling that makes me feel this pressure. If you find somethings you write on this that’s not in your control. Then how can you draw a line on it, accept and move on, or find a strategy to cope with the things your not in control of, you can make a list of what helps with these things such as exercise, walking , running, mindfulness, yoga, Pilates, craft projects, etc

The other things that can come to mind when you get things down on paper, might be things that are more of a list of things you want to do or need to do, with these, section them together and then you could make a to-do task list for yourself. This is so you feel you have these things now out of the mind and in your control.

You may have things that are on your mind that are impacting you a lot. A particular subject that comes back regularly, this is something to focus on. Spend more time on working this through. ask yourself why it regularly comes up? Do you need help with this?

Ask yourself, is this particular word or situation stopping you from progressing,becoming or doing anything? Ask yourself is it linked to anything?

Remember, It’s always better out than in, keeping it all internally will normally mean it’s coming out still,but in a different way. It may be displayed in mood swings, out of control with food or substances, feeling low or unhappy regularly. This is because your not dealing with it yet or fully, until you do your subconscious will keep it floating around to haunt you. Learn to let it out and let it all go….

Also If you are really struggling and feel you need support don’t be ashamed, reach out to someone don’t suffer in silence. talk it out and get support.

be happy, health, Identity, life style, lifestyle, Mental health, mentalhealth, motivation, New you, selfcare, Uncategorized, Well-being, wellbeing

Unlocking yourself step by step….. Find your Key

brainbiscuitscoaching

Ever think your plodding along waiting to actually be the real you and live your life the way you want. Become and being who you truly are and want to be?

Do you feel like you start with good intentions to do just this and then Life throws things your way ! Then you have to deal with what’s thrown at you and sometimes it feel constant, so you need time to process the impact of this and what’s been caused as a result.

When these things happen to get through We sometimes have to sacrifice what we wanted, stop and ease all pressure and our personal priorities have to change, shift and our direction then,some times even if temporary has to change.

Then Once the impact of what’s been trown your way becomes the new normal, is resolved, is accepted or has past we can then revaluate where we are and want to go next with our own personal journey again. Back on track or new track. But how do we ensure we can get to where we want to be even with the rollacoaster of life, how can we still become who we want to be and keep creating a lifestyle we want and not keep losing it?

Some ideas of the Steps you could consider and take to help you understand more about who you are, what you want in life and the key to unlocking your true self ….

1) First off it’s important to find out what makes you happy!; Think of all the things that you currently do that makes you feel good, make you feel like your really living and alive, things that make you feel that’s zest again for life. Factor them into your life more and often.

2) No what triggers off your mood swings or various behaviours. It’s a good ideas to keep a mood diary to spot any tiggers both good and bad in your life and day to day, so you can workout what causes these and have more or less time and energy on these things!what ever your mood, sad, angry, worried, scared, happy, excited, motivated etc the list goes on work out what makes you feel what, then un-pick it all from your diary to help you get a clear picture of what you can change if possible.

3) Ask yourself what do I want in my life? What do you want to become in life now? To help you with this there is an exercise you can do, imagine what your ideal self would be like in description if could meet your future self say in 3-5yrs time. what would you want this person to be like and do and have ? Then describe this version of yourself , what words and description have you used. Use this as a basis for current aims and goal setting.

4) To move forward you have to let go of what holds you back. Consider what at the moment dose this?what are you thinking and believing that could limit you, stop you from moving on? Think about areas of yourself and life which you feel make you feel more negative about who you are. Think about what can be done to get rid of these feelings? As limiting beliefs. How can you support yourself to move forward with this so you feel less negative, held back or so fearful.

5) Understand the importance of Self worth, acceptance and belief. How can you help yourself accept yourself more and the things you don’t want to accept make changes to, so they become what you will or want to accept. It’s important to learn how to understand what you can change via what you cannot. Learn to draw a line under those things so you can be free of such negativity and anything toxic and move on finally in your life, most importantly then be free of those things you once harboured inside, creating more space to fill with new positive things form moving forward in your life and all the good these new steps bring.

6) Think about what makes feel the real best version of you! What do you like ?what makes you feel confident, what is it you do that makes you feel happy, your most content and what do you enjoy, what can be added to your day to day life to keep you on track, what do you use to boost yourself. Then consider how often you move outside the comfort zone and take on new ventures, challenges and tasks? Do you currently and rarely do this? If so then maybe think about what would challenge you the right amount to inject some newness into your life? That’s if you want of course. This often can be the smallest step at first but it becomes a seed of change for you, because every step leads to something new, a shift, the start of a new direction in your life. The hardest part is taking the step in the first place.

7) Remember perfect doesn’t exists strive for your best but not prefect, giving things your best will definitely do! keep things real and sustainable no failing their, you can also build a lifestyle off things that are sustainable, allowing you to keep to a level you want to be at which is achievable and maintainable.

8) Learn to say no more and not spend lots of time on things and people that you feel impact your mental health, limit things that make you feel faraway from who you are and drain you, life’s to short.

9) Know yourself , recognise when your slipping and what strategies work to keep you as grounded and stable both mentally and physically as possible, top this up daily and regularly it’s so important.

9) Accept that good things take time, allow yourself time to process what’s happened in your life, no that you will move forward again when the times right when any trauma occurs, no that it’s perfectly normal to need time to repair, grieve, process any trauma, in life and be kind to yourself and reach out if you feel your struggling. Find a community you feel part of to work through and support each other, connect and in turn this could help you to feel less alone and isolated.

10) Don’t deflate and dim down who you are to please others, life’s to short so shine, find others who allow you to shine and radiate off each other and have a tribe who is definitely your vibe around you.

11) Remember your human and we all have bad days, sad days low days your not a robot,you will experience different emotions in life and that perfectly ok!

12) Be aware that Your mental health will change rapidly at times in life, when unexpected things happen. workout what helps you feel stable and use these strategies regularly to keep yourself topped up.

13) Value your health make a small step then another, keep adding one you commit to one for long enough it becomes a lifestyle. Changes that are realistic and sustainable allowing you to constantly improve your overall lifestyle.

14) understand the importance of Self-care, value how important this is, do things that support you and promote your well-being and no how this can be affected on good days and bad days and factor in time for you to look after yourself and needs.

15) No what you need and how to make it happen for yourself. This isn’t a selfish act! it’s key to success “you time” is key for your mental health, physically health and well being it’s what supports your success and happiness.

Remember You hold the key to “you” now you just need to know how to turn it ….

fitness, health, How to be happier, life style, lifestyle, Mental health, mentalhealth, motivation, out with old in with new, selfcare, spring, sutainability

Spring into spring!

brainbiscuitscoaching

Spring is coming, lighter days, warmer weather and hope on the horizon, There’s never been a better time to get planning, looking ahead and set your action plan to step into spring….

Think about what you want and the steps you need to get there, make a list of daily tasks, weekly steps that will get you to where you want to be this season.

Review where you are, what do you want next out of life, what are you aiming for? What’s next on your chapter?

Spring steps and tips of areas to focus on:

1) Clear out your old clothes, make a wardrobe that reflect you at your best, revamp yourself and style for spring. From looks, fabrics, colours, make up, accessories and self care routines to Maximise your confidence and self worth. Remember Your worth it!

2) Out with the old in with the new, review items you store in your home whatever isn’t being used and you don’t love! give it chance for a new life to become a treasure or use to someone else. Up cycle, recycle and give to those in need via your local charities.

3) Plan ahead the things you want to have and look forward to this spring. From a new challenge, venture that trip or staycation away this summer. It’s so important to have things to look forward to no Matter how small they may be. To keep you looking ahead, giving you motivation and drive.

4) Review your routine, with spring around the corner the days will be lighter for longer think about your fitness routines, Review your goals make tweaks where they’re needed to keep you feeling and getting the results you want and deserve. Keeping you determined, focused and accountable. It’s great to be able to do a lot more of your workouts outside and more options due to the weather change. Look to challenge yourself and revamp where you need to your workouts.

5) Review your eating habits and what will be in season this spring from vegetables, and fruit. Update your ingredients make things more interesting with what’s available. Find new and inspiring recipes. Review your nutrition, vitamins, nutrients, mineral intake, maximise free online support tools and apps that help you log these things and water intake!

6) Get more fresh air, Get out when safe to and get lots of Fresh air! we have been in fair to much! Especially now the days are lot more lighter, walking is so good for your well-being and mindfulness.

7) Review your Sustainability, consider anything you can do to help promote this. Review your garden is there anything you can grow and provide for yourself such as vegetables, herbs and fruits? is there an allotment or community garden you can get involved with? Perhaps support a charity you can make a donation with of any of your old garden pots and seeds to support others who may not have a garden. Gardening is super for supporting good mental health.

8) Spring clean Declutter, Spurs up your home, make a few changes weathers it’s more plants, colour scheme, Minimalise clutter and give life to the new area in your home that’s not currently being utilised properly, clear areas of chaos, a tidy home is so much better for promoting a clear mind.

9) Take on new and exciting personal and self development tasks, goals and challenges that put a spring in your step! fire in your belly, that takes you out of your comfort zone, that you’ve got into over winter and spring into new challenges this spring.

10) Ask yourself how happy am I at the moment? How much am I enjoying what I do weekly, daily right now? what can I do to make myself feel happier, list out thoughts of new suggestions and how you could introduce new things that keep your zest for life and your happiness at a top priority. Find how to keep or find your zest for life again and your happiness at the top of your weekly daily priorities.

11) Self-care, look at including steps and strategies to ensure you’re regularly checking in on yourself. Think about how your well-being is and how you’re caring for yourself, ask yourself if there’s any improvements you want to make? What’s been working over winter? what might have been the most hardest time for self-care to be at optimum level, use spring as a great time to ensure your on the best path for you possible.and Get list making a write down the steps and prioritise this! it’s not selfish it’s key to you enjoying your life. Draw on strategies that work and include them in your plan will ensure success.