Blog - Simple Joy

Perfectionism Be Gone!

“I know I can’t do it 100%, so I shouldn’t even try.” This is just one of the many lies of perfectionism; it’s time we take a stand and be imperfect. Are you a closet perfectionist? Whether it’s in our work or home lives, it’s easy to get caught up in the quest for excellence. In fact, it’s a relatively common character trait - around 30% of the general population are perfectionists. For some it’s a positive driver, but for others it can actually be quite damaging… Perfectionism hides in many forms, such as all-or-nothing-thinking, imposter s[...]

Blog, Intentional Living

Be True to Yourself

Do you let others define who you are? Do you change your views, opinions and conversations depending on who you are with? If this is a yes, then this is not good for your wellbeing at all! Instead you need to find your True You and show it to the world! A life of changing masks As a young girl, I grew up in an unconventional household caring for a sick mother, a mother who then died when I was 13. From a young age I knew I wasn’t like other children. I constantly felt like the odd one out and that people didn’t understand me. I felt alone. For a[...]

Blog, Intentional Living

Self Care & Love For Your Wellbeing

Are you a natural giver with a caring nature and always want to help others? Do you feel depleted, overwhelmed and forgotten about? Then you are lacking some serious self care! Instead of giving 100% to everyone else, lets try to save some of your kindness for yourself and watch your wellbeing sky rocket. After all, you deserve it! You are everything to everyone Everyone loves and admires your caring nature and how willing you are to help. You are a loyal friend, a devoted mother & partner and a valuable employee. Don't get me wrong these are all positive qu[...]

Blog, Intentional Living

When the pressure is on, what do you do?

When the pressure is on, what do you do? Something had to change, pressure to be the best at everything in life meant that Anisa nearly reached burn out. Read on to find out how she combated this. There is no manual for becoming a parent; there are plenty of blogs, books, well meaning friends and relatives to gain insight from but nothing that frees you to be the parent you want to be without the outward pressure of comparison and trying to do it all. I desperately desire to be the best parent I can be and to make my daughters childhood magical, always striving[...]

Blog

Stress & Infertility – it’s a two-way thing!

Reducing stress is proven to increase your chances of conceiving. Read more for tips on how to do just that! With 1 in 6 couples struggling with infertility, it’s unfortunately a very common issue. We’re still fairly private about making babies so it’s not something we often talk about, but something we really should! Infertility can be an absolutely devastating period in a couple’s lives. It’s notoriously stressful with month after month of disappointments and couples are left searching for answers and trying everything they can to get pregnant. Comm[...]

Blog, Intentional Living

The One Thing to Make 2018 Your Best Year Ever

I’m not going to tell you to push more, do more, plan more, schedule more. Willpower more. Nope. Not even close. And the answer isn’t to buy one more planner either for all my planner addicts. (Takes one to know one.) My One Thing isn’t even to hire a coach. I used to be one of those workaholics that believed sleep was for sissies and prided myself on working 60+ hours a week. Until I broke. A divorce was my catalyst to getting real and taking care of myself. It wasn’t until I was forced to face myself that I started caring about how I felt. Gradually I[...]

Blog, Declutter Your Life

8 Steps to a Stress-Free Christmas Dinner

For those who have never done it before, cooking Christmas dinner for the whole family can seem overwhelming and trigger panic. However, with these few pointers, your meal with run like clockwork. Be realistic about your space Will your turkey fit in the oven? Do you have enough hob rings for the number of pans you will need? A tiered steamer is ideal for this! Preparation is key! Prepare as much as you can before the big day – stuffing, gravy, pigs in blankets can all be frozen in advance. Just make sure you defrost everything in enough time (Chris[...]

Blog, Intentional Living

The Art of Thoughtful Gift Giving

Finding and buying gifts for our loved ones is supposed to bring us more joy than receiving them – so why does it seem so stressful and headache inducing? We put so much pressure on ourselves to buy the right present. Will they like it? Will they use it? Does this show them how much they mean to me? A lot of people still get caught up in the thought that the value of the present is what shows you care. However, when your recipient realises that you have thought about the gift, the pleasure and appreciation is priceless. So how do we know how to buy the perfect g[...]

Blog, Declutter Your Life

5 Ways to Simplify Christmas

What does your December look like? A crazy calendar, Christmas activities galore, never ending to-do lists and the pressure to be making festive memories with your family? Please believe me when I say it CAN be different this year. You can slow down, do less and find more time to enjoy the wonders of the season. Now who wouldn't want that? It does seem counter intuitive to do less at this time of year doesn't it? So often it feels like filling the season with a list of activities collected from Pinterest, will create the kind of memories we want our[...]

Blog, Intentional Living

10 Ways to bring Hygge into your Autumm

After the outside hygge of summer, with ice creams by the sea, cocktails in the garden and endless hours spent outside (if the wonderful British weather allows us!), Autumn finds our hygge moving inside for the most part. Autumn is a season of great promise, change and new starts at school, work and home. Below is a simple list of things you can do alone or with your family this Autumn season. Some of them are outside activities, others very much happen when the door is shut and the lights turned down low. One of my cherished autumn rituals involves bundling up i[...]