Hello friends and welcome to my 87 th blog.
I am becoming wiser.
Do not get carried away here, it comes from a lowly base, but there are definite baby steps in the right direction.
I want to share with you some lessons learnt over the last while, as I become sagacious.
- Physical Health.
Being blessed with great health in middle age is not to be taken lightly and for granted. Let us aim for this as most of us really do have the ability to optimise it. Have those annual medicals. Eat the multi coloured veggies, lean proteins, complex carbs, and good fats. Take those supplements.
- Sleep.
A great night’s sleep is not a given, so do not get anxious if you do not get your seven to nine hours. This will just make you feel worse. I am lucky enough to sleep well, mostly, but on the nights that I do not, and am up writing at three thirty in the morning, I just accept this and aim to make up for it in the nights that follow. Sometimes I take an extra CalMag and do some breathwork and then manage to get back to sleep.
- Kindness.
Just because this has become my ongoing and consistent mission, it does not mean that the rest of the world has decided to do this. That is so fine. There are many folks who are being kind and doing kind stuff, but they do not need to share this or to talk about it, and that is cool. In fact, that is simply great!
- Being grateful.
An oft repeated phrase of mine, but quickly forgotten when I am feeling grumpy, sad, and otherwise. I am learning slowly, that when I do count my blessings, this immediately changes my mood and increases my positivity. The more grateful we are, the more beauty we will see around us, the more generous life will seem, and the happier we will become. I just love this.
- Feeling lost at times is okay.
We cannot have it all figured out all of the time, it is a process, and the process can change. Flip, I feel overwhelmed often by all that I want to do. However, I am slowly grasping the fact that I need to keep taking those steps forward, together with some side and back steps on the way.
- It is about choices.
Another of my adages. We cannot dictate the hand that is dealt to us, but we have the power to manage how we deal with it. My life will be as good as the attitude I carry around with me. The clever folks say that the reality you experience is a direct reflection of the quality of your thoughts. I really do believe that I have made great headway in this area.
- Self-love is beyond important.
I have spoken of this often, but I cannot reiterate it enough. We truly do need to accept ourselves as we are and love ourselves first. We are more than enough and deserving of all that we want. As I said in a recent blog, we are perfect in our imperfection. I am definitely being kinder to myself these days and, caring for myself well, on the whole.
- Asking for advice.
People are often very free with giving out advice. Then there are those who will share their advice only when asked to. I do ask for advice if I need it and I am learning from whom I should seek it. I am also trying awfully hard to only offer advice if I am asked to.
- No one really cares about what we do.
I have spent minutes, hours and days worrying about what people think about me, but in reality, everyone is so busy with their own lives and their own issues that they really are not that interested. For a brief moment in time, we may well be criticised, but very quickly, it is forgotten. Of course, I must be kind and sensitive to others as much as I can, but I need to strive to be myself and to do what makes me happy
- Lose the judgement.
I spent a great deal of my formative years judging. Sadly, I do believe that I am a product of my upbringing. In recent times, I have been working on this, understanding now that I do this when I am feeling vulnerable, and am so chuffed to say that I am making huge strides in this field. I am also comparing myself to others so much less.
- Life is an experiment.
We have our ups and downs, we make mistakes, and we never know what is waiting round the corner. Let us learn from them and then park them. Failure and challenging times can be our greatest teachers and they often enhance our self-growth. We have chatted about this before. If I am able to ignore my inner critic, I do manage this.
- Spending time with my nearest and dearest.
It is vital for my mental health to spend time consistently with the people I care about, the ones that make me feel special. I really do hope they know how much I appreciate them and how deeply I care for them. I laugh with them, cry with them, celebrate with them and learn from them. I am truly blessed.
- Control the controllable.
This is impressive advice that was recently given to me by one of my sons and it resonates hugely with me. Just sometimes difficult to follow, but well worth working on.
- Things take time.
I am not a patient person. I have all these things I want to achieve, and I want them done yesterday. That is so not going to happen. I am now looking to calm down to a panic and allow time (a lot of it) to get to my end goals. Another work in progress.
- Stay curious
We need to continue to explore, ask questions and create. An enquiring mind will enhance our optimal longevity. I am loving this part of my journey.
- Revel in the things that are free.
We need money for the material necessities of life, and this can be arduous. However, we can still find meaning in the beauty that is around us. Sunsets and sunrises, a walk in nature, a swim in the sea or a river, laughter, an act of kindness and self-compassion are all free and available to us. Let us smell the roses on the way. My mental health and wellness are inextricably bound to this.
- Mindfulness .
Focused attention may indeed be my ultimate currency, enabling me to take control of my mind as spoken about in my previous blog. A slow but sure path.
- Experiences are going to make me rich.
Granted I am still a material girl, and I do love the odd bit of retail. However, I am understanding increasingly that memories of amazing experiences, be it holidays, or beautiful times spent with family and friends, do actually enrich my life so much more, and this is fantastically backed by science.
- Journalling.
I started journaling properly when I embarked on my kindness mission last October. I write down all the acts of kindness that I do on a daily basis. This makes it so real for me.
- Slowing down.
I seem to be a little hyper at times. This is understating the story, has held me in good stead often, but not always. I am learning to slow down, to say no and to to be more intentional about how I want to live my life. I am doing regular breathwork and recognising that I need to be kind to myself as often as I need to, as mentioned above.
- Habits and rituals.
I have established rituals and habits over the last two years that I believe are hugely instrumental in helping me strive towards living my best life. They are not cast in stone and may vary but they create a fantastic foundation for my days.
- Commitment, consistency, and persistence.
Shoo, this has been a huge learn for me. My commitment has helped me take on my new ventures. My consistency has enabled me to make sustainable and long-lasting changes, and my persistence, although at times wearing a little thin, is what keeps me going even when things do not go according to plan.
- Honouring our time on earth.
All we have is the present, the now, this moment. We need to take each day and make the most and cherish all that we hold dear, for tomorrow is not a given and our life here on earth is beyond precious. This is an especially important part of my life.
This blog has been mostly my thoughts, but with a little help from Omat Itani.
I hope that you can take something from this blog and I would love to hear your thoughts.
Hello friends and welcome to my 87 th blog.
I am becoming wiser.
Do not get carried away here, it comes from a lowly base, but there are definite baby steps in the right direction.
I want to share with you some lessons learnt over the last while, as I become sagacious.
- Physical Health.
Being blessed with great health in middle age is not to be taken lightly and for granted. Let us aim for this as most of us really do have the ability to optimise it. Have those annual medicals. Eat the multi coloured veggies, lean proteins, complex carbs, and good fats. Take those supplements.
A great night’s sleep is not a given, so do not get anxious if you do not get your seven to nine hours. This will just make you feel worse. I am lucky enough to sleep well, mostly, but on the nights that I do not, and am up writing at three thirty in the morning, I just accept this and aim to make up for it in the nights that follow. Sometimes I take an extra CalMag and do some breathwork and then manage to get back to sleep.
Just because this has become my ongoing and consistent mission, it does not mean that the rest of the world has decided to do this. That is so fine. There are many folks who are being kind and doing kind stuff, but they do not need to share this or to talk about it, and that is cool. In fact, that is simply great!
- Being grateful.
An oft repeated phrase of mine, but quickly forgotten when I am feeling grumpy, sad, and otherwise. I am learning slowly, that when I do count my blessings, this immediately changes my mood and increases my positivity. The more grateful we are, the more beauty we will see around us, the more generous life will seem, and the happier we will become. I just love this.
- Feeling lost at times is okay.
We cannot have it all figured out all of the time, it is a process, and the process can change. Flip, I feel overwhelmed often by all that I want to do. However, I am slowly grasping the fact that I need to keep taking those steps forward, together with some side and back steps on the way.
- It is about choices.
Another of my adages. We cannot dictate the hand that is dealt to us, but we have the power to manage how we deal with it. My life will be as good as the attitude I carry around with me. The clever folks say that the reality you experience is a direct reflection of the quality of your thoughts. I really do believe that I have made great headway in this area.
- Self-love is beyond important.
I have spoken of this often, but I cannot reiterate it enough. We truly do need to accept ourselves as we are and love ourselves first. We are more than enough and deserving of all that we want. As I said in a recent blog, we are perfect in our imperfection. I am definitely being kinder to myself these days and, caring for myself well, on the whole.
- Asking for advice.
People are often very free with giving out advice. Then there are those who will share their advice only when asked to. I do ask for advice if I need it and I am learning from whom I should seek it. I am also trying awfully hard to only offer advice if I am asked to.
- No one really cares about what we do.
I have spent minutes, hours and days worrying about what people think about me, but in reality, everyone is so busy with their own lives and their own issues that they really are not that interested. For a brief moment in time, we may well be criticised, but very quickly, it is forgotten. Of course, I must be kind and sensitive to others as much as I can, but I need to strive to be myself and to do what makes me happy
- Lose the judgement.
I spent a great deal of my formative years judging. Sadly, I do believe that I am a product of my upbrinigng. In recent times, I have been working on this, understanding now that I do this when I am feeling vulnerable, and am so chuffed to say that I am making huge strides in this field. I am also comparing myself to others so much less.
- Life is an experiment.
We have our ups and downs, we make mistakes, and we never know what is waiting round the corner. Let us learn from them and then park them. Failure and challenging times can be our greatest teachers and they often enhance our self-growth. We have chatted about this before. If I am able to ignore my inner critic, I do manage this.
- Spending time with my nearest and dearest.
It is vital for my mental health to spend time consistently with the people I care about, the ones that make me feel special. I really do hope they know how much I appreciate them and how deeply I care for them. I laugh with them, cry with them, celebrate with them and learn from them. I am truly blessed.
- Control the controllable.
This is impressive advice that was recently given to me by one of my sons and it resonates hugely with me. Just sometimes difficult to follow, but well worth working on.
- Things take time.
I am not a patient person. I have all these things I want to achieve, and I want them done yesterday. That is so not going to happen. I am now looking to calm down to a panic and allow time (a lot of it) to get to my end goals. Another work in progress.
- Stay curious
We need to continue to explore, ask questions and create. An enquiring mind will enhance our optimal longevity. I am loving this part of my journey.
- Revel in the things that are free.
We need money for the material necessities of life, and this can be arduous. However, we can still find meaning in the beauty that is around us. Sunsets and sunrises, a walk in nature, a swim in the sea or a river, laughter, an act of kindness and self-compassion are all free and available to us. Let us smell the roses on the way. My mental health and wellness are inextricably bound to this.
- Mindfulness is a great skill.
Focused attention may indeed be my ultimate currency, enabling me to take control of my mind as spoken about in my previous blog. A slow but sure path.
- Experiences are going to make me rich.
Granted I am still a material girl, and I do love the odd bit of retail. However, I am understanding increasingly that memories of amazing experiences, be it holidays, or beautiful times spent with family and friends, do actually enrich my life so much more, and this is fantastically backed by science.
I started journaling properly when I embarked on my kindness mission last October. I write down all the acts of kindness that I do on a daily basis. This makes it so real for me.
- Slowing down.
I seem to be a little hyper at times. This is understating the story, has held me in good stead often, but not always. I am learning to slow down, to say no and to to be more intentional about how I want to live my life. I am doing regular breathwork and recognising that I need to be kind to myself as often as I need to, as mentioned above.
- Habits and rituals.
I have established rituals and habits over the last two years that I believe are hugely instrumental in helping me strive towards living my best life. They are not cast in stone and may vary but they create a fantastic foundation for my days.
- Commitment, consistency, and persistence.
Shoo, this has been a huge learn for me. My commitment has helped me take on my new ventures. My consistency has enabled me to make sustainable and long-lasting changes, and my persistence, although at times wearing a little thin, is what keeps me going even when things do not go according to plan.
- Honouring our time on earth.
All we have is the present, the now, this moment. We need to take each day to laugh, love, to make the most and to cherish all that we hold dear, for tomorrow is not a given and our life here on earth is beyond precious. This is an especially important part of my life.
This blog has been mostly my thoughts, but with a little help from Omat Itani.
I hope that you can take something from this blog and I would love to hear your thoughts.