#24 Sharing Stuff that lights me up

I have a confession.? I didn't do a Sharing Stuff in August.

And I very nearly didn't do one in September

Why?

Life happens!? My routine over the past few months has gone up in the air and has not quite landed back down again!

Nell, my adorable pup, has been the main cause.??

My morning walks are spent puppy training, not podcast listening.

My breaks between clients have been pee breaks (Nell, not me!) and tidying up the chaos that she has managed to cause whilst I've been on client calls.

I've fallen into bed knackered and not had the energy or motivation to pick up a book.

Ohh, and we've also completely renovated our kitchen and garden room.

And then when I do get a bit of 'me' time, I fill it up with Gigi moments: looking after my gorgeous grandaughter, Amelia, or Mimi as we sometimes call her.

None of the above is conducive to collating insights and value to put into a monthly Sharing Stuff.

But, I always like to keep it real and show up as me, so this month's Sharing Stuff is going to be a reflection of my last 2 months.

So here goes ...?Sharing Stuff That Lights Me Up!?

Let's start?with a quote, so at least some things stay the same!

"There will always be someone who doesn't see your worth - just don't let it be you" Mel Robbins

This quote is taken from one of the books I'm going to share in a moment and the reason I wanted to share it with you is that it really resonated with me.

I have been beating myself up about not being consistent with my Sharing Stuff; missing the one in August and then only just cobbling together something today.? And I was letting those 'not good enough' thoughts sneak in.? Thinking I should be doing better (I hate that word 'should').??

So I gave myself a good talking to.? I am good enough.? I know my worth.??I created my own business so I could flex my work as I needed.? I created my own business so I could lead a happier, healthier life.? And if that means missing the odd newsletter thingymagig, then that's okay.??

Here's a snapshot of my world recently ....

Well, given that I've shared my listening and reading habits have gone array, I wonder if you can guess what my book shares are this month?!

Here they are, there's a theme you'll surely recognise?...

Book share 1 - Motherkind - A new way to thrive in a world of endless expectations - Zoe Blaskey

Perhaps an unusual choice since I became a mother over 29 years ago!??

So why this book?? Well, it was actually off the back of a podcast I listened to a while ago?with Mo Gawdat and Zoe Blaskey and I was so captivated by what Zoe had to say, that I wanted to read the book, for several reasons.

One, my daughter Jess has just become a mum and I want to know how to support her the best I can and this book feels like a great toolkit to do so.

Two, many of my clients come to me feeling a loss of identity, of feeling torn between time and priorities, not really knowing the 'real' them anymore and this book offers so much on these topics.

Two of my favourite takeaways from the book are:

Introducing me to the term 'matrescence' which describes the developmental process of becoming a mother.? It's a time of change on almost every level: physical, hormonal, economic, social, emotional and spiritual.

And,?we are not balls - we are not supposed to bounce back!? Especially after the level of change described above.

Here's the podcast link if you fancy a listen instead of buying the book.

Book share 2 - Canine Communication - the language of a species - Sally Gutteridge

Well, I told you these weren't going to be my normal shares!

I have been to dog training classes with Nell during this summer and thank goodness I did because I was doing so much wrong.

I wasn't communicating with my pup in a way that she could understand.

When you get a new puppy and start training, and talking, to them - we could be speaking french or Japanese or any language to them for all they know.? To start with it's just white noise.

We have to explain what our words mean first.

The dog trainer, Sarah, was fantastic and she said if we did nothing else with our pups, we needed to remember the 3 C's at all times.

Clear

Consistent

Calm

I added another C to this trio.

Compassion

I needed to be compassionate with Nell when she got it wrong (probably because I wasn't being clear, consistent or calm, or all three!) and I also needed to be compassionate with myself because I was learning too.

These 4 C's are pretty good cornerstones of life too, I reckon.

And that's all for this month.? A random selection of photos and ramblings from my world, with a couple of even more random book recommendations thrown in!

But it's what has been lighting me up this month so I'm on topic!

So, until my next share...

Best wishes and?stay shining

Sally