How are you going? No, I mean how are you really? Are you doing okay? How often do you stop, take a breath and really check in with yourself to see how you are feeling.
We are often so caught up with all that is going on around us and with the people that are around us, that it is sometimes hard to take time to stop. I don't know about you, but I have been feeling really tired. I'm usually a person that is always busy and that is my way of coping with stress and anxiety, but that has stared to feel like it's working for me lately. I am feeling the need to slow down and stop filling every moment of the day. I am trying to listen to what I feel like doing in the moment and stop listening to the thoughts that tell me what I should be doing.
It is not selfish to put yourself first. Yes, we have family and friends to care for, but you do need to put your own needs first, at least some of the time. If you are not okay, then the people you love will not be okay. Take time to create a life that you love. You are not here just to make everyone else's life better by what you do. You make it better just by being the real you x
Put the kettle on, sit in your comfy chair and maybe take some time listening to a podcast, reading a book....here are a few of my recent favs x
Things I have been trying to practice
The 3 M's
I have been trying to start each day with the 3 M's. Meditation, Mindset & Movement. If I'm honest I am not great at sticking to morning routines, especially when they are for your own good. I came across this one in the Happy Place podcast episode below and I thought it might actually be achievable. Meditation - I have using the Deepak Chopra and Oprah Get Unstuck meditations on the Chopra App. All up its about 20 minutes, 10 minutes of that is meditation time, so not too challenging for beginners. You may not think it, but 10 minutes of meditation really does make a difference to how I have been feeling. It is just enough time to quiet my busy mind and also makes me aware of the issues that pop into my mind. Mindset - After meditating, I try to do a bit of journalling, to help improve my mindset. Writing all those busy thoughts down often helps me to put them into perspective for the day ahead. Making time to Move....this is the one I find hardest to make time for...exercise is last on my list of things to do and I have always been an all or nothing kinda girl. I am either on a exercise/diet campaign or I'm doing nothing. I decided recently to give myself a break...yes I may not be a marathon runner nor do
I manage to wake up at the crack of dawn every day to do a yoga routine and that's okay. Each day I try and find something I want to do to move. Even if it's only walking the dogs. They never let up on those guilt laden puppy stares. If I'm honest I am still working on the Move part. I do want to get back into practicing some yoga more often and return to my pilates class because they do make me feel better...we are all a work in progress, so not beating myself about that one today.
Books I have been reading/listening to
Both of these books were impactful and food for thought. Often we avoid subjects that are challenging or confronting, but they also offer the most beauty and opportunity for growth.
Life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful. It is up to you.
Eddie Jaku always considered himself a German first, a Jew second. He was proud of his country. But all of that changed in November 1938, when he was beaten, arrested and taken to a concentration camp.
Over the next seven years, Eddie faced unimaginable horrors every day, first in Buchenwald, then in Auschwitz, then on a Nazi death march. He lost family, friends, his country.
Because he survived, Eddie made the vow to smile every day. He pays tribute to those who were lost by telling his story, sharing his wisdom and living his best possible life. He now believes he is the 'happiest man on earth'.
Published as Eddie turns 100, this is a powerful, heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful memoir of how happiness can be found even in the darkest of times.
As a clinical psychologist, Dr Nicole LePera found herself frustrated by the limitations of traditional psychotherapy. Wanting more for her patients - and for herself - she began a journey to develop a united philosophy of mental, physical and spiritual health that equips people with the tools necessary to heal themselves. In How to Do the Work, Dr LePera offers readers the support and tools that will allow them to break free from destructive behaviours to reclaim and recreate their lives. Nothing short of a paradigm shift, this celebration of empowerment that will forever change the way we approach mental wellness and self-care.
Favourite podcast episodes
You'll recognise these as some of my favourite podcasts. I particularly liked these episodes, both also on the theme of well-being or self-care x I just realised that a lot of the podcasts I share are from the UK, so please accept my apologies. I do listen to a lot of Aussie business podcasts also. I think listening to the UK ones makes me feel closer to my family...who I'm missing a lot right now x
Believing that medicine is more art than science, Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s MO is understanding how lifestyle factors like upbringing, social status, stress levels, sleep, and even phone use might be affecting your physical and mental health. In this chat with Fearne, they talk through lots of practical methods that’ll help you understand and alter the way you feel. For example, the act of journaling won’t change the problem you have, but what it will change is how you interact with the problem – and that could be life changing.
Emma Reed Turrell is a brilliant psychotherapist and the author of what is destined to become a must-read book, Please Yourself: How to Stop People-Pleasing and Transform the Way You Live. This is the manual every single self-identifying people pleaser needs to read (and in fact, even those who don't think they are people-pleasers should read it because Emma has helpful advice for you too). The book is packed full of clinical expertise, case studies, practical guidance, intellectual rigour and humour. Plus the odd mention of me. (Well, ok, there's one). It's her first book and it truly blew my mind.