Total Mind and Body Wellness

 I have been lucky enough to have a business coach help me in the past, but finances have been tight with van repairs, dental bills, acupuncture, lots of things at the same time, and I have felt stuck and scared about my business future. It's not easy being self-employed, and two and half years ago I decided to move house and my business to another part of the county, and I did keep some clients, but in all honesty I am still building up my business in North Devon, and it's tough. It's so tough that recently I have considered keeping my business as a hobby, and getting a 'proper' job instead. There are issues with this though, because I have built my life, and the life of my pets around my business, I would need to pay for a dog walker, I would have to work much longer hours to fit in my business as well, and for the extra money I would make, I would have to pay for the dogs, it would not be worth the extra hours. I talked this through, finally with my husband, he...

  This blog could also be called, 'separate elements of your life,' or, 'distinguish the different elements of your life.' Whatever you want to call it, it's about making distinctions between your working life and your family time. How do you start your day? Do you immediately pick up your phone and check your emails and messages? Or do you get up, go for a walk, get a cuppa and break in to the day without technology? I always take the dogs out first thing, the only contemplation of work at this point is to make sure that I am doing everything so that I am on time for my first client. It's not until I am back from walking and the dogs are fed that I do my first social media marketing for the day.  I get it, being self-employed is so much harder to segregate, especially when your office or work space is at home. But you do need to set yourself some separate space, know when you are working and when you are not. Only go to your work space when you are working. I h...

  DO you appreciate life as an ever-changing adventure, or are you stagnant, living in the past? RECENTLY I have been planting vegetable seeds, nurturing them, watering, planting out into a bigger space and watching them turn into something magical. But what if it was a flower? That would be even more meaningful to watch? The flower springing into full bloom, looking beautiful, but eventually withering away. leaving more space for new flowers to grow. LIFE is a bit like that, we are born, we learn and grow, and eventually we fade away leaving room for new talent in the world (hopefully, but it's not looking likely!) I challenge you to plant, nurture and grow a flower seed, even a sunflower, watch it's progress, it changes daily, it doesn't worry about the past, it's focus is purely on growth and the future, it never stays the same is constantly changing for the better, we need to learn from this in our behaviour, how we react to others, how we can change for the better ...

  Why should I stop thinking, I can hear you say?  The main reason is so that you can find space for creative thought, for solutions, ideas, positive outcomes. We have so much going around in our heads on a daily basis, and our brains only have the capacity for a few things, in fact, we can only deal with 3-5 items at any one time. This is what we call our 'working memory' and if one of those things is a big deal, a life-changing event, wedding, baby, new job, then the main focus is that, and then you are definitely down to just 3. If you have a lot going on and you are trying to find the solution to another problem on top, the likelihood is that you won't get there until you have got through your other mental tasks. But creating space in your mind will help, and here is a good exercise to help you. Very similar to your stress container exercise that I have written about in a previous blog, get yourself a piece of paper or a trusted notebook, write down everything that you ...

  'There can be only one!' Did anyone ever watch Highlander, with Christopher Lambert? I used to be obsessed with that film! Well, anyway, here is a blog today all about how to be you, just you, no comparison with anyone else. Why? Because a lot of people don't realise their self-worth. They think they have to be the same, look the same, like the same things as others, like they have forgotten how to be original. I see young girls, all dressing the same, looking the same, you can barely tell them apart, like clones, completely devoid of any originality or personality of their own. It's a sorry state of affairs. I sometimes dress in a ridiculous way, I stand out, I always have and I don't care. I don't do it to stand out, I do it to be true to myself, to be the most genuine version of me that I can be. I don't want to be like anyone else, and I think that comes with the confidence of actually liking yourself! I'm a personal trainer, I don't dress like...