I am about to change my life. My inner cheer-leader is finally going to be louder than my inner critic. I am going to extend the kindness I show to those around me, inward. I am going to turn around my struggle with self belief.
Because the wonderful thing about beliefs is that they can be changed. I can alter the way I think about things. I can change my perspective.
This month I am focussing on getting things done and making sure things are humming along nicely.
These are five things that I think everyone needs to get on top of. They are the things that don’t necesssarily appear urgent, but are important. The things that will mean saving money or safe guarding your health, or both, in the long run. None of them take a lot of time. Read more
To do lists. Bucket lists. Fun things to do lists. Lists of places to eat. Lists of books to read. Lists of things I love about my partner. Christmas card lists. Lists of goals and dreams. Read more
When I was about twelve years old my neighbour received a walkie-talkie set for her birthday. Not a kids set. A real set. It didn’t take my neighbour, my sister and I long to figure out that we could tune into the radio frequency truck drivers used. We often chatted to these men (and they were always men) and felt a girlish thrill in doing so. The men were polite and respectful, if somewhat bemused to find a trio of girls on their wave length. Very occasionally we would pick up a bad vibe and hurriedly turn the things off if we were concerned about where the conversation was going.
I remembered those walkie talkies the other day as I was playing with Twitter’s new app: Periscope. It’s a live video streaming app where people can comment as you are streaming. I think it has some great potential uses. Q & A sessions. Tutorials. Discovering exactly what sunset looks like in St Petersburg tonight. But it also rang alarm bells. Read more
Yesterday marked three years since I last held my middle son, Xavier. He died when he was very young, only two weeks old. Three years. An impossible distance between my son and myself. There are rituals around this time of year. Things that I do to remember him, things to mark the hardest days of the year. His birthday. His anniversary. The memory days in between. Most of them revolve around crafting things for him. I firmly believe in the healing power of creativity and it’s ability to connect us to memory and loved ones lost.
To events, even when they are back to back, leaving me drained and tired. To helping out, even when I realistically have no time to give. To Tupperware parties, even when I have a drawer full of it and need no more. To projects, even when my notebooks are full of unfinished ideas. To the lady at the Myer counter when she wants to sell me hope in a jar, even though I really cannot afford it. To doing things for other people, even when it means my own business suffers from inattention.
Where do all these yeses come from? From an intense desire to be liked by everyone (which I need to tame) and a crippling fear of missing out. Those are not good reasons to say yes. I need to learn the art of saying no. Read more