I've made a move!

I've moved...
http://funloveadventures.wordpress.com/

Yesterday I made the move..

I made the move to being a vegan. It's not as hard as it used to be and I feel really proud of myself. Just working on researching recipes so I make sure I get my iron and vitamins. I want to be full of life and energy.

Number One Rule for improving your life...

The number one rule for improving your life would have to be to stop doing the same things while expecting different results. I'm always attracted to articles with titles such as 'A new life this time next year' or 'a new you'. I read them, feel inspired and then make a couple of little changes expecting huge results. Maybe it's all proportionate. The size of the changes you make equals the amount of progress you make. It sounds kind of obvious but sometimes we can't see the obvious things.

My five rules for life

1. It's the things that make you nervous that you probably should do..
I always find that the things that make me feel nervous like going to the dentist, meeting new people, going to an interview are the things that provide me with the greatest rewards. Getting out of my comfort zone is a thing I like to try to do at least daily. It's the best way to grow and find my true potential
2. Laugh every day.
It really is the best medicine. While laughing uncontrollably nothing else matters, problems don't exist. You are truly in the moment and everything is perfect. I keep a list of things that have made me laugh for reference when i'm feeling a little down, movies, books, comments, pictures, games etc
3. Question everything.
Don't just accept what you are told. What's right for someone else might not be right for you. I don't know at what age we lose that curiousity that we are born with but we need to find it again.
4. Practice grattitude.
I know everyone says it and that's because it's true. Since having my baby I have never been more grateful. If you and your loved ones have your health then nothing else really matters. Everything else can be fixed. There really are alot of people who would kill to be in your fantastic position in life, no matter how bad you might think it is.
5. You can't move on to the good stuff by holding onto the past. I'm adding this one as it's the one I struggle with the most. Lose the fear of the unknown, you've survived before, you'll do it again!

The key to exercise..

When it comes to exercise don't do anything other than what you love or you just won't do it. There are so many forms of exercise that it's pointless to do something that you don't enjoy. It seems obvious but so many people spend alot of money to join a gym and then never go. I love yoga. It makes me feel good while i'm doing it. I don't like running, it always makes me feel overtired and sore. During yoga I feel strong and fantastic. I love riding my bike along the canals of Bruges, but to me riding an exercise bike is boring. I did by an exercise bike once and could count on one hand the times I really used it. If you're going to spend such a large proportion of your life exercising it needs to be something you look forward to.

Having spent the last two years living in Belgium I have also discovered that it's not the intensity of the exercise, it's the consistency. There are a couple of gyms in Bruges, but here people walk, ride bikes, take the stairs etc. I love seeing seventy year old couples out riding their bikes together.

Share exercise with a loved one. Play ball with your kids in the park. Volunteer for puppy walking at your local animal shelter. Join a rowing club, take up belly dancing, salsa classes, rollerskating, learn a martial art. Most importantly make it fun!

Are you living where you want? Do you live in the best possible location for what you want to do with your life? I'm currently living in Bruges. It's one of the prettiest cities of the world and I love being able to ride my bike safetly everywhere. However it's cold and for the past month I haven't really done much. I feel like i'm in hibernation mode. So this year I'm moving to Hobart, Australia. I think it will have the right combination of good weather and interesting stuff to do.

I always wonder why people live where they do.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would you live and why? more importantly why aren't you living there?

Three fun and easy ways to contribute.

When most people think of contributing it mostly involves giving money to charity. In todays hard ecconomic climate this may be the last thing people feel like doing. However there are other ways to contribute and feel you are making a difference.

1. Give advice over the net. How much time are you spending surfing the internet? Everyone has experience with something whether it's good or bad. I have just done really well at breastfeeding my baby for the past six months. There are many 'new mums' forums with people distraught about this topic. I can easily spend a couple of hours giving tips. What are you good at? have you survived any traumas? survived a break up? what's your favourite hobby you could share?

2. Take a dog for a walk Local animal shelters are always needing dog walkers. It's a great way to combine exercise with giving. You never know you may just fall in love with one of them too!

3. Buy some art. Websites like etsy provide the perfect place for artists to sell their art. I sell photographs through etsy and I can assure you that it is such a fantastic feeling when someone buys one of my images. Make someone's day and decorate your home at the same time.

What ways do you contribute?

When did we stop asking why?

When exactly did we go from being curious little explorers to know it all acceptors? As children we never ceased to ask why. We never accepted what we were told without processing it for ourselves and asking a million questions. If something didn't make sense we didn't just accept it we continued to learn about it or we disagreed.

Maybe as adults we are bombarded with so much information we don't have time to stop and question what we are being told.

For example we are told that there are nasty flu bugs out there and that we are going to get sick and possibly die. By questioning this I have realised that I'm not afraid of the flu bugs. The only time I ever get sick is when I am emotionally tired and stressed. It's far more important for me to look after my emotional health than it is to avoid people with the flu. What is right for you?

Try to make it a habit of asking why. If you are given a piece of information don't just accept it as fact, even if it is true to everyone else, maybe it isn't true to you. Begin to see the world with child like wonder and amazement.

3 simple steps towards that tidy house you dream of

1. If you're not using it now, it doesn't need to be out. Put it away. I used to be surrounded by books, magazines, cds, videos, baby toys, clothes, charity piles and so on and so on. I wouldn't put it away because I would think 'well i'm just going to get it out again soon' It's better to do one thing at a time well and completely. When you have fifty jobs on the go it just ends up in one big cluttery mess!


2. Build little habits. I have many of these. Whenever I make a cup of tea, I use the minute it takes the kettle to boil to tidy the kitchen. You'd be suprised how many dishes you can put away in one minute or give the fridge a wipe out. I never come downstairs without collecting any dirty washing from upstairs. I come down and put it straight in the washing machine. Every night before I go to bed I count to 60 while having a quick tidy of the living area, putting away books etc anything that's not been done during the day. All of these jobs take less than a minute but seem to save me hours of tidying and cleaning.


3. Don't wait until you've got time to declutter a large section. You never have time. Break it down to two minute jobs. For example decluttering my bookshelf looks like a mammoth task. But if I break it down into twenty little sections I will get it done easily. Make a rule, if you have a favourite tv show, declutter every time an advert comes on. Don't sit and waste time watching the ads..even if it's just for one ad break each time you watch a show.

Find your purpose step 4. Don't wait

When I think of all of the people that inspire me they have alot in common. They are all passionate, committed, determined, optomistic, confident, giving and they all take good care of themselves, they are fun and light.

These are all people who I am drawn to because they seem to be living their life's purpose. They live with passion. For example check out Color Me Katie http://colormekatie.blogspot.com/. Katie sums up everything I want to be. Now whether Katie is doing something that is her purpose or washing the dishes I imagine she does it with the same fun and enthusiasm. It is what you are that matters far more than what you are doing.

Don't wait to find what it is you should be doing to be who you want to be.

Homework: Write a list of your heroes, the people who inspire you, your idols. Write down all of their personality traits. What things do they have in common? How can you incorporate these qualities into your daily life?

1001 things.

I'm working on the 1001 must do lists. That is 1001 books, movies, albums and classical albums you must read/see/hear while you're alive (They're actually called 'before you die' but I don't like thinking like that so I call them 'while i'm alive').

http://www.listsofbests.com/list/56914-1001-classical-recordings-to-listen-to-before-you-die
http://www.listsofbests.com/list/2222-1001-books-you-must-read-before-you-die-2006-edition
http://www.listsofbests.com/list/1081-1001-movies-you-must-see-before-you-die-6th-ed
http://www.listsofbests.com/list/3687-robert-dimery-s-1001-albums-you-must-hear-before-you-die

The outcome of this is not to end up with a load of ticked boxes at the end of my life but to broaden my horizons. To experience, think and learn. It really is the journey that counts and your goals should be about what you will become not what you will get.

Find your purpose step 3. All talk and no action?

Ever since my beautiful baby girl was born six months ago I have experienced grattitude like never before. It's not that I wasn't grateful before, I guess it's just alot stronger now. Every night before I go to bed I thank my guardian angels for another perfect day of keeping me and my loved ones healthy, abundant and safe. Every morning when I wake up I thank them for giving me the opportunity of another day.

But is thinking and feeling grattitude enough? This morning I woke up, said thank you for my health and then rushed downstairs grabbed a coffee and a piece of toast. Far from a healthy breakfast and hardly showing that i'm grateful at all.

I don't think it's enough to say you are grateful, you have to act it too.

Unless you are grateful for what you already have, how can you ever expect any more? Just think about giving somebody something or doing something for them and they don't act grateful. The last thing you want to do is give them more.

homework; List ten things you are grateful for. For each of these things list the ways in which you show you are or could be grateful

for me; My health: I can cut out caffeine. I eat very well. I do yoga three times a week.

My partner: I tell him I love him every day. I could set aside more time just for us

My baby girl: I give her my love and attention full time at the moment. She is my number one focus

Having somewhere to live; I look after my house keep it cleaned and maintained.

Find your purpose step 2. What are you holding on to?

One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time. Andre Gide

To get to where you want to be you have to let go of where you've been. It's happened, it's over, move forward. I spend most of my life facing backwards. Spending far too much time thinking about old relationships and events. Why do we do it? Is it fear of the unknown? Is it easier to hold on to something old than to face something now?

I thought my purpose in life was to be a photographer. I have spent thousands of dollars on developing my skill and years of studying my craft. Even though I have come to the realisation that it isn't my purpose I seem unable to let it go. It's hard to let go, especially when you have invested so much of yourself into something. Do it, you know it's not the right thing and the thing is, you can always come back to it!

Homework what are you holding onto? do you start every story with 'one time when I was...' Do you spend too much time pining over old relationships/friendships? Are you working harder and harder at making something fulfilling that just isn't and never will be. If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. A friend so eloquently put it to me once that 'you'll never make gold if you keep working with sh#t'

Step 1 to discovering your purpose

Stop doing the things that aren't leading you towards your purpose - or at least drastically cut down on them and get them under control.
I spend far too much time surfing the internet looking at other peoples lives. I'm trying to discover myself through other people. Instead of sitting at the computer looking at things I should be out trying them.
Our homework : 1 Write down all of the things you do that take you further away from your purpose. Where do you waste your time? It is ok to do these things but you want to limit the time you do it. There's nothing wrong with switching off and watching an episode of your favourite show but sitting all night every night watching tv isn't the way forward!

for me: Surfing the internet, reading about other peoples lives, watching tv that I don't even care about.
solution: I will allow myself one hour every friday for checking blogs and random internet surfing. I will cut down to 30mins of television a day.

Haven't found your purpose? Don't despair.

There is far too much pressure on people to find their purpose in life. So what, if you don't find your purpose in life then your life has not been worthwhile? I don't think so! If like me you haven't found that one thing that you excel at, the thing you are meant to do, then don't despair. Until I find that purpose, my purpose in life is to find that thing. That is my purpose, et voila I have a purpose.

Do you feel guilty about wanting more?

You have no idea how many blogs i've started and deleted. Actually I have no idea how many but it's been alot. I realised today that when I reach the age of 100 and I look back over my life I will probably know far more about other people than I will know about myself. There's a fear inside of me that I will never find that life purpose that's supposed to be inside all of us. I want this blog to have thousands of followers. If I do that it means I will have found something that I am so passionate about and good at that others will love to learn from me.
So today begins my journey. I hope you will join me as I know i'm not the only person who feels ok but nothing special.
I think the worst place to be in is feeling 'ok and comfortable'. When something is really bad at least it motivates us to change. It forces us to accept nothing less than more for ourselves. However when things are ok it's hard to change. One reason I think I find it hard is from a sense of guilt. Guilt that if something, for example my income, is ok and others have it so bad then how awful must I be to want more? In my mind I know that's not right, but still I think it's one factor holding me back and stopping me from moving forward.
Why is it that you can convince yourself of something but still do it? As above I know it's not right to feel guilty but in my heart I still do it? hmmmm.
Am I rambling? Do I ramble? So much to learn about myself. Strange because if you meet me you may think i'm stuck up as I have so little to say.
My changes for today...
I will no longer feel guilty about wanting more. Every time I feel this I will focus on what having more will do for me. I will be able to provide better for my daughter, I will be able to spoil my loved ones. I will be able to spoil myself. I will be able to contribute and make a difference. I will be able to live a life of adventure