Why You Need to Keep Going When You Feel Like Throwing in the Towel

How many times do you get back up after you've been pummeled and fallen to the ground yet again? How many times do you come back swinging after you've had your back to the wall?

How many times do you whisper to yourself "Just one more time. What if it works this time?

As many as it takes for you to get where you are going!

When your dream and your vision are strong enough, they are worth fighting for. They are worth getting back up and getting back in the ring. Although success is plastered in our faces everywhere as being so simple and easy to obtain, I'll give you the mail that it's not.

Good old fashioned success comes from a hell of a lot of blood sweat and tears, setbacks, challenges and more failed attempts than one can imagine.

When times are tough and you're feeling down on your luck, remember why you started, remember the fire in your belly, the passion that burns for your dreams and your desires. Remember what it is you're working towards and what it will mean for you to finally arrive at your destination.

Success doesn't always show up on your doorstep in the form of a singing telegram, quite often it's quiet, simple victories - an email, a comment, helping someone else achieve their dreams. It arrives unexpectedly and often not from the source you'd expected it to be from. Success whispers in the small tasks you achieve each day with daily, deliberate action.

So if you're feeling down on your luck today and ready to throw the towel in, I encourage  you to take a deep breath, remember why you started. Remember that tomorrow is a brand new day and a wonderful opportunity to begin again. Rest now if you need to. Wake up tomorrow with fresh eyes for a fresh start.

Because Parenting Isn't Always Peachy

If you've been following my blog for awhile, it's no secret that I suffered Post Natal Depression after the birth of my first born. I suffered in silence and guilt for a long time, not wanting to confide in anyone and feeling ashamed for the feelings I was having towards motherhood.

If you want to read about the ins and outs of my motherhood journey, head over here for a squiz.

About 18 months ago I was lucky enough to find a wonderful organisation called Peach Tree Perinatal Wellness who are dedicated to helping parents who have or at risk of developing a mental illness during the perinatal period. As soon as I read their website, I fell in love with what they do and how they are doing it. Mainly because it's so aligned with my own personal values and big, hairy, scary vision of developing a Parenting and Perinatal Wellness Centre for the Capricorn Coast.

But that's not what I am writing about today!

This weekend I am heading to the magnificent Sunshine Coast to take part in the Peach Tree Coastal Trek - a 22km trek to help raise awareness of perinatal wellness and the work that Peach Tree is doing. If you would like to support me, please head to my supporter page to donate.

This is the major fundraising event for the year. Being a not-for-profit organisation they don't receive any funding from the government, so rely solely on fundraising and winning grants for projects. It helps to keep Peachy Parents Groups running each week. We are seeing success with the group I was involved in starting in Yeppoon earlier in the year and it would be wonderful to be able to spread this even further.

Little Mr and I have clocked up many km's over the past few months getting ready for Saturday. Any support you can give will go to a great cause. Parenting isn't always peachy and it's a relief to know that there's support out there if and when you need it.

Head on over to https://peachtreetrek2015.everydayhero.com/au/shanelle to make a donation.

The Simple Process of Start, Maintain & Finish

Over the past few days, I've realised how cyclic life really is and that everything we do follows the same process of - start, maintain and finish. Everything we touch follows this - our relationships, our daily tasks, the housework, getting from A to B, the crops our farmers grow - everything.

After realising that I am a great advocate for starting, but not necessarily that great on maintaining or finishing, I've been on a mission to finish some of the projects I had started some time ago in preparation for the new start that my family and I are about to embark on. 

Being a great starter means that over time I've acquired a collection of projects that I was so excited to begin and so I did with feverish excitement and that wonderful feeling of adrenalin shooting through my veins. However something happened after starting them - either I ran out of steam, my vision wasn't big enough or I wasn't clear on the outcome I actually wanted. Therefore because I didn't have a plan of attack to maintain the project, many of them never actually got finished.

And it's not just one area of my life that this has affected, it's influenced many. I was in the shower the other day and saw that between my partner and I, we have 4 half-used bottles of shower gel, 3 different kinds of shampoo & conditioner and 4 various body scrubbers. Then I went and checked out the pantry - I won't even go into details of what's happening in there! Seeing this got me thinking.....

There's a reason why so many people start diets and never finish them. There's a reason that many buildings begin the construction phase, yet never reach completion (and it's not just money!). As a society, we are great at starting things. New things are constantly thrown in our faces by advertisers and marketers and we're often trying out the next best thing before we have completed yesterday's "next best thing". 

What is lacking the most is vision; having the ability to see the end result before you begin. When  you know the end result you are aiming for, it makes it easier to work backwards and take manageable steps towards achieving your vision.  Starting is great, I'm all for it. I love the new. However having a solid plan of attack for how you will maintain and eventually finish is probably even more important.When a farmer plants his crop, he knows that the seed he is planting will bring him produce to harvest and sell to produce an income for himself and his family. He knows the process down pat. 

Let's go back to the diet concept for a minute. Most people do not succeed at these because they don't know how to maintain them. Many diets promise fast results and when these are not achieved, hope can be lost and many give up. But what if you had a plan of how you would maintain a healthy eating and fitness regime? What if you scheduled in time every day to take care of your body by exercising? What if you sat down and worked out your meal plans for the week so you had a clear picture of what the week would be like instead of getting to a meal and then grabbing the most convenient form of food available? What if you thought about how you want to feel when you've followed this plan for a month, two months, six months and can feel the benefits of maintaining your regime?

As I am  finishing and completing tasks, I feel I am clearing the way to bring the new into our lives. As I am finishing I also get a real sense of completion and accomplishment and that things won't be hanging over my head. 

My challenge to you is to take a helicopter ride over your life and see what you're great at and where you can improve. 

* What do you need to start in order to move forward?
* What areas do you need to get good at maintaining?
* What can you finish today to give you a sense of satisfaction for completion?

I'd love to hear what it is for you!