Quote I am enjoying 

“I believe everyone is born with the desire to do something beyond themselves”  Ed Zschau

Your task is to feed that desire – I urge you to push ahead with it and take action!

Book I loved this week

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

I read A LOT and love to read both non-fiction for learning and wonderful stories purely for entertainment…this book dances around the beautiful question of how to find meaning in life with a lovely simple story of one woman and her search for satisfaction.

“Between life and death there is a library.When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.

The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently…she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren’t always what she imagined they’d be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger. Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?”  Waterstones book store UK

This was an easy read with a clear message and for anyone who has been on a healing journey or struggled with depression this makes surprisingly light reading on a topic that can feel deathly heavy. Not an easy thing to do but something Matt Haig has achieved with both elegance and tenderness.

and One More Thing

3 Things I Have Learned This Week From Taking Up Running Again
*scroll down for the 3 things…

After a 5 year hiatus, following a decade as a dedicated runner, I slipped on my running shoes and headed out this week to begin training for a 10k.

Little bit of background before the lessons…I LOVED running…I ran half-marathons on weekends and completed the Paris Marathon. It always felt so liberating and gave me time to switch off totally and just focus on the mental game of distance, pace and effort. It was my meditation. 

However…it was also heavily enmeshed with a punishing eating disorder and was a way for me to avoid the deep pain I had been holding within me from years of sexual abuse trauma. It was while running from myself I paradoxically felt most myself.

So when I began healing from my eating disorder and trauma I stopped running. I tried to start again a few times but it was ultimately triggering on too many levels for me to commit.

So I am so happy that this week I have been able to rediscover the joy of running.

Here are 3 things I have learnt

1. Surround yourself with good people

If you are nervous about returning to an activity that might be triggering…e.g. social events, the gym, parties etc. don’t do it on your own. I am working towards this 10k as a celebration of health and wellbeing with friends I deeply love and trust. It is so different from how I used to pound the pavements alone. Let other people in on your journey with you!

2. Start small/slow

There is no place for ego when rediscovering a lost skill/hobby. No matter how good you used to be you need to start where you are right NOW. Starting small allows you to progress quickly and helps you feel great about moving forward. If you go too hard at the start you will likely fail/burn out and then probably quit…so start small and go slow. PS This applies pretty much universally to any goal you set yourself or big dream you have.

3. Be grateful for what it has taken just to get to the starting line

You made it to this moment. You have moved through all the bad days, the pain, the heartache and you have arrived here. No matter what the journey ahead holds be grateful for everything that has made you the incredible human you are today. To get to the place where you have been able to begin is HUGE.

As with life in general, the beauty is really in the journey – so enjoy it all, enjoy every single step!