Month: January 2021

From little acorns…

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From little acorns….

So, how’s January going? Whether you started the year with big intentions or are still easing yourself in gently, it’s all good.

An hour is made up of minutes. A week is made up of days. A year is made up of months.

Everything starts out in one place, and then develops into something else. Nothing gets from here to there in a second (ok, maybe a MotoGP bike!).

All of the separate elements come together to make something bigger, but each element also stands on its own merit.

A simple acorn is a beautiful thing in its own right…cute as a button, with it’s own little hat. Even if it did nothing but exist in this state, we could still appreciate it. But knowing what we know about the majestic oak that it’s destined to be, all proud and mighty, just adds to the wonder of it.

Every dream, goal, or little acorn, holds the key ingredient to turn one little thing into something even more wonderful…potential.

Photo credit: Eriks Abzinovs @pixworthmedia via Unsplash.com

Are you holding yourself accountable?

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Consistency is key…but accountability is not far behind, surely?

We’ve reached that stage in any ‘normal’ January where the promises and goals of the New Year might be starting to slip.  (Disclaimer: This year it’s ok if things have gone a little bit awol!)

But some form of monitoring needs to happen if we want to see improvements and instigate the changes that got us motivated to begin with.   We can get caught up in the planning, and list making, and daydreaming about how productive we’re going to be this week, and then life happens.

There is no bigger regret than the things we didn’t do, and it is really easy to let other stuff take priority.  I’ll catch up next week…next month…I’ll leave it until the better weather…. Sound familiar? Me too.

Yes we need to be a bit more kind to ourselves right now.  But being kind also means holding ourselves to account every now and then, and having a bit of a pep talk with ourselves.  Remember why you started, remember what you’re doing this for.

Make a diary note or appointment to catch up with yourself along the way.  And write your “reasons why I’m doing this” next to it.   Just in case you start to forget!

 

And how awesome is this image btw!?!  Photo credit to Marten Newhall @laughayette via Unsplash.com

In With The New

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I was reading an interesting article earlier about how introducing new activities or habits can lead to greater success, when compared with giving things up.

The study by researchers at Stockholm University found that people who were working on achieving a goal by focusing on adopting new habits were 59% more likely to achieve their aims.

This makes a lot of sense in the light of New Years Resolutions too.  Often we set goals that seem to punish our previous behaviours…especially those related to diet or exercise.  We feel guilty or ashamed that we’ve overindulged or spent a little too much time in front of the TV.  We’re also bombarded with images of ‘New Year New You’ that make us question whether we are doing enough.

So, it does seem much more likely that we would keep up a new healthier regime if we were kinder to ourselves and looked at creating and cultivating new positive habits instead.

Interestingly, the study also found that there was no significant difference in success based on the amount of external support that the participants received.

So if you are looking to make some positive changes this year, focus on the positive habits that you can introduce this month.  Find activities that you enjoy doing, introduce foods and meals that are nutritious and healthy, but taste really good too. Commit to working on your CV or sign up to a job search website. Investigate a new hobby or start to plan that post-lockdown holiday.

Whatever you want to achieve, start small.  But begin!

 

Photo credit:  @dsmacinnes via Unsplash.com

A Year Of More Joy

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This is an exciting time of year for any fellow stationery lovers…new diary, new calendar, new planner, new journal!!

I love sitting down at the New Year and writing in all the important dates and appointments, however these are still a little bit thin on the ground at present (thanks Tier 4!).  But it’s still nice to have things to plan for, and look forward to.

When I looked back on how I spent 2020, I found that most of last years activity was based around work…work work, blog work, workout work.  2020 brought some much needed positive shifts and new opportunities of course, but there wasn’t much room for fun.

So this year, I’m making sure that I also allocate time to doing things just for the sheer joy or fun of it.  No expectations. No targets. No achievements.   Just taking time out to recharge and reset.

How often do we plan in appointments for the fun stuff?!  We make room for the other ‘stuff’, the non negotiables and the ‘I must do this’ diary notes, but including time to create the joyful moments and make the memories should be just as important.

When I look back at the end of 2021, I want to remember these times as well as the achievements – the smiles, the laughter, the warm glow of feeling happy.   

So welcome 2021 – the year of more joy.

 

Photo via Unsplash.com