Link Love: A Powerful Life Lesson

I’ve had a really good week. A couple of weeks ago I read this article by Ramit Sethi and it really hit a cord with me. There’s lots of information in the article, but the one thing that stuck with me was his advice to “Be unapologetic with what you need”. A couple of years ago I did something that radically changed the way I approached daily life.  I looked inward, was brutally honest about what I needed to do to succeed, and then I put into place a system that helped me do that. It worked. It worked a treat. I starting kicking goals, taking names and crossing things off my to-do list in a big way. I was so excited about the results I was seeing and so I was sharing it with the people in my world and it was getting some odd reactions.

People thought is was “weird”. I was getting up at 4am, using the Miracle Morning to prime my day, and then I was working before I left for my day job. (You can read about the catalyst of this change by clicking here.) It was great for me for a number of reasons and I was moving through a massive amount of tasks in a day. As I shared my routine with people I started to get feedback that people thought I was crazy for getting up so early. I started to internalise this feedback and it slowly eroded my confidence in my routine. (Which was the really crazy thing!) This setup worked so well for me. I was exercising regularly, I was eating better, I was getting things done and I was getting great traction.

As things changed in our world I let the routine slide and I looked for a routine that was more “acceptable” to my friends and family. Nothing I tried worked the same way that this setup had worked for me. Then I read Ramit’s article and it was like I was given permission to be selfish about what I needed to do to achieve what I wanted. So this past couple of weeks I’ve been working on getting my schedule reestablished. Now, I’m no longer getting up at 4am because I’m working for myself now and not trying to share myself between too employers, but I am getting up at 5:30am (more like 5am now my body is waking itself up). I’m back to using Miracle Morning to prime my day, I’m back to regular exercising and I’m feeling so much better about the work I’m doing; I’m getting traction. 

It’s been a really valuable lesson for me and I’m so grateful for it. I’ve been really honest with myself about what I need to do to have a great day and it’s been awesome. As a family we’re working much better together, as an employee I’m much more productive and as a person I’m much happier. I’m still tweaking the setup and I know that I will be for awhile to come but I have become so much more protective of it then I was originally. It’s been such a great lesson and it’s one I wanted to share with you because it’s so important in life to be true to who you are (especially if you’re trying to do something out-of-the-ordinary). Be honest with yourself about what YOU need. It’s ok to need to do something specific to achieve what you want (as long as you’re not hurting anyone of course!). It can be something as simple as needing your sewing machine set up in a certain way or maybe something a little bigger like needing to clear time each day to be creative so you can be the best version of you. Once you’ve worked out what you need to be the person you want to be you need to be protective of it and unapologetic about it.

If you’d like to know more about how I’m making it work drop me an email. Right now I’m off to do some sewing because I’ve worked out that if I sew early in the morning I’m so much more productive. Wishing you the most amazing week filled with love, laughter and fabric fondling!

I love how much impact this Stoplight Quilt delivers with such a quick construction and it’s a free pattern. Click here to read more.

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If you’re looking for a quick and easy tutorial on how to make a pencil case then check out this one on Sew4Home – it’s perfect for using your scraps up. Click here to read more.

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It’s like Anna at Noodlehead knows when I’m looking for a new bag pattern and gives me just what I need when I need it. Her new pattern, The Range Backpack, is totally going on my must sew list. Click here to read more.

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I definitely need more fruit in my diet so maybe I’ll start with these DIY Fruit Slice Pillows by Studio DIY. Click here to read more.

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Have you got an event, a charity drive, a pattern release, a class schedule or something else that you think my community would be interested in hearing about? Why not drop me a line and let me know – I’d love to share it with my readers. Click here to email me.

Workshops with Denyse Schmidt at The Creative Retreat

• 17 September: Free-Wheeling Single Girl One Day Workshop: Spend a day with Denyse making your own version of her best-selling (and beloved) Single Girl pattern. Learn how to bypass the repetitive (and let’s face it – tedious) tracing and cutting of hundreds of pattern pieces and transform the patchwork process into an in-the-moment creative flow. This simple technique will have you stitching up Single Girl blocks quickly and change your perspective about any quilt pattern!
• 15 & 16 September : Advanced Improv, Two Day Workshop: Join Denyse Schmidt for an exclusive two day quilting retreat in Canberra. Using Denyse’s Advanced Improv techniques and with her expert guidance, you will design your own quilt! Gain insight into the design process this incredibly talented quilter goes through and have individual attention to see your idea come to life! This workshop is exclusive in Australia to The Creative Retreat and is limited in number and run for extended hours, allowing you to immerse yourself in your work and receive the time and attention we know is so important to furthering your creativity.
• 14 September : Hills ‘n’ Hollers, One Day Workshop: Spend a day with Denyse making your own version of this charming and sophisticated take on traditional appliqué. Hills’n’ Hollers brings beauty and comfort and the class is exceptional as no machines are required so there will be plenty of opportunity for wonderful conversation.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a very small commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link, in fact in some cases I can offer you a better price via an affiliate link. I will not recommend something that I do not use myself. These commissions help me keep being able to provide you with great content for free. Thank you, in advance for your support!