Let's chat 2021 goals

We did it, we have got through the first week of 2021! 

I know that sounds rather dramatic but I feel a sense of relief and yet a sense of motivation at the idea that I have got through this week. 

In the past, when a new year hit it felt like a new start and I would feel motivated and ready for what the new year was to bring with goals and aspirations ready to go.  But this year I did not and have never felt more unlike myself and anxious going into the new year.  

These past 7 days have been a real struggle for me as I don't know why but I really thought this year the madness would be over and things would go back to being relatively normal. But they didn't and everything seemed to hit me like a tone of bricks.  I am still not able to see my family, go round for tea, playing games and giving them a hug.  My job has changed and may not go back for a while. My routine is constantly changing with the christmas break, working from home and last minute changes due to the virus. I felt so unmotivated and just wanted to stay in bed with most evenings crying behind closed doors. 

After a pep talk on the phone with my family and my boyfriend being a real rock, I began to feel better towards the end of this week.  I feel more like myself and ready to take on the new year.  I realised that I had to take a step back, focus on one thing at a time and breathe.  There were a few things that got me out of the January blues including a few quotes: 

"I know your sad, so I won't tell you to have a good day.  Instead I simply advise you to 'have a day.'  Stay alive, feed yourself well, wear comfortable clothes and don't give up on yourself just yet.  It'll be better soon.  Untill then, have a day." - Unkonwn.

From this, I learnt you do not need to be happy and motivated all the time, infact I think it is quite impossible and that is okay.  It is okay to not be okay.  You don't need to rush into anything and can do things when you are ready.

"Don't forget, you are human.  It's okay to have a meltdown.  Just don't unpack and live there.  Cry it out and refocus on where you are headed." - Hoda Kotb

I hate felling down and negative.  Especially infront of other people as I don't want to be a debbie downer and bring everyone down. So, I would bottle it up and I think it all got ontop of me and I cracked. Although at times I didn't know when it would end and felt rubbish that these negative feelings wouldn't go away, it felt good to have a good cry and I did feel better after a few days.  I am so lucky I have such an amazing boyfriend who was there to comfort me and my family to reassure me everything was going to be okay. 

Now I have had my meltdown, I feel ready to take on the year, one step at a time.  With that being said I wanted to share my goals for this year.  I have said in the past that I don't put pressure on myself to achieve these and try not to make them too specific as I have found that has worked for me.  So, I intend to do that this year too as I set the following goals/aspirations: 

• Enjoy every moment - If this year has taught me anything it is this. Embrace every hug, savour every last word and simply enjoy every minute.

• Keep fit - I really enjoyed fitness last year both running and going the gyms when allowed.  I feel it did wonders for my mental health too, so I want to keep this going this year.  I also have the added and more specific goal within this to run 10 miles.

• Continue to grow my blog - I have absolutely loved my blogging/ instagram platform and everything that has come with it. I have met some amazing people and found a real comfort in it.  It has allowed me to be creative, express myself and have fun and I hope this hobby continues to grow. 

• Stick to a skin care routine - I have said a few times I want to have a good skincare routine and I always seem to start well then stop.  So, I am setting this goal again in the hope that I stick to it.  I got a few new skincare bits for christmas and I can't wait to try them!

I have a few more personal aspirations that I would prefer to keep to myself but right now I am happy with the goals I have set and who knows, as the year goes on I may change them or think of more.  

I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope you are all doing okay in light of everything going on right now. If you ever need to chat please leave a comment or my inbox is open on my Instagram. 

The New Normal

The UK is coming out of lockdown and things are quite different as we enter a new normal. With safety and the public's health being a big priority we are seeing a lot of changes to daily life in order to keep us safe.  The latest change is the new rule making face covering mandatory when in public places like shops. 

When I first heard this rule I wasn't sure how to feel, I had worn a disposable face mask a few weeks ago when going to the doctors and if i'm being honest I didn't like it.  It made me more aware of my breathing, made me feel a little claustrophobic and it was so big it nearly covered my eyes making it hard to see.  But, with the new rule in place I ordered myself a few different masks and wore them around the house to get use to it.  Although it is not the normal we are used to, wearing them around the house defiantly helped and I feel more comfortable wearing one.  

So, if you are a bit nervous about wearing a mask here are some tips: 

• Get ones that reflect you - There are so many places out there selling masks, so you don't just have to get a boring one.  You can get lots of cute prints and colours to match every outfit or you can make you own! 

• Wear them round the house first - I found by doing this I could get used to the feeling of wearing a mask so it doesn't feel as claustrophobic anymore. Just make sure you wash it before then wearing it in public. 

• Get one that fits you - When wearing a disposable mask at the doctors a few weeks ago, it was so big it made it more uncomfortable.  So, if you have a slightly small head like I do, you can either make your own or I would recommend trying a children's one.  I found these are much smaller but still cover my mouth and nose meaning it is protective and I can see too! 

• Don't worry about what people think - Now this is a mandatory rule, everyone will be wearing one so you won't be the only one.  We are all in this together!

I thought I would share with you some of the masks I have bought to wear: 

•  This one is from Boohoo and it is a super cute rainbow one!

• This one is also from boohoo and is a tie dye affect with pink, green, blue and white making it great for any outfit. 

• This one os actually a children's mask from GAP.  You can see it is a lot smaller than the other two which is more comfortable as it doesn't cover the bottom of my eyes.  This one was from a pack of three, however I gave the other two to my sister as she is like me and has a small head! This one is my favourite as it is blue and white with a tie dye/ cloud affect. 

To keep them all in one place I have simply put a command strip on the inside of my wardrobe door and they all hang nicely there.

I hope you found this weeks blog post helpful, especially if you are feeling anxious about wearing a mask. I would love to see some of the ones you will be wearing! 

Why exercise?

As a child I was always very active, with PE and playtime at school, dancing after school and a trampoline in the garden, I was always on the go!  However, during my teens I became unwell with Glandular Fever and pretty much stopped exercising all together as I was so tired and extremely stressed with GCSES.  However, as I have gotten older and better, I saw more and more of my friends joining the gym and getting active. 

Whilst at university, I joined the cheerleading team and this was the first step in getting back into exercise.  I couldn't believe the differences it made to my life.  This sounds a bit dramatic, but honestly I felt so good! Although tough at times, the feeling after cheerleading training was unreal! I felt fitter, healthier, more confident and generally happier.  

Another change I felt within myself when doing cheerleading at university was that it was a way to forget about the stress of deadlines, assignments and exams.  Now I have finished university and have swapped assignments for actual work deadlines and changed cheerleading to the gym, I still find that after exercising I feel great and I feel as though all the stress and anxiety goes away.  Getting out and exercising is a good way to keep busy and meet people and is like a hobby!  

I personally have decided to go to the gym more to reduce stress, to become fitter/ healthier, get a peachy bum and as I am doing a physical challenge in October (more of this in a future blog post). But there are lots of motives as to why people want to get more exercise such as weight loss.

According to the NHS, research has shown that regular exercise can improve self-esteem, reduce stress and reduce the risk of developing long-term (chronic) health conditions. 

When I say exercise, I don't mean you have to religiously go to the gym everyday for 4 hours.  I mean, you can go all out if you want too haha! But even little changes like parking further away from the shop can make all the difference.  I said in my new years resolutions that I wanted to exercise more, and I would say I have done this so far.  I don't necessarily go to the gym everyday day, one week I didn't go at all.  But, I am defiantly going a lot more regularly than I used to, especially if I feel myself getting stressed at work and the feeling I get afterwards is amazing!

There are so many different ways you can exercise too, you can go to the gym, go to classes, walk the dog, go running, swimming, cycling, join a club like boxing or dancing the list is endless! 

So, if you are looking for something new to do this month that will improve your health both physically and mentally as well as give you the opportunity to meet new people, I would recommend getting more exercise! 

New Year goals

In some ways January is one of my favourite times of the year, as for me, it's a fresh start. I am one of those people who like to set myself goals of things I would like to improve on for the next year. I try to make these as relaxed as possible and not to be too specific by setting dates or targets, so then if I don’t achieve them it is not such a big deal.

This year going into a new decade, I have tried to think not just about goals for 2020, but for the next 10 years. In this post I thought I would share these with you...

Goals for 2020:

1)      Run 10miles – Now I know earlier I said I wasn’t going to make my goals specific, but this one has a good reason. At the end of October I will be running 10 miles to raise money for a charity close to my heart (more on this in a blog post to come). So, this has now become one of my 2020 goals and is the first ‘target goal’ I have had in years.

2)      Skin care routine – I have wanted to get into the habit of having a skin care routine for a while now but have never quite found the time or have simply forgotten about it. I would say I am very lucky in that I rarely get spots except the odd hormonal one which are like second heads! However, I have always said it is important to look after you skin whether you get lots of spots or none at all.  So, this year I am going to start in the hope that it continues over the next decade.  

3)      Read more – I have always enjoyed reading and found it nice way to relax and get lost in another world. However, I always say I never have time for it meaning I only really read when on holiday. For Christmas I was very lucky and got a kindle from my parents, I was so excited and couldn’t wait to use it! I have now made it half way through a book by simply putting down my phone in the evenings and have found it so relaxing.

Goals for the next decade:

1)      Don’t care about what people think – I think this is something everyone goes through at some point in their life. I have always thought that this was something that got easier with age and for me I feel this is true. In some aspects of my life or at certain times I feel I don’t care what people think, yet in other times I do care and let it take control of me. This is something I want to change over the next decade as quite frankly I am tired of letting my thoughts of what people MAY think rule what I wear, what I do or how I feel.

2)      Look after me more – I want to start doing this in a number of ways and start putting my mental and physical health as more of a priority.

One way in which I will do this is by keeping my fitness levels up and eating healthier. Last year I reduced the amount of sugary squash I was drinking and swapped to water and green tea and it made the world of difference! Since the start of the year I have been going to the gym more and found this has been a great way to release stress and anger from work and life.

Another way I will do this is by thinking more about myself. Getting rid of negative people and doing things I want to do by saying NO more. I have always struggled with saying no or thinking more about other people than myself. This has lead me to do things I don't always want to do and missing out on things I do want to do as a result. But over the next decade, I hope to get out of this and starting thinking about me and what I want. 

So, these are my new year and new decade goals. I will have to remember this post and look back on it in the next 10 years to find out whether I stuck to them or not...

Happy New Year!

I don't know about any of you, but that period between Christmas and New Year where nobody really knows what they are doing has been a bit delayed for me. For some reason, it has hit me at the start of the New Year.  I have put this down to having such a crazy busy Christmas, that now the New Year has hit and things have settled, my brain has only just had the chance to figure things out!

Don't get me wrong, christmas was great! I had my auntie, uncle and two cousins come down for two weeks to spend Christmas and New Year together. Despite working for some days, we still had a time full of games, laughter, singing and dancing with cocktails in hand! But, the late nights and anxiety surrounding 2019 soon caught up with me and this past week has been a bit of a blur.

I am normally quite good at the whole New Year, new start and getting straight into things. But, this year, I was just so tired and anxious about the new year, I didn't have the motivation. So, I have spent this first week of the New Year wrapping my head around everything and am starting a fresh today, the 7th January!

I am one of those people that like to start a fresh in the New Year and try new things. Some may call them resolutions and I guess they are to some extent, however I try not to put pressure on myself about them. I tend not to have a specific time or goal but a more relaxed one. That way, at least if I don't succeed or last the whole year, I can at least say i've tried. This year is no exception and my new year's resolutions include:

• Looking after my skin - by drinking more water and getting into a skin care routine
• Exercise more 
• Blog more often 
• Step out of your comfort zone 
• Don't care what others think 

Like I said before, these are not set in stone and I am not saying I will definitely stick to them all for the whole year. But, I am going to give them a good go! I am not putting loads of pressure on this year to be as great, as I did that last year and by the end of February I was ready for the year to end. 

So, I plan to go with the flow, try as hard as I can in all that I do and take each day as it come. Who knows what this year will bring...