Happy New Year! I hope you are well and that 2023 is off to a good start. I thought I’d sit down today to share some thoughts and feelings this new year, as I feel as though something has shifted in me. A real, positive, change in my attitude and behaviour.
As I have shared in the past, I found lockdown and navigating through the pandemic quite tough. I gained a lot of weight and just the overall experience made a lot of things feel tough. For a long time, I was procrastinating and delaying the things I needed to do. I felt like I was sleepwalking through life and not really achieving much.
In 2022 I began to see the results of the little changes I was making in my life. I started to exercise on a more regular basis. This was a slow build and involved a lot of ‘talking myself into going’, especially on the cold and dark winter mornings. I began to look for positive things to think about which made my negative-thinking less frequent and also less impactful on my general attitude.
A couple of things happened last year which helped to boost my general feelings of positivity. Overall, I am now a big believer that small changes on a frequent basis works best for me and my mood.
I still feel there are a lot more changes I need to make including drinking more water throughout the day, being less self-critical, eating less meat and consuming a lot less cheese (I’ve started to eat more cheese on the days I try to be meat-free) and there are obviously going to be days where I feel less productive or a slump in my mood etc. However, I am embracing 2023 and open to new opportunities.
For those interested, I am listing some little daily routines:
- Gratitude and manifestation journal
- Reading
-
Duolingo – as of today I have a 365 day streak
- Wordle
- ‘Glamming’ myself up by putting on a bit of makeup or wearing something fancier than usual
- A crochet project e.g. the blanket below
Not all have an obvious impact e.g. Wordle, but it helps towards a sense of achievement/productivity. I try to be consistent with writing in my gratitude journal and reading as I notice its benefits in my day. It might also sound a bit hocus pocus, but after I dedicate time to my journal, whenever I ask for a sign it will appear. Having Thai family, I am quite spiritual and a strong believer in putting out positivity. I remember a long time ago, when I was at University, whenever I donated money to charity or the homeless, I would always get it back soon after. Someone would give me too much change and I won’t have realised until much later or I’d get an unexpected discount to the same value. Last year, I was feeling a bit bad for not giving back as much as I was trying to be frugal in the current economic climate. I then received a ‘sign’ which told me if I gave what I wanted to others that I would receive more in return. So I encouraged the children to donate £4 to Great Ormond St hospital and not only did Heath win a prize, but Andy found a fiver in the car park!
Anyway, after all that babbling, I just wanted to say that if you are feeling a bit down at the moment, worried about something or generally just like you need a change then take a small step. Make just one little change or do something that may not appear beneficial but will help towards a sense of achievement. Small changes do make a big difference. Bx
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