Your Delicious Life

I watched the film Click on the weekend starring Adam Sandler and Kate Beckinsale. It was actually one of those films that cut straight to the chase from the outset.

In a nutshell, the film is about a guy (Adam Sandler's character) who is a workaholic. His character (Michael Newman) is dead set on impressing his boss and clients, leaving his family with the leftovers (if there's anything left over). And if there's anything left after his family, he gets the leftovers of the leftovers.

The lead character spent the majority of the movie stressed and worrying about impressing the person he wanted to let down the least. He totally and utterly lost sight of the vision for the life he had set out to create that involved quality time spent with his gorgeous wife, devoted children, and loving parents, as well as being an architect on projects he relished and enjoyed.

Michael Newman spent a lot of his life wishing time away. Infact he 'clicked' it away with a universal remote and learned a lot of life's lessons with deep regret watching the replays (hindsight) down the track.

We can spend a lot of time, missing out on our precious time, precious and gorgeous moments of our LIFE! So many of us put our 'real dreams' on hold. Whether it's a European vacation that you've always dreamed of, to be a singer on stage, do stand up comedy or take gorgeous photos just because you love to. Whatever your dreams, you can have them NOW, Infact you SHOULD have them now.

Make 'one day' TODAY! Right Now! It really is as simple as a 'choice' or a 'click' as they say in the movie.

Remember everyone, this is YOUR precious life. Live it, love it, relish it TODAY and everyday thereafter.

 

 

There are some films that really stay with me and Step Up 2 is most definitely one of those films. Honestly the dancing in it is unbelievable. The work those performers would have had to put in to shine in that film would have been an extraordinary workload day in and day out leading up to and during the film shoot. But regardless of the workload, you could just feel how alive, inspired and in their element the cast were were.

There is this line in the film that really spoke to me 'it's not about what you got, it's about what you make of what you got'. 

For many of us, it's not always about knowing what you're good at or enjoy, it's actually about taking ACTION on your passions, dreams and the things that make your heart sing (and dance too).

Too often we choose a life we think we have to have (to pay the bills, keep others happy, lack of confidence etc) rather than the one we know would make our heart sing. Whether it's dancing, singing, photography, events, helping people, writing, whatever you love, DO it. This is your life RIGHT NOW. Make something of yourself and your gifts (we all have them) and honestly, you will feel more alive and fulfilled than you ever have in your lifetime.

PS If you're not sure of the thing that makes you sing, check out our FREE Discover Your Purpose & Greatness Quiz.

I've just come back from a week in Byron Bay and whenever I spend time there I am amazed at how chilled and flowing things are in Byron compared to the hectic and frenetic pace of Sydney life.

Whilst I love my Sydney social life, I realise by being away, that city slickers wherever we are in the world, actually create more stress and overwhelm, simply by overloading our diaries with both work and social activities.

I came back to seven activities in the diary scheduled for the first weekend home (and most of those were for my children!) and I thought what was I thinking by saying yes to everything! So I decided to cull immediately. I freed up my first day back at work to gain more clarity and vision for the week by deleting about half of the things that I thought I 'had' to do, pre holidays. Instantly I felt lighter and reconnected to that freeing feeling I had throughout my Byron vacation.

So here's my tip for this week. Grab your diary and review your activities this week and the month ahead. And as you reflect on each day's appointments, ask yourself do I 'really' need to do this or is there perhaps a more efficient way?

I really wanted to meet up with someone this week for a creative brainstorm but changed it to a phone meet instead. Instantly I freed up two hours of my diary just by staying put and connecting with the person by phone.

There's zillions of ways you can free up yourself and your schedule, simply by being honest about the activities you really want to do each day, week and weekend. Get real about your time and the way you spend it, you will feel so much better when you do.

I was really sick recently, I mean quite possibly the most unwell I have ever been in my life. I felt like my head and neck were in a vice with someone slowly turning it every minute of the 1,440 minutes that make up a day. And this went on for almost two weeks. So what's a girl to do when she feels like she's facing her death bed?

Look on the Bright Side

When you get sick and go down like a tonne of bricks, it's hard to 'look on the bright side'. When you feel so unwell that even positive thoughts seem to hurt your head, I mean really what is one to do. Well what I did was …look for the gifts. Instead of focusing on the pain of it all, I looked at what I was grateful for in each moment of that illness.

Be Grateful

I felt grateful my husband didn't have a lot of work on so he could take care of me and the kids (the week before he was working in Malaysia). I felt grateful our second edition of MiLK Magazine went out the day before I got sick. I felt grateful I practice regular meditation to help ease the pain of this illness somewhat. I felt grateful I have a great Osteopath who regularly changed things to slot me in at a moment’s notice. I felt grateful the doctor prescribed a neck brace (which at the time felt extreme but certainly helped speed up the recovery). And I am continually grateful for my community who help people out whenever I need.

Focus on the Good Around You

Even though I genuinely felt I was facing death, I stayed focused on the gifts, and my gratitude for all the good around me in my life. I am often grateful for my life but I had never practiced such intense gratitude at such a hard time in my life. I genuinely believe this practice of 'looking for the gifts' helped me get better much quicker.

Why is this Happening to Me?

It’s so easy to say ‘why me?’, but if instead you say WHY me? – meaning why is this happening to me and what can I learn from it, how I can grow, where are the gifts?, the experience will be a whole lot sweeter.

Focussing on the pain of anything in your life, an illness, a broken heart, or a job that's not going so well, doesn't make you feel better, infact it makes you feel worse. So if you can rise above your pain to a place of observation and gratitude, it's a wonderful starting point to the road to recovery and self-discovery.

Take A Moment to Be Grateful

Try it. I urge you to look at your life this week and literally acknowledge everything you are grateful for. If for no other reason than to feel good... and hey that can only be a good thing right.

PS A little tip. When you really start focussing on what you are grateful for, something interesting occurs, more things naturally flow in to your life to be grateful for. Like attracts like, meaning gratitude attracts more gratitude.

by Alison Nancye

Every time I eat chocolate I know, I mean I literally KNOW that I will feel awful the next day. I don't even like chocolate that much (I'm serious! I'm a savoury girl!) but it's something sooo.... well... look, I don't even know what it is about chocolate that draws me in, but I'm sure you understand the ‘chocolate’ thing.

Anyway, my hubby brought back a HUGE, and I mean MASSIVE Toblerone box of chocolate from his trip to Malyasia yesterday and of course I had to show my full appreciation by immediately gorging it down the second I received it.

Now I've known for quite some time that chocolate simply DOES NOT agree with me, which is usually why I avoid it. But when I do succumb to devouring it, I sleep unsettled, I wake feeling VERY ordinary, almost hungover in fact, and wind up feeling really annoyed about everything and everyone in my wake.

So as I sit here in my groggy state today, I am reminded (yet again!) how much food affects our mood and promising myself (yet again!) to consciously choose food that makes me feel good.

Take the Mood Food Taste Test

If you're interested in seeing what foods affect your mood, take the Mood Food Taste Test for a week (or month if you're game).

Grab a notebook or use your diary and write down what you eat for dinner (and any sneaky snacks leading up to bed time) every night for a week. Include drinks as well (coffee, tea, alcohol, etc). Then upon waking, take a minute to check in with how you are feeling and make a note of it in your diary or notebook.

At the end of the seven days, scan back over your diet and daily mood journal to determine what foods make you feel great and not so great. This simple little taste test will equip you to be more able to consciously choose foods that help you create a great start (and mood) for your day.

Happy Eating Everyone :)