Month: January 2017

‘Everything in Moderation’ – the principle of good health. Allow yourself to indulge, but in moderation. There is one problem that is evident in our culture – most people simply don’t know what moderation actually is. People personalise moderation by using negative comparisons to justify the amount that they eat/drink/smoke/work. The comparison that you want in your life should NOT be the lowest common denominator, “Well, I know people who drink two whole bottles of wine every weeknight, so two or three glasses every night isn’t so bad”, or “My aunt smoked a pack a day and lived to be 94”, or “I know skinny Shirley who eats Maccas 3 times a week and is healthy as a horse”. These people are NOT your guidelines for moderation. Instead, we should be looking for the most healthy examples in our lives or (if there aren’t many in your circle) in healthy media. We all know that our diets should consist of mostly raw, unprocessed and plant-based foods with small portions of meat and plenty of water. Alcohol can be healthy in moderation (which is, at most, 1 glass a few nights a week). Smoking has NO healthy side effects and is detrimental to every area of your body and life. We don’t take strong stances on many things, as we believe in personal choice and preference – however, when it comes to health, the facts are black and white and this comparative moderation misalignment is dangerous and prevalent in our society. It’s time to reassess.

We all focus a lot on our motivation and inspiration – this is a great thing to do. But there comes a time where all of your planning and direction needs to be put into action. This is the time where you need to buckle down, put off distractions and temptations to ‘take a day off’ or procrastinate. Investing your concentration, time and energy is the bulk of success. Yes, it is true that working tirelessly without direction is pointless, but the only difference is ensuring that you are working towards your goal – but also working tirelessly. How are you going to put in the effort today and say goodbye to your excuses?

One thing that is equal for everyone, no matter where you live, your race, gender, values, beliefs, or wealth: we all have the same 24 hours in a day. Yes, many of us have commitments, but we also have choices about what to do in our time. Sitting down at the beginning of each day and ensuring that you maximise those 24 hours to prioritise your wellbeing, state of mind, productivity and the happiness of yourself and those around you is a core component of satisfaction and success. A day without a plan is great on the occasion, however if this is a regular occurrence – are you surprised that you aren’t making steady progress? It is like being in a boat without a rudder, you can float around furiously and be exhausted, but you may not get anywhere. Break your day down into 30 minute slots and tick off the activities that you want to accomplish. I guarantee you will feel much more motivated and satisfied!

For some reason, whenever I have enjoyed or admired something, I feel a desire to possess or own it – perhaps in an effort to hold on to that feeling of admiration for a lifetime. However, if I look around at all of the things that I own, I barely notice the objects or possessions that I once got so flustered over. I’ve come to a realisation that possessing an object or memento to try to remember a place or time isn’t really necessary anymore. I have those memories, sometimes I have photographs. I would much prefer to reflect on the actual moment that I enjoyed so much and fill my life with more of those experiences, rather than trying to chase the physical objects that I falsely believe conjure up emotions for me. Granted, some objects are sentimentally and personally significant – however I think our emphasis on THINGS rather than people and experiences could go a long way to alleviating our desire to spend and possess. We are doing a huge clear out of our home this week to make room for more experiences and to get rid of the mental clutter!

A significant portion of our lives these days are lived online. Whilst this can bring many benefits for business and networking, there are also traps involved that endanger our patterns of thinking, our habits and our influence in the world. A lot of internet discourse is focused on gossip, fear-mongering and ridiculing others. Keyboard warriors are at the ready with the confidence and self-assurance that they will never be held accountable for their words face to face. However, if you want to be a better person, feel better about yourself and improve the world in which we live, focus on building other people up. Where you see weakness, show compassion; where you see something that annoys you, keep scrolling or add something productive. Threatening others or belittling people who have different opinions to yours is not something that adds to your life. Rational discussion can be enriching, but when two people are unwilling to hear each other, sometimes it is best to disengage for the peace in your own mind. Great people do not step on others to get ahead, they use and support the strength of others around them.

Home should be a place where you relax and unwind – not another source of stress and to-dos. Of course, we have things to do at home to maintain it, but if you have created a home that is full of clutter with projects that you keep meaning to do/fix all over the benches – this is not somewhere to relax. Assign a weekend and pull everything out of each room and pretend that you are moving house. In order to make decisions about what to keep – ensure that the things bring you happiness, beauty and/or utility. Anything that is broken or planned for later should be actioned within the next fortnight or recycled/donated/discarded. Anything that doesn’t bring beauty or regular utility should also be placed into one of these three categories. A simple and easy to clean home can bring a lot of peace and tranquillity – a refuge for your busy mind.

A lot of us feel pressure to have a perfect façade and to always handle everything ourselves. Sometimes, however, it is time to ask others for help and feedback. If there is a step that is looming in the path on the way to your dreams that you don’t have the skills or knowledge to overcome, look around you. We are surrounded by communities of talented and caring people that feel incredibly satisfied with sharing their knowledge and resources to help you in your journey. In the same way that we give, others also give. And now, with social media, asking for help is easier than ever – and by doing that, you can encourage others to be vulnerable and do the same.

Perhaps you have started on a new venture this year and you have made some progress, but it isn’t as easy/enjoyable/smooth as you anticipated. This can be extremely discouraging, especially if you are in a pattern of negative self-talk. You may listen to yourself saying things like, “I knew this wouldn’t work”, “This just isn’t for me”, “Why even bother?” and the classic, “I’ll just start again next week”. This is a critical time in which many people slide back into their old habits because, in their view : they tried and failed. But no journey ever goes exactly the way we expect. It is usually these trials in the early days that build the resilience and skills that you will need later and also make your success that much more satisfying at the end! So, ignore those negative thoughts and push through. It may not be perfect just yet, but imperfect progress is better than no progress at all. Stick with it!

Many of us live payday to payday to pay our bills and buy things that we want. A lot of the time, those things are THINGS that we don’t really need. More and more studies are being released showing that there is a strong correlation between owning more things and having higher levels of stress. Now, this isn’t a causation study and the higher stress may be linked to factors such as working more hours, financial stress of maintenance of our possessions, or the overwhelming desire for constant consumption. However, this is like a cycle – the less we own, the less you need to take care of; the more value you give to what you do own; the opting-out of always needing more. We can sit and ‘be’ much more easily, when we aren’t worried about our stuff or how we will pay the next bill because we have just splurged on another reckless purchase. Need help? There are plenty of minimalist blogs and videos out there to help shift your mindset. Check out theminimalists.com to get you started (I am not affiliated with these guys, I just value their stuff!).

So, we are three weeks in to the New Year – work has begun for most of us and perhaps old habits have started to creep in or new ones have started to fade. It’s a great time to re-assess where you are, and where you are headed. Where did your habits take you last year? What small changes were you hoping to introduce this year? Have you made the decisions and actions necessary?

Sit down at some point today and re-assess your goals for the year – congratulate yourself on any progress you have made and recommit to the lifestyle habits that you deem necessary to improve your life. Write them down and have them as the lock screen on your phone, or in your wallet so that you are frequently exposed to them. Don’t forget – small steps everyday make a huge difference when compounded over a year.