You may have heard a saying about how long it takes for habits to form. It might range from 30 days to 90 days depending on which report you read.

The thing is habits aren’t formed over time. They’re formed over frequency.

When I was walking through town today, I spotted one of our members skipping along the pavement, holding hands with her children, laughing merrily, and I thought to myself and it reminded me, THAT is why I do what I do. It's what our mission of Strengthening Women is all about.

The fundamental difference between someone who achieves their goals, and someone who doesn’t is how they think. It isn’t about desire, it’s about taking action, doing something even when you don’t want to.

You can change your life in just a few minutes with 2 simple decisions. Take a minute right now and ask yourself:

I could list all sorts of things I do every day that I must think myself into. Things I would just rather not do…right now. Especially when something else is tugging at my brain or my emotions.

Any kind of emergency can stop me in my tracks, and by emergency, I mean something unexpected and so it FEELS urgent, but might not BE urgent.

Balance is a FEELING, it’s the feeling of having given your attention to the things that needed to be attended to, either because they are an emergency, or so that they don’t become one.

Achieving balance in your life is not about doing everything for equal amount of time, it’s about doing the right things AT the right time.

It's time to celebrate and reward the action you take (ie exercise), and the immeasurable successes that make the most difference to your LIFE and your WELLBEING (ie more sleep, more energy, less pain, ease of movement).

It’s easier to keep a thing going than start a thing… so how about “re-starting” a thing? Well, that can feel hard, because we are basing it on our past experience of starting. In fact, re-starting is easier because it’s like putting on a comfortable pair of shoes, you’ve done all the hard work of breaking them in!

If I could wave a magic wand, it would be so you FEEL how good it can feel to not wrestle with food, to not have a negative reaction when you look in the mirror or at photos, to wear whatever clothes you feel like wearing, to stop hiding.

A moderate amount of effort will make your Fitness AND your Christmas better than most and probably better than before. Instead of trying to do everything, do what you can with what you have. Instead of thinking about perfect, think about what is good and even more importantly, what is good for you.

Drinking water is self-care – it’s probably your easiest self-care win every day, every time, multiple times a day… 👀

Yet time every single day we speak to women who simply aren’t drinking enough and find it hard to do. Why?

Whether it’s your Curves workouts, a daily walk, or just taking time out for yourself with a hot cuppa and a good book, every small action is a vote for YOU, it reminds your subconscious that you can have space, as well as everyone else, no sacrifice needed.

And you know what? It reminds the world too, so don’t sneak off and do this in secret, be loud and proud about looking after yourself, because they are listening.

This week I’m giving you a word, a very powerful word, one that will keep you focused, and refire your motivation muscle just when you need it most…
What is this amazing word I hear you clamour? It’s a very humble word of just three letters…

I see them, on the scales, peering anxiously and I know that woman is distracted from her real purpose, from what she set out to achieve from coming. Something in this crazy upside-down world has distracted her from her real VALUE.

When working out, layers are so important as they help to stabilise your body temperature, especially at this time of year when you might feel quite cold when you begin your workout, but by the end you’ll know why the fans are on! Let’s talk about layers…

Don’t dwell on what was, focus on the next step.

It’s been a bit of a ‘that time of year’ scenario recently. People are falling ill and catching all the colds and coughs going around, and that has an impact on workout routines. People have felt thrown out of rhythm, not only with lack of exercise, but also nutrition and everyday activity. They have felt they’ve ‘ruined’ their progress or feel they’ve ‘failed’ in some way.

You’re worth it! And it is allowed!
Ladies. When I say you’re worth it, I really do mean it.
You’re worth that 30 minutes of time to yourself.
You’re allowed to ask for help so you can have that time.

How do you see yourself?

If you are trying to establish (or maintain) the habit of exercise, it’s important that you see yourself as an exerciser. As I prepare for the launch of my Motivational Book Club the books I am reading are emphasising the fact that most women struggle to exercise, because they simply don’t see themselves as exercisers (there’s a whole host of reasons for this!).