Motivation, new finds and little changes

“THERE IS NO MORE TIME, EVEN FOR CAKE.  FOR YOU, THE CAKE IS OVER.  YOU HAVE REACHED THE END OF CAKE.”
– Death, in Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

I think this is the most terrifying quote in the entire Discworld series. It strikes great fear into my heart.

I’ve reached Making Money, and am getting increasingly sad and angry that now Terry Pratchett is gone there are no more new adventures to read or other areas of the Disc to explore. Not too much as been said about Bhangbhangduc, Dijabringabeeralong, or Djelibeybi, and it’s a really unhappy thought that we won’t know more.

I’ve been struggling a bit lately with motivation. Time seems to be flying now working full-time, and I know probably 80% of the population is in this position, but it took a while for me to get a work-life balance sorted rather than crashing as soon as I get home. I find I’m going week to week with it passing in a blur, but not quite making the most of free time either.

Thanks to some small injuries (more niggles than anything, but enough to take me out for a week at a time) training has been very up and down. Mostly down. So even the dream workout plan isn’t happening, despite July and the start of August being pretty successful. Most recently it’s been a pain in the arch of my foot, kicking in after about a mile and a half, that’s enough to hurt for several days after. My trainers (Nike LunarEclipse 2) are three years old now, and have done almost 500 miles, so I’m guessing the support is going. I’d be happy for another identical pair, but Nike have moved on by several models; I’ve been able to get my hands on a pair of the 5s, and need a few more goes on the treadmill before deciding whether or not my feet will be ok in them.

So I wanted to gather a few things to be grateful for, because there’s lots of literature around gratefulness and affirmations that can help positivity in general, as well as ‘Things I love’ posts which seem fun.

1. Motivational posters
   These are two motivational posters stuck on my wall – both from web-based conferences attended this year. I love them both – especially ‘Begin anywhere’ which is a hand-made print and helps encourage me to just do stuff, even if I’m struggling to know where to start.
2. Autumn
   It’s September, which marks the start of my favourite season. I love everything about autumn – the cold, the leaves turning, the weather, and the nights drawing in. And of course, Halloween.
3. TV starting soon
   This is a weird one, but I am wildly excited about certain favourite shows returning, and some new ones starting as well. I’m going a bit crazy with nothing to watch at the moment (yeah, I could get more hobbies, I know, probably the root of many problems) and am so keen for:
   • American Horror Story: Hotel [S5]
   • CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (the two-hour series finale, sob)
   • CSI: Cyber [S2]
   • How to Get Away with Murder [S2]
   • Limitless [S1]
   • Minority Report [S1]
   • Person of Interest [S5]
   • NCIS [S13]
   • The Fall [S3]
   • The Leftovers [S2]
   • The Simpsons [S27]
   • Wayward Pines [S1]
4. Switching to Lush and going organic
   For over a month now I’ve been making more conscious changes and decisions when it comes to what I’m buying. I want to lessen my financial support of companies that include unethical practices, and move towards finding brands that are fair trade, organic, and support recyclable packaging. I don’t want my existence to harm the planet more. The consequence has been a complete overhaul of where I spend my money, along with lots of lessons learned along the way. I’m not adopting an ‘all-or-nothing’ approach – I think that’s too extreme, difficult to do, and you would be constantly facing pitfalls, grey areas and criticism. So for now, I’m doing some research on brands prior to making purchases and giving more thought to how I shop.The main change has been gradually replacing hair, shower/bath and skincare products by changing to Lush. I definitely want to capture my experience of this so will be doing a series on the saga of switching to Lush products – especially those suited to dry or sensitive skin! Additionally, I’ve found a great organic veg box supplier, and have given up on Twinings tea in lieu of Clipper (organic and fair trade with non-bleached bags), which was less of a sacrifice than expected…!
5. YouTubers
   
   I’ve recently found a few more great YouTubers to subscribe to – from left to right, Wengie, Chriselle Lim and Chloe Morello. They post high-quality beauty and fashion videos and are great for inspiration and tips. I don’t know how to dress myself, so it helps to watch advice videos.
   
   I really love this video of Chriselle’s on her Korean skincare routine – lots of products and ideas.

I think it helps to count your blessings – even if they are tiny and only involve swapping your moisturiser!