As we get closer towards Christmas things can get a little crazy, busy and frantic. Look for the little moments in your day that bring a little happiness from the chaos.
What’s made you smile this week?
Keep smiling 💛
There’s something so beautiful about a flower when I look at it through a camera lens that I can’t help but smile. I adore having fresh flowers in my home and always wonder at the journey that has taken place to transform a small seed into this array of colour, scent and beauty.
Starting to live a more authentic life can be daunting. It’s about assessing which elements of your life no longer serve you or fit in with who you are becoming. You can feel lonely, even misunderstood or struggle to fit in where you once belonged. You may even encounter resistance from people who don’t want you to change.
But it can also be freeing, colourful and beautiful as you transform into the most beautiful and natural version of yourself. Some may see it as an opportunity to stand out, be different and blossom.
Flowers don’t concern themselves with what every other plant in the garden is doing and they certainly don’t copy or mimic other plants around them. They grow and evolve and become what they were always destined to be. Whatever that may look like. They show up every day, quietly occupying their own space beautifully.
Here are 3 thoughts to keep you motivated and reassure you that any path that takes you closer towards authenticity and being the best version of yourself is one that’s worth walking down.
Be who you are. Stand out, grow tall, bloom. Be there as the truest version of yourself, not pretending or trying to be like anyone else. Be extraordinary, whatever your role – be great at it. Put effort into all you do, even if no one is watching. Commend yourself on a job well done and remember to love yourself in all your uniqueness.
Wherever you are – be amazing. Claim your space. Your home, your work, your ideas. Don’t be concerned with what others are doing alongside of you. Focus on you and your little piece of the world. Make it work for you. Make it beautiful, fill it with things that inspire you, make you smile. Surround yourself with like minded people. Find your tribe, people who have great energy, who are great to be around.
Keep growing, always moving closer to your goals. Your journey is unique to you. Don’t be concerned with what anyone else is doing or how they’re doing it. Don’t compare yourself to someone else. Don’t run before you can walk but also don’t focus on the finish line. The learning is in the journey. The path may not be straight and there may be obstacles in the way, but it will be worth it. Change happens slowly and one step at a time. Keep going.
Where in your life can you be as authentic as a flower?
This is a previously published post that has had a little makeover and a lot of love added.
It was called ‘Things I did in my other life’.
Let me give you a little more information. At the time I was working evenings and weekends, whilst studying during the week to become a teaching assistant plus taking care of three small children. Hubby was working long hours to pay the bills. We were burning the candle at both ends just to survive, like so many families do…you get the idea.
Anyway, back to my game.
In my darkest, frustrating, unhappy moments I would imagine what my life could be like if things were different or I was a different person. When I saw something I couldn’t afford, or a place I could only dream of visiting or an experience I had zero chance of having I would simply say to myself ‘In my other life I’d have that’.
Ridiculous I know.
However, it was a way for me to enjoy something from afar without becoming too hung up on all the things I didn’t have.
I was visualising a better life without realising it.
It gave me hope and a belief to hold onto; that things wouldn’t always be this way and I needed that, because we were working so hard for things to be different.
Holly from Holly Wren Spaulding wrote a post recently called what would happen if… and  it reminded me of my little game.
What could our lives could be like if we imagined them to be beautiful and fulfilling, having gratitude for all we had?
What if we saw the lessons life wanted us to experience and learned that we are enough just as we are?
What if we were to let go of our expectations, stress and negative thoughts and spent our energy embracing the things that brought us enjoyment and excitement?
Not in another life, but right here, right now in this one.
Speak only words of kindness
Find something to get excited about every day
Say yes more often than no
Make friends with anyone, anywhere without fear
Wear a beautiful dress, just because
Treat our spouses like we did when we first fell in love
Like what we see in the mirror
Honour our values
Slow down when we need to
Spend time making ourselves happy
Notice the little things
Just breathe
Instead of replicating others’ lives, comparing ourselves or doing what we feel we should, how about we take a shot at listening to our own hearts, being authentic, or forging our own paths?
What would that look like?
Any thoughts? Let me know below…
Recently I watched the TedTalk ‘My Year of Saying Yes‘ by Shonda Rhimes.
Shonda, an incredibly intelligent woman when you hear all that she has accomplished and created, speaks of how one simple decision changed her life.
She decided to say yes where she previously had not.
I was moved when she talked about how it had transformed her life, and in particular her relationship with her children. But I was also baffled, how could something so simple change this woman’s already seemingly amazing life?
It made me wonder if I could apply this to my life; if I had missed opportunities for happiness because I hadn’t uttered that three letter word?
Because I might have said ‘No‘ or ‘Maybe another time‘ or ‘That’s just not for me‘.
Because I took the easy way out. Because I was busy. Because I was afraid. Because I didn’t want to be seen as different.
I Nicky, do solemnly swear to…
💋 Say yes to embracing authenticity, uniqueness and being your own kind of beautiful.
💋 Say yes to being responsible and owning your shit.
💋 Say yes to listening to your body, your mind, your soul. Especially your soul.
💋 Say yes to growth, expansion, learning.
💋 Say yes when you need to. Only when you need to.
💋 Say yes to putting yourself first.
💋 Say yes to laughter, happiness and feeling fabulous.
💋 Say yes to questioning, going against the grain, forging your own path.
💋 Say yes to challenges, new experiences, choosing what’s best for you.
💋 Say yes to things that make your soul sing, your heart swell and put a smile on your face.
💋 Say yes often. Maybe even ‘Hell yes!‘
No longer will ‘No‘ be the favoured answer. My new three letter friend will lie seductively on the tip of my tongue. It may take some getting used to, but I feel optimistic and excited at the prospect of being someone who regularly says ‘Yes, yes, yes!‘
So, what might you say yes to?Â
The Shimmer Within Her 