Self Improvement

Lately I've been noticing the small things that can make a difference to my mood. And I'm hoping you can use some (or all) of these to boost your mood too! Change your phone wallpaper A couple of weeks ago I change the lock screen wallpaper on my phone. And I cannot believe how much of a difference this has made to my mood. I'm still not used to it, so every time I pick up my phone I smile. And the strange thing is that it isn't a special photo. It's just a coloured wallpaper that I found on [...]

Regrets happen. Sometimes they are big. Like not reconciling with a family member before their death. Sometimes they are small. Like not buying that jacket when it was on sale. And sometimes they are really small. Like not ordering a McFlurry with your drive through order. And they come in many forms. Regret for doing something. Regret for not doing something. And the wondering of what if. Either way, I think it's impossible to live a life without regrets. When you look up regret on Google you get a wide variety of results ranging from tattoos, break ups and children [...]

Sometimes simplifying your life comes out of necessity and other times it's just an evolution. To me, simplifying your life is more along the lines of work smarter, not harder. And these are some of the changes I've made to work smarter. And while some of these steps are quite small, when combined they can make quite an impact on your day to day life. Robot Vacuum I really didn't think I needed a robot vacuum. It would only take me about half an hour to vacuum the whole house. And its not like I needed to find more time [...]

Easy habits, simple habits or micro habits. Whatever you want to call them, they can make a big impact. Whether you want more or less of something, there are plenty of easy habits to start today. 15+ easy habits you can start building today 1. Drink more water Drinking more water seems so simple. But it took me about six months to get into the habit of drinking one litre of water per day. One litre. But now that I have that under my belt, it's much easier to hit and exceed that goal.  And we all know why we [...]

Life can get hard sometimes. So I have a bunch of things in what I call my mental health toolbox. They are all tasks I have used in the past to help lift my mood, motivate me and instil a little extra confidence. It's unfortunate, but I need to say this. I have no qualifications when it comes to mental health, so this is all just my opinion and experience. And so many of the things in this article are not for everybody. So my advice to you is to just take what you need and be open to new [...]

Buying gifts for some people can be tough. And what about those people that are always trying to improve themselves and their lives? As a self-confessed self improvement junkie, I can say that I am a little bit picky when it comes time to tell people what I'd like for my birthday or Christmas. Let's start with the books, shall we? It's hard to pair down to only a few books that will help you improve your life. But I picked the top four that seemed to have an impact on me. Big Magic Big Magic for me is one [...]

I am currently in the throws of finding my purpose. I’m not sure I ever had one but it’s been a pretty constant theme appearing every month or so for the last year. Perhaps purpose should be my word for 2021? But learning more about your self through personality tests can shed some light and help you find your purpose. I’ll include my results in each one! Personality tests to help you find your purpose Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Probably the most well-known personality test, the Myers-Briggs uses a combination of letters to determine the kind of person you are. Your [...]

Self care. It’s one of those things you love or don’t really care for. I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of the phrase. But I know I need to keep a few self care ideas up my sleeve. Aromatherapy You don’t have to have hippy tendencies to enjoy the benefits of aromatherapy. There are many different ways you can use smells to shift or improve your mood. From wax melts and candles to diffusing oils and bubble baths. Baking Baking is a triple edged sword (if there is such a thing) when it comes to self-care. It’s something [...]

I knew something was up when I realised that my daughter was five days old yet I had not kissed her once. This got me so worked up that my eyes filled with tears at the thought of it. I really struggled to kiss her then and there. You hear about people falling instantly in love with their child and feeling this special connection. I didn’t feel that. I spent perhaps an hour with my daughter before I was whisked off to surgery, to be reunited with her six hours after her birth. My daughter’s six-week maternal health nurse appointment [...]

I have recently been learning how to give myself grace, particularly when it comes to my daughter. I’ve inherited a trait from my dad that I’ve only just noticed: impatience. I am very impatient with a short temper when it comes to my daughter. And it doesn’t take long before I start to feel how I did at the peak of my postnatal depression. So for me, learning how to give myself grace is becoming something I really need to pay attention to. I need to have more patience, more grace and put a lid on my temper. Some days [...]

I have bee obsessed with Ruth Soukup for a good 6 months now. And I have been consuming anything she produces like it is my lifeblood. I just love hearing her message and have listened to every podcast that she has been a guest on. So I decided to create the Ruth Soukup podcast guest master list. Ruth's podcast, Do It Scared with Ruth Soukup, launched in April of 2018 with an impressive weekly streak of over 60 episodes. On top of listening to all of her podcast episodes, I’ve read 3 of her books, How to Blog For Profit [...]

Sitting in a hot bubble bath or doing yoga is not everyone’s cup of tea when it comes to self-care. While I do love a long hot bubble bath, yoga is just too slow for me. The term self-care wasn’t something I was familiar with before trying to become a parent. Before that, it was just part of what I did anyway. But going through IVF, an importance was placed on looking after my mental health. Now self-care means taking the time to do things that I enjoy and being a little bit selfish with my time to make sure [...]