Life is full of ups and downs. Sometimes the difficulty is personal in nature, and sometimes it’s environmental. Divorces, deaths, and many things happen in life, including storms, illness, and more that we have no real control over. Whenever something disturbing happens or something.
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I. IDEAS FROM ME

1. Give Yourself a Break – Take a deep breath and just give yourself a break. You’re allowed to have bad days and feel like crap. It’s okay to take some time to wallow in your concerns or your issues. It’s good to feel the emotions you feel and let them all out so that you can move past it.

2. Set a “Worry” Time Limit – Set time limits to letting loose of your feelings and feeling all the things you need. You can even set many time limits. For example, if you must get through a day of work due to needing the money, set a time later for feeling all the feelings so that you can get through the rest.

3. Sleep Well – This can be a hard thing to do when you’re having a tough time in life, but you must try to make your sleep a priority in good and bad times. You can always catch up later when it’s vital that you are awake, but don’t put it off too long.

4. Eat Right – When a crisis is occurring. It’s not the tie to start eating all the crappy food. It’s a time that you want to set a schedule and make sure you’re eating enough nutrition and calories to give yourself fuel.

5. Keep Exercising – It may be even more important now to find time for your walks than at any other time. Walking in nature, taking the time to burn off that anxiety and worry through movement is one of the best ways to get through any hard time. You don’t need to keep going to the gym but keep moving.

6. Be Mindful – It’s easy to get distracted when your emotions are being affected by what is happening in your life or the world. However, before you start a new activity, always take time to center yourself with a good deep breath so that you can be mindful of what is happening right this moment. The problem will still be there when you’re done driving to the hospital, but you’ll be alive because you were mindful of the fact you were driving.

7. Keep an “I’m okay” Journal – When things are bad, it’s hard to feel like anything will ever be okay again. However, most of the time, you can find some things that are at least okay about your day, if not something to be outright grateful for now.

8. Clean Up Your Environment – Allowing your environment to get cluttered and dirty when the world is crumbling around you seems like a natural thing to do, but the truth is, it makes it worse. Set a schedule so that you keep your environment clean because that’s going to help you stay focused on the issues.

9. Get Rid of Distractions – Turn off your phone, social media, and the radio or TV when you’re doing certain activities. If you need to focus on it, don’t do other things during it. Even listening to music can cause you to miss out on essential points. Anything worth doing is worth doing 100 percent.

10. Ask for Help – If you are having trouble controlling your thoughts and nothing you try is working after a few days, you may want to ask for help. Counselors and even life coaches can help you through difficult times so that you can focus on the other things that are important to you too.

A life well-lived is going to have difficult times. The rollercoaster of life is what makes it exciting, and it’s how we learn. Going through hard things helps you grow. You feel new emotions, try new things, and come out better for the experience, even if it felt impossible while it was happening. Everything ends eventually, and you can get through difficult times without losing focus on what is important to you.

II. QUOTE FROM OTHERS

Blind professional speaker, radio personality, author, world champion athlete, David DeNotaris on staying focused:

“Our focus is our future and what we focus on will multiply in our life”

Motivational Public Speaker and Self-development author, Brian Tracy:

“The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we DESIRE not things we FEAR”

III. 1 QUESTION FOR YOU

How do you succeed in difficult situations?

Until next week,

The team at Life in Balance Careers

Do you know anyone who wants to make a difference in the lives of others?
Ask me about my other programs and coaching services.
www.lifeinbalancecareers.com

P.S.
You are amazing!

The thing to know about perspectives is that every single individual on the planet has a relatively unique point of view, which encompasses their own individual experiences and situations. While it’s true that some people cross over and come to the same conclusions based on their lives and experiences, the way in which they got there is totally unique to them.

For this reason, and the unconscious biases that can accompany any one perspective, it’s valuable to learn to change perspective before making final decisions. Once you understand the value of changing your perspective, you can use this in all life areas.



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​I. IDEAS FROM ME

Enjoy a Better Understanding
When you seek knowledge from every angle, getting information from different sources, you will gain a much better understanding of the problem and its solutions.

Change Your Feelings
Hearing from someone else about an issue can even change your feelings about it, despite your own internal biases due to your own personal perspective.

Improve Your Relationships
Being open to other perspectives and points of view automatically makes you a safe person to be around for the people in your life. If you’re not judgmental and you listen, your relationships will be deeper.

Overcome Biases
Every single person on the earth has unconscious biases about everything due to their own perspective. When you are able to look at other people’s perspectives, sometimes you can overcome your biases and thus make much better choices based on the real facts because, sadly, our own perspective sometimes can be clouded and not factual.

Resolve Conflict Constructively
One of the best skills you can develop if you need to resolve conflicts on a regular basis is to be able to argue issues from other people’s perspectives. When you can do that, you can usually come to win-win conclusions.

Solve More Problems Successfully
A person who can go outside of their comfort zone to collect and listen to many perspectives about a problem that needs to be solved they’re more likely to find a solution. That is why choosing diverse teams is essential to business success.

Become a More Persuasive Person
The fact that you can look at and understand many perspectives as well as explain issues from these different points of view means that you’ll be able to argue much more persuasively because you can use words that relate to the people you want to persuade.

Being able to look at any issue from many different sides such as yours, other people, and an expert – is the best way to enjoy a better understanding of anything.

Learning from this method will also help you become a more persuasive person so you can get more done because of your ability to look at things from someone else’s point of view.

II. QUOTE FROM OTHERS

Artist and Illustrator, Mary Engelbreit on changing perspective:

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.”

American television personality and most richest and influential women in the US , Oprah Winfrey on change and transformation:

“The smallest change in perspective can transform a life. What tiny attitude adjustment might turn your world around.”

III. 1 QUESTION FOR YOU

How do people see me differently than I see myself?

Until next week,

The team at Life in Balance Careers

Do you know anyone who wants to make a difference in the lives of others?
Ask me about my other programs and coaching services.
www.lifeinbalancecareers.com

P.S.

You are amazing!

This may come as a shock to you, but you’re not the only person on earth that has fears. Even people with very powerful and important positions have fears. Every person who must learn something new experiences fear and discomfort before they learn and have a breakthrough. It’s totally a normal part of human existence and you’re no different. For this reason, and the unconscious biases that can accompany any one perspective, it’s valuable to learn to change perspective before making final decisions. Once you understand the value of changing your perspective, you can use this in all life areas.





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I. IDEAS FROM ME

1. Define the Fear and The Effects it Has on You
When you start to experience feelings that you identify as a fear that feels like it might stop you from achieving your goal, take the time to stop what you’re doing and focus for a moment on what you are really feeling. For example, if you’re trying to learn a new software program, but you’re currently frustrated and confused because you don’t feel as if you know what you’re doing, you could allow the fear of thinking you can’t learn it to stop you. Instead, take a break to identify the emotions you’re feeling and how it’s affecting your body.

2. Accept Your Fear Realistically
Now that you know what the fear is doing to your mind and body take the time to just accept it. This fear is normal and part of your learning process. It’s just your mind’s way of pushing back a little as you gain more knowledge. Write down what can happen realistically so that you know that learning this software is not actually going to harm you in any way.

3. Visualize What’s Next
Sometimes when you’re experiencing fear about something, it helps to visualize what is next. Let’s assume you’re fearful due to a presentation you’re giving in front of 1000 people. You have identified your rapid heartbeat, feelings of nausea and the hot flash that’s coming on as fear of public speaking. So now, instead of focusing on the fear, focus on what happens next. See in your mind what happens if you don’t do the speech. See in your mind what happens if you do it. What happens if you make a mistake? As you visualize, you can help reduce fear by focusing on what happens next realistically.

4. Change Your Perspective
If you feel especially stuck, sometimes looking at solutions from a new perspective can help. Ask someone who has done it before to help you. Read different expert books and blog posts and watch YouTube videos to learn whatever you need to learn to help you look at the situation in a new way.

5. Ask Yourself the Right Questions
When you first feel fear, especially if you are afraid that fear is going to block you from success, ask the right questions. The right question is almost always, “what’s the worst thing that can happen?” When you define the very worst thing that can happen if you do or don’t do the thing that is causing you the fear, it can help push you forward.

6. Be Mindful of Your Thoughts
The truth is, you are so much more powerful than you realize. Your thoughts really do control your emotions. It might seem like your emotions are controlling your thoughts, but that’s not true. You are in full control over your thoughts even if you don’t believe that yet. Learn how to identify and reverse negative thoughts and replace them with positive or at least neutral thoughts to help reduce fear.

7. Understand the Power of Now
If everyone on the earth realized the power of now, we’d be further along our evolutionary journey. Yesterday is gone and cannot be changed, tomorrow is not guaranteed, all you really have is right now. The more you can use this knowledge for yourself, the more likely you are to overcome your fears and breathe through your comfort zone.

8. Break Large Goals Down
Now that you’ve identified, defined, and accepted the fear as well as acknowledged the truth about what can happen if you continue, now it’s time to take the goals you’ve created and break them down into easy to complete steps. For example, if you want to become an internationally known speaker that starts with one speech, just one, not ten. Do one speech at a time. One talk at a time. One thing at a time. You’ll get there.

Imagine if you let fear get in your way as a baby when you were learning to talk, walk, and run? You may not remember the fear you had, but you did have it. Ask your mother.

The thing is, when you’re young, curiosity overcomes fear because you really want to know what’s on the other side. Get that curiosity back and become like a child so you can break through that comfort zone and overcome your fears.

II. QUOTE FROM OTHERS

“She was never quite ready. But she was brave. And the universe listens to the brave.”

― Dr. Rebecca Ray is a clinical psychologist with countless years of experience. She has looked towards Instagram as a medium to be able to continue to help more people with bringing in happiness into their life.

III. 1 QUESTION FOR YOU

Imagine YOURSELF stepping out of your comfort zone. How does it feel? How do you see yourself without inhibitions, without any fears?

Until next week,

Ruth & The team at Life in Balance Careers

Do you know anyone who wants to make a difference in the lives of others? Ask me about my other programs and coaching services. www.lifeinbalancecareers.com

P.S.
You are amazing!

​It doesn’t matter when you start. it doesn’t even matter how or how often you start. Nor does it matter what you start with. All that matters, is THAT YOU START and that you STAY IN MOTION!
 
When I think back on the many projects I’ve started over my 55 years, it can certainly be mind-boggling. Some have been successful, others not so. Some have been a total failure, where you think ‘What on earth was I thinking there?!’
Sometimes I think ‘why start another something new - is it really worth it?’ Why not just get comfortable with getting older’ I cringe when I think of that! Do you ever think something like that? Do you sometimes think that you’re too old to start something new or afresh? Can I share something with you that made me think differently about getting older - oops - wiser? At a recent ‘Grow Your Speaking Biz’ workshop, I met a Lady who is 91, yes you read correctly, 91 years old! She is still going strong, speaking and happily doing her business. What an inspiration she is! To me anyway. So, rule out that excuse! There are countless other historic successful figures who were older when they first attempted something.
 
Today I would like to encourage you, if you have been thinking of starting something new, to just start. If you have been putting it off, don’t procrastinate any longer - just start. Don’t think that you might be too old or that you have failed way too often or that so many people have tried and failed. Or that your family or friends might think that you are ‘out of your mind’ and should be happy with what you have and that you should settle down.
 
Whatever it is that you want to do, just do it, give it a go! Especially now in the current world climate, what with the pandemic, it is just the right time to start a new project. This can be in your life or business. Don't think that you should wait until there are no more COVID cases around before you ramp up your business - now is the time to get into or remain in action. If you start now, and flex those action muscles then you are creating momentum. If you have always wanted to learn a new skill, why not start it now. There are so many businesses that have gone online or new ones that have started up. The internet is really a positive because it is making our world more connectable.
 
For want of an example you may want to learn to play the guitar, now that your business is ‘slow’. Something you have put off for way too long, right? 'But I don’t have a guitar’, you say. Think of a way you can get your hands on one! Don’t not start because you’re decided to use that as a 'poor' excuse. If you’re reading this, then you can google places to get hold of a guitar. Is your next excuse ‘We’re in lock down and the nearest music/guitar teacher/school is outside the allowed travel distance’ (you can tell I’m based in locked down Melbourne!!). Flex those delightful brain cells of yours and come up with ways you can learn the guitar from the comfort of your own home. Just saying.
 
If you are saying that your business is doomed because of the pandemic, I feel for you as it certainly has not been great for many people. Perhaps there is a way out. Have you thought of pivoting your business? Of recreating it, of giving it a face lift, so to say. It’s time to get your thinking caps on. Let me know if you need some ideas. Many business owners who were successful offline have now pivoted and gone fully online/virtual. Sure they’d be able to do both when our world gets back to the ‘new’ normal. I’m just saying that anything is possible. It doesn’t matter how wobbly it is when you start, as long as you start.
 
Here are 7 valuable tips for you to start TODAY:

1. If you think it’s possible, then it is: Don't put off starting an idea. Create the goal or the vision by writing it down and chunking the big vision down into bite-size steps. Make it such a big vision that it feels scary, hairy and audacious. Does it make shivers go up and down your spine? Then it’s a great goal to work towards. If it feels achievable then do it, baby!
2. Set the date for when you want to have that goal achieved by and work backwards. Ask yourself, is it something that I can control?
3. Visualize/affirm the outcome daily. Think it, say it, write it WITH FEELING, you know EMOTION.
4. Let go of the outcome. If you hold onto it too tightly, it may not happen. Let it go and wait for the magic to happen.
5. Ahhhh remember to take ACTION! Alas, what you want will not fall into your lap unless you do the Action (believe it or not!)  Consistently even if small action steps on a daily basis, and with fun. if it feels like a burden, you should not be doing it. Consistency will create the momentum.
6. Team support/systems - Team work makes the dream work. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out if we try and do it on our own. ‘Ownsome' can be ‘lonesome’. Humans thrive on the drive which your team can create by giving you a gentle shove (or push!). Besides, accountability makes us go that extra mile. Just on a side note - I wrote/created this message to you, whilst sitting with my fellow online mastermind ‘dream team’. We were all working on our individual business tasks. It’s our accountability POD which makes me get things done, rather than put it off. I find mentor-ship and accountability ‘partners' extremely valuable. It keeps me focused and on my toes to move towards my dreams and goals in both my life and business.
7. CELEBRATE and GIVE THANKS when you reach your goal- reward yourself. Make it a habit to celebrate your achievements. Find something special to do once you attain the goal. In fact, note what you’ll do even at the beginning when you set your goal. You might want to get a massage or go out for lunch with your family or buy a new piece of clothing.

 
Only 7 steps stand between you starting towards and reaching your goal! I hope that you find these tips helpful! Even if you have seen some version of these before, sometimes one or two might stand out this time. If you would like to have some support on how to create your goals around this framework or simply need someone to hold you accountable, please feel free to reach out to me for a quick chat.

Have an excellent week Stay safe and count your blessings.

Lots of love,
Ruth 

This is one my favourite times of the year when the world around us shakes off the dormancy of Winter and embraces the dynamic, ever changing Spring with the profusion of beautiful flowers that remind us of the fact that the world is still very much in technicolour.

So tell me?  What’s your passion? What are you passionate about? What brings you so much joy that you can spend hours upon hours doing? Passion I believe is something you can while away your day with and not realize that the time is passing by. I love books, reading and getting stuck into them – I also love spending time with people I love, I get so in the moment with them, I don’t check my watch. This can be quite stressful when I realize that I should actually be leaving to be somewhere else, like taking my daughter to her calisthenics class or my son to his basketball game.

Cooking on the other hand is definitely not my passion! I just can’t see the sense in spending hours in the kitchen cooking up a storm and then eat it all within much less time and to finish off having to clean the kitchen up. Plus I often forget ingredients or go off into another room and forget about the cooking…. (my family has many stories about my cooking skills!). Okay, okay, I hear the loud protests from all the master chefs as they read this.
 
Late last year I had the privilege of connecting with a 25-fold (perhaps even more) internationally published author - Horst Blaich. He regularly publishes family newsletters and is in the midst of writing his and his wife’s life story. He happens to be a friend’s father, so every time I see Horst, we get talking about our writing experiences. He told me about how his decades-old archive of writing materials, photographs and more that went up in smoke a little while back, which was devastating not to say the least. He has since been in the painstaking process of salvaging the remains and re-organizing it.

What does all this have to do with passion? Whilst Horst was talking to me, I noticed all of a sudden (especially when he showed me his books and the room where he keeps everything), that his voice changed. I notice how his eyes lit up. He was so excited and animated – I realized that he was very, very passionate about his writing. This was a very profound discovery for me, as I sometimes doubt my passions. He told me that he often wakes up in the middle of the night to spend his time writing. In fact I believe he spends most of his time writing, researching, formatting and everything that goes with it. Simply pure passion, that is at times seen as an obsession by outsiders.
 
A lot of his writing is about family, family history. Your passion is closely aligned with your values in life. So for Horst, one of his top values would be ‘family’. What are you passionate about? What are your values? How are they aligned?  You should discover similarities between your passions and values.
 
I’d love to know what you are passionate about – and if they are aligned to your values….. If you don’t know how to discover your passions or aren’t sure what you absolutely love doing (some people aren’t sure), let me know. I can point you in the right direction. In fact, I talk more extensively about passions and how to figure them out in my book, 'From Misery to Mastery – Journey to Freedom and Empowerment.’
 
For now, I would like to wish you time to stop and smell the roses (quite literally) and joy in embracing the possibilities that are the embodiment of this beautiful season.  Use this time of changing seasons to spark some positive changes in your life and give you the courage to follow those passions.
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Are you a SuperMum with school-aged children and dread the school holidays? You don’t know what to do with them unless you go on an action-packed holiday like the Theme Parks or Disney Land?
Do you love having your children at home for the school break, because you can sleep in! Yes, they drive you up the wall with sayings like ‘Mum, I’m bored!’ or ‘Mum, ‘so-and-so broke my Barbie’s arm!!!’
Do you run out of ideas of what to do with your lovely bunch even though you have the best ideas but in the heat of the moment you forget all the things you had planned and wished that you had access to a list of activities that are fun and cost-effective at the same time?
I hear you Girlfriend! As a mum of 3 I have seen many seasons of school holidays and run out of ideas time and again of what to do with them on the holidays. 
Every school holidays (boy do they come round quickly) I rack my busy mum’s brains to keep my children’s holidays eventful, before the dreaded b- word (‘Mum, I’m bored’) even forms on their lips. ‘101 Super Cool Ways to make your Child’s Holidays Magical!’ sprang to mind because a close friend of mine Karen, our children and I lovingly and jokingly invented ‘Manners 101’ when we were having an absolute fun time on Phillip Island in Australia a few years ago. From there it spiralled to fun and hilarious activities (spur of the moment ones, mind you!), such as ‘back to front’ and ‘opposite’ day’. ‘Back chat days’ were an all time favourite.
The list of ‘101 Super Cool Ways to make your Child’s Holidays Magical!’ is by no means exhausted. There are hundreds more ways to make your child’s holidays magical and memorial. The ideas range from free to low through to medium or higher cost per activity. The list is simply thought-provoking and I hope that it will inspire you and your children to create your own magical activities. Not all these ideas originate from me of course. Several mums in my ‘tribe’ have contributed their favourites, for which I am thankful. I’d love you to share your ideas with me – let me know which ones worked and which ones didn’t. Share which ones you adapted or which new ones you created with your gorgeous children. With your permission, I’d include them in any future resource along this line.
So without further ado, please look through them and create your own jar with activities. Be creative in how you choose which activities to do when.Your child/children might take it in turns to choose each day. You might want to
choose a few for the whole week. It’s your choice! :) Above all, enjoy and create memories and perhaps even rituals with your children, no matter how old they are.
On a more serious note, feel free to share this resource of ‘101 Super Cool Ways to make your Child’s Holidays Magical!’ with your friends as a whole, bearing in mind that the content is copyright. Thanks for your understanding!

I am super excited and privileged to say that the 101-list has been snapped up by http://www.mydeal.com.au/blog/post/summer-activities-to-do-with-the-kids and will also be submitted to mumsdelivery.com.au. Be one of thousands to access these activities. Get your children away from technology and give them the chance to create memories this summer (or winter, depending on which part of the world you are!). 
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Remember to share your favourite activities - the ones you love from this 101-list and/or ones that you have discovered for yourself. Look forward to hearing from you!

Much Love,
Ruth

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H2O = Water = 'a colourless, transparent, odourless, liquid which forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is the basis of the fluids of living organisms' according to the search of 'the meaning of water' on the ever present dictionary google. 
In my previous blog article 'Out of Habit - Part I' I was telling you about how I effortlessly created a new habit in meditating. I did promise you my 2nd example of simply forming a new habit. I did also say 'Water'. About 2 weeks ago my daughter hit me with a challenge which I took up without hesitation. The challenge was to drink only water for a month. That meant water as the only beverage. No tea, no coffee, juice, soft drinks or any other liquids available on the market these days. 
Surely it couldn't be that bad, you say, drinking just water. Day in, day out, several times a day. Week in, week out. With every other activity, time flies and I wonder where it went and why I didn't seem to accomplish all the things I had planned to do.

So, I am now halfway through it and unfortunately there were a couple of times when I slipped up, where I chose to slip up. Where I allowed others to sneak a cuppa into my hand. I silently confess, two of those times it was my mother - shhhh. She would say things like: 'The rooibos tea came from South Africa so you must drink it.' or 'I have already ordered and paid for it, so I can't cancel the order.' Bless you mum!  I will be adding 2 more days onto the month because of that. Others tried to convince me that surely it would be ok to have tea or even coffee or green tea. I countered with then I could have any beverage because there is probably some kind of water content in them! Mostly, I'd say 99.......% I have been very good with this challenge. Although in the first week or so, it was agonising! I am not an overly big coffee drinker, prefer tea. I don't drink much juice and stay away from soft drinks or alcohol. Yet, it was soooooo challenging for me to all of sudden not being able to have any of that. The grass seemed to be greener on the other side, because I actually had cravings for some of it. 

I am proud to say that I am now, after reaching midpoint, automatically reaching for that glass of water. I have tap water, water that's been boiled in the kettle. I have that as my standard beverage. Even when I go to a cafe, I ask for hot water. Are you proud of me? It has been a little more challenging for my daughter, but I am proud to say that she has now also reached that point where it is a habit to drink water. A couple of times she slipped up as well, but I (when I noticed) was able to remind her that she was the one who challenged me to do it with her, so the least she could do was to help me by sticking it out with me. Bless her. 

Do I feel better? I do in several ways, yes. Physically because water I believe is the best thing to drink and is great and essential for our health. Mentally I feel great because I am again proving to myself that it is possible to change my ways, habits and thinking - with some of them it may be a bit more challenging but if I persist and endure, I will succeed. And before you dash off - I'll leave you with 3 benefits of drinking water:
~ it helps control calories
~ It pumps energy into your muscles
~ it boosts your immune system

Are you ready to go on a water challenge with me? If I can do it, so can you! Let me know how you go with it, send me a quick message. If you are struggling, send me a message too and I'll give you a bit of a boost of energy to keep going! :) Let's create magic in our bodies, by drinking water and create great and healthful habits, balance and lifestyle changes.
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water." ~ Loren Eisley

Lots of watery hugs to you,
Ruth

​A common problem that all working moms or mums in business face today is to find time to attend to your family without being stressed after a hard day’s work. While it is true that both your job/business and your family deserve the best of you, how do you give your best when you are feeling overworked and tired?

This is why working mums need to balance their time through an effective Time management strategy. With proper time management, you can do well in your work as well as enjoy your family life and be there for your children and your partner when they need you. Here are 8 tips to let you achieve this win-win status.

1. ​Prioritize- Have weekly to-do list for your tasks at work & home.
2. Focus - Pay attention on the task at hand. You will find that the quality and efficiency will help you to complete your tasks with time to spare.
3. Organize – Arrange your work place & home in a manner that will help you to save time.
4. Leverage certain tasks - Leveraging other people’s time allows a working mom to complete multiple tasks at once. For instance if your child has classes or after school activities, you can enlist the help of another parent. Taking turns with car pooling on different days of the week can save time.
5. Involve your children- spend quality time with them by getting them to help you out in your daily house work.
6. Make lists - grocery shopping lists & 7 day Meal plans which eliminate the many trips to the grocery supermarket.
7. Wake up early - early morning hours are stress free and without the children to distract you. You will realize how relaxed you feel, having attended to your emails and other pressing tasks in these early hours.
8. Combine work & play - Make work enjoyable by including your family in it when possible.

Flitting between mother role, care giver, business woman and a loving partner needs multi-tasking skills. While attending to all these, don’t forget to set aside some “me time” to take care of your own self. Women need some time for relaxing and engage in stress free socializing. It could simply be to catch up with an old friend or to relax over a book. A spa treatment may prove a rare luxury but all these are well deserved by working women who juggle many responsibilities of motherhood and partnerships. So, put your best time management skills to practice and focus on balance by taking a bigger bite out of life.

If you would like some help with creating some really great and long-lasting self-care strategies, why don't you get in touch with me. Let's see how we can close the gap between your feeling of overwhelm and your moment of 'AAhhhhh I have done it, everything is running well and smoothly. 

Let me know what your management strategy is and where you think it should be. Simply post a comment below. 

Much love and keep shining your light,
​Ruth

Practising gratitude as a tool for happiness has been acknowledged for years. Long-term studies support gratitude’s effectiveness, suggesting that a positive, appreciative attitude contributes to greater success in work, improved health, peak performance in sports and business, a higher sense of well-being, and a faster rate of recovery from surgery. 
While we may acknowledge gratitude’s many benefits, it can be difficult to sustain. We are trained to notice what is broken or missing in our lives. For gratitude to meet its full healing potential in our lives, it needs to become more than just a Thanksgiving word. We have to learn a new way of looking at things, a new habit. That can take some time.

Can you see why practicing gratitude makes so much sense? When we practice giving thanks for all we have instead of complaining about what we lack, we give ourselves the chance to see all of life as an opportunity and a blessing. 

Think about gratitude as a blindly optimistic approach in which the bad things in life are whitewashed or ignored. Think about where you put your focus and attention. Pain and injustice exist in this world, but when we focus on the gifts of life, we gain a feeling of well-being. Gratitude balances us and gives us hope. 

There are many things to be grateful for: the beauty of nature, legs that work, eyes that see, friends who listen and really hear, chocolate, fresh fruit and vegetables, clothes, the ability to read, flowers in the garden, our health, butterflies. What’s on your gratitude? 

6 Simple Ways to Practice Gratitude 
•  Keep a gratitude journal in which you list things for which you are thankful. You can make daily, weekly or monthly lists. Greater frequency may be better for creating a new habit, but just keeping that journal where you can see it will remind you to think in a grateful way. Even just writing down 3 wins and successes is fuelling your gratitude.
•  Make a gratitude collage by drawing or pasting pictures. 
•  Practice gratitude around the dinner table or make it part of your nighttime routine. 
•  Make a game of finding the hidden blessing in a challenging situation.
•  When you feel like complaining, make a gratitude list instead. You will be amazed by how much better you feel. 
•  Notice how gratitude is impacting your life. Write about it, sing about it, express thanks for gratitude.



As you practice, an inner shift will begin to occur, and you may be delighted to discover how content and hopeful you are feeling. That sense of fulfilment is gratitude at work. You will notice a change within you. Others will notice a change in you and they may even take on some of your positive and attitude of gratitude. 

What are some of the the things you are grateful for? ​I'd be grateful (pardon the pun heheheheh!) to you for responding to this blog! 

Much love and gratitude to you,

Ruth :) xx