SOFI IS MY NEW BEST FRIEND

I love a To-Do-List, organising and setting goals but sometimes I get so caught up in the whole list making I forget to tick anything off it and I'm not the only one, only 5% of people who set New Year Resolutions actually maintain them! 
Wowza that's not a lot but it's because we don't actually know the steps you have to follow to achieve long term results, I know I don't. Like I said, defining what I'd like to achieve? no probs, write a list, draw a mind map but then what?

Well I found this process for clarifying your goals once you've defined them and I love it! 
Check it out: First you make sure your goal is SMART:

S: Specific. Set a time / date to your goal.

M: Measurable. If it can't be measured how will you know it's been achieved?

A: Achievable.Make sure it's realistic.

R: Realistic. The goal must be relevant to you and your situation.

T: Time. Set a specific period of time you will work on making it happen.

Once you've done that apply the SOFI goal analysis tool:

S: Strengths. What can you do or already do that can help you achieve your goal.

O:Options. What are the options available to you?

F:Fears. What scares you about this goal.

I: Impediments. What impedes you from achieving this goal.

I have been reading about letting go of fear as I realised that I find it hard to start a new project because I am fearful that 
1. no-one will like it, 2. it will be no good or 3. I might not have ideas. The SOFI tool unveils any hidden reasons that you might not achieve your goal and with this extra insight you have more support and encouragement when you start. It's definitely helped me look at the what fear factors I might throw up in my own way and prepare for that.

There are so many tips for setting goals you can look up but hopefully SOFI will help get you started to make 2014 your year!

THOUGHTS ARE THINGS

I believe in loads of things; 

that red lipstick instantly lifts your mood / the significance of numbers (especially 3) / being kind to strangers / looking on the bright side / Sunday morning lie in's / some sort of after life / good music / good books / family / friends and the law of attraction.

There are different things that can make you feel good if your feeling down but a lot of the time it's external factors that you look to that work for a short time. I was having one of those rubbish weeks that you just can't shift when I came across "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne which talks about the law of attraction, this book is amazing and you need it in your life!
The basic theme is that you attract everything that happens to you, when I first read that it was pretty hard to take in, I was like "Eh, excuse me I don't WANT to feel bad or for crappy things to happen" but then they followed up with "thoughts are things" which hit me between the eyes! 

Of course what you constantly think about and put all your energy into is going to materialise because your not spending any time working on the things you want.

I have been reading about the law of attraction off and on for the last year because it's really hard to work on but I really got into it in November and my 2014 goal is to practise it more regularly. It's already given me loads of great tools on how to deal with difficult situations you come up against, for example if you don't like something you have two options that you can apply; change your attitude or change your behaviour. Situations are rarely black or white and knowing how to handle them when they pop up is empowering and definitely gives you confidence.

I thought I would give you a heads up on what I'm currently geeking about at the mo as it will probably sneak into more of my posts.
I'd love to hear if you're into the law of attraction or have any other tips on how you stay truly positive.

2014 / JANUARY GOALS

We all start off with good intentions from the 1st of January to change our bad habits but this time instead of setting myself 5 big goals to achieve by the end of the year I've decided to state 10 small monthly goals to work on incorporating into my life this month. 

I find it easier to stay motivated and check in with how I'm doing for 4 weeks at a time rather than 52.

Here are the thoughts and actions I will be working on.

1. Live more boldly

2. Be more compassionate

3. Take more risks

4. Forget my fears and follow my dream

5. Meditate every day

6. Follow a low FODMAP diet

7. Drink 2 litres of water a day

8. Write a daily gratitude list

9. Take part in the 5km Park run every Saturday in Jan

10. Do a 30 day photo challenge.

Have you set yourself nay goals for 2014 or have any tips to make sure you achieve them?
I'd love to hear them.

GOODBYE 2013, HELLO 2014

I don't believe in resolutions. I believe in goals.

But I thought I would do a 2013 recap.

For me 2013 was the the year for learning, growth and direction.

It was the year I I fell out of love with Deesigngeek and didn't want to design any more, a scary concept as it is all I have done, 

it defined me.

It turned out it was the type of work I was creating that just wasn't rocking my world any more and I had to take it in a new direction, I tried not to be too hard on myself - sometimes to go forward you have to go back. 

So I got creative, I mean "picking up paintbrushes, pencils and cameras" creative and learnt how to have fun again rather than how much could I sell this for. 

I appreciate that money allows you to travel, buy art materials and have a nice life but does it motivate me? I have to be honest and say a big fat "nope".

For me to get excited about designing it has to bring some beautiful to the world and make someone feel good.

I realised I had put too much importance in work and I started to enjoy life, time with my friends and family and to achieve goals I never thought I would be able to like run a Half marathon. 

I also decided to live positively and started meditating, this helped me to see situations with clarity which had a great knock on effect on my design work and business planning. I had the idea of bringing everything back in-house under the DeesignGeek brand, Graphic design, Illustrating and Photography, it means learning a lot of new skills it will be worth it to ensure I'm creating a truly unique and original brand.

I have learnt to be honest with myself about what I want, the courage to go after it and to see mistakes as opportunities to learn.

2013 was all about learning but 2014 will be all about action, I can't wait!

Have a fabulous New Year! X

IT IS A DARK, DARK WORLD. IF YOUR'E GOING TO BE IN A DARK WORLD, I CAN'T THINK OF ANY BETTER ONE TO BE IN. I THINK I'M VERY LUCKY TO BE IN IT ~ James Gandolfini

ITS BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS

Finally putting my Christmas tree up makes me ecstatic! I absolutely love Christmas and thought I'd give you a sneaky peek at my very eclectic decorations.

When I pulled the tree away from the wall to take a better picture it threw some amazing, smoky style shadows on the wall which I got slightly obsessed about. I don't know how I managed to pick my three from about a hundred pics I took!

TGROW THAT DIFFICULT CONVERSATION

I am a happy and positive person and I get on with people. 

Although I dislike confrontation I don't avoid it at all costs and sometimes THAT thing happens that forces you to pull on your big girl pants and have that uncomfortable chat with THAT specific person.

It always astounds me how we still don't really know how to communicate with each other or articulate how we're feeling which means any difficult situations usually result in a shouting match and days of regret about how you reacted and wishing you could have changed the outcome.

A situation recently arose where I felt I was being professionally undermined, I tried to push the feeling away and listened to the little voices that were saying I was being to sensitive and not to worry about it, but I DID worry about it and I knew in my gut that I had to deal with it.

But how? I knew how I didn't want to approach it, not in an embarrassingly emotional way where you don't even get your point across.

The good thing was I had the weekend to think it over, and not in a hamster wheel style of worrying, replaying, worrying and replaying where no action is decided, but in a clear and concise manner.

This all sounded great in my head but I really didn't know where to start so I placed an SOS text to my friend Angela McDougal, I know about 3 Angela's so she is usually simply called "McDougal" and she is AMAZING! Everyone should have a McDougal in their life!

She made me aware of a conversation structuring technique called "TGROW" and it's so good I wanted to share it with everyone!

OK so before the conversation think about the structure it will have by following:

T: Topic. Both parties to agree on the topic that they will talk about. What it the main point of the conversation?

G: Goal. Agree on the goal that you want to achieve.

R: Reality. The reality of the situation of the situation. Each person will have their own perseption of the reality so they will have to discuss the present situation in detail and be specific.

O: Options. Brainstorm as many possible actions to move forward (I did this before I had the conversation so I was prepared). The important thing here is quantity NOT quality. Don't worry about how they would work or be implemented. You are being proactive by giving solutions.

W: Wrap up and when. The conversation must be converted into a decision of what action to take and the timescale of this action.

I have also noticed through conversations with friends that one reason people give for calling a meeting is because they feel another collegue is "incompetent", but before you take this perception personally it's important to know that competence is measured in three things: 1. Knowledge 2. Skills 3. Behaviour

It might be one element of your working style that is out of sync with the company or person but that can be worked on or they might actually be working incompetently.

All of this info definitely helped me take the emotional side out of the situation and come up with a clear and concise plan of action of how to move forward which ensured my positive and professional attitude remained intact. So next time you find yourself in an uncomfortable conversation TGROW it!

Hope it helps you as much as it helped me!

I'M SO GLAD I LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE THERE ARE OCTOBERS.

Autumn is such a short but beautiful season so I took some pics of the changing colour of the trees in Kelvingrove Park (one of my favourite places!) to remind me of this, I also tried to catch images of the leaves as they were falling but my shutter speed skills let me down, maybe next year.

I found some lovely quotes about Autumn too which are so true ~

“Autumn is the hardest season. The leaves are all falling, and they're falling like
they're falling in love with the ground.” 
― Andrea Gibson

“You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintery light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person died for no reason.” 
― Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” 
― Albert Camus

START IT / TRY IT / DO IT

I've recently started sketching and illustrating after 10 years solely creating computer generated graphics and I am absolutely loving it. I came across this quote on Pinterest (what did I do before Pinterest?!) and it made so much sense to me. 

It's important for me to continue to learn and to constantly create but I can be my own worst critic and over think a task to a standstill, to combat this I came up with a mantra of "Start It / Try It / Do It"! 

This has helped me to simply get started and see where it leads which feels like an accomplishment in itself. Writing goals down and sharing what I have been working on helps keep me focused and I will definitely be sharing some of the illustrations I have been working on.

I'd love to hear what you've always wanted to try and how you chase the fear away.

BERLIN 2013

BRATWURST > MULLED WINE > GRAFITTI > CHRISTMAS MARKETS > BERLIN WALL > CULTURE > ANNE FRANK > PRETZLES.

I'm just back from Berlin and it was AMAZING!!!
Any place that is packed with that much history and art that does a mean mulled wine definitely gets a special place in my heart.

I was there for 2 days and will definitely be going back now I have an idea of the different places to visit.
I took my brand new shiny SLR, here is a collection of my fave pictures, and I was a bit apprehensive about using it for the first time in a city like Berlin but I got over that pretty quickly and I'm so glad I did. It allowed me to show the gorgeous sights of Berlin exactly as they were.
We managed fit in some jumping jacks at the Brandenburg Gate, a tour of the Reichstag, Potsdamer Platz, Checkpoint Charlie, East Side Gallery, Anne Frank Museum, go up the TV Tower, visit the Holocaust Memorial where we star spotted Mary "Queen of Shops" Portas! (but couldn't ask for a photo which I totally regret) eat way too many Bratwurst and drink the best mulled wine.

Tschüs Berlin, See you soon!