Pearl of Wisdom No.83 - Making resolutions

Is January meant to be a fresh start for you or do you believe that new year, new you is a load of rubbish? Where do you stand on resolutions?

Did you know that only 8% of people who make New Years resolutions actually achieve them? However statistics also show that people who specifically make resolutions are 10 times more likely to be success at achieving their goals and plans! 

Now we're half way through this month already, it feels like January is just slipping away and February is just around the corner! For me that may be because I have a jam packed month ahead which I don't feel anywhere near prepared for, maybe for you it's because you still haven't quite settled on what you want from the year ahead. Maybe you wanted to set some intentions, focus on finding your passion or commit to something that will bring you one step closer to your goals and dreams, or maybe you don't know what you want from life this year so you wanted to spend some time mulling it all over and feeling a bit stuck - if this sounds like you then stick with me my friend!

Through her looking glass - Jemma Andrew-Adiamah

Today I want to introduce you to a lady who's blog I have totally fallen in love with this year, we share the same passions and are inspired by the same people, her blog is on my must reads list each week and I know you will love her too!

Steps to finding your Mojo when it's MIA!

My blogging mojo has seriously been missing lately, I've found it a bit of a struggle getting back in to the swing of planning, creating and writing for the blog, but here I am, second post of the week! (Do check out the first - this weeks Pearl of Wisdom)

With the run up to Christmas upon us and distractions a plenty like shopping, partying and deciding whether its gonna be turkey, ham or a nut loaf (this is a real life discussion in my family!) it's easy to find yourself getting off course with the things that matter to you and anything that takes you away from your passion and dreams, anything that distracts from taking care of you will leave you feeling frustrated, even down right disheartened.

So here are my top tips to getting that mojo back to the party...

A Tuesday Moment of Wisdom - Pearl Number 72

"People can't imagine your potential until you show it!" - Joy Cho

Over the weekend I have had a busy but fabulous trip to London to attend Blogtacular, one of the many blogging conferences out there. This one was really for creative types who wrote fashion, craft and interior blogs and I felt a little bit of a fraud being there. However the confrence was superbly run and co-ordinated and featured some truly inspiration and got getting speakers which I have learnt so much from, I also got the chance to speak to one of my all time favourite blog crushes Joy Cho who I chatted with about babies and being pregnant with a toddler in tow (Joy is pregnant too and a second time mum to be like myself!).

I was also thrilled to hear Joy talk a few times about her experience and wisdom in blogging and the quote featured here today was a real lightbulb moment for me when she was talking to us all about blogging as a business. Not only did it really capture my imagination when thinking about the future of my blog but it really resinated with me when being inspired to live out all the corners of my life.

This week I'm challenging you all to think about your own potential, where in your life can you reveal it to the others around you and really show off who you are or what you are all about?
A job promotion or interview?
With friend or a loved one or maybe someone you admire or would like to connect with?
What can you do to show your world your talent, skills and what you are really capable of?

Does this sound like a challenge? Share your stories below! 

Mondays Moment of Wisdom - Pearl Number 70

With the recent passing of my Granny I have been thinking so much about life, and what it stands for.

What does my life stand for? What does your life stand for?
When we die what will they say it stood for?

I'm sounding morbid I know and for most people death and the life we have lead leading up to it is not something that's though about on a daily basis but for me this has been on my mind a lot...

When I reflect back over the years I have have such a mixture of emotions, joy, regret, proud and disappointed, and a bit of frustration thrown in for good measure. The last 5 years have truly been some of the best so far and a time in my life where I have discovered who I really am and what I stand for, I'm finally becoming someone I feel proud of, who I feel is a great role model for my children and someone who's skin I'm getting really comfy in, this is a good start to the rest of my life.

The big question for me though is what do I want to be remembered for, what will be my legacy and with hand on my heart I can tell you I'm really not sure yet however this only serves to make me feel excited and eager to keep moving forward and create something that fills my soul with passion and lifts others along the way. Once upon a time I may have felt lost, isolated or even anxious at this thought but now?
Well, now it seems like a big adventure that I'm just starting, somewhere I can finally see the way forward to, a path in my future.

Getting to grips with what your legacy may be sounds challenging and daunting doesn't it?
Are you really doing something thing or living a life that is true to you?
Today I'm challenging you to have a think about it, what do you want others to remember you for? How do you want to be know for living your life? What lasting memory would you want to leave for your family and friends? Because actually the answers to those questions are not about the future or what someone will stand up and say when you are laid to rest, there actually about how you start living your life, today...

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this today so do leave a comment bellow, thanks!

Mondays Moment of Wisdom - Pearl Number 55

“The girl in the mirror wasn't who I wanted to be and her life wasn't the one I wanted to have.” 

― Francesca Lia Block, Pink Smog

Wow! Many a time this thought has crossed my mind, is it a familiar one for you too?

My question to you today though is, what are we going to do about it?

You can spend all the time you want looking in the mirror and reflecting back those negative thoughts, wishing, dreaming and hoping for you, for your life to be different but it won't change itself...

The only thing that can truly change it all, that can make a difference, that conjour up the life you want, is that girl in the mirror, what will she do today, tomorrow, next week or next month to make it happen?

Making a change, taking those first steps are scary but when you do it anyway and push yourself forward, believe you can achieve it, dare to dream it, truly feel it and go for what you want, no judgement, no doubt just pure passion and drive, you'll look in the mirror as start to see the life you love and that girl was the genius who created it! 

So, what are you going to do to make it happen? 

Monday's Moment of Wisdom - Pearl Number 53

I know that I have found fulfilment. I have an object in life, a task ... a passion. - George Sand

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the future and not in a pregnancy/baby kind of way. In fact I have been focusing on me more and what I'm all about, my passions, my ideas, my goals, I have always felt like I had a story to tell or a message to bring to the world but I could never quite figure how, or what and even when...

Over the last week I've had a few light bulb moments, it's been phenomenal really because all of a sudden I can see my life, my world so much more clearly. This isn't me saying I have all the answers now, oh no, it's more like a vision of how things should be or rather what it is I can do to feel fulfilled and contented with my life.

Somethings are big, too big to talk about right now as lots of details need to be looked at and plans put in place. Others are medium sized like surrounding myself more with people who only ever lift me, I have met quite a few of them lately who get me, who understand me, who are living similar lives and inspire me to be my best. And simple things like using my diary to really organise my week and get the best out of my time, I started putting some things in to place last week and already I feel like I'm being more productive for myself but for family life too.

It's not been easy to get to this point though, we have had a summer full of decisions and tough choices to make, I have been working on my emotional intelligence and mental resilience through my fertility treatment which has had me looking at my diet too and I discovered that it really has a massive effect on my mood and skin, more than anything else. I've also been reading a lot about how others have been figuring out their best lives for themselves which has provided no end of inspiration. All this has meant though that I've also had to face up to some constructive criticism, some home truths and a few uncomfortable realities but it's these that have actually been the things that have helped it all come together. So it's not as if it all just fell in my lap one morning, I had to work hard to figure a lot of it out, it also meant me communicating and being honest with the people I love.

So here I am now, feeling like I'm at the start of a great journey knowing a lot more about what my own personal objective is, where my passion lies and what I need to be doing to get me there, not everything is obvious right now, especially the details but for first time in a long time I can really see what my purpose is not necessarily as a mother, wife or friend but as Karen and what I should be doing in this world to feel like I'm actually making a difference!

Do you know what your purpose is? How did you figure out where your passion lies? Maybe you haven't figured out all your life objectives yet? Do let me know in the comments bellow...

Mondays Moment of Wisdom ~ Pearl Number 43

An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow.  ~Author Unknown

 Last Thursday was the 4th of July, well known across the world as American Independence Day but for my OH and myself it holds a different special meaning, its the anniversary of our first date...

I always tell people about how I almost stood him up, I had text-ed him a few times early evening pretending to be running late, hoping he would cancel but instead he went to the pub with his friend to kill time and said not to worry, he would wait, so at the very last minute I talked myself in to going, I went because we were introduced by my brother's best friend and I was worried that she and my brother would be mad at me for being rude and standing him up so I got in my car and drove across town, I didn't even change out my work clothes telling myself it's just for an hour and you can then go home.

Well, thank god I was pleasantly surprised because actually he turned out to be someone who I had an instant connection with and that connection has grown stronger and deeper in the last 5 years, I remember thinking the next morning "OK, everything in life is going to be alright now with him around!" I couldn't of been more right!

So Thursday night LC went to Grandma's for a sleepover and we decided to go to a lovely pub we are fond of in the next village, OH convinced me it was walking distance and would take us 15 minutes tops if we cut through the fields, now he couldn't of been any more wrong! He is a snippet of our little adventure...

A friend we met on the way

Trying to get over as elegantly as possible

A mighty Oak

Facing the long road ahead together

The big lake we had to walk around to get back home...

...and through the corn

Although it actually took us 50 minutes there and another 50 minutes back, despite some of our neighbors that we saw in the pub telling us about a shortcut before we set of home, we had so much fun trying to find our way through the fields and down the lanes, we laughed and climbed, held hands and really enjoyed being together, just us! It was great just doing something so laid back and relaxing together, we didn't need a fancy restaurant, lots of champagne or big grand gestures to reminisce over how special and important our relationship is, just a bit of time together and a little adventure to make you smile, it's good to remember that sometimes it can be the simple things in life that inspire you to keep on living and loving.

Monday's Moment of Wisdom - Pearl Number 41

                               

"I want to know what passion is. I want to feel something strongly.” -  Aldous Huxley

For a while now I have wanted to know more about what my passion is because I'm not always sure exactly what it is I feel strong about and to me it feels like something is missing or maybe just not very clear, I think some clarity is actually what I'm looking for here.

So this week I am setting myself a little project, which I'm very excited about, to help me find out more about me a what those passions might be, burning down deep inside of me...

I'll be posting more about this in the coming week and reveal the finished project piece next week!