Falling behind?

Falling behind?

My dear readers,   This is my first post of 2019 and it comes right after Blue Monday so well into January! But that’s because this year I wanted to really gather some thoughts before getting back to posting. A slow start doesn’t always mean one is falling behind now, does it? I hear this phrase a lot lately – “make sure you’re not falling behind” – and it’s being used to talk about many things really – career, personal life, buying a house or a car, travelling, having kids and the list can REALLY go on. It’s like everyone’s rushing to fit into this timeline. And now don’t get me wrong, I am a very organised person that goes by to-do lists, has a (quite old school, paper version) diary and ticks things off as she goes, so it’s not the ticking off that triggers me, it’s the pressure to do it in time. In time for what? And to a timeline set by who? For a person that has finished her masters a few months ago and has been on a job hunt since, this hit close to home. Because if you’ve ever been on a job hunt you’d know that some days it gets really demotivating, frustrating and all that waiting for a call or an email makes your life plain boring sometimes. Add the fact that I am used to being very busy and useful and I am…ahem…slightly impatient (okay, cut the slightly, but I’m working on it, okay?) and you’ll get why hearing that I’m falling behind is not my favourite catch phrase. I...
Check, mate?

Check, mate?

Hey there, beautiful reader! December snuck up on me quicker than I got to say ‘Christmas is coming’ and now I find myself completely unprepared for what I consider one of my favourite times of the year (the other one’s summer time because I’m a summer child and I live for the July sun!). Also, I usually find this time of the year very exciting but this year is ending with me still being on a hunt for a job and a purpose to follow my masters coming to an end which turned into a few months of uncertainty. Now, if there is something that I don’t like, that is uncertainty. Spontaneity, yes, all for it, uncertainty, not so much. Because uncertainty means everything is out of my control, which sometimes brings great things into my life out of the blue, and I am very grateful for that, but sometimes, it just makes me question every single thing. However, this also means that my tolerance to uncertainty has been greatly tested these months so maybe it was just a lesson I had to learn and it will prove of great help in the future, we shall see. I’ve been spending this time focusing on myself while on this search which people might call check mate given how many times I’ve put myself last while being very busy. However, is it check, mate? Because as much as I’ve enjoyed having time for myself and my friends, I miss being busy, having a purpose, making a change. I’m the type of person who is satisfied at the end of the day...
Five Years Later

Five Years Later

Hello darlings, In the last post I talked about the new beginnings that fall brings and the importance of following your gut feeling (if you missed it, click here to read it). Following that, I thought I’d share a few thoughts on how five years ago following my gut feeling changed the course of my life. Five years ago was when I first came to England ready to start university and subsequently to move countries and live on my own for the first time. To this day, a lot of people – friends, prospective students, employers and even family members still ask me how had it felt to take that decision, how has my life changed, and if I regret it at all. Truth is, that was the first time I learnt the hard way that amazing things happen when you get out of your comfort zone and confront your fears. I was scared of new, of my English skills not being satisfactory, of not making friends, of this whole idea of the unknown. But it was a fear intertwined with excitement and curiosity, which made me get out of my comfort zone and discover more. The first discovery that I made (and that, as for all of us, is still a work in progress) was to truly discover myself – to understand my flaws and how I can work on them, to not underestimate or overestimate my qualities and instead believe in myself, just how I am. And I could stop right here and tell you that for this sole reason it was more than worth it. But...
All Aligned

All Aligned

Good morning, my darlings! I am a strong believer in the fact that everything happens for a reason. I also believe that things happen at the time they are meant to happen but also that you have to work your a** off to get to your goals and dreams. See how these two are not always aligned? Like do I wait for things to happen or do I go for it? It’s been on my mind lately as it’s something that has always confused me. However, I think I have recently reached my conclusion. No one will ever be able to tell me that if you work hard, you don’t succeed. In one way or another. Sooner or later. Just as planned or completely different. But you succeed. Listen to any successful person you admire and you will see the word ‘WORK’ will come up in their speeches, A LOT. Now about the other side where you wait for things to happen, I think we should see it more like we look forward to things happening rather than we wait around, because that ‘looking forward’ thing does not mean you stop working until that happens and literally just wait around. One of Oprah’s inspiring interviews came up on my feed the other day and she was saying that you have to be ready for when your opportunity comes along. And I completely believe in that! Wait but know your breakthrough is coming, so that you don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s and wonder why yours isn’t as successful, because if I learnt something, is that you are not...
Game Time

Game Time

Hey dear, I cannot believe how time flies and it’s already February as I’m writing this. And at the same time, January felt like a year in itself. Mixed feelings. Either way you look at it, if you think January took its sweet time or that you basically rang NYE straight into February, I think we can all agree with the forever going around quote – January was a trial month, February is game time. So, how’s the game going? With the Super Bowl just gone and quite a few good football games this weekend, it seemed appropriate to ask. However, I am not talking about them, we all know football/soccer game reviews can take pages, so I’ll stick to my subject. How’s the resolution plan going? Did you manage to start ticking things off the list? Well, let me tell you my status. I started January very motivated, like damn, this is my year. And that mood hasn’t changed, I am still on track to making it my year although, I did spend most of my January in the library, breathing and dreaming about my assignments only and the rest of the time, recovering. So, my motivation was there, but somehow, I was lacking time. So I used this trial month to reflect and decide I need my planning to be even more specific and timely. It’s all about SMART goals, peeps aka Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and in a Time frame kinda goals, in case you missed the Marketing class, I explained it all when I set my resolutions – see them here. So now that January...