It has been a while since I have blogged. A couple of months actually. I have been very aware that it is something I really enjoy doing and I have missed it. Regardless of the number of people that read my blogs from week to week, if it resonates with one person and helps them to think about things a little differently or find that 2mm shift in perspective, then it is all worth it.

Today, as I sat back down to begin writing again, I was contemplating what it was that I wanted to write about and I realised this was a topic that we all talk about but sometimes don't do very well.

At this time of the year, with Christmas literally around the corner, life gets hectic and let's be honest, at times, downright chaotic! It feels like life picks up speed as we rush everywhere. Everyone is rushing. But this is the most important time to slow down a little and be present. 

I spent the year in my grade 5 class, teaching my students, among many things, about gratitude. It is so easy to...

Life is busy. We work hard. We parent hard.

We are told to set goals and go after them. 

Don't stop until you reach them. 

Go hard or go home!

Just get the job done. Get all the jobs done and THEN you can rest.

All valid. All important parts of life.

But the jobs and the lists are NEVER ending! So when do you rest? When do you have to time to recharge your batteries? And why do we feel guilty for taking care of ourselves?

I would like to take a moment to reflect, now that I am on holidays following an 11-week school term. To those unfamiliar with schooling in Australia - where I live, in Queensland, we typically have four school terms a year of 10 weeks each. This term, which only happens once every few years, we had 11 weeks. It doesn't seem like it would change anything significantly, but somehow it does.

Throughout the school term, we push our little humans to do the best they possibly can while ensuring we maintain their mental health and...

Gratitude

It's a simple concept but I am going to be very honest with you...

I used to think I was grateful. I would say how thankful and grateful I was for many things in my life - and I really was. But what I had not experienced until earlier this year was - 

Deep, true, heartfelt, to my very core - Gratitude.

The kind of gratitude that moves you so much you wonder how you could have gotten so lucky in this lifetime to have experienced what you have.

Have you ever experienced a moment like that?

Where you have had an experience or a moment in time or a memory and have been truly grateful?

This is my heart today -  for my kids and their parents I have had the greatest pleasure of getting to know this year. This blog is for them.

I have often heard it said that we should aim to develop an attitude of gratitude. But recently I heard that what we really want to aim for is having a Practice of Gratitude - as it is...

The world needs more kindness.

This message is loud and clear everywhere we turn.

And yet, in our day to day actions, we still hear and see others doing or saying unkind things - kids and adults alike.

Being kind is not complicated.

But where do we start?

Kindness begins by understanding that we all struggle.

Everyone I know, everyone I meet - while our experiences in lives are different and varied, our worries, concerns and struggles are the same. We ALL have the same thoughts and ask ourselves the SAME questions. Every single person on the planet.

 Am I good enough?  Am I enough? Am I worthy of ~ Am I loved?  Do I have enough time?  Do I have enough money?  What if I get it wrong? 

We are all aware that other people have struggles. We are all aware that we don't know the ins and outs of what is happening in people's day to day lives, other than our own.

And yet...we live in a society that, while we are definitely...

Oh my goodness! I am SO stressed!

You have NO idea how much I have to do! I don't know how I am going to do it all! There isn't enough time in the day! I just need ONE day to catch up on everything!

Sound familiar?

Yep. These phrases are amongst the most commonly used phrases you will hear people use. As we move further into the year I am hearing it even more because it is about now that most of us feel this sense of urgency about the year and how far into it we are and what we wanted to do but have not yet done. 

There is also this sense of urgency with teachers about trying to fit it all in and get everything done in the time we have.

Personally, I am the least stressed I have been in a very long time. I feel the occasional stresses of things getting done in my day to day life but it is not a place or feeling I spend a lot of time on. For years, I was so stressed at work, about work, about life in general. It sucked. I was unhappy and frustrated and...

Do as I say, not as I do.

This is a phrase that has been kicked around for years - especially when teachers or parents want kids to do something they are asking.

I heard it recently again and it took me by surprise because I had not really paid much attention to this particular phrase before. But if you think about it really carefully...this is a phrase, I think, should be eliminated from every single person's vocabulary.

I know this phrase was used a LOT on my generation when we were kids - and yes, we turned out ok! But the world is different for kids today. There are different (and many more)  influences and people or peers that they can watch and follow and listen to.

So what do we need to do so that our little humans grow up, through their challenging teen years and into adulthood in a way that allows them to: be themselves, as well as being contributing members of society and leading great lives that impact others?

We lead the way by...

Wellbeing

It is a word that we hear so often these days. 

We all know the importance of taking care of our wellbeing and the wellbeing of those around us - both adults and children - and yet...it seems to be something that a lot of people seem to still struggle with today.

Life is busy. People, in general, live in scarcity - not enough time, not enough money, not getting enough sleep etc. Our mind is so busy and full of everything we think we should be doing and this all creates a level of stress that takes a considerable toll on our bodies - big and little humans alike.

I think as a general population, we underestimate the effect that stress has on our bodies and those of our little humans. 

However, I also do think that we are becoming a lot more mindful as well. It is a journey that I am noticing more and more people are on.

As the year kicks on though, the stress creeps in and some of us find being mindful more...

Mindset:

A set of beliefs or a way of thinking that determines one's behaviour, outlook and mental attitude.

When it comes to our mindset, we have probably heard heaps of motivational quotes designed to inspire us to change and become more positive in our thinking. Over the years, I have read these quotes and thought..."Yes! I am going to do that!' or 'I really love this quote but the reality is....(insert excuse here)'

 Is mindset really that important? 

 Do we actually need to be conscious of our self-talk?

 Is there any point to teaching our little humans how to do it?

 What has to happen for a change in mindset to actually stick?

The bottom line is - we want to be happy and live a happy life. We only get one chance to do it right.

And yet...we still move through our days with frustration or stress or overwhelm. I spent most of my life in overwhelm, which led to stress and frustration. I wasn't...

I have a confession.

Sometimes I find I spend too much time avoiding what I know I need to do, to get our message out to the world.

What has been getting in the way? Old patterns of fear.

I assumed once you had worked through all those old patterns of thinking and behaviour, that they would be gone for good! But nope! I am discovering more and more about how very human we all are and how, while we can be working on ourselves to be better and change our patterns, that things can pop up in our life that trigger old habits and patterns.

And that's exactly what happened a few weeks ago. The old patterns that popped up were - old habits of procrastination, self-doubt and fear. It sounds crazy, but it's true. I have to own it and acknowledge them in order to move forward and also, because I do not want to be in pain anymore....and that's what was happening.

I know for a fact that most people are always wanting to...

How often do you say or hear someone say - 

I will celebrate when I have completed this... project, job, goal...etc

(You can insert anything you might be working on or towards here!)

All the time, right?

Now, I personally do love a good celebration but I know that I have said this phrase many times over the years and the problem I started noticing was....I wasn't getting to celebrate very often!

I know this sounds like I wasn't getting jobs completed or goals achieved - which is true in some instances but not in others. 

The problem is...I think it is human nature to 'save' our celebrations for what we consider 'the big things' or 'big milestones' - which is great, don't get me wrong! They are absolutely worth celebrating.

But...

 Why aren't we celebrating along the way?

Why aren't we celebrating the journey? The baby steps? The small wins? The distance travelled?

Over the course of the last couple of years, I have learned,...