Well, maybe not exactly, but this week I have done more exercise than I’ve done in that past 3 years. I have always loathed swimming but it’s become my best friend. I find I am actually looking forward to getting the the pool and I’m eager to push myself that little bit harder each time I go. I’ve been jogging each day, although not very far or for very long yet, but I have noticed I have been able to do a little bit more each time I try. The dog is very happy about it and clearly thinks everytime I rise from the sofa that we’re going out running!
Today I have my first formal gym session with my trainer. I’m a bit nervous to be honest. I feel he will be horrified at my lack of ability and wonder why I ever thought I could get ready for a half marathon in just 4 months! Well, he may not have seen many people so determined to succeed!
I have also set up my Just Giving page this week and I figured if everyone I know donates even one pound I would raise a considerable amount! So please consider donating, any amount is a great help towards a very worthy charity and the more who give even just a little the bigger the final pot will be. My chosen charity is East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices.
In the last post I talked about making a pledge for personal change in 2012. Instead of a new year resolution that you feel you must complete as specified in a set period of time you can work on a pledge throughout the year. Most personal development and personal growth happens slowly over time, although there are occassions when it can happen quickly if you are determined enough!
I will be 50 in 2012 and many of my friends have completed momentous tasks in celebration of their 50th (and other) birthdays. I hadn’t really thought about doing anything terribly challenging to celebrate (I was thinking more about canal trips and parties!), but recently I read about a North Norfolk Marathon being held at Holkham, just down the road from me. A good friend of mine, John McNally, is a seasoned marathon runner, and his partner has taken it up too since meeting him.
A soon as I read about the event I felt I wanted to give it a go, although I’m erring towards the half marathon. Since then I have started to think more seriously about it, and now I am writing about it I know I have made a commitment to this challenge. So today I am contacting my friend for advice about a training programme, even though the weather has turned colder and I don’t feel at all like doing anything other than curling up on the sofa in front of the fire! I have also submitted my entry, paid my fee and ordered my t-shirt!
I’m quite sure I will benefit greatly from this challenge and will post updates on my training efforts. I will be raising money for the East Anglia Children’s Hospices as well and will post more about that at a later date.
I’m not a fan of new year resolutions as often people make them, fail at them, then feel bad about not keeping them. This in turn means the following year they know they won’t succeed before they make the resolution and already feel bad before making it, so what is the point really? It just seems to me that it creates a world they feel a failure in when in fact there will be so many achievements they could concentrate on instead. I feel sad for the people I meet who seem to constantly put themselves down and make fun of themselves when talking to others. Many of their disappointments will be started by their belief that they are not worthy or cannot achieve what others seem to them to find so easy.
So here we are in a brand new year. Your life can be so different if you want it to be. Make a pledge to try to think differently about something that you know is pulling you down. Change the way you think about yourself to a positive view. Look at the things around you and concentrate on those that work firstly, then work to change those that don’t. This does not have to be a new year resolution if you feel you always fail at those, but make a serious pledge to make 2012 a year of personal growth for you. You will feel much better for it.
Calendars For Marketers was launched this week. It’s always exciting when a new product is launched. This is a great gift to send to your list and it keeps your links in front of them every day for a whole year. Very inexpensive when you think of the exposure it will get you, and how lovely to send your subscribers something for nothing!
Click the banner above to go to Calendars For Marketers
Following my announcement in the last post about my summer job, I’m An Alpaca Trekker, Dawn Kay, of Dawn Kay’s Blog asked me for a video of the guys. So here it is, a short video of the boys. Hope you enjoy it, and leave me a comment. If you want to see more pics please visit the Alpaca Trekking site!
What a great summer I am having. If you’ve all been wondering where I have been then this post will let you know! I managed to get a new job for the season – walking Alpacas along the coastal path between Wells-next-the-Sea and Stiffkey. It has been a really great experience so far and I look forward to many more treks before the season ends.
Sadly not many people book treks during the winter months. I’m not too sure why, except for the weather factor of course. One would assume people still walk during the winter – indeed there are plenty of people out on the beaches when I take my dog out over the winter months, and not all have dogs to walk. So I wonder why they don’t enjoy the experience of trekking with the Alpacas while they are walking.
The man I work for has six Alpacas, two groups of three. You can see all the guys (they are all boys) here: Alapaca Trekking. Above is a photo of Costello, the leader of the second group. They are about two and a half years old now and came a year after the first group, who are about three and a half.
I couldn’t believe my luck when I got this job. I have really missed working with animals since the horse project finished. These guys are a great step in the right direction for me. I get fresh air and exercise and they are so lovely to be with.
If you are in North Norfolk anytime book a trek. I’ll see you there!
There comes a time in life when we can reach a particular status. We become a big fish in our own little pond. For sometime now I have been a big fish in my own little pond. I am confident, I am capable, I can achieve whatever I want to achieve in my own little world.
Recently I went to meet a new group of people who I’d had contact with through the internet but had never met face to face. Suddenly I was a little fish in a big pond. The people around me were the big fish and this was their little pond. I felt like a fish out of water!
It can be quite disconcerting to find yourself in these situations. You can become very shy and unassuming, when you are normally very confident.
It is important to recognise that all the other people you meet may be feeling the same way as you. They may not be as confident as they appear. And you can appear more confident than you are feeling. Take a deep breath and know that they are just people, just like you.
Enjoy the journey.
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Life is full of ups and downs and sometimes the downs seem to be the main focus of our days. We need to be able to see beyond those and know that there is something better and more fulfilling around the corner.
One way to create a pathway out of those places is to have a series of steps that you can implement at any time you need them. I believe that these steps may well be different for each person, but when I find myself overwhelmed or struggling to move forwards out of the mire these are my four steps to certain success:
Fresh air. It works every time. I make myself get outside and do something physical in the fresh air. I might go for a walk, or do a job in the garden, but the combination of moving myself and getting outside is a powerful thrust in the right direction.
Change my eating habits. I often find that when I am having a down day (or days) my eating habits get very bad indeed. I can make a positive impact on the way I am feeling by looking at what I am eating and re-introducing the good habits whilst cutting down on the bad habits. I also make myself prepare meals and sit down properly to eat them. No more snacking on whatever is quick and available, that’s a bad habit.
Positive affirmations. Now I know a lot of people don’t really ‘get’ these, but they work for me, and always have done. The idea is to choose a phrase that is positive and addresses the areas you want to create a different energy around. You repeat the affirmation, ideally in front of a mirror, each day, and feel the energy changing as you say the words. My ebook is all about positive affirmations, you can see it here: Power Up Your Potential, Top Tips For Change.
See people. One of the best ways up is to be with others. I find I often shut myself away when I’m in a slump, and know that being with other people brings me out of myself very quickly.
Enjoy the journey.
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Experience shows that success is due less to ability than to zeal. The winner is he who gives himself to his work, body and soul. Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton
Z is also for zigzag, and if you zigzag it won’t matter how much zeal you have, your success will be much longer coming, and quite possibly not come at all!
Z is also for zest, and whereas zeal means earnestness or fervour, zest means a keen enjoyment or interest. So whatever you do it would pay to have an equal helping of the two, and no helping of the zigzagging.
As Norman Vincent Peal said: If you have zest and enthusiasm you attract zest and enthusiasm. Life does give back in kind.
Through zeal, knowledge is gotten, through lack of zeal, knowledge is lost; let a man who knows this double path of gain and loss thus place himself that knowledge may grow. Buddha.
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Yesterday is very much a part of who we are. We can learn so much from the experiences of all our yesterdays, but it does not do to dwell on those experiences too much. Take what is useful from them and place the rest at the back of our memories. Often too much time can be spent going over and over things that have happened and no good is achieved from it.
As Jane Seymour said: Live each day the fullest you can, not guaranteeing there’ll be a tomorrow, not dwelling endlessly on yesterday.
You cannot have a fulfilling today, or tomorrow, if you spend all your time thinking about yesterday.
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