CREATE

Who are your energisers?

Who are your energisers?

Who are your energisers?

The people who you love to spend time with?

The friends who leave you feeling lit up after being in their company?

Where there is a natural reciprocity - of sharing and listening, of give and take, of uplifting and supporting?

I’m just back from a walk and talk with coffee in the park with someone who I feel this way about.

She’s a relatively new friend, from a short overlap in a volunteering role, and we meet up every few months.

We spent the whole time chatting away about everything and anything. I feel happy and connected and energised, and ready to take that into the rest of my day.

What a gift.

Celebrating a year of Morning Pages

Celebrating a year of Morning Pages

I never thought I’d be a person who wrote Morning Pages.

I had always heard about people doing them and thought it wasn’t for me. 3 pages of A4 felt an awful lot, and I didn’t think I had the time.

Even after I bought The Artist’s Way it sat on my bookshelf for at least 2 years. Committing to the whole 12 week plan felt overwhelming.

And yet….

Since September 22nd last year, I’ve filled 7 note books with my (pretty illegible) handwriting.

Every morning for the last 369 days I’ve woken up, opened my notebook, and emptied my head.

Sometimes it’s simply a list of things I’m doing that day, and what I want to remember.

Sometimes there’s a thought in my head that needs to come up.

Some days I’m full of inspiration, other days I write about what the dog is doing at the end of the bed.

And now I can’t imagine missing a day.

What's your plan?

What's your plan?

Does it feel like you need to have a detailed plan when you’re at the start of a new adventure?

Perhaps a switch of career, or a new job, or a sabbatical, maybe even a gap year.

So you don’t have to sit with the uncertainty.

And so other people don’t worry about you?

When we think about what we want to create in our lives, and how we can get there, it can be super tempting to try and create a straight line between here and there.

If we can’t see all the steps it can feel like we’re not going to make it.

And so our brain really wants to decide on on a plan, and stick to it.

To create it all before we start.

It’s a really common way to help us feel safe and in control. And yet…it’s impossible to do.

Do you have a greenhouse for ideas?

Do you have a greenhouse for ideas?

“Where do you get your ideas from?”

I was asked this recently, and I replied that I see ideas everywhere.

I’ll notice something - a visual, a sentence in a book, a view, a part of a conversation - and an idea forms in my brain. Sometimes it’s just a fragment, and sometimes it seems to download, fully formed.

And I then realised that wasn’t the whole story.

When I reflected on it further I realised that I’ve been increasing my capacity to have ideas over time. I’ve been building a habit.

It’s a practice, not a gift.

The trap of all or nothing thinking…

The trap of all or nothing thinking…

I recently spent the weekend on retreat. A hugely restorative 48 hours in a beautiful place with the perfect mix of rest and activity.

As it came towards the end there was a focus on what we wanted to take home with us.

What to add into our regular lives that would help us hold onto some of the magical feeling.

One thing to say yes to for ourselves.

A super useful exercise, as when you can’t take it all, it can be easy not to take anything, to simply return to normal life.

To think that, because you can’t recreate the whole experience, then doing nothing is the only option.

When you have a queue of people wanting your time, energy and attention...

When you have a queue of people wanting your time, energy and attention...

…how can you let the rope do the talking?

Last summer my sister and I spent a day in London with my mum, celebrating her 75th birthday.

It was a complete treat. A proper afternoon tea and The London Eye, with a visit to Covent Garden in the middle to visit the Charlotte Tilbury store and find a great lipstick.

The experience was magical.

Fabulous service, feeling spoiled and laughing a lot, leaving with absolutely the right thing.

But first, waiting to be invited in.

If you don’t know where to start for 2023, write a TODAY list

If you don’t know where to start for 2023, write a TODAY list

How are you feeling at the start of this new year?

Raring to go, or feeling like you want to take it slowly?

Keen to set a big goal for the year, or still emerging from the last one?

Off to a fast start, or worrying that everyone else is out of the blocks and you’re being left behind?

If you are feeling like you need a little time, you’re not alone.

Who's in your support system?

Who's in your support system?

Most Friday mornings you’ll find me walking our dog in the park with friends.

We’re all mums of teenagers, and share experiences, learnings and hacks for the various challenges and situations we face. It’s good to get it all out and leave it in the park!

They are ‘friends who get where I am now’ – and form part of a wider support system that has evolved and grown as I have.

When I reflect on who else is part of the system, I can see how varied it is – and how far it stretches.