Stick by your bucket

When you die you're asked two questions, and your answers determine whether or not you'll get into heaven:

1. Have you found joy in life?

2. Has your life brought joy to others?




The first step in setting personal goals is to consider what you want to achieve in your lifetime (or by a time at least, say, 10 years in the future) as setting Lifetime Goals gives you the overall perspective that shapes all other aspects of your decision making.

Now I have toyed with this idea for over a week now, and although my own bucket list of lifetime goals are personal and could leave me feeling rather exposed...I have nontheless decided to share mine with you. To some my bucket list may come as a surprise, for others Im sure you always knew!

My lifetime goals off the top of my head (in no particular order):

Extreme skydiving, feed sharks, be a contestant on X factor, learn a foreign language, be a mother, have a garden, see the northern lights, see the grand canyon, become an Austrialian citizen, Marry, have a girlie blow-out in Las Vegas, travel Asia, teach, write a published article in the Guardian, go to a Brillizan carnival, the great wall of china, sail and picnic all the time, wear white without getting int dirty, take my children to Walt Disney world, ride all the scariest rollercoasters, have a real life, ride a horse on a beach alone, learn how to play chess, take up photography and astrology, direct a film, give my mum the life she deserves,be a bridesmaid,take up upholstry, learn knitt and sew, go on holiday with carrie bradshaw, have hope and belief, learn not to take what others do and say too personally, make my own money, be interviewed on Oprah, donate blood, do lots of charity work, own a deli, be environmentally friendly, write a novel, Zorbe, take risks and dont be scared, learn about wine, go on an african safari, have a large kitchen with woodern floors, be a spectator at the world cup, be happy and most importantly remain healthy.

Probably missed a million things off my list but you get the idea...



To give a broad, balanced coverage of all important areas in your life, try to set goals in some of these categories (or in categories of your own, where these are important to you):

Bucket List:
•If you had a year left to live, what would you do?
•If you won the lottery, where would you go?
•What did you always want to do when you were a child?
•If you were lying on your deathbed, what would you most regret not having done?
•If you had an upcoming high school reunion, what would you like to be able to tell your former classmates that you've accomplished?
•What do you need to have more of in your life?
•Who do you admire? Why?
•You're sitting with your grandchildren on your lap telling them about your exploits. What stories are you telling them?
•You've died and are listening to your eulogy. What are your friends and loved ones saying about you?
•If a genie granted you three wishes, what would you ask for?

As you do this, make sure that the goals that you have set are ones that you genuinely want to achieve, not ones that your parents, family, or employers might want (if you have a partner, you probably want to consider what he or she wants, however make sure you also remain true to yourself!)











Next blog is about starting to achieve these goals, stayed tuned oh and post a comment if your up for sharing a Zorbe!

It's time to relax when theres no time to relax

Now that we can embrace the space in which we live, lets focus on relaxing our minds.

You've had a challenging, productive, and sometimes stressful day at the office. You then battled traffic to make it home. Now you need to put your mind at ease, recharge your battery, and refresh yourself so you can do the whole thing again tomorrow.

Yet the house is a mess, the dog needs a walk, you have no clean underwear for tomorrow and your partner wants to know what you're cooking for dinner (yes, it's your turn!)

Or perhaps things at home are relatively calm, but your mind is anything but. Try as you might, you just can't stop turning over the day's events – and obsessing about tomorrow's challenges. Your evening leisure hours have been stolen by work thoughts – and before you know it, it will be time to go back.

If either of these scenarios describes your after-work evenings and weekends, you might need to work a little harder at something that seems like it should come easy: Taking a well-earned breather after a long day at the office.

Studies claim that like most other tasks in life, relaxation is a skill - one that repays the effort of learning it. Mastering the art of relaxation off the job can make you more rested, focused, energetic – and successful – on it.

Difficulty concentrating;

Bad moods and rising workplace conflict;

A lack of new ideas or fresh insights; and

A loss of enthusiasm for, and enjoyment of, their jobs or even their own lifes.

Combined, these unfortunate tendencies can highjack the highest-flying career.


Now I am no therapist but I must know at least 25 people who suffer from these symptons on a daily basis.

Here are some essential and easy to follow techinques that will have you relaxed and recharged in no time:


Step 1: Allow your mind to digest information before sleep therefore no facebook, no hotmail,no revision or work for at least an hour before going to bed.

Step:2 Declutter your mind, write a list of the days achievements, or tick off your achievements from a to-do list. Make a new list of what you want to achieve tomorrow, please note these can be very mundane tasks e.g 'must email so and so, and must text so and so'

Step 3: Throw away your tension. Think about a big problem that is weighing on your mind; write a possible solution down and then throw the paper away and with it the associated tension.

Step 4: Breathe, this is the easiest yet most result worthy techinque. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach, as you breathe in, focus on pushing out your stomach so your lower hand moves, your other hand should remain firm on your chest. Deep breathes will do the trick.

Step 5: Visualise. Imagine a place where you feel happy and relaxed, it can be a real or fictional place. Think about the smells, tastes, sights and the people you are with. I like to think of a Greek holiday with my 9 year old niece. That was a happy place or if that seems like too much hard work then this should do the trick....An easy and simple way to clear your mind is to go watch a fire or waves. These two elements of nature are special in that they’re very dynamic: the flames are wildly dancing and the water is constantly moving. How does it work? The always-changing fire or waves will put you in a trance. The noise in your mind lessens, and you stop thinking as much. You just be. Your mind clears, automatically sorting out what’s important and dropping what’s not. And all you have to do is sit and watch.


Step 6: Surroundings. Make sure your bedroom is well ventilated but not draughty.... and listen to this.... to associate your mind with being in bed dont read a book and dont watch telly!!

And for more information or to see where I stole this from check out: http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-relax-before-going-to-bed

Listen up, my next blog is about life goals so come prepared, i need you to decide what you want first of all. The problem with so many people is that they do not know what they really want. In other words they are not at all clear about what they want in life. Setting your goals, needs you to make a decision about that which you want, and determine when you want to have achieved that thing. In other words you must put a deadline to what you currently want. Get clear about what you want.

Spring cleaning

27 hours of cleaning the mansion
9 loads of laundry
6 hours of car booting
3 skip journeys
2 donation bags
1 bike ride
1 bunch of flowers from a best friend
no alcohol for 9 days (excluding Saturday!)

The bain of my existence now lives under the stairs, it’s the clutter in my mind, the confusion in my heart and the physical proof of all my imperfections...... and it’s going to stay that way!

I’ve been thinking a little more about the tidy house, tidy mind mindset and after hosting a dinner party with the family on Friday evening (bearing in mind I had already spent 12 hours on the kitchen arrrrr). I came to another conclusion... these studies that state that the human mind believe ever so strongly that a clean house represents a clean mind.... might just have it wrong.

Studies show that Saturday mornings are when most women organise the papers next to the table, clear the countertops of breadcrumbs, windex their perfect small glass table and hoover up the dirt. Saturday mornings are therapy, a habit, their consistency. But are they trying to do too much, trying to show themselves and the world just how okay and clean everything is. They must envy people like me that can let go a little. So next time try to remind yourself that the places that aren’t perfectly clean often smell of laughter and love, not bleach. They are places that show the tracks of friends and families not of a vacuum. A clear mind is just empty. But a home with a blanket on the sofa, dishes in the sink and papers strewn to the side represents an energetic and cheerful mind, and a happy heart.

Don’t get me wrong, this first action was extremely rewarding and worth well, but I won’t be beating myself up over it again.

On Sunday morning my partner and I did a car boot sale in a local village, the car was full and our house was officially de-cluttered. We took the deck chairs, a radio, a leather bum bag with change and a picnic.

The recession may be biting but the British love affair with shopping continues - just in a slightly different form! Bargain-hunting is where it's at and our car boot sale in particular was booming.

So, if you're looking to buy or sell there's never been a more exciting, lucrative time to try out the car boot experience!

If you'd like to try your hand at selling here are some tips to help you enjoy your booting experience...

Think about your display. You'll need a pasting table and perhaps a cover (an old tablecloth or similar) on which to display your goods. If you've got lots of items you'll need additional 'merchandising' space - some boxes for displaying books or DVDs in, a clean picnic blanket to lay on the floor in front of your table, a rail with hangers for clothes...Make sure everything can be seen so passing trade can clearly see all you've got on offer!

Go with plenty of change and a bum bag or fanny pack as the yanks say - you'll be selling items at relatively small prices so be sure to have plenty of coinage.

Keep an eye on your pricing - remember it's a car boot sale so there's no point expecting shop prices for your items; everything on my stall was under £3! At the end of the day if you don’t want to take it home, then get rid. We made £97 for 6 hours work.... not bad really.

After the car boot my partner and I took my niece for a country bike ride, it was so refreshing and the world became a nice place again. It helped that the sun was shining; it’s funny how it can do that to you.... I did a little research and just 15 minutes in the sun can do more than just boost your mood.

It can also increase levels of natural antidepressants in the brain. A new study shows that the brain produces more of the mood-lifting chemical serotonin on sunny days than on darker days. So if the sun is shining when you get up try giving yourself just 15 mins in the rays, it could make a whole days difference.

Okay stay tuned for my next blog update, now we have cleansed the mind we are going to focus on how to relax in your own space... after that the real work begins.