Category: self care

life, motivation, Personal, self care

Thrive, don’t just Survive

Clementine Fraser

thriveLast year a friend told me his goal was to change his way of thinking from surviving to thriving. He had been inspired by this quote from Maya Angelou:

 

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with passion, compassion, some humour, and some style.

Maya Angelou

 

It really got me thinking. So often I feel as if I just have my head above water, or that I’m juggling so many balls I often feel frozen as they rain down around me and I don’t know which one to take. Other times I don’t feel so on the edge, but I wouldn’t call it thriving either. It’s kind of just being in neutral. Like when you get to the end of the weekend and wonder what you did, or realise that yet another year has passed and so much of it was spent in mundane banalities. I was so struck by it that i found a nice picture of the quote and stuck it above my desk at school. Continue reading “Thrive, don’t just Survive” →

life, motivation, self care

FOMO – is it really that bad to miss out?

Clementine Fraser

fomo signEven though it was a few years ago now, I still remember getting sent a photo from a good friend. The photo showed him and a whole bunch of my other good friends on an awesome road trip.

 

Without me.

 

Having fun.

 

Without me.

 

He hadn’t meant for me to feel left out. In fact, I think he sent the pic so I would know that they were thinking of me – that they were wishing I could be there.  It took a while for me to see that, though. At first I just felt a kick in the gut that ALL MY FRIENDS were having fun without me. How could they have fun if I wasn’t there? Look at all the fun I was missing! Continue reading “FOMO – is it really that bad to miss out?” →

inspiration, life, Personal, self care

Burned out but not quite faded away

Clementine Fraser

burn out stress.jpg

So hi! It’s been a while. I’ve been dealing with the dreaded burn out. I thought I was just a ‘bit tired, I’ll get some sleep, no don’t worry about me’, but turns out I was more ‘I feel hollow inside and nothing seems to matter’.

 

Kind of ironic since my last post was about creating mental space…

 

Like most things, once I recognised and named it for what it was, it’s been easier to deal with. I’ve been able to start the long climb out of the burned out ashes, and while I’m no phoenix quite yet I can see a glimmer of bright feathers out of the corner of my eye. Continue reading “Burned out but not quite faded away” →

inspiration, life, self care

Creating Mental Space in a world of demands

Clementine Fraser

mental space missing part head

Sometimes it seems impossible that your head is able to hold all the things you think and feel and react to on a daily basis. It’s like a jar full of stones – some jagged, some porous and rough, and others shimmering with vibrant colours. If you’re lucky there are some stones hiding veins of gold or diamonds in the rough. But the stones are heavy. They rub up against each other and sometimes the jagged ones shatter those that are lighter and brighter. These jagged stones can sometimes seem like they take up the whole space in the jar. Other times it’s the mud that clings to some of the stones that seems to wash over everything – dulling the jagged corners true, but also dimming the vibrant shine of the others.

This can lead to a feeling of being stuck. The mud that clouds our judgement can cloud our sense of proportion too. Sticking to everything it makes it hard to distinguish what is the largest stone in our jar, what the numbers of them are. Continue reading “Creating Mental Space in a world of demands” →

life, self care

Resilience – or, bouncing back like Tigger

Clementine Fraser

daisies in concrete

Resilience. The ability to tap into an inner core of strength and keep going. To bounce back. There are a plethora of great quotes on resilience. They centre on the idea of persisting despite failure, of overcoming obstacles through sheer tenacity and willpower, of rising to the challenge.  About choosing to be strong (which, in itself, is an act of strength).

 

This is a really important skill and something I think we’re not really helping our young people develop. I look at the changes in the student cohorts I’ve taught over the last 11 years. There’s been a big shift in their (outward) resilience. I see increased anxiety, apathy, a belief that if you don’t succeed the first time you’re just rubbish at it, a tendency to become overwhelmed at the workload and social pressures. Resilience is needed and I don’t think they’ve been helped to develop it in the system that we provide. Continue reading “Resilience – or, bouncing back like Tigger” →