Woody Wonders

This week it's all about  YOU ! It's the final week of Appreciation August and I really hope it's made you stop, think and take in the people and places around you through new eyes.  I've saved the best until last because this week it's all about how to appreciate yourself! Don't pull that face, you're the final piece in the puzzle and the most important person of all to appreciate.  How on earth are you going to appreciate everything and everybody if you don't appreciate yourself, it ain't gonna work I can tell you that much.  So take a deep breath, prepare to feel a tad uncomfortable and let's dive straight in. Let's get one thing crystal clear from the start, there's a huge difference between appreciating yourself and being self-obsessed.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with appreciating yourself and this is what lots of people struggle with.  I don't want to generalise and sound sexist but on the whole, women in particu...

Show someone you care this week Week 3 of Appreciation August and this week's blog is all about how we can appreciate others around us.   At the end of a very challenging week, to add insult to injury, someone ran into my car yesterday so I have the joy of trying to get all that sorted out 😢.   But I have to say that throughout the course of the week, there's been a whole host of people who've 'had my back'.  My boss and colleagues have been amazing, they've made me laugh and helped me achieve deadlines, I've spent time with friends and family and shared fun stories, the lovely Mr Bob has been there for me every step of the way as always and the people I dealt with on the phone yesterday after my accident were doing their best to help. So, your homework for this coming week is to show someone how much you appreciate them and here's how you can do just that: Be direct and tell them!!   Say to the other person "I really enjoy spending ti...

Appreciation August Welcome to week 2 of my appreciation series where this week we’ll be focusing on how we can appreciate the natural world around us. Be honest, when was the last time you went for a walk without your phone and really stopped to appreciate the beauty around you? Don’t give me the excuse of ‘well, I always take my phone in case anyone needs to get hold of me’. No, they don’t. The world can cope perfectly well whilst you’re ‘off-line’ for 10 minutes and taking time out for yourself. It’s due to this very reason, of thinking that we’re indispensable and need to be available 24/7, that we’ve actually forgotten how to appreciate what’s around us and the natural beauty of our very own doorstop. Here’s a few ideas to get you started on the walk to appreciation: STOP!! What do you see, hear, smell? Feel the texture of leaves and bark on the trees, listen to the birds singing, cows mooing, sheep baaing, smell the fresh cut hay (or maybe farmyard s...

Appreciation August I've touched on this subject before in my blogs but throughout the whole of August the focus will be very much on appreciation for all things and at all levels, so let's dive in. It's very easy to get so caught up with life that we stop appreciating the little things (and big things in some cases), so this month it's all about pressing pause and thinking about what we have, rather than what we haven't.  I'll kick you off with this little thought - you're reading this blog via a phone, iPad, laptop, computer .... yet it's estimated that more than 780 million people live below the international poverty line and are struggling with the most basic of human needs such as health, education and access to water and sanitation.  Hmmm!   I'm not trying to pull the guilt trip on you, I'm just saying that it's all too easy to get hung up with the most ridiculous of things and utter the words "life's not fair...