70+ Positive Affirmations Great for use anytime & anywhere
Posted inWell-Being

Positive Affirmations For Use Anytime & Anywhere

Every Monday morning at 7am (London, UK time), I post a series of positive affirmations across all of my social media channels, under the #MondayMantras.

If you’re new to using affirmations, I recommend you take a moment to read: How Can Affirmations Help You (& How to Make Sure They Do).

Essentially though, affirmations have the ability to override negative thinking patterns and bring us into a more positive frame of mind. Which is why I post them regularly with the intention of helping you kickstart your week positively!

Even though I post on a Monday morning, these affirmations can be used at any time – they’re great on any day ending in a ‘y’ to be honest! I’m also aware that not every one of my readers uses social media and won’t have access to them.

So, current climate as it is, I wanted to create a page on Living.Pretty.Happy to be updated weekly and contain all of the affirmations I’ve created for you to access anytime you want!

Self-care for parents
Posted inWell-Being

How we as parents can maintain self-care during lockdown

Daily self-care is mandatory – let me start with that.  No matter your circumstances, self-care practices contribute to your overall sense of well-being.  And as I mentioned in Why Your Well-Being Matters Most Right Now, practising self-care needs to factor as a top priority. 

However, when you’re looking after your kids at home, self-care – for parents, in particular – can easily fall to the bottom of the priority pile.  As a parent, I completely get that.  My kids’ happiness & well-being is the most important thing to me.   But I’m also acutely aware neglecting my needs will inevitably negatively impact not just me, but my kids too.  

With this is in mind, let’s look at how we as parents (or caregivers) can continue to practice self-care…

Why your well-being matters most right now
Posted inWell-Being

Why your well-being matters most right now

My policy is not to get swept up in or contribute to negative situations.   What I’ve realised is that it’s kind of unavoidable at the moment.  

Whenever I write for this site, I always ask – is this helpful? – only posts where I can answer, yes, get published.  That has always been my commitment to you.  I didn’t want to add to the current noise out there and planned on not writing anything about current events.  However, I’ve decided I do have something helpful to say about the new big ‘C’*.  So I’m sharing this from a place of helpful intention in the hope it will at least provide some support to someone in need of it right now.  

*(who knew how many awful words could be attached to this one letter?)

Let me share with you what I’m personally experiencing at the moment (because we’re all in this together aren’t we)…

In all honesty, my mental health has been impacted.  The news is overwhelming.  I’m human, prone to anxiety and this is certainly spiking it – maybe you can relate?  The majority of my family live in Malta.  With the island’s 14-day quarantine on arrival, I’m no longer just a plane ride away from them, it’s a horrible feeling – I can’t be there if I’m needed.  There is worry for loved ones who fall into the higher-risk category & concern for friends whose livelihood is in pieces right now.   It’s a giant unwelcome feeling of no-control.  Life on hold, for who really knows how long.  Seriously, f*@k you Corona! 

But here’s what I do know…

The thing that keeps me going – other than my need to function for my kids – is working daily on my well-being.  Now more than ever, simple, daily, easily accessible practices provide the biggest payoffs in terms of how happy I – we – can feel in this moment.  OK, I can’t control what this bloody thing is doing, but I can control what I do to get myself through it – so can you.

Right now, I want to share with you my well-being daily action list

I know you may have heard a lot of this before, but the more times we hear something the more likely it sticks.  Please do not underestimate how much these simple actions can help when it comes to looking after your well-being during lockdown.

Tips on looking after your well being during lockdown:

In order to say YES to good opportunities, you need to get good at saying no
Posted inWell-Being

How to say No (so you can say, YES!)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (marked with a *). I receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on my recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra, and I only recommend products and services I trust. All opinions are my own. For more details see my disclaimer here

OK, I know what you’re thinking…Alex, I know how to say ‘no’ – there you go, I literally just said it! 

Whilst I’m certain you know how to say no, let’s be honest, you probably don’t say it as often – or feel as comfortable about saying it – as you should.  

Us humans generally don’t like saying no…

Us humans don't feel comfortable to say no

The most common feeling we experience is guilt.  Which often leads to us over-explaining our reason for saying no, begin profusely apologising for it, or – even worse – lying.  And quite frequently, even though we know we should be saying no, we find ourselves saying yes but for all the wrong reasons.

The whole concept of learning how to say no was outlined to me in Chloe Brotheridge’s book, Brave New Girl*

Brotheridge explains, ‘The essential reason we struggle to say no is, we’re worried what people will think’. She continues, ‘What you have to remember is, saying no is good for your mental, physical, emotional, and financial health.  It’s a powerful act of self-care and self-love.’  

Saying no so you can say yes…

Life Lessons Barbican London - Big Ideas for Living Better
Posted inHappy Days Well-Being

Happy Days: Life Lessons @ The Barbican Centre, London

This is an advertorial feature for Life Lessons Festival.

Coming to London this weekend (15-16th February 2020) is a brand new festival promising a never-before-seen take on well-being…

Life Lessons Festival @ The Barbican Centre, London will share big – but practical – ideas for living better

The Barbican Centre, London - the venue for Life Lessons Festival
Surround yourself with green at The Barbican Centre, London – The venue for Life Lessons Festival
25 Ways to Increase Your Love For Life
Posted inWell-Being

25 Ways to Increase Your Love for Life

Life can be many things – wonderful, challenging, rewarding, tough, joyful, short.  Yes, there are circumstances in life we can’t control but we can be in control of our response to them. This is your life and there are plenty of things you can (and should!) do to increase your enthusiasm & love for it.   

 With this in mind, here are 25 ways to increase your love for life…

Easy Ways to Feel Energised.
Posted inWell-Being

5 Easy Ways to Feel Energised

Wouldn’t it be great if just like our electronic devices, we came with a charger! I mean, the moment you start to falter you just plug in and boost your energy level right back up to full.  Ideal right? 

Whilst sadly this solution won’t be available any time soon, there are some easy to implement alternatives to help you feel energised again.  

Now, eating healthily and regular exercise are a given, aren’t they? I just want to point that out in case you’re wondering why I haven’t included them.  Instead, I want to share with you 5 other natural ways you maybe hadn’t considered yet!

Good to know: If you would like advice on increasing energy through diet the NHS provide helpful guidance here.

Here are 5 natural ways to feel energised…

February Well-Being Focus: Vitality
Posted inWell-Being

February Well-being Focus: Vitality

I’m really excited about February! 

One, because it’s the 2nd anniversary of Living.Pretty.Happy and two, because of our focus for this month.  

February’s theme is not something we’ve really touched on before but it’s an area I consider to offer us bags of potential for fun! 

This month we are focusing on vitality.  

VITALITY [Well-being definition] Feeling energetic/full of energy.

Yes, our overall health is a big consideration as part of our topic but I want us to focus in more on developing our energy & enthusiasm for life.  Let’s work on giving ourselves the type of get-up and go that can really take us places and open doors for a world of opportunity & enjoyment.  

Ready to put some more pep in your step? 

Goal Getter: How to create & use a vision board
Posted inPersonal Growth Well-Being

Goal Getter: How to create & use a vision board

Vision boards, dream boards, call-them-what-you-will boards, are perhaps one of the best tools to get you ultra-focused on your goals.

Once you understand your purpose & truly know what you want, I personally see vision boards as the next logical step in helping you achieve all that you aspire to.

So what is a vision board?

Quite simply it’s a board or piece of paper upon which you create a collage of photos, pictures, words & quotes visually representing your goals & dreams. 

How will using a vision board help you?

The idea is to get you focused & motivated to work on and ultimately achieve your goals.  By picking images & words that resonate with you and looking at them daily, you’ll strengthen & stimulate all the right emotions to push you forward.

Follow your dream
Affirmations: How do they can help you (& how to make sure they do)
Posted inWell-Being

How can affirmations help you? (& how to make sure they do)

“You are worth more than this” a short statement which held so much power for an acquaintance of mine whilst they were experiencing a period of obsessive behaviour.   For them, those six little words were enough to shift their mindset when the behaviour occurred.  

Positive, affirmative statements – commonly referred to as affirmations – repeated quietly in our own minds (or declared aloud) can have the ability to override negative thinking and bring us to more desired outcomes.  

Positive affirming statements can help you shift your mindset

How many times have you had what I refer to as a snowball day?

Maybe you wake up in a bad mood, or something goes wrong (or both!) then, just like a small snowball rolling down a snow-covered hill gaining momentum and size – so too does the awfulness of your day.  

The good news?  It’s relatively easy to stop a snowball in its tracks, especially if you quash it early enough.  And in the same vein, you have the potential to stop a bad day in its tracks by adjusting your mindset.   

Using affirmations can help you with this…

5 Benefits of having a purpose
Posted inWell-Being

5 Reasons to live your life with purpose

Why do you need to live your life with purpose?  Perhaps you don’t, perhaps you’re perfectly happy without purpose? But perhaps if you ever catch yourself questioning why you do what you do and what it’s all for, or you feel there’s a life you were meant to live which doesn’t quite sync with the one you’re actually living, or you just don’t feel quite fulfilled, then having a purpose could resolve all that.  

Just in case you need a bit more convincing here are 5 benefits of having a purpose…

January Well-Being Focus: Purpose
Posted inWell-Being

January Well-Being Focus: Purpose

Hello & Happy New Year!

When choosing the focus for this month I felt inclined to lead with vitality.  I mean, New Year is often the time we decide to get fitter & healthier, maybe you’re even taking on Veganuary? 

But then another theme jumped out at me, spoke to me if you will.  It was something I found difficult to ignore and epitomised what I personally want to give a lot of focus to not just this month but throughout this year and beyond. 

It’s purpose.  

2019 well-being round-up
Posted inWell-Being

My 2019 well-being round-up

Back in April, I took Living.Pretty.Happy (& hopefully all of you) on a more focused mission to help increase our sense of well-being.

It’s believed that an increased feeling of happiness & overall life satisfaction is achieved when all elements of our well-being are in balance. I talked more about these areas in Improving Well-Being: The Key to Being Happy?

This year we started focusing in on 9 of them, highlighting each in turn every month. Whilst we still have a few more to go, I felt with 2019 drawing to a close, a quick look back might help us to realise how far we have come.

Here is my 2019 well-being round-up…

April: Happiness

A Christmas Couple look happy & close together
Posted inWell-Being

3 Simple ways to feel closer this Christmas

It’s perfectly natural to want to feel closer to the people in our lives.  The strength of our connections is often highlighted to us more so at Christmas than at any other time of the year.  

Therefore, Christmas is a great opportunity for us to do some very simple things in order to help build our bonds with those we hold dear.

Here are 3 simple ways to help you feel closer this Christmas…

My Happiest Finds of 2019
Posted inSkincare Well-Being

My Happiest Finds of 2019

Promotion ||  This post contains affiliate links marked with a *.  Find out more here.  

I love discovering new things.  Especially when said ‘new things’ aren’t things you would necessarily stumble across on the high street.  Discovering products that make my life a bit easier, help me feel happier & maybe even indulge me just a smidge are absolute winners in my book. 

This year, I’ve been fortunate enough to discover upon some real gems.  So I’ve wrapped them up neatly here for you complete with a great a big Living.Pretty.Happy bow on top.  I hope you’ll join me in supporting these fantastic – and on the whole – small, UK-independent companies this Christmas & beyond…

WELL-BEING FINDS:

We should all take time to reflect and choose a mantra
Posted inGiveaway Well-Being

How I Found my Mantra (& how you can too!) PLUS December Giveaway

“I trust myself, I trust life.  Everything is unfolding in perfect timing.”  

This is my mantra.  It resonates so deeply within me.  When I say it (and I say it daily) it reassures & motivates me.  Who’d have thought just repeating these simple words could have such a powerful effect, but that’s the beauty of a mantra.  

What is a Mantra?

A personal mantra is a positive phrase or affirmative statement that you say to yourself for the purpose of motivation and encouragement.  The words you choose have the power to alter your mood as well as your mindset.  

Truth is, I only discovered my personal mantra recently.  

This December we are focusing on Connection
Posted inWell-Being

December Well-Being Focus: Connection

Connection: [Well-being definition] Feeling close and connected to the people around you.

Could there be a more fitting theme for the most festive month of the year?

For the last 3-months we’ve really been looking inward, focusing on self-awareness, self-acceptance & most recently self-worth. Now it’s time to look to our loved ones, to our families & friends – to our network.

To me, there are 3 types of relationships: the good, the bad and the room for improvement.

A young woman sits taking time out for herself reading a book and drinking a glass of wine
Posted inWell-Being

How to practice Self-Care without feeling selfish

Sometimes the hardest thing – especially for us women – is to take time for ourselves, to practice self-care.

There have been countless times I’ve wanted to just sit & breathe.  But there is always something to do, someone to help, somewhere to be.  If I took 5-minutes for myself, my inner-critic would rear her ugly head to chastise me for my selfish laziness.  Sound familiar? 

But by me neglecting my own needs, what was that saying to others?  

What was it saying to myself?  My needs don’t matter.  And if you buy into this notion, you’re only headed in one direction… burnout. Maybe mentally, maybe physically, maybe both.  

However, it really doesn’t need to be that way.  We all have the ability to build some level of self-care into our lives.  In fact, it’s something we should all be practising daily.  

the importance of showing yourself some love displayed as a written reminder
A little reminder…

Yes you know it, I know it…