Tag: Life

“The trouble is that you think you have time.”— Jack Kornfield

Daily writing prompt
Something on your “to-do list” that never gets done.
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Oh Dear Gentle Readers, where shall I start! And yes, I just watched the first four episodes of S4 of Bridgerton. (Have you watched it? What did you think?) One of the distractions that I allow in my life 🙂

Let’s see…there are three items on my to-do list that I allow myself to be pulled away from:

Video: Canva

1. My Garden

I long to have a beautiful little well planned garden that has splashes of colour throughout the year. This takes time and research which I just have not made the time to do. I have a garden but it is a very green garden with very few colourful flowers. I am very inspired by two of my neighbours’ gardens. I am determined that this is the year that I get that planning and planting done!

2. Writing That Book

I know, this one is on a lot of people’s lists. I started this blog to gain confidence in my writing, which I have, but I still can’t get passed the first page or two of a book. I have no idea when that will happen.

3. Starting my business

This one is probably the most urgent of the three but still I have not lifted a finger. I have even listed it last. ´The reality is that it takes time and effort, which I still have not committed to internally. I guess I will get there when I get there. I need to work at becoming a morning person because I am way too tired in the evening to much done.

Of course as Jack Kornfield says, I think I have time but time is moving on anyway. What’s it gonna take to get yourself moving Michelle??? With any luck, I will have a great story to share by the end of the year.

Thanks for popping by.

Bye for now!

Goodbye 52! A Game-Changer of a Year That Almost Broke Me

It’s the start of my personal new year tomorrow.  I turn 53 on the 7th.   Yip, that is quite a daunting number, but I still maintain that my 50s will be my best decade yet! The “yet” part is very important in that sentence.  I believe that each decade thereafter will be even better than my 50s.  This really helps me look past the number and just be grateful and proud that I have reached it. 🙂  

52 has been the year that nearly broke me, but by God’s Grace, I am still standing and excited about 53.  That’s because it wasn’t all bad. 

Here are my top 5 highlights of 52:

  1. My son was made a school prefect.  It was a great example of how he set himself a goal and did what he needed to do to achieve it.
  2. My son received a subject award for his favourite subject for the second year in a row.
  3. I pushed through my fear and appeared on morning TV twice to do a product promotion.
  4. I learned to ask God different questions to understand what I needed to change to stop certain things from happening in my life, and I did get some answers.  They were definitely not revealed in the way I anticipated.  In all honesty, I also didn’t know how He would answer, but the way He did just wasn’t what I was expecting. 😅
  5. My team at work did me proud with the way they showed up this year.  We had a tough year, but they brought their A-game every day!  I am so proud of them. 

Oh, and a bonus one- I found a new mystery and suspense thriller author.  Her name is Stacy Green, and I am currently reading her Nikki Hunt series. You know you are enjoying a book when you are late to work because you lost track of time while reading. 😂

The lower lights…sigh. 

While I will only mention two, the reality is that these experiences ran back-to-back and spanned over a six month period. 

  1. Going through the process of reapplying for your job.  The stress was worse than I imagined.  I thought I would be ok but nothing quite prepares you for it.
  2. Getting in my own way time and time again. Then God showed me that this is what I had to stop doing.  Sadly, I had to witness someone else doing it to understand my own actions.  It was painful to watch, but now I am aware of how I create my own pain.
  3. There was a third experience. I won’t talk about it except to say that it reinforced my belief… No weapon formed against me shall prosper. God has got my back all the time. 

At the end of it, I am so grateful to have made it thus far.  I am thankful that my son and I had a roof over our heads, food on our table, clothes on our backs, a reliable car to get us from A to B and love in our home.  I had friends, family, and colleagues to support me through it all. Most importantly, I had God going before me every day. 

Photo by Anna Bratiychuk on Unsplash

So cheers to 52. 🥂 Thank you for the lessons and love.  Welcome 53!  Show me what you got! 💃🏽

My Word for 2026

This morning I came across a post on LinkedIn by Daniel Pink. He was sharing a little wisdom about choosing a word for the year. You can watch it here. If you have been following me for a while (Thank you!) you know that this has become a regular practice for me. I highly recommend it and here is why.

Why Choosing a Word of the Year Can Be a Great Idea

I have had a word every year for four years. Each year, that word acts as my north star. It keeps me focused and intentional on the behaviour or skill I want to build. You can imagine the effect this practice has on you. By the end of the year, the word and the behaviour or skill become a part of you. I continue refining the behaviour or skill whenever I acquire new information or feedback.

Think of it like this:

  • Your vision is a themed Lego set
  • Your word-of-the-year is a numbered packet set in the themed set’s box. Every year, you open a new packet, build it and attach it to the prior year/s part.
  • Once you have completed the original set, you add complimentary pieces because you are always growing and evolving.

How do I choose my word of the year?

While I do have a personal vision, I don’t plan my word of the year. I build as I go. My first word of the year was “Intentional”. I completed a Mind Power course with Robin Banks. This course is based on John Kehoe’s book of the same name. It made me realise that I live my life like a blade of grass in the wind. I say I want to do someone or something, but my actions do not match my words. I spent hours reading books and watching YouTube videos, understanding what it means to be intentional. I picked up tools and tricks to remind myself to be intentional every day until I became unconsciously competent at it.

I have spent a year working on being more productive. One on reducing clutter in all areas of my life (I need to revisit that one. 😅) My word for this year is Wellness. It really helped me be intentional about improving my health all year long.

My Word of the Year

So what’s my word for this year? It’s “Act”. I have always been an accumulator of information/knowledge. Acting on this information has not been a strength. In 2026 I want to change that. I want to step out of my comfort zone, experiment more, and have fun doing it. I know it will be stressful for me and it will be exciting.

So…what’s your word for the year? Have you already adopted this practice? If yes, what are some of words you have chosen over the years? How did it go?

I’ll leave you with a great quote from Emma Chase in the image below. Ultimately, life is a journey. So, don’t forget to enjoy the ride.

Image: Canva

Thanks for popping by.

Don’t forget to be amazing!