Inspired by a topic suggestion from one of our favourite listeners, comes a moment of morbid curiosity…
If you died tomorrow – what would people say about you, and your life? What would you want them to say?
Instead of waiting until it is arguably too late and face the top 5 common regrets (see the article below), contemplating the question of our own mortality can actually be very motivating.
Sam & Gina discuss how their own experiences have helped shape their lives and their actions, and take a light-hearted look at the fact that we don’t ever know when our ‘time’ will come. What would you be inspired to do if you realised you’d regret never having done it?
Click here to see the topic suggestion Rob shared on Facebook, and the article that inspired it.
What if performing a small act of kindness or compassion could make us feel happy?
What if that kindness made someone else happy too?
And what if that happiness was contagious – so that one small act of kindness could spread happiness not just to 2 people, but to the friends of friends of both those people? How cool would that be?!
Research shows that happiness IS contagious. It is also a skill that can be learnt, and is not set in stone by genetics or upbringing. Read more of this article »
It’s been said that there are two ways to live: one as a warning to other people on what not to do, one as an example of how to live and create a life worth living.
I’d suggest it’s a good practice to review your ‘current life’ at least twice per year.
To stop and check in with yourself.
To take an honest look at which parts of your current life are giving you warnings that something isn’t right, yet you’re not heeding those warnings. Some examples could be:
As regular readers will know, I am a big fan of the writer, playwright and all-round creative maestro, Julia Cameron. In her seminal work, The Artist’s Way, she takes readers through an inspiring 12-week programme to identify creative blocks and U-turns, re-ignite the creative spark within, and then take action to keep the flame alive.
I was lucky enough to attend a workshop of Julia’s here in London recently. Her amazing way of engaging the subconscious and allowing it full expression, despite the ego’s resistance was a wonderful exercise in giving my creativity full reign. I remembered long forgotten dreams of photography, art and dance. Working in pairs we blasted through self-doubt and internal critics to discover what we would truly love to create. And the best thing? It doesn’t have to be perfect. Read more of this article »
Are you looking for new direction and new inspiration this year? Instead of asking others for advice, how about asking yourself these 10 power questions. They’ll give you insights and guidance towards creating the life that you really want.
1. If tomorrow was your last day on Earth, what would you wish you’d done in your life (but haven’t).
2. Do you have a recurring vision or dream about a particular place, job, activity, people?
3. What do you feel you were put on this Earth to do?
4. What do you care deeply about?
5. Name 5 things you are really good at.
6. Ask 5 people what they think you’re good at.
7. If you had a week all to yourself without any responsibilities, what would you do?
8. What’s the most important decision you are facing right now? What stops you from making it?
9. If I told you that you had unlimited time and resources and that you could do anything you want in life, what would that be?
10. What are the first steps you can take towards doing the work or leading the life you’d love?
Inside your heart is a dream that may yet be unfulfilled. By focusing on what you love, rather than what you feel you should be doing will give you greater energy and insight. One easy way to start is to write non-stop for about 20 minutes, listing all the things you love doing. I did this recently and it was very revealing! Begin using your imagination to create, rather than clinging to a belief system that holds you back. Every single thing you see in the world today was created initially by someone’s imagination. As Lennon himself said: “Imagine…”
“Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Silence. Silenzio. Silence. Silêncio. Schweigen. Šutnja. Stilte. Whatever language you speak, the word silence means the same thing. More than just quietness, it also signifies a certain peace.
Simon & Garfunkel’s seminal The Sound of Silence was written the year I was born, and has always been one of my all time favourite songs. Listening to it as a child I would wonder aloud, what was the sound that silence made? Did it actually have a sound, a vibration to it? I think it does… it whispers things for sure.
“It takes one to know one” is a phrase that often gets used by children when name-calling starts! Yet, despite it’s derogatory use as a rejoinder – there is a lot of wisdom present.
Think of someone you really admire, and which character traits of their’s shine through. Sometimes it is much easier to believe something unpleasant about ourselves, than to acknowledge and accept that those traits we really admire in another person are part of us too.
When we think of each relationship as a mirror for ourselves, there is a lot of worthiness there to love – if/when we accept it. (Likewise, when someone is really annoying us – chances are we are doing that ‘annoying thing’ in some way too!) Read more of this article »
It’s so easy for all of us to ‘lose our motivation’ at times. Sometimes this lull lasts for a few days, but typically it lasts for much longer than we want and it starts to become part of us, like a burden we carry. There may have been some trigger to that motivation slipping away — an event, a deemed ‘failure’, or simple (but oh so powerful) fear that stops us from taking action. We start to tell ourselves a story that we are “so unmotivated”, “I just can’t get motivated”, “I can’t seem to find my motivation anymore”. Which of course, does not really inspire you to take positive action.
Fear not, my friend. There is a better strategy to find that motivation, and more precisely, to discover your ultimate motivation.
Thanks to my twitter friend liveknowingthis for the inspiration of this podcast. She simply posted “If I removed X from my life I would be sooo much happier” – what is your X?”
Sometimes inspiration can come from the most normal every day events, as well as the unusual – like the recent snowfall here in the UK!
Paul and Sam talk about how this helps them look at things from a new perspective, sharing tips and tricks on how you can bring this resourcefulness into your daily life.
WHEN life gets challenging, do you find yourself ruminating regretfully on the past – searching for reasons to justify present dissatisfactions? The anxiety producing “If only… you’d taken that job, married that person, moved countries, bought that flat, had different parents, gone to a different college, taken less drugs, taken more drugs, had more fun, travelled more, had children, not had children… Read more of this article »
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