Tidy house, tidy mind!

One of my most favourite sayings, and a mantra I live by is tidy house, tidy mind. I was listening to Oprah's super soul podcast earlier today and was reminded of this when she talked about how different she feels walking into a room that's tidy versus walking into one with clothes on the floor.  Now, I have to confess that whilst I do love things to be tidy, they aren't always that way. With two small boys in the house who love playing football and getting muddy, my standards are much lower now than they've ever been! 

I find though, that when I'm trying to do something and I can't find the right focus, I often look up and realise that my environment isn't tidy and organised. That's usually my nudge to spend a few minutes getting things in better order. Once I've done that I feel much lighter, and it's so much easier to focus on the task in hand and get it done. 

If you're struggling to find focus, check your environment and see if you need to create a tidy house to give you a tidy mind too. When we feel better, we do better. So, go and do better.  Happy tidying!  

It's not all or nothing!

When we set ourselves goals and want to make changes, particularly at this time of year in early January, it can be tempting to go "all in" and throw ourselves into whatever it is we're trying to achieve. It's not a bad thing to take massive action towards our goals (I'd go so far as to encourage it!) but it can also set us up to feel like we've failed when we can't live up to the ambitions we've set ourselves.

Dry January is a wonderful example of a great goal that we start all motivated as we're fed up of all the partying from the festive season, but that becomes suddenly much more difficult when the weekend rolls around and you're already feeling better for the brief detox. And if you slip up and have a glass of wine, you feel like a failure, because you didn't achieve what you set out to do.

I've done dry January before and I actually do enjoy the challenge (and it was a great help in my preparation for running the London Marathon a few years ago!) but this year I'm all about moderation and balance in all things. My plan is a damp January, which I might decide to keep completely dry, or I might decide to have a glass of wine or two occasionally. I have my long term goals in mind and a boost at the start of the year will help me move towards them and I want to feel good about myself.

The moral of the story is set yourself up to win, because you'll feel so much better for making progress towards a goal than feeling like you've failed to meet expectations that might not have been realistic for you. Think about why you want to do something. What is achieving that goal going to give you? And are you setting yourself up to win? Achieving our small goals builds momentum towards achieving our big goals, so celebrate progress and be kind to yourself, always. 

Reflecting and looking ahead. ''Tis the season!

So folks, it's that time of year when we've had too much food and merriment, some festive family time, and a little downtime too, and we start to think about the year that's coming to a close and the year ahead. I'm not really a fan of New Years resolutions but I do like to take the time to look back on the previous year and consider what's changed, what I've achieved, and how I feel it's gone for me. I also like to think about what I want to achieve in the new year, and what I plan to do differently. 

Last New Year's Day was a milestone birthday for me so I had the pleasure of spending it in New York which was fabulous. As with all the best laid plans however, the day itself was quiet as a few of our party came down with a bug. My little boy even managed to throw up in the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria! It made for a memorable occasion but also reminded me that sometimes the unexpected happens and we just need to go with the flow.  

I dubbed 2017 as the year of the holiday and it didn't disappoint. New York was a great start but I also managed a girls trip to Santorini which was one of my bucket list destinations, and a fortnight in Florida riding rollercoasters and taking in lots of Disney magic, as well as trips to the seaside, and some camping with the kids too. My priority last year was to find more balance in my life and definitely feel I managed that. 

Looking forward to 2018 there are a few things that I really want to achieve. I've created a vision board and have my top three goals firmly planted in my mind as well as on the board and on paper. I write my top three goals down first thing in the morning from memory and it really helps to cement them and makes sure I focus on them throughout the day. We make decisions from waking up in the morning and with our goals at the front of our minds we are more likely to make decisions that move us closer to them. 

The start of a new year is a great time to think about what you want to achieve but don't forget to stop and give yourself a pat on the back for everything you've achieved the previous year. And remember, any time is the perfect time to set yourself a new goal, you don't need to wait for January! What are your goals? What do you want to achieve? Write it down, set a date, and start working towards it today. Why not.