The Liebster Award

The lovely Laura has just introduced me to the Liebster award, which aims for bloggers to get to know each other better and discover new blogs in the process! 

These are the rules:

• Link back to the person who nominated you. 
• Answer the questions your nominator has given. 
• Nominate 11 bloggers with under 200 followers (I'll try my best!) 
• Create your own set of 11 questions for your nominees to answer
• Notify your nominees!

I'm having a go at my 11 questions from Laura below, and posting my own questions and nominees shortly!

Mindfulness for Beginners

I don’t pretend to be an expert on anything mindfulness-related yet. For now I’m learning and enjoying the journey. Of course I intend to do this my way, but I’m naturally very theoretical, and always want to understand the detail behind things so I invested in this book.

So far, so good. I love to hear other people’s views as well as understanding the theory behind practicing mindfulness. It would appear that it is almost becoming en vogue, something I wasn’t aware of, but will make best use of. Hopefully this will mean lots of information, sharing and understanding of the practice. I will shortly be moving again, finally into my own apartment and I have been researching 8-week mindfulness courses around the area. I think I’ve found the one that fits for me, and I’m looking forward to enrolling and starting to be guided along this journey.

As a useful tool for my mindfulness practise, I also grabbed a copy of the Mindfulness Journal from my favourite stationary store. Their products are so adorable, and they currently have a range devoted to inspiration. This journal is perfect for my ever so slightly nerdy obsession with writing things down, and tracking what’s happening. For this though, I actually think it will be a good thing.

I love the journal - it has pages of meditation information, mindfulness practice and space for your own thoughts. It then splits up into months, to reflect on the month as a whole, as well as space for individual days. I think this is a great set up, allowing yourself to then reflect back on how you've change and progressed over the year.

I really want to get started on an 8-week mindfulness course. I'm really keen on this one from The Mindfulness Project, and this one from The Now Project. Part of me thinks I need to go easy on the courses - I'm already well underway with my Nutritionist Course - but then again, I really enjoy learning things I'm interested in and I think the two go hand in hand.

This will be my year?

A good friend once told me; if something still makes you happy, keep doing it. If it doesn’t just stop it – you are in control. Pretty obvious I know, but not something I always consider when I should. I think that as well as there being some things I do now, that I need to revisit and stop or change for the long term, there are some other things I need to start thinking seriously about, to make sure that I can safely say, yes they do make me happy. Perhaps I’ve hit the nail on the head for step one to the happiest life! To me, that statement really is as simple as that. 

More than a year ago I posted this picture on a social media site. Whilst I agree wholeheartedly with it, I haven’t really done a lot since to make any of this happen, or to follow these sentiments as much as I can. I think 2015 is my year to do this, and so I begin. 

Lately for me, it’s been about having clarity of mind and time to reflect, rather than specifically health and fitness; although of course the two go hand in hand. It’s obvious to me I need to write down some clear goals, as currently I have an idea of where I want to be, but not exactly how to get there and what is needed. 

My world for the last 2 years has been a hectic whirlwind of a full time, high-pressure job, 4 relocations within the UK, and an uprooting of life, pattern, and relationships as a result. That’s not to say I don’t love what I do, but now that London is my home for probably at least a year, I can begin to get a sense of normality, a routine and some clear and focused time to get my plan of 2015 into action. Hopefully after this year it won’t need to be something I even consciously think about. 

For now at least, the professional daily routine I currently have will need to stay, and as a result of a number of things I don’t feel particularly energised or motivated to do a lot else at the end of my day. I can’t blame my job for this, I don’t work particularly long hours, and soon I will be only about a 20 minute commute from home. I hold my attitude, habits and lack of motivation responsible for this, and I already have some ideas to put into practice in order to change this. 

A routine doesn’t have to be boring, and I’m really excited about starting mine. I’ve always been extremely organised, but like I mentioned, I’ve been having trouble putting this into practice from a health and wellbeing perspective until now. I’ve always dipped in and out of trying to be fit and healthy and can actually say that moving around so much has been responsible for them not sticking. That, and not really having a plan or goal; or focusing too much on what type of path I ‘should’ be following. I know now I just need to do what is right for me, and take care of myself; mind and body. 

I do have so many ideas and plans for the coming year and beyond that could throw a spanner in the works for my 2015 plan, but I’m going to find ways to fit these in, and enhance my path rather than restrict it. Things like travel, changing job, possibly even moving (again!) abroad may come to pass – but if they do I will know how to carry on and factor them in with success!