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2022 High Energy Happiness Self Care and Self Love Self Care Sunday

Adulting is mainly….THIS!

Doncha just love this meme? 

It’s funny because we all know it rings true.

Thing is, shouldn’t adulting be more than this?!

More than the “daily grind”.

We have totally normalised tiredness in our culture.

Filed permanently pushing through each day under “it is what it is”.

Accepting that being knackered and endlessly juggling balls is just the way life is.

Thing is, being tired all the time is NOT normal. 

Being tired is NOT (repeat not!) a sign to get another flat white.

Continual tiredness is NOT NORMAL.

It is a sign to look at your boundaries and your priorities. 

Easier to just get an espresso and ignore the big questions and the messages from our body, I know…

I did that. For years and years and yeeeears. Ended up descending into a hellish burnout that meant I was bedridden for four months and couldn’t work AT ALL for over a year. I couldn’t in fact do any effective adulting for over  a year. Wowsers.

(You can read all about this in my Penguin published book High Energy Happiness, and get a copy delivered to your door if you like 😊)

Ignoring my continual tiredness was a very expensive mistake! Hiding my tiredness in caffeine was okay short-term but disastrous long term. It was really counterproductive adulting. I had no idea there was another way to do life. I just did what I had always done. And that’s what I know many of you will do. You will start 2023 all full of excitement and good intentions, but you will end the year on your knees physically and emotionally exhausted, like every damn year.

There is another way. 

If you are living life from one coffee to the next, I’d love to invite you to think about doing adulting differently in 2023 and have me as your coach.

We will be opening the doors to my Coaching Academy where we will be coaching on those boundaries and priorities in a supported environment at New Year. I’d love to help you do adulting differently next year. You can waitlist right here.

If you are feeling knackered, it’s affecting your adulting, and you want to see where you are on the 7 Stages of Tiredness you can download that for free here. It’s pretty illuminating, and I wish I had known this information before I burned myself out completely! ​​​​​​​

Categories
2020 Emotional Honesty Happiness Live Happy Inspiration Positive Thought Strategy Reduce Stress Self Care and Self Love Simplicity and Time Management

5 Things I no longer have time for…

Bet you can’t guess #3!

You can call it a post-Lockdown burst of clarity, or just getting older and wiser…but here are 5 things I have decided I am done with.

Being Done With feels incredibly relieving and I have a real sense of lightness about it – like having a really nice internal spring clean. What is also incredibly pleasing about being Done With 5 things…is that it opens up SO much emotional capacity, physical space and T I M E to do things I really care about.

I hope it might inspire you to do your own list …what are you Done With?

Here are mine for your inspo!

So, good people,  I Am Done With:

  1. Hangovers

So yeah, this is a big one to start with. I’ve been an enthusiastic drinker of alcohol all my adult life. It’s been at the centre of every celebration, commiseration and Friday night since the year dot. It’s been part of the best of times and the worst of times.

My shy, underconfident teenage self used it to make herself feel interesting and to burst through the thick layer of excruciating self-consciousness at house parties. My older self used it to make other people feel interesting at boring dinner and industry parties.

It’s been my constant companion in my ever-changing social setting all my adult life. Not so much the last 10 years or so, but y’know, a few wines a few times a week. A very normal amount. Certainly not a problem amount, just a few wines, like you do.

Then – in October last year – after one too many – I decided to Break Up With Booze. That I was D.O.N.E. For 30 days. But then…here we are in June – and I am STILL DONE! I’ve done sober birthdays, Christmas, black-tie speaking events, weddings, you name it I have done it with nothing stiffer than a soda and twist of lime.

And do you know what’s been the MOST surprising thing about it? After DECADES of social and convivial drinking, the absolute SHOCKER to me as been HOW FREAKING EASY IT HAS BEEN TO JUST STOP.

Just like that. I’ve had a drink on 3 occasions, and that’s IT. Not been drunk at all. Not even tipsy. Essentially, I have raised a few glasses in toast and that’s it.  And it’s been AWESOME.

I LOVE not drinking. I had NO IDEA that would happen. I LOVE having more energy and sparkle. I LOVE how much longer the weekends feel.

It’s taken my breath away how EASY it’s been, and how I have ZERO desire to go back. I’ll have the odd glass a few times a year if I want, or not if I don’t, but that’s it.

I’ve learned a LOT about doing it the easy way, the psychology of embracing a hangover-free life – and I’m going to teach it in a Sober October course later in the year – you can check out my Academy here if you are curious.  It really is about doing it EASY, without force, and I’m excited to teach that in-depth later in the year.

  1. Being Over Busy All The Time

Okay – second thing I am just DONE WITH is Being Busy All The Time. Being that person who is racing from one thing to the next all the time. Feeling like I am never “finished” and that there is always one more post to write, one more of my voluntary commitments that needs attention, something I should be doing for someone, some chore I should be on top of.

I have taken the enforced state of No Obligation during Lockdown to really prune my obligations. It’s meant making some hard decisions about what to let go of and gracefully release. And – do you know what…it’s EXTRAORDINARY!

Getting to the end of the day and feeling a sense of accomplishment that I have created all that I promised myself this day – but – that I am done for the day, and that things are not hanging over me. That there is more time and space to enjoy what I am actually creating (writing this for y’all, for example) rather than just wanting to get it ticked off so I can get onto the next thing.

I teach a concept called Life Maths to my clients and Academy members – and, y’know what people: IT WORKS. Less truly is more. Less obligations, less To Do’s equals more space more depth, more connection, more learning, more enjoyment, more fun. Life is just BETTER.

Doing All The Things  (just because you are capable and you can) is totally overrated, and I am cheerfully Done With It.

Life Maths is included in my 30 Day course Goals With Souls course in the Academy – you can dive in today for just $39 if you want to create more space for what you want in life.

  1. Ironing

Just – nah. Life is too short to iron. I only buy stuff that doesn’t need ironing. And I’ve got rid of my ironing board. Hurrah for me.

  1. Not feeling “cool enough”

I think this has been another benefit of lockdown – because NO ONE has been doing anything, all the FOMO just disappeared for us all. Poof! SO NICE!

It’s made me realise that actually a lot of the things I enjoy – ARE NOT COOL – BUT I DON’T CARE! Yes, I superlove catching up with a friend with an expensive mocktail in a nice bar wearing cute shoes…but …also…I really like switching my brain off and doing a jigsaw. SO uncool – right?! But…I’m done with caring. I like what I like. And I’m all in with it.

Bring on the jigsaws. I’m all about it.

Yoga. Yes, love it. Completely reconnecting with it.

Binging on Personal Development books and courses.

Being coached. Yes yes yes.

  1. 10,000 Steps a Day.

Mmmmm I know, that’s the Gold Standard number of steps we should all be doing every day. And if you are not, you are some sort of sedentary sloth-like loser. Well, y’know what – I am not buying into that anymore. The right number – for me – is 5000.

If I do more than that – that’s a bonus (and most days I do) – but I am not going to let the Steps Police live in my head when they are not aware of all other good stuff I do each day for my body.

I don’t want to feel BAD about my steps – when I am so active in a variety of ways each day that don’t get counted (except by my BODY, which – DUH – is the only ACTUAL place that they DO count!) – and I REFUSE to be held captive to a baseline that was set by a Japanese marketing agency in the ’60s (google it).

10000 steps DOESN’T WORK FOR ME, I am – quite cheerfully – done with it.

We use a much more evolved system in the Wellbeing Warriors Academy which you are welcome to dive into the two 30 Day courses on it, on-demand here called Witness The Fitness, and NEAT Up.

So – that’s my hot 5 things I am done with:

  1. Hangovers
  2. Being Busy All The Time
  3. Ironing
  4. Not feeling “cool” enough
  5. 10000 Steps a Day

What are YOU done with? I’d love to know.

You can find me on Facebook and / Instagram right here:

 

 

And you can work with me daily here.

Categories
4 Dimensional Wellness Energy Boosters Live Happy Inspiration Love your body Self Care and Self Love

Baby, it’s cold outside: 5 totally unusual tips to move that mood! #5

Crockpot of Goodness

Winter Wellbeing #5: Cook Up A Storm

According to various studies, people are hungrier and do eat more in the winter months (you are not imagining it – good to know!).

There are a few potential factors that may contribute to this increased hunger. Most people would agree that winter is the season for hearty foods. Heavy, carb-laden dishes, sugary treats, and rich sauces are all cultural staples of the winter diet. Many people also report being hungrier in winter, with stronger cravings and an increased urge to snack.

So – given that biologically we are going to crave more food (for energy, to keep warm) and culturally (it’s the season for comfort food) – what can we do to avoid packing on a little winter padding?

A few tips are to fill up on healthy soups, stews and other low-calorie dishes that contain plenty of fibre-rich vegetables and other healthy ingredients, along with protein to keep you feeling satisfied, and to find healthier versions of your favourite comfort foods so you can indulge without blowing out on your calorie intake.

My healthy go-to option in the winter is the good ‘ole crockpot. It is amazing for creating nutrient-dense, hearty, warming dishes with minimum fuss (always a big motivator in my world!) like stews, chillies, and soups. PLUS – the added bonus of making me feel like FREAKING SUPERWOMAN by having dinner all sorted and bubbling away BY BREAKFAST TIME!

The key is to WORK WITH WINTER and the push towards hearty meals –and create ones that are guilt-free and hassle-free for you.  Nutrient-dense, healthy and comforting is the way to go.

PS: My recipe for my “CROCKPOT OF GOODNESS” – aka, my vegetarian chilli, is below ?

~ Vegetarian Chilli – aka The Crockpot of Goodness ~

I have a MASSIVE crockpot, so this makes enough for at least a dozen meals! Not bad for 15 minutes prep!

Ingredients:
Diced:

• 1 onion
• A few cloves peeled fresh garlic

A couple of handfuls of the following, all roughly chopped:

• Carrots
• Courgettes/ zucchini
• Cauliflower
• Leek
• Celery
• Capsicum/ Pepper – try to get a few different colours
• Mushrooms
• Any other vegetable that you have in the house that you want to throw in

Cans/ Tins of the following:
Five cans of the pulses in total in whatever combination works or is available:

• Chopped tomatoes x 3
• Lentils x2
• Black beans x1
• Four bean mix (inc chickpeas) x 2 – or alternatively, choose single beans or chickpeas

A variety of liquid ingredients that can include the following:

• 1 cup red wine
• Splash of Worcester sauce
• Splurt or tablespoon of tomato paste
• A spoon of crushed garlic from a jar (if fresh not available)
• Pasta sauce mixed with water (optional)
• Tube of fresh hot chilli sauce (optional, adjust for spice)
• Salt and pepper

How to make it:

1. Place diced onion, leek and garlic in a frying pan and gently fry (‘sweat’) for a few minutes.
2. Place all the roughly chopped vegetables and the cooked onion mix in the crockpot and mix around with a big spoon.
3. Add 3x cans of chopped tomatoes to crockpot, mix again.
4. Drain and rinse cans of pulses using a sieve in the sink and then add to crockpot, mix with the big spoon again.
5. In a separate bowl or jug add all the liquid ingredients together, including the salt and pepper, and mix well with a whisk or spoon, then pour liquid mixture into crockpot and mix the whole crockpot well with spoon again.
6. Put lid on crockpot and cook on low all day or on high for the afternoon.

Serve it up with nachos, tacos, brown rice, quinoa, gnocchi, pasta, jacket potato or kumara: super versatile!

Top tip:
– Batch up and freeze for an easy meal later.

Want to read Tip One? Click here. Tip Two is here, Tip Three here, and Tip Four here.

Categories
Dream and Goals Emotional Honesty High Energy Happiness Live Happy Inspiration Love the Skin You're In Positive Thought Strategy Reduce Stress Relationships Self Care and Self Love

Change The Game

Game Changer

This picture meme I came across at random is everything I believe.

Physical wellbeing is *obviously* really important.

But it is often given far higher importance than our emotional, mental and spiritual health and wellbeing.

Change The Game

The interesting thing is that when we attend to our mental, emotional and spiritual health (with smart, easy to apply coaching tools) we start to feel comfortable in our own skin in a way we may never have done: and that becomes the foundation for almost effortless physical health choices.

Those diets that stop, start, stop, start: you just start to eat healthy ongoing because you want to.

It stops being hard, and becomes the obvious choice.

That excessive habit wagon you have fallen in and off time and time again? You don’t need another 30-Day miracle boot camp promising you the world or a gym membership that lapses and you feel guilty about; you need to attend to your boundaries, learn why you worry about stuff and exactly how to stop it, and generally expand your level of self-awareness and trust: and, guess what…you’ll exercise regularly because you want to, because it’s just what you do. No fuss. No struggle.

That crazy lack of rest and downtime, running on empty and lack of balance? Do the deep work and watch that fall into place. Start honouring your mind and body with appropriate self-care without force or guilt.

If you are O.V.E.R. doing the same thing, listening to the same old promises, falling on and off the same ole wagon with the same ole excuses…

Do. Something. Different.

Learn how to take care of your wellbeing – emotional, mental and spiritual – and watch your physical wellbeing fall into place.

Do. Something. Different. For. You.

Something that the woman you want to be in 2019 will thank you for.

You want change?

You want to look different?

Feel different?

Change. The. Game.

Join 700 smart women in my life coaching Academy, and do wellbeing differently.

We have been doing it differently in there for 3 years now.

We have a formula that changes the game because it changes YOU.

If you are ready for real change; then I’m ready for you.

Join up right now, you won’t regret it!

 

 

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4 Dimensional Wellness High Energy Happiness

4 Dimensional Wellness – We are so much more than what we eat

We are more than what we eat

True wellness is so much more than what we eat and how we work-out. Those things are important of course but real, 360-degree wellness is so much more than that. We all know people who “eat clean” and are impressively diligent with the preparation of each meal, but who are routinely miserable or stressed to the max. There are also too many people who might have the “perfect”, beautiful body but who are riddled with self-doubt and second-guess themselves at every turn. I’ve worked with some professional athletes whose seriously impressive physique belies the continual emotional turmoil just below the skin.

Tips and techniques to improve physical wellness are everywhere; we live in a tsunami of information on what to eat and how to move, but there is so much less focus on the other 3, equally critical, facets of true wellbeing.

Physical wellness is highly desirable, but it is only one part of the equation.

When we feel at our most whole and complete, we are attending to what I call 4-dimensional wellness: Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual. It is by applying strategies for growth and health in all four areas that I believe we live life at our best.

Mental wellness is often overlooked until we are struggling – only really being attended to at the point of illness, rather than an on-going strategy for health and sharpness. Integrating simple strategies that can lift our everyday level of mental focus and concentration make a huge difference to how productive we are, which reduces overwhelm and increases happiness. Strategies for mental wellness that enable us to act decisively. Create boundaries we can stand behind that support our best life. To come from a place of considered consciousness rather than panicked knee-jerk reaction-ism is a massively powerful part of our wellness.

Similarly, emotional wellness can get taken for granted until life hits a massive speed bump. However, there is so much to be gained by deliberately attending to emotional wellness on the average ordinary day. When we understand what our emotions are for, when we do not deny them, avoid them or bury them in booze, shopping, food or digital distractions, we come from a clean and calm emotional place. When we are not being driven by worry and panic. When we have strategies to be able to be fully, emotionally present at home and leaving the office at the office, everyone benefits. When we understand our triggers around stress and have ways to manage it that work for us, rather than coming home and snarfing a heap of cheese and crackers and a large glass of Sav as a treat, we are not letting our emotional state sabotage our physical goals.

Spiritual health is also important and not at all woo-woo. We are more than just the physical meat suit we live in. We are all, whether we agree or acknowledge it or not, spiritual beings. We gain energy, clarity and focus when we learn how to engage with our spiritual self. When we are connected to our passions and to our purpose. We live our happiest life when we are hooked into a reason for doing things that is bigger than ourselves. Being in flow. Finding those states where we are truly present and absorbed totally in what we are doing. That’s spiritual connection.

True wellness is 4-dimensional, and we are so much more than what we eat.

Real wellness acknowledges and informs how we think, how we feel and how we connect. When we attend to those pieces, the physical wellness choices tend to just fall into place. We eat healthy food because we want to, not because we “should”. We move our body because it’s a joy and a privilege to do so, from a place of loving it not punishing it for what we did or didn’t eat. When we start to balance all 4 quadrants of wellness, not just our health but our life begins to fall into place.

Categories
High Energy Happiness Live Happy Inspiration Self Care and Self Love

Human Duracell Bunny

We take care of our smartphones better than we take care of ourselves

The inimitable Arianna Huffington was speaking in New Zealand last year. Founder of The Huffington Post and listed as the 52nd most powerful woman in the world by Forbes, to say I was excited is an understatement.

Arianna has always fascinated me. Not only is she a media and political heavyweight, what appeals to me most is that she has shouted loud about the bottom line value of wellbeing in big business. That we have a personal and corporate responsibility to take care of our wellbeing. Her bestselling book “Thrive” documents her journey from collapse from fatigue back to wellness. There are so many parallels with what I write about here, and my book “The Busy Woman’s Guide to High Energy Happiness” about my own journey from collapse from fatigue back to wellness. I couldn’t wait to hear her speak.

She did not disappoint. She was radiant and spoke with real power.

I’m going to share my favourite analogy from her speech as it resonated so strongly:

“We are taking care of our smartphones better than we are taking care of ourselves”.

She has a point.

You know how it is, when you notice the battery on your phone is running down: oh my God, I’ve only got 12% battery left! It’s an almost panicky feeling. I know I am not alone in asking a café to recharge my phone, or being at a meeting and charging it mid-meeting. ONLY TWELVE FREAKING PERCENT BATTERY LEFT?!! What will I do? Must charge that phone. Immediately!

However, the day I collapsed at work from extreme fatigue, never to return, I was down to, what, 3% of my body’s battery? But I had never stopped and prioritised recharging it. I just assumed my personal battery was infinitely recharging. Like I am a one woman Duracell Bunny.

Stupid, right?

We check and look at our phone battery life all the time. We get it charged if it’s running low. That’s important goddamit! Can’t be without our phone.

How often do we check in and look at the level of our own body’s battery? Nowhere near as often.

I think we have our priorities a little bit messed up.

Arianna is right.

“We are taking care of our smartphones better than we are taking care of ourselves”.

So, stop. Right now. RIGHT NOW! What does your personal battery readout say? Are you at 80% or 45% or 12% of vitality, energy and wellbeing?

Scan your body and find out. Put a percentage on it.

If it needs charging, then do what you would do with your phone. Charge it up.

We need a high charge to power through life and attend to what is important to us with ease and grace.

This is an easy new habit to commit to. Check in with your personal battery level each time you check your phone charge. If it’s running low, give it a quick boost with a walk round the block. A chat with a friend. Five minutes’ quiet time. Going to bed early. Ditching the coffee for a peppermint tea. Little recharging pit stops that keep your battery topped up.

Take care of yourself better than your smartphone.

There is only one of you. You are far less easy to replace.

Categories
Dream and Goals Live Happy Inspiration Positive Thought Strategy

Procrastinating About Making A Big Life-Changing Decision? Part 2

Procrastinating decisions - part 2

Last week we looked at why we can put off making big decisions. I talked about the fact that by continually not making a decision we ARE making a decision.

We are making a decision over and over and over again, not to decide and to live with the split energy of an unresolved situation hanging over us. Continually choosing not to decide – IS making a decision.

We also discussed with the big things in life, sometimes logic may not be enough to reach a decision. But deep down, sometimes really d e e p  d o w n, there is a part of you that does know the answer, and if you get quiet, that wisdom from within will reveal itself.

The last point I want to make on this is that some decisions… ARE JUST HARD.

Seriously. This one is obvious, but it needs saying! Some decisions that we can sit on and faff about endlessly with for years… they are BIG DECISIONS. So, they are likely to have BIG CONSEQUENCES, not just for us but for other people too.

I have seen people sit on decisions, for a decade or more, because they want the decision to come with NO CONSEQUENCES.

Sometimes there are decisions to be made in life where that “no consequences” option IS JUST NOT ON THE TABLE.

It’s NEVER going to be on the table.

So, stop waiting for that mythical option.

If you are going to leave your spouse/job/country/social group/religion/whatever – there are going to be consequences. FACT. Stop waiting for no consequences and put that energy into figuring out smart ways to handle the consequences with capability and compassion instead. At some point you have to stop evading decisions because they are hard – and start backing your capability to handle what comes up instead.

When we say a decision is “complicated” and therefore we are not making it – what we really mean is that it’s hard. Really hard. With many consequences. But the decision itself is actually simple. We want out. Or we want in. We want to stay. Or go. The essence of it is simple. Our kernel of truth, however, is wrapped in a very hard exterior shell that requires much strength to crack open.

If you are stalled putting off a big decision – know that we are always more capable than we think.

Know you can BACK YOURSELF to handle whatever comes up: you are stronger than you know. Get all the information and support you require to make a call; then make it. Living with continual split energy of not making a decision on something that is important to your soul is energy draining in the extreme.

It’s time to (Wo)Man-Up and move forwards with capability, compassion and courage.

Read Part One here.

Categories
Love the Skin You're In

How Facebook Could Help You Be Naturally Fit and Healthy

Tweet: How Facebook could help you be naturally fit and healthy http://ctt.ec/59pJL+ #shinebright @FlexHappyAre you on Facebook, darling? Of course you are. I have an acquaintance who hates it and calls it “me-book” because it’s all so “me me me”. I can see her point, but I have to say I love the way it keeps me effortlessly in touch with all my friends and family overseas, and of course hanging out with you guys sharing inspiration and mood lifters on a daily basis. I love the stream of positivity that runs through my life on a daily basis.

So here’s a thing I have been thinking about: the status updates that we push out to the world about what’s happening in our life. You know the  “Here’s me doing a thing” “Here’s a selfie of me doing another thing”  “I love my fella/kid, he is so awesome here is a pic of me + him/them looking cute together doing a cute thing”. Status updates are usually sparky, and positive  – they are the face we want to show to the world.

So – as you know I work a lot with smart, busy woman around life /work balance, intuitive natural weight-loss and self esteem – some of my favourite work BTW! The thought that suddenly occurred to me is this:

What if our Body got to share status updates of how we were looking after it? What would THAT look like? If it was Bodybook, not Facebook? What status updates would Your Body post if it could?

“She’s over fed me AGAIN. I am stuffed. Really uncomfortable. Why does she keep doing that to me?! Anyone?”

“She’s just fed me a load of chocolate, whilst only an hour ago she was telling me off for not being able to fit into her favourite jeans. What does she expect me to do? I am living with a crazy lady!”

“Missed the promised walk again today. I was so looking forward to it. Why is my walk always the thing that gets dropped when the diary gets busy? Why is there always something more important than me?”

“She is working us to the bone AGAIN. I am exhausted. Would really, REALLY, like a REST. Is that too much to ask, lol?”

Or would Your Body be posting status updates like this?

“I love my owner! Even though she was busy she still made time to make sure I got to move today – it was only 15 minutes but that makes all the difference to me. I love her!”

“I love my girl. Turned down dessert because I told her I was full and she so totally listened. We are SUCH a great team”.

“Look at what we are doing right now? Cooking something super nutritious that’s what. Oh yeah, I know I am important because she makes this stuff happen for me ALL THE TIME”.

“Yes, we are at yoga. I love that she makes time for this every week. Makes me feel SO GOOD! Bliss. OM y’all!”

Facebook works so well because of course we can be so selective about what we post. Only the pretty selfies make it. Only the pix or talk of the peak experiences make it to status update. We have a great deal of control over the face we present to the word. That’s all cool – I think we would all find it pretty boring and depressing if there was a stream of all the minutia as well as the lowlights. The point is we have full control. We can create an image that we actually want to live up to.

But what if it was not us posting? Just for a week or two? What if Your Body was in charge of your Facebook updates for a fortnight, and it decided to post twice a day, every day. What if THAT was being put out there into the world? Would you be proud of what Your Body was saying about you? Would you feel like you were a team? What would it have to say if it had a voice and a forum? Does that make you feel uncomfortable or does that feel like fun?

If Your Body had a voice what would it say?

This has really helped me to think more deeply about my self-care and prioritisation of exercise in my life. It’s helped me to take action and to make sure each day contains a good level of self-care and respect for my body. If my Body was posting each day I’d like to give it good things to say!

It’s a subtle change in focus that can create a big change in action. What about you? Hit the comments below and give me a status update from Your Body, or an update you would like Your Body to post about you.

If Your Body had a voice, a Facebook profile, what would it say?

 

Louise Thompson, wellbeing coach

Categories
Positive Thought Strategy

What I Am Inspired About Right Now + How to Lift Your Motivation

Tweet: What I Am Inspired About Right Now + How to Lift Your Motivation http://ctt.ec/7ZM2a+ @FlexHappyI am on a full on creative buzz right now! There is going to be SO MUCH GOODNESS coming your way I can barely stand it! Writing and publishing my book “The Busy Woman’s Guide to High Energy Happiness”  last year was such an epic creative energy investment it kinda took it out of me for a while…but now…now I am baaaaaack, baby! This week I have been cooking up all sorts of goodness that will be released your way over the next 6 months. Some beautifully crafted coaching programmes  – group and individual – that will allow you to take your health and happiness to the next level in clever learning formats that integrate seamlessly with your busy lives. I am BEYOND excited, and I have my faithful and fantastic assistant Justine and her team spinning like crazy in the background to get everything working before we release it to you. I have to tell you I am almost sitting on my hands right now to stop myself from sharing all the secret goodness too early, right now in this post! (STOP IT LOUISE! CONTROL YOURSELF!)

It’s been so much fun riding such a creative buzz. It’s been EXACTLY like writing my book. But probably not in the way you would expect.

“Oh, writing a book is HARD” people told me when I first got my book deal from Penguin. “Writing a book is so, so hard”. And do you know what?  It wasn’t really. It was looooooooooong, that’s for sure. 90,000 words do not themselves write, and there is only so fast it’s physically possible to actually turn out that quantity of original content. So looooooong, yes. A marathon? Definitely. But hard? Oddly, no.

It just wasn’t hard. The words just rushed out of my fingers onto the page. They pretty much tumbled out, typo ‘s strewn all over, my fingers struggling to keep up with my brain. Although, it seemed not like my brain so much. It was more like the words were coming through me, than of me. That they wanted to be poured into a book that would help other people avoid, and recover from, burnout. That book – I swear to you – it literally wrote itself. Most columns are like that too, and these blogs. Literally they write themselves!  I show up to the God Of Writing and say  – do with me what you will, I trust you – and the words just tumble out. Occasionally I will wrestle with a piece but it is very much the exception rather than the norm.

If you haven’t yet watched Elizabeth Gilbert’s (the incredible author or Eat. Pray. Love) TED talk on creativity and how it can be this divine force that moves though us that we can be a channel for, I absolutely implore you – puhleeease –  to set aside 17 minutes to watch this. It’s magnificent. She is magnificent.

So, today  – I want to talk about what we Life Coaches call “Inspired Action”. It’s when we are pulled by love to do a thing. Rather than pushed by force to do a thing. It doesn’t have to be writing. It can be anything. Whatever your thing is. Making cakes. Surfing the waves. Writing computer code. It doesn’t matter what it is – that’s not important, the thing itself isn’t important – it’s about the feeling behind the thing. Or more than the feeling, the energy behind the thing.

It’s not forced, but it is A Force. It’s powerful. And we all have the opportunity to feel it at work. Elizabeth Gilbert talks about the “disembodied genius behind your work” – a creative force, a god of creativity. When you feel it, doing the thing becomes the obvious next thing to do. You can’t WAIT to get up and work on Monday morning; or to edit that home movie when you get in from work; or design that dress; or whatever it might be. It’s that irresistible urge to take action no matter what. You KNOW what I am talking about, you have felt it too. I know you have.

Riding the wave of that creative force is so powerful and so fun. It’s A Force that’s completely different from The Force we have to use to get the meeting done; to visit the person we don’t really want to; to complete that report or email we think deep down is actually pointless. That’s Forced Action. That’s push. We are all too familiar with it. That’s grinding it out til 5pm. That’s pushing through til we get to the other side.

And that’s most of the time for most of us.

But.

The Force of Inspired Action.

It’s accessible to all of us.

And it’s quite, quite magical.

Pay attention.

It’s happening for you too.

Probably at the most inopportune or unexpected moments.

It’s mercurial. And you can’t schedule it or plan it. But it’s there.

Your divine Force Of Inspired Action.

Pay attention.

When does the time fly by?

When does everything seem to just flow?

When is it just easy?

When can you absolutely not wait?

When you can feel the rightness of your actions or the fruits of your labours in your every cell.

That’s Inspired Action.

That’s when the magical God’s Of Creation are working through you. And your creation is of you, but not you. You are a channel. You are serving the world in some way. It may be in the smallest of ways but it is no less significant for that. That rise and tidal wave of Inspired Action is something to be cherish and appreciated.

It lives in all of us.

That thing, that thing you are feeling pulled to do right now. That (probably) no one else gets?

That thing that makes you lose track of time.

Or makes you grin like a madwoman the whole time you are crafting it.

That makes you feel aligned and on purpose.

That makes you feel energised and connected no matter what sort of a day you make have had.

That.

Go do that.

Inspired Action is the irresistible pull of your soul towards your calling. It’s your job to answer, get out of your own way and show up.

That’s where you will do your best work. Guaranteed. It also, spookily,  will not feel like work. It will feel like Being Alive.

Watch.

Wait.

Listen.

When you hear that wave of Inspired Action coming…grab your surfboard and start paddling.

 

“In any situation, the best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
~ Theodore Roosevelt

Louise Thompson, wellbeing coach

Categories
Self Care and Self Love Sick & Tired of feeling Sick & Tired

7 Unusual Tips to Get Energised When You Are Totally Exhausted

Young woman, tired of studying, sleeping over books

7 unusual tips to get energisedPushing through when you have little in the tank can be a fact of our busy lives. So much to do, so little time! How can you get a little extra juice to get yourself engaged when you are in that 3pm low energy slump? 5 quick tips (not the usual “drink some water blah blah blah!) to give you an instant boost right here:

  1. Have a left brain/right brain break. If you are grinding through it’s often because you are stuck in left brain mode where the focus is all on task and time. Time and task. Task and Time. Stop, just for 15 minutes and do something that energises your right brain. Your right brain is fueled by creativity, play and connection. Go chat to a colleague for 15 minutes. Watch a few funny you tube clips. Doodle.
  2. Move your body. It seems counterintuitive when you are tired to move, but it’s actually weirdly energising. Get outside for 15 minutes. Walk round the block. Do squats whilst you wait for the kettle to boil. Stretch whilst you wait for the baby to settle. Take the stairs to see the marketing department not the lift. Get your blood circulating a bit faster, the extra oxygen will energise you.
  3. It may sound obvious….but GIVE YOUR PRECIOUS SELF A REST! If that’s not possible in right now diarise it in for as soon as you can. Feeling perpetually knackered is a sign from your body that you need a bit of downtime, not that you need another double shot latte. Diarise in some rest and relaxation: that’’s not selfish, that is listening to your body. We are Human Beings, not Human Doings…we are not built to be “on” all the time. Give yourself permission to rest WITHOUT GUILT.
  4. Move your mood with music. This is my go to energiser. When I am tired and have given my all with back to back clients the fastest and easiest way to energise is to play a couple of feel good tunes (Daft Punk “Get Lucky” always does it for me) and feel the energy switch-up that’s almost instantaneous. Extra points if you do a quick bit of dancing and throw some shapes. Gold star for what I fondly call “car dancing”.
  5. Call an energy bunny. We all have people in our lives that suck our energy and some that boost our energy and mood. Check out this post on energy vampires and energy angels. Put an emergency call into an energizing friend, ban yourself from saying “I’m so tired” and have a 5 minute upbeat energizing call. Get yourself back on their wavelength and feed off their energy for a short term boost.
  6. Look at how far you have come, not how far you have to go. The To Do list can be our nemesis which is extremely draining. When we focus on all that is left undone it is a big time energy sucker. Flip your focus and itemize all that you HAVE completed today/this week. Instead of looking at the mountain left to climb, take a moment to savour the view, look back at how far you have actually come.
  7. Understand the difference between Wired Tired and Inspired Tired. We are actually built to experience tiredness and it’s not always bad. Read about and understand the difference between good tired and bad tired, that will shift your perspective in an energizing instant.

 

Feeling a bit tired now and again is all part of living a full, fun life. Feeling perpetually knackered is not. That’s miserable and life becomes a horrible grind. If you are feeling that you are experiencing regular tiredness you may be suffering from Adrenal Fatigue – you can find out if that’s the case by taking the quick online quiz here – and if so help is at hand! I cover everything you need to know to recover from Adrenal Fatigue and be buzzing with energy in my book “The Busy Woman’s Guide to High Energy Happiness”: simple tips that make a huge difference. You can get your hands on a signed copy right here.

Louise Thompson

 

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