Hello Everyone

Forgiveness. An important thing that all humans need for both themselves and for others also. It not only helps you to move forward with life, but it also helps you to dissolve the past, making the now that little bit more enjoyable. We all have days where we find ourselves doing nothing other than ruminating or focusing endlessly on the 'mistakes' that we made in the past, however, I, below, have provided myself and those of you who are reading with a shortlist of things that you can take into consideration when you find yourself stuck in one place and being unable to forgive yourself.



1. Realise that there's nothing that you can change about the situation.
This tip is as simple as it seems. In the past year, I've realised that I have encountered many challenges - and still am - but I have simultaneously realised that there is not much that I can change about those same challenges. There are some situations that are entirely out of my control, and assuming that I can control 100% of the outcome is nothing but a misjudgement on my end. Therefore, I am better off understanding that I can somewhat plan for the worst, but there still needs to be some sense of spontaneity and wonder within each situation. Take everything within your stride, and similar to Bruce Lee's famous quote, "Be like water my friend."




2. Find something else to focus on.
By actively choosing to find something else to spend your time and energy on, you'll find that you have no only taken a deep dive into something new and better, but you would have made way for time to do it's thing. Heal. I find that you will never be able to forgive yourself if you spend 100% of your time ruminating, and endlessly reliving the past and analysing the places, stages and sentences where you made a 'mistake'.

One day you'll wake up and find that you have changed and no longer feel the same. Therefore, I'm a huge believer in giving 'time' a chance and letting her take the wheel.




3. Understand that no one is perfect.
Despite the things that we display on social media, no one is perfect nor will they ever be. In other words, we all need to cut ourselves some slack and remember that some of those same 'mistakes' that we have made in the past have in fact made us the strange, perfectly imperfect and wonderful beings that we are today. Had it not been for those 'awkward' moments, or questionable actions and scenarios we would not have learned our lesson, or have been able to take some of the remarkable teachings with us into the now and the future.

So, always keep the present and in the back of your mind and remember that there are no 'mistakes', only lessons - that don't bear repeating - and small droplets of guidance that we can take with us into our daily lives, and potentially help others so that they too can learn from your lessons.


We all need to cut ourselves some slack and give ourselves some breathing room and time to make decisions. There is no cookie cutter shape or one size fits all when it comes to life and daily living. We all look, think, act, speak and behave differently, therefore, there is no perfect way to live your life. We are all experiencing our own lives for the first time. So, in other words, there is no way that we can live it wrong. Keep pushing forwards, and remember, forgive yourself.



Millie xx




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Happy New Year

Tambaguchi, Kyoto, Japan ●February 2019

Welcome. Welcome to the wonderful, bright and prosperous 2020. A year that I am forecasting to have much more excitement, many more learning moments and countless times of uncontrollable laughter. In other words, I welcome 2020 with open - and positive - arms.

To kick things off, I'm beginning the new year with a bang already. During the month of February, I am due to leave the UK and move to South Korea. Exciting right?! While I can both speak and read some Korean, I feel as though I need to do more research on the specific area that I will be moving to and the difference in culture. Moving from a country like England where everyone - myself included - has a 'Me' attitude, to a country that not only has a vertical hierarchy but focuses heavily on teamwork will prove to be a little bit hard. Therefore, I believe that I need a shift in mindset as well as my preparation techniques.

With that said, I believe that a post about remaining in and leaving comfort zones was definitely needed. Something that I can read again when I find myself feeling stagnant and not moving, and also something for my readers to read whenever they are feeling the same and lacking in the motivation field.

First things first, in my opinion, comfort zones are the perfect bubble that we have set up shop in. The place where we seek refuge when the world is seemingly against us. The place where from the moment we wake up, we are able to forecast the events that are due to take place in their entirety. Despite this sounding like an ideal place to reside, I personally cannot think of anything more terrifying. I find that by actively choosing to remain in such a place, there is no room for growth. No room for anything outside of the normal to occur. No room for you to potentially achieve any dream that you had in mind or saw yourself writing down during the changeover of the new year. 

So below I have provided myself and all of those who read this with a small list of 3 benefits of leaving your comfort zone. 

1. You're a step closer to achieving your dream(s)

Achieving your dreams is all that anyone should be striving to do in life. I'm a firm believer in, if you're not, then you should be actively trying to change your living situation so that you are, or you should at least reevaluate what it is that you truly want.

However, if you're anything like me, the idea of success is something that always frightened me. Not because I was scared to fail. But, purely because I was actually scared to succeed. However, during the challenging yet highly rewarding year of 2019, I realised that if you do come into something good, advantageous situations or in fact success, then it was truly well deserved and not a stroke of luck. 

In fact, such scenarios, regardless of however big or small they are, are a glimpse into the different types of things that you can achieve if you just trust both yourself and the current situation to provide you with all that is needed to succeed.

2. You meet some incredible people on the way out

One of the things that people sometimes fail to mention are the amazing souls and kind hearts that you come into contact with once you leave your comfort zone. More often than not I have found myself meeting and having conversations with people who share a similar mindset to myself, have similar dreams, wants and ambitions or are actually a (or five) stage ahead of myself. Meaning they are the very people that I can learn from, share stories with and actively work together with by helping the other to achieve their dream.

On the opposite side of the fence, I find that if you choose to stay in your comfort zone - despite being surrounded by loved ones - there are not many chances for you to come into contact with those who have been on life-changing journeys and have an amazing story to tell. There are also little chances to meet people who have come into contact with the worst possible scenario but have still managed to find the good within.

Step outside of your comfort zone and see what happens.

3. You won't want to stop

Humans can be very greedy creatures. Meaning that once they come into contact with something that they like, they will find any way to keep it coming. The same can be applied to success, great experiences and meeting great people. Think about it. When we come back from an amazing holiday, we develop those dreaded holiday blues, and find ourselves wanting to return rather than to be fully present within the current moment. Why not choose to do the same when leaving your comfort zone? Find an amazing dream, ambition and want that you would prefer to attach yourself to, and stop at nothing to get yourself there. And surely enough, day by day you will see yourself slowly chip away at your dream, achieving more and being more. In other words, that sense of achievement and completion that you will receive from striving towards your dream, you won't want to stop. Success will be just around the corner.

So in all, leaving your comfort zone starts with the simple act of putting your shoes on and walking out of the door, even if your mind is telling you to stay put.

Millie xx

What I was listening to whilst making this post

HYUKOH - TOMBOY

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Hello Everyone

There are many days when we may feel under the weather, targetted or as though there is a conspiracy theory against us, however, I've realised in recent months that despite the words that we tell ourselves in our heads, we have a lot more going for us than we care to realise. While expressing gratitude has definitely been on the rise in terms of seeing it plastered everywhere on social media, there is no reason why it should be deemed any less unworthy. Yes, it may seem weird to make a list of or verbally expel certain aspects of your life, but I believe that it is one of the many ways that we can exude positivity, optimism and pure happiness within our lives. 

Daily, I find myself creating an altered take on the 'To-do list', by writing down a checklist of 'Things I need to do today', followed by a least three 'Things I'm Grateful For'. Focusing more closely on the 'Things I'm Grateful For', I make sure that I give myself at least 5 minutes to sit down and truly think about what I'm grateful for. This can be anywhere from specific people to objects. Hey, it can even be experiences or even something as simple as running water. So below I list the different avenues and categories that I take into consideration when producing my gratitude list.

1. People

First in the list, is showing gratitude towards people. This can be by thanking them for being in your life, appreciating and being grateful for their actions towards you or a certain situation, this can also be because of how they make you feel. Anything will suffice, but truly think about what you catch yourself thinking or saying whenever you're in their presence. That will more than likely be what you're grateful for.

2. Objects

Another way in which I show gratitude is towards the objects that I either use daily or the ones that make my life that little bit easier. I find myself frequently showing gratitude towards my favourite mug and drink for easing me into each and every morning and making rising just that little bit more comfortable. I believe that expressing gratitude towards objects is a relatively easy way to express gratitude. However, I believe it definitely means a lot more when you have fewer items that are in higher rotation, compared with having many items that you seldom use.

3. Experiences

Finally, we have experiences. Experiences are the places that we've been to, things that we've been through or scenarios that we've lived through that have made exactly who we are. This can be travelling to another country, attending a lecture, or having a deep conversation with best friends, family or acquaintances. I'm also a strong believer in anything that is good is good, and anything that is bad is good. Meaning, regardless of the situation or outcome, there is always something we can positively learn. And there is an endless number of things that we can write down for this category.

Another variation of compiling a list of things that you're grateful for is by going on a gratitude walk. Gratitude Walks consist of being outdoors and creating a stream of things that we are grateful for. While this method of showing gratitude can be similar to a stream of consciousness, I find that it does truly help. It helps to stop the mind from thinking about random and irrelevant things, and instead focus on the truly important.

I hope you all enjoy reading my tips on finding things to be grateful for and expressing gratitude in general. Thanks once again for stopping by~

Millicent

What I was listening to whilst making this post

Lakeside - Fantastic Voyage