2012 a year for change

As the first week of 2012 draws to a close I feel ready to decide on my word of the year. I already have a taster of what I feel lies ahead for me this year.. which is revealing in itself as previously I have had no idea. I have recently come through a very dark and lonely period of my life and feel as though I am seeing the world - my world - through a new pair of eyes. The personal work I have been focusing on for the past 18 months is really now showing signs of coming to fruition and for the first time in along time, I feel ripe for the plucking! (if you'll pardon the expression!)

I have fought demons, shone light into dark corners and wrestled mindsets. I have cleansed, purged and forged new habits. I have learned so much and have let a lot of things go. Change is already happening - for the better - and I am ready for more. I know that there are more things that I will need to let go this year and I can feel a lot of resistance around this. I am trusting that the outcome will be the right one

And this is why I have chosen Clarity as my word of the year for 2012. It is time to get clear on what my destiny is, make some decisions and take some action. I have been wandering aimlessly for too long and life feels too short to live that way

I also have a feeling that once clarity has done its work, the real changes will happen fast and so I am offering myself a second word to use in its place, when the time is right. That word is Purpose. It's time to live life with purpose and on purpose, but first I need the clarity with which to do that

I am scared but excited

I hope you'll join me for the ride

Lisa x

To read more about having a word for the year, read this great article by my friend Katy at Success for Solopreneurs - she explains it really well


And for help choosing your own word of the year, try Christine Kane's Word of the Year discovery tool


2012 crafty calendar by Mandi Cromer for Design Birdie

A Bit Funked Up: 3 Steps to Finding Your Inner Peace

I was going to post this yesterday but I decided to take things easy; doing things to chill out and stop my brain taking me off to a place I don't want to be. I've had a bad case of the "what am I doing with my life" this last week, which has kept me in a bit of a funk

I'm not sure why I let this inner critical voice take over my thoughts as much as I do. Mostly I have it under control, but once in a while it shouts up louder than normal and catches me off guard or picks up on a topic that makes me feel vulnerable. Then begins the cycle of nasties. The self doubt, the self criticism, the you're not good enough... the list goes on, but you get the picture I'm sure

We all get this right? I know we do but, wow, sometimes I struggle to put those falsehoods and insecurities in their rightful place and carry on being ME. Sometimes I listen to them. Heck, sometimes I even believe them. It's not pretty and it makes me feel ashamed

So how do you break this cycle and how do you allay that inner nasty bitch?

1. Be Kind to Yourself

Why is it that we can say things to ourself that we would never dream of saying out loud to another person? Where does that meanness come from? Be kind to yourself - allow yourself some time to just BE without judging and criticising. Watch a favourite movie, read a book that captivates you, bake a cake, walk in the woods, nap. Whatever simple, no pressure activity you enjoy doing - allow yourself to do it GUILT FREE

2. Reach Out

A bad case of the nasties can make you feel so very alone. Isolation fuels the insecurities; it's a vicious circle. The truth is... everyone feels like this from time to time and everyone harbours some form of self criticism or insecurity. Reach out to your best friend and tell them how you feel. A true friend has the magic that is required to make you feel better about yourself - they point out the things about you that they love... the things you too easily forget about when all you have going round your head are the bad things. Friends have the ability to make the nasty bitch in your head shut up; they remind you of the fun you've had, they make you laugh and once they know you're in a funk - they keep a watchful eye on you so that you don't creep back into nastyville

3. Detox

I'm talking a mental and emotional detox here. Lighten the load of that baggage you're dragging around with you, clear some of that constant chatter in your head. It's so easy to get bogged down with negative thought patterns and overwhelmed by shame or guilt or fear. I find that spewing it all out on paper can help me identify what I'm really feeling funked up about. Seeing the words committed to paper both releases them from burdening my brain and gives them a more realistic perspective - somehow they seem less mean, less critical and less overwhelming in the harsh light of day. Sometimes writing in list form does the trick, other times it will take on a more narrative style which can release a lot of pent up emotion. I read it through and am often struck at how poetic this can be (which ironically triggers some good feelings toward myself!) and then I destroy the paper; acknowledging and then releasing an issue can have strong detox benefits

So there you have it. I am continuing the Be Kind for the rest of the week, I really feel like I need it. My mentor Christine Kane teaches that what you focus on grows and so I plan to focus on being kind to myself and remembering the positives that make me, me.

Lisa x

{You are Allowed mantra by Tara Gentile via Scoutie Girl - follow the link to download your own copy to print out & keep}

Vision Boards - a window into your future

 I'm no stranger to the practice of tear-sheets, mood boards, sketchbooks and vision boards. After all, as a creative person it comes with the territory. At Art School you document ideas, inspirations & techniques constantly in sketchbooks. As an Interior Designer I would create mood boards & room settings to get my ideas across to clients. As a Stylist I reference style ideas with tear-sheets, & all of the lifestyle magazines I have worked for have walls full of vision boards for their current issue. I guess they could be considered the  

visual version of list making 

- they serve as a memory jogger, a goal setter, a 'this is what I'm aiming for'

Without realising it you are probably familiar with them yourself, especially if you follow design led blogs such as Design*Sponge or The City Sage. These blogs regularly visually round up a collection of images based on a theme (my all time fave is the Living In posts on D*S. Pride and Prej inspired board pictured above). You may even have a pile of tear-sheets yourself; things that have sparked an interest, an idea that you'd like to refer back to at some point. Perhaps you are more reserved & simply fold over the corner of a page in a magazine. Either way, the principal is the same & it also translates into the digital world too. Do you bookmark sites that you like? If you are anything like me you have about a gazillion pages bookmarked for later reference - not always an efficient filling system, but hey!

It is no surprise then, that you can now produce an all digital, fabulously professional looking, vision board online. Hurrah for technology! Olioboard comes recommended but I have yet had the chance to play around with it. Don't you worry though, I have ideas brewing for its uses!

So back to my earlier point of being familiar with this exercise when it comes to my creative process. It HAS proven success. It helps reach the intended goal. It documents the idea. All good then. But until recently, I had never thought to  

apply this tried & tested approach to ME!

I have, of late, been struggling to get to where I think I ought to be in terms of achievement. I've been feeling unfocused and a little (ok, a lot) stuck in a rut. Less so in creative terms, but hugely in Life terms. This has led to some soul searching; some questioning, and plenty of research. (yay for the internet!)

I have been subscribing to the wise words of Christine Kane (amongst others) via her Be Creative Be Conscious Be Courageous blog as well as her Live Creative e-zine, and she actively advocates the exercise of producing a vision board to help you get to where you want to be. She is so encouraging in this field that she has complied articles & a free download to guide you through the process. I feel like I have taken a step in the right direction - I feel that by dedicating a few hours to ME and what I would like MY FUTURE to be that I have begun the long journey in getting there. Perhaps I'll share my vision with you in a later post. If I'm feeling brave enough!

Do you sometimes feel you have lost your way? How do you get back on track?

{image 1 by Emily Burlingame on Olioboard, image 2 by Amy Merrick for Design*Sponge, image 3 by Polly Rowan on Olioboard, image 4 from Christine Kane's Blog}