Here’s a round up of all the little things from my week that have made my heart swell an my soul sing.
A little later than usual this week – but hey ‘Ease & Flow’ remember?
Have a great week guys and renember to notice the little things – they’re there to remind you to have a good day!
Nicky xo
I started setting intentions for the coming year a while back – as a rebellion act against the norm of New Years Resolutions! I haven’t spoken about my loathing for resolutions as I didn’t start my blog until February. So I thought I’d do a six month check in with where I’m at.
Most of us will agree, resolutions don’t work, are hard to do and generally make us feel like complete failures come the middle of February when we have failed to stick to our promises.
I decided initially that I would choose something to add to my life, rather than the usual ‘I will stop/give up…”
During the run up to the end of the year I start to ponder on what my intention will be. I ask my self questions and journal, noticing what words or phrases I’m drawn to.
This year I asked myself three specific questions:
What mantra do I want to adopt for the coming year?
How do I want to feel?
What practises do I want to incorporate into my daily life to improve my health and wellbeing?
My intention didn’t make itself know until quite late, new year had come and gone – but I had faith it would show up.
If you’ve never done this and are wondering what on earth I mean – I find if you keep a look out and have in the back of your mind that you are looking for an affirmation or phrase or word, it will make itself known to you. And the minute you hear it, you will know it’s meant for you.
So my intention finally showed itself mid February, and it came in the shape of a lyric – I heard the words “ebb and flow” and my inner compass did that thing where you get a little twitch to tell you to take note. I sort of liked it…but it wasn’t completely right.
Ebb, according to the dictionary is the flowing back of the tide. Now, I’m all for looking back to reflect upon your choices and behaviour – but that wasn’t what I wanted to focus on for a new year.
Flow, however I liked. It means to move continuously – perfect for someone who is all about striving forward.
So I started to play around with words that complimented ‘flow’.
Eventually I added ‘ease’ (free from anxiety or pressure, to lighten) and my intention for 2016 was born.
I wanted ‘ease and flow’ to represent how I carried myself, looked after myself and behaved towards others.
🌸 I decided to start every morning with yoga to help me feel grounded for the day and continue regularly exercising and eating healthily – but not feel guilty when I had treats.
🌸 I decided I was going to become more flexible in my thoughts and not get frustrated or stressed when things didn’t go the way I had planned.
🌸 I decided to regularly adopt mantra’s to remind me how I was going to behave and help me commit to setting intentions for the day or week.
It all starts with a decision.
A decision to live with intent – not just glide through life, but to live with purpose.
Six months on, it hasn’t always been perfect.
I’ve gone days without exercise, fallen off the food wagon a few times and let stress get the better of me on more than one occasion.
However, I’ve acknowledged each time this has happened and chosen to simply let it go and start afresh tomorrow. No raking myself over the coals, no feeling like a failure and definitely no giving up. Ease and Flow.
I’ve reflected on why I may have needed three cakes this afternoon, or my frustration at another colleague – and looked at how I might have been feeling which in turn caused me to act a certain way. Then I’ve moved on. Ease and Flow.
Choosing an intention, for me, is the prompt I need to remind me of how I want to be. Not where I am, but where I am headed. Ease and Flow.
Life is a journey – and this is where the learning takes place.
Tell me, where are you headed? How would you like to feel? Do you have a mantra you live by?
Let me know below…
I said that.
I love (and am humbled by) the fact that someone nominated you because they read something on your blog that made them smile or resonated, touched and inspired them in some way.
So when I was nominated by Mortisha from It’s a Girl Dream for the Blue Sea Black cat award and read about who it’s for, my soul did little start jumps.
This award is for bloggers who strive to write for everybody, and no matter how many viewers they get, make an impact on a reader. This award is an expression of gratitude to the nominee. It should be awarded to anyone that you choose deserves it and it doesn’t mean that they must have hundreds of followers and likes.
When I started this blog, I had little idea of where it would take me. I wrote because I needed to write, I needed to share my story and had a desire to encourage people to see how fabulous they truly were.
I wanted to be everyone’s personal cheerleader.
I feel I’m starting to have real connections now, through the comments people leave on my posts and my tribe is growing. All I ever wanted was for people to feel inspired to see how beautiful life can be when you live authentically.
And if people are liking what I’m writing about – then I feel encouraged to continue to create the best content I possibly can.
Anyway, Oscar moment over; back to the award…
Anybody nominated can nominate up to seven other bloggers.
Anybody nominated answers three questions. The questions you ask while nominating can be any three questions. If any questions asked are offending or simply do not want to be answered, the nominee does not have to answer them to earn the award.
What is your main source of inspiration when writing your blog?
My life so far. After hitting rock bottom after the death of my younger brother, I spent a lot of time and energy figuring out who I was without him. When I found my smile again I began sharing my story with others who had lost all sense of self and needed a little pick me up…and the blog was a natural progression of that.
Do you see blogging as a side hobby or a future career?
At the moment it’s a hobby (that takes up as many hours as my actual job!) but it would be an amazing thing if I could write and inspire people full time and get paid for it – magic wand anyone?
Which blogger has made the biggest impact on your life?
This is a tough question! When I first started looking for ways to rebuild my life, I read blogs by amazing women like Gala Darling, Marie Forleo and Danielle LaPorte. I watched their videos, bought their books and soaked up every journaling exercise they suggested, all in the name of healing myself.
I still follow these people, but for me the ones who now have the biggest impact on my life are the people I am connecting with through my blog. The people who write about their struggles with mental health and anxiety, the people who travel, the people who share their photographs and their lives, the people who write to inspire you to be kind. I guess I am inspired by what others write about – the real day to day stuff and how they want to help us by sharing their stories.
The Melodramatic Confessions of Carla Louise
Anyone else who is reading this – you are worthy.
What is the thing you enjoy most about blogging?
What is the one thing, starting a blog has taught you about yourself?
If you could wave a magic wand, what is the one wish you would have in regards to your blog?
Cannot wait to read your posts – I nominated you all because you are all amazing and I believe everyone should have a chance to earn this award.
Continue doing what you do, they way you do it. You are inspiring someone, somewhere.
Nicky xo
Here’s a round up of some of the moments that have made me smile this week.
It’s easy to get caught up in the chaos and stress that the end of term inevitably brings.
Remember to pause, breathe and take stock of what matters this week. In the words of Kurt Vonnegut,
Nicky xo
The Shimmer Within Her 