Living Right Now Blog

Spring Detox

We’re in detox mode in anticipation of a new season .

This week , we’re sharing some tips from our book to help you kick start into spring. If you want a spring kick start and you need some motivation – buy our book. Frazzled to Fizzing. At this time of year as the seasons change we know you might be feeling weighed down.   Sometimes when you feel weighed down by things it’s actually “in your head”. It’s not real. It’s a belief that you have formed or was given to you by someone else. These beliefs can literally weigh you down, making you feel heavy.

This activity is about clearing and releasing. We suggest that you do a detox for a couple of days to clear your system. As part of your detox, we suggest that you spend 5-10 minutes alone each day for a week. Find a quiet space where you can clear your mind of everything except the question- “ What habits in relation to my health do I need to detox, what in my relationships do I need to detox to create a healthier place of being? what in my environment do I need to detox in order to be healthier?” . Try to focus only on what those things are rather than spending this time working on how you might do it. When you know what detox is needed in your life, ask, “how am I going to detox these areas of my life?”- Notice if there are any patterns you have adopted that have created the toxicity- Look for the answers in how to clear things from yourself first rather than others. - Happy clearing.  

If you like this and agin value by reflecting on this tip – you can buy our book by clicking here or at Amazon where you can also check out the reviews of our book.

Celebrating Women & Men through International Women's Day

The UN have made this the celebration of equality and equality of opportunity. We have been following a lot of the blogs and celebrations of Women this week and we particularly liked this post on celebrating women and men . Why? because whilst International Women's day is a celebration of women and a time for us to think about women who touch our lives, who are creating fantastic results in the world, who are struggling for equality.struggling to survive in this increasingly complex world of ours, there are lots of men supporting women to do this too.It's a joint effort and whilst "sisters are doing it for themselves" , there are some great men and boys out there who will always celebrate and promote women and girls with equal amounts of energy and integrity.

Here's to all the women who are dealing with inequality in all of its forms across the world.

"Woman was taken out of man; not out of his head to top him, nor out of his feet to be trampled underfoot; but out of his side to be equal to him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be loved”

Have you spent your life learning to be unhappy?

Are you playing the "if...but and if.... when "  game in your life?

We love this video clip. Take 16 minutes to re-evaluate whether

your blood is tingling with excitement today.  

Watch this 16 minute video clip by clicking here


Enjoy

What stops you in your tracks?

One half of the founding team of Living Right Now is on her jollies and spent yesterday travelling up north to the highlands and islands. Just beyond Carlisle she and her travelling companion simply had to take an unexpected detour for something too delicious to ignore. A roadside café called “The Llama Karma Kaffe.”

 

And it was a delight. Complete with two real live llamas in the back garden and an assortment of bizarre souvenirs including a llama glove puppet. (Which is now packed away in the suitcase waiting for just the right moment to bring some llama karma into any meeting that begins to lose its zest!)

 

And it got us thinking about what makes us stop in our tracks. Things that are quirky, beautiful, intriguing, valuable, different, engaging? All of these and more. At times, life can be shades of grey, days blending together with no particular stand out moment. And then the equivalent of the Llama Karma Kaffe will come along and shake us up a bit, and in a good way.

 

It applies to people too. Some people stop you in your tracks as their uniqueness shines out. Is that you? Do you glory in your special qualities and take every opportunity to display them to the world? Many women we work with fear that a little. What if “they” don’t like the real me? Maybe I am safer behind this mask that gets me comfortably through the day? Am I really confident enough to have the kind of impact that stops people in their tracks?

 

You know, fear of success can be even more debilitating than fear of failure. When all eyes are on you, it can feel like there is no hiding place. The good news? You don’t have to be anything other than exactly who you are. That’s quite good enough. With all your flaws and challenges you are perfectly able to stop people in their tracks with your unique brilliance. And know that the masks you might choose to adopt often simply dumb it down for you and others.

There are some great activities in our book Frazzled to Fizzingto help you get in touch with your brilliance. So take a tip from a roadside llama – be proud, be you and watch the crowds gather in admiration.

The beauty within you - images of women

We love this image of two very beautiful women. What is their story do you think? There could well be a blood tie here or it or may be a close friendship. Whatever their connection, the beauty we see comes as much from the love they so clearly share as it does from any physical aspect.

How will you embrace your own beauty today?

What life roles do you play?

This month's Psychologies magazine has a great article on life roles based on recent happiness research by bestselling author Marcus Buckingham. Buckingham's research is pretty dear to the hearts of us living right now gals - he interviewed women who were happy, fulfilled and motivated by their jobs and lives to see what roles they preferred to play, and how well they matched them to what they actually chose to do.

Just another spin on character traits maybe, but what we like about the idea of strong life roles is the questions that go with them. If you are a Creator, for example, the question you most ask yourself (in one form or another) is What do I understand? A Caretaker asks Is everyone Ok? and a Weaver poses the question Who can I connect with? It's been said that the quality of your life is determined largely by the quality of the questions you ask of yourself and of others, so we love a test that helps us get to the root of the ones that fit our preferred roles. It's another great way forward in the search for the components of a balanced life.

You can take the life role test for free at Strong Life Test

And if that inspires you to think more about the roles you play - willingly or unwillingly! - then our book is perfect to help you gain clarity on who you are, what you want and how to navigate your way from Frazzled to Fizzing. It's available at a big discount too so get your copy whilst stocks last! 

Feeling blue on "Blue Monday"?

According to the press, and some sort of research, today is officially 'Blue Monday - the most depressing day of the year.

The theory goes that this is the day that we suddenly start thinking about all the bad things going on since Christmas - bad weather, debt, relationships, unfulfilled New Year's resolutions etc - and suffer from a kind of collective depression.

Well that's not the Living Right Now way!

Instead of dwelling on the past, January can be a fertile time of planning for the future, thinking of goals to achieve, and working towards them!

OK, maybe the weather is a bit dreary - so find things to do inside that are fun. Remember our post last year on 5 things to do with just 5 minutes extra a day Take the time to get started on some of those!

And yes, some of us might have overspent at the end of last yeat and not have so much available cash right now - most of our 15 things to do with an extra 15 minutes a day cost nothing - get stuck in there!

As for New Year's resolutions - they seem to be made to be broken, so why not make some new resolutions NOW, rather than in the first flush of the New Year when it's easy to make rash decisions? Think properly about what you want to achieve and how you're going to get there.

Tell us in the comments below how YOU feel about Blue Monday?

And if you are reading this AFTER Monday - congratulate yourself on getting over the winter blues hump and start to look forward to creating your good times for yourself!

Alone and lonely this Christmas? 5 things to do if it matters

Lots of us will be spending Christmas 2009 alone - maybe your family is far away, or you don't get on; you're not married or are divorced or widowed; your children have flown the coop or you don't have any kids. It's easy to forget at this time of year that not everyone is in the bosom of a loving family, putting tinsel on a huge Christmas tree and cracking walnuts in front of the Queen's speech.

And lots of you will be happy being alone - no routine to adhere to, no traditions to uphold, no squabbles, no 'keeping up with the Joneses' Christmas shopping, and no sleeping off the huge expensive Christmas lunch you've been up since Am preparing.

But if you are going to be alone this Christmas, and it DOES matter, here are 5 ways to make the time go a little faster, and be a little more fun.

1) Volunteer for a homeless charity. You may be alone at Christmas, but there are people out there who are not only alone, but homeless - charities such as Crisis offer the opportunity to help out in one of their Christmas shelters, making sure people can eat, keep warm and receive help with a number of tasks.

2) Visit someone else who is alone. if you feel bad about being alone, the chances are that others do too. Is there someone in your neighbourhood who doesn't have many visitors, lives alone, and has no family? Maybe they'd be glad of the company too!

3) Spend the day with friends. You might have brushed off the fact that you're alone and not liking it this christmas, but we bet that if you opened up to a friend or two, someone would be delighted to have you along for the day, or come to you. Why not sit in on someone else's family Christmas, play with the kids, walk the animals and be smug in the knowledge that any ensuing squabbles are nothing to do with you?

4) Have a pamper day. Just because it's Christmas Day doesn't mean you have to eat turkey and sprouts, and slob in front of the TV - it's YOUR day, spend it on yourself. Wake up when you want to, have a bubbly bath with Champagne and chocolates, watch your favourite films wearing your snuggliest pyjamas and relax, your Christmas can be about YOU and no-one else.

5) Organise an on line Christmas Day Party - if you're a member of various social networking sites, the chances are that you're not the only one spending the day alone. Set up a Skype chatroom, or a Facebook group, and everyone can drop in and out when they please for a bit of virtual company and chat!

So there you are, 5 things that mean you don't have to hate being alone this Christmas, even at such short notice as this!

Here at Living Right Now, we hope that no matter how you're spending the festivities, or who you're spending them with, you have a fantastic time and remember to spend time on YOU.

You feeling like Mrs Santa, Tinkerbell, or a present wrapping elf right now ?

Are you nearly done yet? Is your credit card maxed out and your feet beyond repair? Give yourself a five minute break, put your feet up and come with us to ponder for a while..
We have given you the content from one of our inspiration cards below. We've adapted it to suit the season for you so why not sit and ponder for 5 mnutes and decide how you might change things in the next few hours.

"Are you Playing or just paying? Are you having fun or feeling drained?  Do you associate playing only with activities you pay for involving huge effort ? It can be free you know! Playing makes us feel light, gives us energy and encourages creativity. So get back to playfulness today. Find ways to be childlike and have fun. Get the space hopper, the monopoly, the CD full of sing along carols, or the music you love to dance to, grab your partner and get moving! Or take a walk in the park and kick leaves around, (or snow if you still have some). Get the pencils and crayons out and get drawing; go on no-one's looking .if they are get them to join in! Do something different that feels like fun.- get in the spirit. Let your inner child go wild"

Love Jeni and Marie x

How much should it cost to run your body?

Reading the news on a daily basis, it always strikes us that whatever happens, sometimes people just aren't satisfied.

Take this article we found in the Daily Mail for example: How much does it cost to run your body? 

 

It's the story of 36 year old Sharon Krepps, a software sales consultant who is pregnant with her first child.

There's a picture of her, lovingly holding her tummy and glowing with pride at the thought of the little boy growing inside her. It shows a woman thrilled with her pregnancy, and looking forward to all that motherhood will bring.

Now read the words and it's a somewhat different story.

 

Ms Krepps comes across as pretty obsessed with her body image, and spends £5000 a year on keeping her body in tip top condition.

Now, there's nothing wrong with taking pride in your appearance – after all the money is hers to spend as she likes!

But what strikes us on reading this article is that rather than revelling in her pregnancy, Ms Krepps is spending a lot of time worrying about the changes in her body, the way she'll look afterwards, and how long it will take her to regain her figure post pregnancy.

“I'm taking six months off after the baby arrives, but I want to get my body back in shape as soon as possible.” she tells us, followed by, “I no longer do cardio training, but I still walk or climb on the treadmill”.

Obviously we're not advocating sitting on the sofa stuffing your face with cream cakes while watching daytime TV as a great way to spend your pregnancy, but if you're expecting a child, why not spend a little more time loving and living your pregnancy, and a little less worrying about whether a personal trainer should be top of your 'pregnancy supplies' or “baby shower” list!

 

We'd love to hear your thoughts, as always, in the comments below.