A Visual Reminder so I will Never Stop Believing in Myself

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A few weeks ago I made a decision that will impact the rest of my life. But I will always ask myself why I did not make this decision sooner? 

The only thing that had been standing in my way was ME!! I didn't believe in myself, but I do now! I believe in my dreams and my ability to achieve them. Do you? 

I always tell people to surround themselves with positive reinforcements and reminders to celebrate their accomplishments and aspirations.

This bracelet is mine - "you can if you believe". Always chase after your dreams and the things that make you happy. Just do it!

Dark Chocolate Nut and Seed Slices

This recipe is delicious and if you are trying to watch your sugar intake it can be a  fantastic alternative to chocolate biscuit cake. I also love this one because it is so quick and easy to make. I usually make these when I am down to the last of what ever nuts, seeds and dried fruit I have - you can use what ever you like here and adapt it to your own lovely taste buds. Bud! 

Recipe

I used coconut butter, dark chocolate, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, caocao nibs, dried fruit. I eye balled the quantities but used approximately 1 large bar 85% dark chocolate, 1tbps caocao nibs, 100gr of coconut butter and approx 100gr of each nut and seed and a handful of dried fruit:-)

Great thing about this recipe is that you can use what ever nuts, seeds and dried fruit you fancy.

Instructions

Melt these ingredients in a saucepan with the chocolate, caocao and coconut butter and place in baking tray and put in freezer until solid.

I Have a Big Bum and Big Legs.

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I use to think that big meant that I was fat so I felt ashamed and embarrassed of my body. I would look at parts of me and say “I will be happy when you are smaller, leaner and skinnier”. Because I thought body confidence meant you had to have a small, lean and skinny frame. I thought this was the only way I would be happy with my body! 

However four year ago I started weight training and I was challenged to view my body in a different light. 

I was forced to broaden my definition of what it meant to feel body confident. I stopped aspiring to the skinny and lean ideal and I realised that there is much more - so many more ways - to feeling happy and comfortable in my own skin.

The way we view our bodies and the conditions we place on our happiness and confidence is so restrictive. 

We exercise because it makes us FEEL healthy, strong and confident yet we think the only way to achieve these feelings is dropping 2 dress sizes and losing the tummy! 

It's time to change this way of thinking. 

I no longer see my bum and legs as things that need to be manipulated in order to make me happy. My big bum and big legs are the reason I feel strong and confident and I wouldn't ever change them. 

Being strong has made me far happier than skinny ever would.

Are You Good Enough? Confidence Crises and Comparison Trap

In this unbelievably deadly webinar myself and James talk about strategies that you can use NOW to help you feel good about who you and where you are! 

A few things I learned

• Girls are not the only ones who struggle with their body image. Help a brother out next time you see him feeling down. He needs it too!
• We care TOO much about other people's opinions, beliefs and values! Like an anchor, they just weigh us down and we become frozen.
• We forget that life is made up of so many things! We need to ask ourselves, what legacy we want to leave behind.
• We need to make a commitment to ourselves that we will work towards developing strategies to help us understand, and manage how we interact with our environment and the people in it. Don't be afraid of this work! Imagine how proud you will be when you start to notice your confidence and self-esteem increasing. It will be worth it! 
• Do not let your obsessions take over... The problem isn't your perception of your body, or whatever comparison that you are making. The problem is that you are determining your own self-worth based off the comparisons you make to others. What do you want to be remembered for and what are you doing now, so that you will get there tomorrow?

Have a listen and I would love to hear about what you think!

Mr. Bastardo

I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Mr. Bastardo. Mr Bastardo, also known as FEAR, is a close pal of mine!

Mr. Bastardo paralysed my self-belief, confidence and ability to ACT!! 

Mr. Bastardo made me fear CHANGE, FAILURE, JUDGEMENT and LOSING CONTROL. 

Mr. Bastardo makes me think that my dreams were too big and that my life was just FINE. He made being lazy, procrastinating and half assing seem OK! Wanker!

WANKER!

But I still had a dream and it was a HUGE dream!! God it was awesome - talked about it all the time - it was butterflies in the pit of your stomach, hairs on your arms stand up at once kinda dream!!! But that's all it was... A dream! And it's all I ever THOUGHT it was going to be. Mr. Bastardo stopped me believing that my dream could be a reality.

Then one day the fear of not doing something became greater than Mr. Bastardo himself. The thought of doing something made me freak out, but the thought of not doing it made me freak out even more!

So I've started taking the first step towards achieving my dream and I'm so terrified and excited but I'd like to share these steps with you....

Step 1: Name you fear. My fear is called Mr. Bastardo and he represents change, failure, judgement and losing control. 

What is you fear called? Give it a name like Voldemort, Dark Vader or Percy! Be honest about what fear means to you! 

Step 2: Do you remember when I spoke about goals, and identifying a support network? Well a dream should be approached in the same way - talk about your dream with the people around you and it will feel more real!

Do you find it difficult to talk about your dream? Well, what would you do if you won the lotto? Talk about your dream from the angle (that’s how mine started!). 

Step 3: The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. Kick Mr. Bastardo’s ass by breaking your dream down into smaller chunks. Things will appear far less daunting this way!

Step 4: I read a fantastic article (linked in the comments section below) that suggests people may always carry a part of their past labels, disability or diagnosis with them - “Don’t become your disability or your diagnosis”. It’s not just these past labels, disabilities or diagnosis that haunts us but also people's current expectations of us, and their familiarity with who they think we are. 

We are so afraid of doing something different! We need to LET GO!

Mr. Bastardo latches on to every part of us! He is an awful divil for that! He makes us think we don't have it in us to chase our dream! 

But Sometimes chasing a dream requires us to do things a little differently (sounds familiar?). And guess what? This means that you might need to behave a little differently too!! After kicking Mr. Bastardo’s ass, you will not come out the other side the same. This is, and should be expected!

Step 5: Find meaning and purpose in each step you take and take these steps for you and you only! If you are not at least 90% confident you can achieve it then break the steps down even further. Confidence is key!

It's this fear that prevents so many of us moving forward, from becoming truly happy and moving in the direction of our dream! In summary (who doesn't love a good summary!):

Step 1: Name your fear! Step 2: Talk about your dreams - it will make them feel more real! Step 3: Break your dream into chunks. Step 4: Let go! Step 5: Find purpose and meaning with every step you take.

Peace out!

The BLP Goals Programme Webinar

A few weeks ago the BLP hosted its first ever webinar live from our living room. Exciting! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19acOpeHcnU

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It was a little strange talking to a computer… with mine and James face staring back at us. Nevertheless, it was great that so many people were on board with us and we are looking forward to hosting many more.

Goals play a huge part our lives! According to psychologists “Picking one, two, or three significant goals that are meaningful to you and devoting time and effort to pursuing them” will greatly increase your happiness.  

Nevertheless, at the BLP we realise that sometimes people need a little help mapping out their goals so we were excited to talk about the BLP Goals Programme and the BLP 10 x 10 in this webinar.

I have highlighted some of the main points here, but I would encourage you to have a listen and don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need to :-)

Main Points

If you want to run 10km, get abs or lean arms you go to the gym and follow a dedicated training programme. You diligently follow the programme and slowly but surely you start seeing the results you want. WHY SHOULD A GOAL OUTSIDE OF THE GYM BE ANY DIFFERENT?

• The BLP goals programme will give you the structure that you need to achieve life goals. It includes naming your goal, establishing a start point, an end point, and so much more!
• The BLP Goals Programme gets you to identify milestones and tasks so that you can measure your progress, and understand what you need to do to move you in the right direction.
• The BLP 10x10 is a mind-set checklist! You need to be in the right head space when you are pursuing a goal and the BLP 10x10 helps break it all down.

How committed are you to achieving what you want, and how much do you believe that you can do it?