Health – Mental and Physical

How To Create a More Fulfilling Future – Blog Series

September 18, 2017September 18, 2017shelleywilson72

NEW BLOG SERIES: How to create a more fulfilling future.

With the launch of my new book, How I Motivated Myself to Succeed, on the horizon, I thought it was the perfect time to begin my new blog series: Creating a more fulfilling future.

I’m a great believer in being in control of your own destiny, and so I include various exercises in the book to help my readers sort through their thoughts. I wanted to include a series of thought-provoking questions here on my blog to complement the book.

Don’t think too hard about each question, just go with the first thing that pops into your head. Some questions will amuse you, others will test your boundaries, but all of them will bring about a sense of fulfilment that you can carry forward.

Every Monday, for the next ten weeks, I will post additional questions for you to answer. You might want to gather them all together like a personal workbook, or just pop in and out to answer the questions that appeal to you.

Each week I’ll share the link to the previous questions so you can collect them as you go and don’t have to worry if you miss a week. They may seem random in their order, but if you do choose to follow the entire series, then you’ll hopefully get a fully rounded picture of your life, goals, and aspirations for a fulfilling future.

Grab a notebook, your journal, or open a new word document and record your answers so you can refer to them when needed.

Questions for week #1:

What would you do if you were brave enough?
What have you done that you never thought you would/could?
Describe a spontaneous action that led to something incredible.
What challenges are you ready to face?

Join me next Monday for more questions.

As always, your responses can be as private or as public as you choose. Feel free to leave your answers in the comments below. If you’d rather not, then simply share how you find the selection of questions, if you can answer them easily or if you struggled, and what you have chosen to do with the answers that came up for you if anything.

Thanks for visiting my blog, I hope you enjoyed this post. Want more? Connect with me here: Twitter @ShelleyWilson72, Instagram or check out my Facebook pages http://www.facebook.com/FantasyAuthorSLWilson and http://www.facebook.com/MotivateMeBlog. You can also find me on Pinterest

Adding @Zentangle to Your Bullet Journals #Arts #Crafts

September 13, 2017September 15, 2017shelleywilson72

zentangle I’m a sucker for anything creative and was instantly attracted to the recent blog series posted by Suzie Speaks about Bullet Journals. If you missed these posts then take a look HERE. I haven’t gone to the artistic extremes that Suzie has, but I did dabble with my notebook, pens, and washi tape over the weekend!

Enjoying a creative time out reminded me of a blog post I wrote back in 2013 when I took part in my year-long resolution challenge.

As part of my ‘Do Something Creative’ month I had a doodle fest, using the American Zentangle method which is a creative art form where all you need is paper, pencil and a pen. I thought this format would be a perfect accompaniment to any bullet journal so here’s that post again.

Don’t panic if you can’t draw or paint, if you’ve never used acrylics or pastels or if you think a canvas is something you sleep under – which of course it is but that’s for another blog post! Read more →

How Do You Cope With The Tough Times? #SelfHelp

August 20, 2017September 15, 2017shelleywilson72

We all experience tough times at certain points on our life journey. This may be due to health issues, financial problems, grief, pain, or loss. However, it’s how we deal with them that defines us.

Too many people disappear into victim mode when presented with a challenge. Whereas others find an inner strength that helps them forge through the anguish and hopefully come through these tough times with more wisdom, clarity, and vigour than ever before. Through my books and blog, I hope to share with people all my tough times – the gritty side of life – and then show my readers how I was able to emerge from the pain as a better version of myself. Read more →

Laughter is the Best Medicine

July 30, 2017September 15, 2017shelleywilson72

Laughter is the Best Medicine When it comes to self-help, there are a plethora of treatments to choose from. There’s Acupuncture, reflexology, Reiki, massage, crystals, meditation, art therapy, homeopathic remedies – the list is endless.

Some of these therapies will cost you money, and others can be done with little or no cash. Meditating, for example, is free, and one of the best gifts you can give yourself. Another activity that will cost you nothing but boost your wellbeing is laughter.

I am fortunate to have a glass is half-full personality type and together with my positive attitude I also have a tendency to see the funny side of life. Think about Peter Kaye for a moment, he uses everyday activities and stresses to build up his act, with hilarious results. Sarah Millican uses her own weight issues to reduce her audience into fits of giggles. Learning to la sarah-millican ugh at yourself can help you to view life with less negativity. Read more →

5 Things I’m Grateful For #FridayFive #Gratitude

July 28, 2017September 15, 2017shelleywilson72

5 Things I'm Grateful for This Week I spotted this link on Lauren’s beautiful blog, Milly’s Guide and thought it was a fabulous idea. I write in my gratitude journal most nights but to do a weekly review certainly helps put your week into perspective.

Lauren encourages everyone to join in so I thought I’d give it a go.

Here are the five things that I am grateful for this week (Fri 21st – Fri 28th July):

The school summer holidays have arrived. My middle son left secondary school this year which just leaves my youngest who will start her final year in September. This means school holidays aren’t going to be around for much longer as my teens grow up, get jobs, and carve out a spot in their own corner of the universe. I’ve always loved the school summer holidays; no alarms, lazy days, a house full of friends and laughter, paddling pool parties (yeah, we do occasionally get sunshine in summer!). I’m grateful for the holidays and spending time with my kids.
Catching up with friends. Since getting back from my trip to America, I’ve tried to catch up with as many pals as possible in between attacking the to-do list and sorting through the gazillion emails that mounted up during my break. Being able to find time to meet a friend for a coffee is something I’m very grateful for.
My blog stats were booming! Anyone who reads my author blog will know how excited I was about my recent trip. When I returned to the UK, it seemed like a good idea to blog about all the activities we’d done and places we’d seen. When I published the post Magical Mystery Tour: Part I over on my author blog I got a ‘ping’ from WordPress to say my stats were booming! Yay, I’m so grateful to everyone who popped over to read, like, share, and comment.
Writing goals. My latest YA fiction novel, Oath Breaker, was released at the start of June and I’ve had some incredible feedback from readers. I’m currently working on the sequel and am grateful to find the words flowing, the plot twisting, and the positive vibes keeping me afloat.
A little bit of self-care. After a couple of long-haul flights, my neck and shoulders were in a bit of a state, so I’m grateful to Jaki from Mind Spa for the wonderful lava shell massage she gave me to unwind my knots and leave me floating on air.

6 Tips for a Perfect Summer Holiday

July 20, 2017September 15, 2017shelleywilson72

6 Tips for a Perfect Summer holiday There’s a Billy Crystal film called City Slickers that was a firm favourite of mine back in the 90s. The basic plot was about three friends who take an annual trip together without their wives. Each year the trips get wackier. In City Slickers they travel to the Southwest to drive cattle on a supervised vacation. The legendary Jack Palance plays the tough cowboy, Curly Washburn and Billy Crystal plays Mitch, the man on the edge of a midlife crisis.

It’s a fun film to watch, but it also has a few valuable lessons mixed in amongst the humour. One of my favourite parts is when Curly explains ‘vacation’ to Mitch. ‘Y’all spend fifty weeks a year getting knots in your rope and then expect to come up here and unwind them in two weeks.’ This pretty much sums up the basic work/life balance of the twentieth century. We work long hours sometimes risking our family time and leisure activities and then expect to fully relax when herded onto bus, plane, and coach on an all-inclusive trip to Spain! Read more →

Trek to the Top Challenge #Fitness

June 26, 2017July 20, 2017shelleywilson72

All of my friends appear to be taking part in a fitness regime these days. The hugely popular 30 Day Abs Challenge, created by mum of eight, Robyn Mendenhall Gardner, has changed my sedentary pals into crunchers, plankers and leg lifters. If I knew how to crunch I may have joined them.

Not to be outdone by my toned up, trimmed down friends, I decided that action was needed to be taken if I wanted to get that summer body I craved.

I may have hung up my running shoes after completing my half marathon back in 2012, but there is nothing stopping me from dusting them off and putting them to good use once more. Running is out of the question as my knees creak louder than my floorboards these days, so I wanted to keep it simple-ish! Read more →