What Not To Worry About #46

Hello fellow Monday heads. I hope this week is starting out exactly how you wanted it to, with a brain full of plans and a body that wants to play ball. These January mornings have been rough on the old motivation for this gal. Last night I went to bed with the best of intentions for my Monday but instead I woke up and subconsciously talked myself in to pressing snooze half a dozen times before I leaped out of bed in a mad panic. It's Blue Monday alright. January is a weird time of year for the mind, isn't it? There's all this pressure to reflect and better ourselves but the wildness of the outside can permeate within us, wreaking havoc while we're in the midst of pursuing calm. The best thing we can do during this month of chaos is to practice a little self-kindness. Forget the constant need for improvement and just welcome the little moments of progress you manage to accomplish despite all that's stacked against you. For me, the pressure has been finding the moments to take photographs that I can share along with the words I write. It's easy to hide away while the rain lashes outside and it's too cold to even think about trailing about about looking for a pretty landscape. The weekend past was so dull and miserable I couldn't summon the energy, I just wanted to stay inside catching up with friends and family over copious amounts of tea. Which is exactly what I did! No guilt trips. None. The wind is still howling outside as I type this (slowly since I had meant to have this posted hours ago) so the wild weather doesn't look to be dissipating anytime soon. I still have good intentions for tomorrow; a quick 10 minute meditation before breakfast, actually completing my to-do list (or even just half of it), reading my book. And if the morning rolls in and I've realised I didn't start the way I had intended to then I will just try again. There is always another chance to try again, right? And here are a few more things I'm not worrying about this week... Compliment receiving etiquette - because the balance between being gracious and arrogant is an oh-s0-fine-line for me that I just want to roll up in to an awkward ball. Setting up a Compliment Club like Joy the Baker sounds like the way forward and might also make life a little bit cheerier. Driving in the lashing rain at night time - driving from Dungannon to Belfast in the pouring rain on Sunday was a white-knuckled ride for sure. I used to suffer from panic attacks when driving on the motorway once upon a time but I'm a fairly confident driver now except in the rain when I find my hand going to the top of my head as a comfort like it did circa 2006. Not starting yet another diet - I am CRAP at diets so have just tried to slowly introduce more fruit as a snack rather than resorting to half a packet of hob nobs. This article made me a feel a little better though. Not using public transport - I work about a 10 minute drive away from my office and because Northern Irish public transport isn't too reliable, I shamefully drive the distance most days. Public transport is such a novelty to me though and reading these stories made me smile. Annoying habits - the joys of being in a long term relationship means that you get to know all the wee quirks your partner has, weird as they may be. Andrew for example likes to put his (freezing cold) feet up against me in bed to warm them up which will result in a row on a nightly basis. My weird one is that I will never fully finish a meal - no matter what it is I will always leave a few bites left. Reading the comments of this piece had me laughing out loud at my desk because I identified with so many!!

Have a great week pals!