When your baby is born you count their fingers and toes. You stare at their perfection for hours on end. Lying under the unexplainable weight of a sleeping 3mnth old you enjoy that feeling of sinking beneath the trust and love that they embody. We become fully tuned in to that new presence, that new life. A pure, mindful moment.
There is something about being in your 40’s that seems to make the clock tick faster. Instead of going down a rabbit hole of identifying all the parts of me that don’t look the way they used to I’ve decided to do something constructive! I’m going to work on my bucket list goals!
When you consider how to start on your self improvement journey I recommend starting with journaling. I believe in the incredible power of journaling to change our mindset, our point of view and our sense of self. That’s a big statement, I know, but I really believe it.
I’ve come to realize that finding joy in the smallest of things is one of those gems of life. The problem is, because we have our blinkers on we haven’t realized how precious they are. Yes, there is great joy in the proposal on the beach and the first words uttered by your child, but are we missing the details? Are we missing out on a whole other level of joy that could fill our lives? Joyous moments abound if we pay closer attention!
I’d like to look at a list of pure, simple joys that I think are often overlooked and undervalued (Please add to the list in the comments, I’d love to see it grow!). Simple pleasures that elevate our life experience if we will only stop to notice them.
I want you to take a moment to really put yourself into the feeling and experience of these joyful moments that I’ve listed. Re-create them if you can, even better! The idea is to really wake up to the fact that these small, often unnoticed, experiences can actually bring great joy. This is personal, of course, but there is something on the list for all of us to ponder on. Have you stopped to enjoy these moments or do you let them slip by you?
I’ve been thinking about my boundaries lately. This isn’t something I’ve given much thought to if I’m honest. I have been ‘Mum’ for almost 13yrs now and with that comes a lot of blurred lines! There was more Mum than Stephanie for many years. It is only recently that I began to realize that these blurred lines exist, and that they can be damaging. Defining my boundaries has been the starting point for my entire Personal Growth journey.
It’s the old ‘Self-Care isn’t Selfish’ scenario. We lose sight of our own well-being because we are too busy being the perfect Mum. Waking up to the reality that we aren’t doing ourselves any favours is the turning point. You start to set up your boundaries because you understand that they are friends, not foes.
I am no Eco Warrior but there are ways that we all can make a difference, so when I come across companies like the ones I’ve listed below that are eco friendly brands, I really want to support them. The waste that we go through just in my little family is quite simply heartbreaking, so finding plastic free products is a win! Then you get the companies that make an effort to put clean, natural ingredients into their products instead of chemicals the average person doesn’t even understand! I want to support them the way that they are supporting us and our planet. So, with that said, here are just a few of the brands that I love and use every day that deserve a mention.
Ethique is a New Zealand company dedicated to making a difference in the cosmetic industry. All their products are plastic free and so is their shipping! They are an eco friendly brand all the way!
Ethique are focused on sustainability and their ingredients are cruelty free, vegan, palm oil free. On top of all of this they donate 20% of their profits to charity. Definitely a company I am happy to support! Oh, and did I mention their products are amazing too! With a great range for face, body and hair, all in bar format. They have great natural fragrances too, which I love.
I’ve created a few vision boards over the years. I find them so inspiring and the whole process is charged with positive energy. Whether you believe in the power of vision boards or not doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you find a way to believe in yourself, in your dreams and in your future successes. And, find a way to get yourself into a positive frame of mind! Mindset is everything! Use your Vision Board as a tool to motivate you.
For me Summer is all about family, the great outdoors, relaxation and, because I’m in the Southern Hemisphere, Christmas! Down here we strangely dress Santa in swimming trunks, stick sunglasses on him and then still have him climbing down chimneys in a velvet suit! Lol! Some traditions are so endearing you will hold on to them for all you’re worth!
Summer is also about sharing, friendship, sunlight and sunburn! It is a great big melting pot of deliciously enjoyable moments, AND deliciously enjoyable foods! From picnics on the beach to roasts on the Christmas table, this is a season of indulgence.
We all go through our internal struggles with ourselves. Our self-doubt. Questioning everything that we do. Whether we are good enough, pretty enough, brave enough. We are in a constant state of ‘talking ourselves down from a ledge’. Trying, from a place of concern for our own best interest, to keep ourselves ‘safe’. But, we are using the wrong approach altogether. We are using fear tactics instead of positive self talk. For this reason it has become so important that we ask ourselves the question ‘What is Self Talk?’. And, am I using it to empower myself?
