Be gentle with yourself…

Hi Chaps!

So, first of all apologies for going off the radar for a while; it's safe to say June has been my busiest month this year! I have started a new job, which involves travelling a lot (and learning a heck of a lot!), spent a week in New York, had my birthday and journeyed to Cornwall for a wedding... And it's still not even July!

Okay, so this blog post is a bit of a morning “brain dump”! I was fully intending to do a delayed Magical Monday update, and as I started writing, I realised there was something else I felt compelled to talk/ write/ brain splurge about. So I rolled with it…

I've been keeping up with my art fairly consistently, steadily building up a new body of work for something exciting happening in July (more on that another time!) But alongside all the upheaval, changes and travelling something had to give, and that something was blogging.

Anyway, I'm back! I've acquired a tablet, which I'm hoping will enable me to be able to blog on the move more as my commute to work is pretty long so all time is even more precious. In fact, I'm writing this post on my tablet right now, on the train to London!

I think the key to making anything successful or lasting is to persevere and not get down if things go a bit wonky or pear shaped. That's how I approach my art and that's how I'll also be approaching blogging. Sure, I've slipped by the way side this month. But it's been a damn busy month!

As someone who thrives on goal setting (and achieving!) I have big fat yearly goals that I work towards by breaking them down into bite size monthly goals. It was a little painful at first to review how June's goals had fared as I definitely set the bar too high considering how packed my diary was.

However, past me had also set a goal of "be gentle with yourself" as I think past me knew future me would be feeling a bit glum at not getting everything finished. Isn't that a nice goal to have? Be gentle with yourself. Thank you, past me! It's good to know how well I know myself! As soon as I read it, it made me smile. And even though I didn't have as many “ticks” or "completed" or "achieved" in my diary as I desired, that is just fine!

I really do feel passionately, that in anything you do – learning a new skill, running your own business or just doing something for fun; it’s so important not to constantly beat yourself up on not progressing fast enough. After all, as cheesy as it may sound, the smallest of acorns can grow into the largest of oak trees! One step at a time, no matter how seemingly small or insignificant is still a step. And I’m confident that one day, I will get to where I need to be… And I’m going to damn well enjoy the journey of getting there!

I hope that whatever journey you are currently walking down, that you remember this and it helps you when you need it:

Keep on doing what you love, persevere and don't let the bumps dictate the ride!

Happy Tuesday chaps!