As we approach the end of the month, I am looking forward to my week away in Torquay. A chance to recharge and refresh in a beautiful part of the country. In the meantime, however, here is my round-up for October as a coach, writer, and human being.
What might you need to let go?
Last week, I encouraged people to use these last few months as we move towards the end of 2023 to review their year-to-date and start making some plans for 2024.
Part of this might involve decluttering what’s inside your head, clearing out some of the things that no longer serve you – those ideas and beliefs you no longer need. Rather like the Stacy Solomon show on BBC – Sort your Life Out. For those who haven’t seen it, Stacy and her brilliant team help families/individuals struggling with their physical stuff to declutter and organise their homes.
But what intrigues me most is where they sort and lay out all the families’ belongings in a huge warehouse so they can see more clearly what they have accumulated over the years; very often, people have acquired multiples of things they were no longer aware of. Somehow, they lost track and control of what was in their homes.
What would it be like to do this for our heads – to create a warehouse for all the busyness and stuff whizzing around inside our minds.? What areas would you have in your warehouse?
What beliefs, Values, grudges, interests, ongoing worries, past resolutions, and projects might you need to jettison? As I write this, I wonder how large a piece of paper I might need. I journal daily, which helps tremendously with my day-to-day well-being, but I am curious about this idea of a warehouse for the mind and will ponder some more.
As usual, if you have any thoughts, please do let me know.
Time to start a new chapter?
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom – Anais Nin.
The above quote beautifully captures the struggle we can have with significant change and the risks associated with that change. When we could be moving forward with confidence, we remain trapped, caught between the past and the future – between the certainty of now and the uncertainty of change.
So, as we move inexorably towards the end of 2023, I invite you to review the year you have had so far.
- What am I proud of from this year?
- What have I yet to achieve?
- What is energising me right now?
- What changes do I want to make in 2024?
- How can I make it happen?
Big or small – maybe now is the time to start thinking about those changes, and you can read more about the Hudson Cycle here.
And who knows – maybe 2024 will be your time to blossom.
Learning to live with diabetes.
Since being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes six months ago, I have experienced various reactions when sharing the news with friends and colleagues. Because, in all honesty, there isn’t one part of my life that hasn’t in some way been affected by this chronic disease.
Looking back, I now see that I hadn’t felt quite right for at least a year before, but there wasn’t anything I could put my finger on, and I didn’t feel ill enough to visit my GP.
I have now spent some time reflecting on those first six months – my change in priorities and focus, the adjustments I have made to my life, and how I intend to move forward with it so if you want to read more, take a look at my latest post on Pittabread:
I’d love to know what you think.
A Haunting in Venice
A Haunting in Venice soon became sleeping in the cinema at a midweek showing last week. I couldn’t keep my eyes open and somehow managed to sleep through most of the film.
Maybe it was the latish night I’d had a few days before watching the stand-up Jen Brister deliver her excellent The Optimist show at the Theatre Royal Brighton. But as the film started, I quietly drifted off to scenes of Hercule Poirot in retirement.
So, when I woke at the end of the film, I had to fess up and ask my friend to explain the who, the what, the why and the how. I am relieved that I didn’t snore. Laughter emoji
There was a lot of laughter as my friend explained and talked me through the film.
In fairness, as a much younger woman, I did sleep through parts of Les Miserable in the 90s, and I am known within my family for nodding off at the start of films at home, only to wake as the end credits roll.
I am used to being asked, ‘How much of that did you see, Nickie?’
Though it is the first time in a cinema. 😉
Until next month
