Find me online
Miss Write
  • Home
  • Blog
  • My Writing
  • About
  • WIP

Feeling Challenged? Feel better!

31/1/2014

2 Comments

 
How often do you meet people who are very similar to you? How do you feel when you interact with them? Do you think it helps or hinders your personality?

Learning about yourself never stops.
We've all heard of 'lifelong learning', but this refers to, more often than not, to professional development. It normally comes in the form of training, and honing or learning new skills which enhances your daily role, work priorities and / or develops your talents or weaknesses to help you to perform at your best.

Recently I've been thinking about personal development. I'm a huge believer in pushing your boundaries and stepping outside your comfort zone. This could be trying sky diving. This could be breaking your desk based lunch time routine and going for a walk. However, sometimes people can be the things that make you question who you are and push you onwards for development and personal discovery. This is both a good and bad thing, depending on the circumstances, but some of my experiences of this have have affected me on a deep level. I have questioned who I am and what I believe or think when I've been faced with similar people to me. 

For instance, you know I'm kinda green? Well, I met someone VERY green a few years ago, and this is when I first noticed this situation. Now, the period around 2007 was when I was at my most environmentally friendly stage, starting a new job in recycling, shiny and fresh from graduation in an environmental degree; I was keen to do as much as I could to have as little influence on the environment as possible. The main thing I remember from meeting with this new person was that I was enchanted by his hybrid car (possibly easily impressed). I thought "There's more I can do!!". Finances aside (I could never afford a new Toyota Prius!), I knew I would struggle to be THIS green. It all felt different. 

This challenged me in a significant way.

Now we all know it's not easy being green, but I began to seriously question myself. Who was I? Was I really who I thought I was? Did I really believe in the protecting environment that much? 
Picture

Honestly, with hindsight, at the time I felt a bit like my personality and my interests were being threatened. I was the keenest greenest person I knew up until then - it was who I was, what I was known for! It sounds silly now, but meeting someone with more dedication, passion and interest in something I was interested in made me re-evaluate what my true beliefs were. It made me wonder, ponder quite deeply in fact, was I really the person I thought I was? Did I really have it in me to uphold these beliefs and take on this challenge?

I could have taken this chance meeting as a sign I needed to become more green. I could have given up all together and thought "well, I'll never be that good." So what did I do?

I took a breath. I calmed down. I decided to scale back a little. Things were getting a bit "green extreme", and I wanted to re-evaluate. 

You will know,  hopefully, that I run a weekly travel blog, Born To Be A Tourist. Travelling is a HUGE passion of mine, and my travel blog shows I get about a bit, both in the UK and abroad. Of course, travelling isn't a particularly environmentally friendly activity, but I'm always thinking of ways to limit my impact, even if I fly. For example, volunteering with environmental projects while I'm away, or travelling for longer and taking fewer flights in the year are some of the things which have worked in the past. 

Also, I believe that if I try to consider the environment in many other ways in my daily life (think energy saving light bulbs, efficient driving, water hippos, buying from farmers markets etc) I can justify a flight or two! You can't bring your life to a halt in being green, but I'm still a believer of also getting a good deal and STILL doing what you can to protect the environment. The key to life is having a bit of a mix of everything, but this personal encounter was an interesting way of making me investigate my true feelings and desires a little deeper. 

Does this ring any bells with anyone? Am I sounding nuts right now?!

I'll continue... 

I remember another time when I noticed yet more strong personalities and beliefs made me question who I  truly was. When I worked in Costa Rica with Raleigh International for 8 weeks (2012), I worked with many project managers from lots of walks of life. They brought different ages, skills and passions, and more varied interested and agendas to the table, many of which I had never come across before. However, many traits I'd seen before - in me. Most, if not all, were lovely people; out-going, keen on the environment and certainly keen on charity work. I always thought I was all of these things, but interacting with people EVEN MORE interested in the same things as me made me question myself. 

Weirdly, I became a little more introverted as a coping mechanism. This is something I'm not really very proud of, and I'm not sure it helped me with the project work I was tasked with running (that's another story!). However, this was a natural and very personal reaction to spending a prolonged and intense period of time with such incredible, friendly, dedicated, enthusiastic, dynamic and interesting volunteers - people very similar to me. Sure, some of our team were very different from me, as would be natural in a group that size, but these people challenged me less, in an odd twist. 

It's the people who are similar to me who spark some deep thought and considerations about myself. 

It's been over 18 months since I've returned from the Costa Rican project, and I have become a different person. So many things have changed in my life (where I live, relationships, family dynamics, the job I do), least of all my personality. 

They say your personality improves with age (yes, I AM pushing 30 now!), but I must have changed substantially for me to have noticed in such a short period of time. I'm more patient. I think about things differently. I've become more reflective. I have become more aware of myself; my behaviour and reasons for this, drivers, and understanding of situations due to my background, personality, and experiences. All of this is good, I think!!!

I think feeling 'threatened' by challenges to who you think you are as a person is maybe the wrong way of describing it. I think this was more like noticing how meeting new people with similar interested can affect the way you view yourself. Should you be more like them? Maybe, maybe not. Should you change the way you feel about things? Maybe, maybe not. 

You might not have much choice in how it affects you and how your personality develops (like my in-adverted introspection) but being aware of the influences on your life and embracing what's good about them is a wonderful thing. 

So what can I learn from this?

When people challenge who I think I am just by being more extreme versions, I guess the lesson is I don't need to feel out-of-sorts. Taking the opportunity to meet new people, to learn from them, and to grow as a person is a positive step. 

Just a little philosophical, personal, social comment this week. What are your experiences of this - if any!?

Until next week, 

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...And on Twitter
Born To Be A Tourist

Image from this education website - thanks Uni of Minnesota! 

 
Picture
2 Comments

Three Little Words

24/1/2014

1 Comment

 
RELIEF
-
ENERGY
-
HAPPINESS
PictureI'm Back!!!

Three little words - not what you were expecting, hey? These were the emotions of my Friday morning. Quick summary of the situation: I have had a turbulent few months at work with the threat of redundancy looming. My whole team is potentially changing, and we are feeling very threatened. My role was confirmed in October as disappearing from April of this year, but I was 'ring-fenced' for two other roles. This means I'd have to interview for and hopefully get one of them, but nothing was guaranteed. 

You can imagine, this was a stressful and confusing time, and the uncertainty made me feel very vulnerable. Certain plans had to go on hold (no new house for me just yet!), but life continued...

This morning I've had the news that the situation has change significantly. I have now been removed from the ring-fenced possibilities and 'assimilated' into one of the roles mentioned above - one I was hopeful in succeeding with in the interview process, and I was really looking forward to getting my teeth stuck into. This news is news of the FANTASTIC kind!!! A couple of hours on, I'm still a little shocked - this shift in the restructure was totally unexpected! Now I know I will have a job in the Spring (all things being equal), which makes life a lot more reliable and easier to plan for. Did I mention there's a wedding in the offing?!?!

So what, I hear you ask, does this all have to do with writing? This is, after all, a writing themed blog. 

Recently, I've not been feeling very inspired (hope you haven't noticed a negative impact on my blog!!). Ideas are slow-coming, if at all, and the enthusiasm I've previously had for writing short stories, articles, poems, and even my blogs (find the other one here, my travel blog: BORN TO BE A TOURIST) has been waning. I've also had less time lately to sit down and write the good stuff, as I've been busy having fun with my visiting boyfriend. He's come 8,000 miles to propose, so I need to make him feel welcome!

All of this has had an impact on my writing. However, today, I feel renewed. I feel inspired again. These three little words, relief, energy and happiness, is how I feel, one leading to another. Relief is not something you should under estimate as an emotion - it's wonderful! This has unleashed more inner energy than I have felt since before Christmas, if not for longer, and as a result, I have felt instantly happier. I have changed my outlook and feel an improved, refreshed version of myself. Good news for me and all around me. Hooray!

                                   Here's to a fantastic year!

Have a great weekend all, and I hope you are lucky enough to feel the same rejuvenation as me in the weeks to come. Go search for that feeling - it'll do you wonders!

Lou x

Find me on Facebook 
...And on Twitter
Born To Be A Tourist

1 Comment

Keep Your Writing Promises!

18/1/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture






























Writers, we're well into the New Year. Have your resolutions started to slide? Have you not written as much as you'd hoped? Have you lost some creative steam? 

Don't panic!!!

We've all been there, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Keep persevering and you'll get there.Put yourself out there. Pen what you want to and dream of. JFDI.  Good luck! 

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...And on Twitter
Born To Be A Tourist

0 Comments

If In Doubt, Buy Me A Book!

3/1/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture





























Christmas is a time of giving. I'm a reader. If you're in any doubt on what to give me as a present in the future, do as my family wisely did*. Give me books. 

Two books came my way this Christmas:

THE WHITE TIGER ~ Aravind Adiga

This author is previously unknown to me. This novel was added to my Amazon wishlist, originally recommended by a friend when I was travelling last year. 

THE UNFORTUNATES ~ Laurie Graham

I loved Laurie Graham's "The Future Homemakers of America", so this one will hopefully be a good 'un too!

I'm currently trying to finish "Dexter By Design" by Jeff Lindsay (big fan of the Dexter TV series, wading through the books), but I can't wait to get stuck into these two. 

Welcome to any new readers, by the way. I was lucky enough to be invited onto BBC Northampton Radio this lunch time with presenter Helen Blaby. We talked about lots about getting into reading and how great blogs are...  and I managed a cheeky bit of promo for this blog, so it's good to have you here. 

See you next week!

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...And on Twitter
Born To Be A Tourist - my travel blog - almost a year old now!

*Feel like I should mention my family didn't just give me two books. I was a very lucky girl this year!

Picture
0 Comments
    Picture

    Author

    I'm a writer from Bristol, UK, with an unhealthy obsession with stationery and baking. I mainly blog for my own sanity, but I'm also working on a novel. Still. 

    Archives

    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    August 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    May 2017
    April 2017
    August 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 1970

    Categories

    All
    April 2013 Blog Challenge
    Baking
    Being A Mum
    Blog Hop
    Books
    Campaigns / Charity
    Christmas
    Competitions
    Contemporary Fiction
    Craft
    Cycling
    Ebooks & Apps
    Environment
    Events
    #fail
    Films
    Fun Life Stuff!
    Gifted Reads
    Guest Bloggers
    Halloween
    Holiday Reads
    International Women's Day
    Lockdown
    My Wedding
    My Writing
    Out And About
    Poetry
    Random Inspiration
    Rant
    Reading
    Reviews
    Social Media
    Treasured Reader
    Wedding
    Well Being
    Well-being
    Women Writers
    Writing
    Writing Tips

    Get your own free Blogoversary button!

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.