What I Learnt about Self Esteem Today

Last night I stayed up until the wee hours watching Season 4 of Line of Duty. I was tired this morning and annoyed with myself. 

Some mornings, I find it helpful to listen to a free calm app meditation to set the tone for my day. Today I listened to the self esteem one. I also listened to a Brene Brown youtube video and read an article which had some tips to improve self esteem. 

I practice gratitude daily and realise I need to practise acknowledging the great things about myself too. 

Lately I've been thinking I procrastinate too much. The truth is that I do put some things off. After spending some time reading, listening and reflecting on self esteem, I felt energised and motivated to set goals for my day and week. I wrote these down and had a productive day. It made me feel good about myself.  

I was grumpy on my walk this evening which was likely because I didn't accomplish as much as I would have liked today. Then as I was washing the dishes this evening, I told myself that I had done a great job today. I thought about all the different wonderful skills and things that I do for myself and others. I can see my outlook on life shifting and it is exciting. 

My intention is to try to watch and read a little more every day this week on self esteem. 

So instead of Line of Duty tonight, I'm going to try to read more, which was on my list of goals for today. I should hopefully also sleep earlier and have a better night's rest. 

May you be beautiful, healthy and happy in every way today. 

When will we party again?

When will we party again? 

Some days I wear makeup and wear a dress. It's nothing fancy, but it's a definite change from jogging bottoms and a hoodie. I might not meet anyone on my walk or see anyone on zoom, but I feel better about myself. 

No one knows when we will globally return to the life we knew. It might be a few years. I dare not think about if it might be longer. This is a world we are going to have to live in. 

Some people decided early on that they were not going to change. They would continue to go to raves, travel and if it meant breaking the rules, they would do so. They protested and shouted loudly about their civil liberties. 

Others followed the rules. There will be more rules. Just as 9/11 changed how we live, fly and travel in various ways, coronavirus has and will continue to change how we live, fly and travel. We know vaccines, testing and masks will feature. We can accept this reality and make the best of the situation as many will do. It is our democratic right to complain or seek to change government decisions. Sometimes the government may be wrong or corrupt and this needs to be highlighted. Ultimately it is important for governments to maintain trust, transparency and operate with integrity. This is more important now that ever with our liberties being sacrificed.  

Until globally we come together to overcome this pandemic, there will be more mutations and variants. We will all continue to limp along. Vaccines are not 100% effective and not everyone can or will take a vaccine. I used to wake up wishing that somehow magically this was all a nightmare. There is no silver bullet that will kill this invisible enemy, or if there is, it hasn't been discovered yet. 

I try to eat healthy and exercise. I know that I am not as healthy nor do I exercise as much as I used to. It's ok. I am happy sometimes and other times happiness seems elusive, but that was the reality before the pandemic. 

2021 will be a better year compared to 2020. However, it is also a time to reflect on what we have learnt and how we want to live in this new world. now that we accept and understand this reality is for a few years and not a few months. 

We will party again one day. It will be a golden time when we can dance and dress in fancy clothes. There will be a world in which we can travel and gather. We will take it for granted, just like we used to do.  

An Easter Weekend of Walks

It's sunny outside but I feel so sleepy. There are days I know doing something will be good for me, but I need some pushing and convincing. 

The other day I saw this cat on a boat. When I stopped to take a photo, it wanted to come up to me. It was a lovely moment seeing this cat and I was glad that I had gone for a walk. Most days when I go out, there is a 'wow I'm glad I saw that and left my couch' incident. 

The day before yesterday, it was ducks waddling on the pathway. Yesterday it was swans on the river. 

So I'm giving myself 15 minutes to get in the mood to go out. 

The sunshine and fresh air has helped me sleep much better. It just feels like such an effort to go out sometimes, much like cooking or taking a shower on some days. 

Some days I do accept that I need a day of rest and other days I know that lazy me needs to pull my socks up. 

It's been a great Easter weekend with chocolate, walks and a couple of virtual catch ups. Whether I do go for a walk or not, I am happy with all that has become of these last few days. 

Finding a happier, healthier and more beautiful life

Remember when we use to buy magazines? It was fun to read a few articles and escape for a little while. Sometimes they were frivolous subjects like fashion and other times, we might seek more depth and knowledge. 

These days my non-fiction reading diet tends to be the news. When I need a break from that, I like to check out content online from magazines I used to read. 

Recently I came across some articles from Psychology Today. What I like about these articles, is that they help me to understand myself and the world. It's like mini-self help sessions. 

I found this article on disappointment which pointed out how we can often globalise or personalise disappointment. It also noted how we might want to see these disappointments as opportunities to grow. Disappointment is a part of life and learning to better deal with it is important. 

Articles about parenting are also great because it can be a helpful guide on how to be kinder and gentler with yourself. The thoughts in your head sometimes need a calm parent like response. One article on procrastination made me chuckle and think about how I could manage myself when I am having those I'll do it later moments.  There was an article about reframing. Reframing is a useful tool that I really enjoy learning about. I find that it can make a difference on how I remember and feel about a trauma. It is a great way of finding more peace and acceptance so you can move on. 

Then there was an article about single people which made me reflect on how I could be more comfortable in my own company. 

Mental health is gaining more attention and understanding. This article provided a more positive view about depression which I hadn't ever thought about. 

Relationships are a big part of our life. I recently learnt about attachment styles. The article by therapist D Lancer provided an insightful look at the topic by considering how we might change our atttachment style.

So why am I blogging about these articles? I found them useful, interesting and thought I might want to read them again in the future - yes I thought they were that good. 

These subjects all form part of the puzzle of living a happier, healthier and more beautiful life. 

So I didn't procrastinate and wrote this blog. I feel happier already! 

Happy reading and may you find more health, happiness and beauty in your day. 

An ideal day

Today I was thinking about what an ideal day would look like and realised it's not mission impossible to achieve. 

It might start with listening to a meditation app for 10 minutes followed by a leisurely healthy breakfast with music playing in the background. Writing, working and even some housework might give me a sense of accomplishment. If I can squeeze in some reading it's a bonus. When the weather permits, a long walk helps me sort out my scattered thoughts. Now it is especially lovely because there are flowers and blossom popping up. The birds are singing. The swans, ducks and geese are gathering. 

It's nearly warm enough to spend time on the balcony. I like cooking and chilling out in the evening which is finished off with an early night. I fall asleep listing all that I am grateful for. 

Sometimes I might see a friend or chat to one of them on the phone. Or perhaps there's someone interesting to meet on social media. There's lots of zoom classes which are fun to do too.

It feels like so much time is spent thinking about what we would like to have, what we are missing or which we should have done but didn't that day. 

Is it that Spring is upon us or that vaccines are helping us move forward from the last year? It's great to feel more hopeful and happy.