Mostly, I write this blog because I have something that I think is vaguely useful to share with others. Occasionally, I write it as a stern reminder to myself. This week is one of those times: I am really struggling to rest enough. It’s a common problem for many people, so nothing special about my case there. Yet for someone whose livelihood is based on well-being and health, it feels a bit disingenuous.

At times like this, I return to this quote from The Book of Life:

"It can feel like an insult to our rational, adult dignity to think that our sense of gloom might in the end stem, centrally, from exhaustion. We’d sooner identify ourselves as up against an existential or socio-cultural crisis than see ourselves as sleep-deprived."
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I will consider this my severe talking-to!

If you’re really busy, it can be difficult to find time to exercise, so how about fitting it in to everyday things? Here are my favourite ideas:

1. Calf raises on the stairs while you wait for the kettle to boil – 2 minutes
2. Squats during an advert break – 4 minutes
3. Hip circles while you brush your teeth – 3 minutes
4. Shoulder rolls while you’re on the phone – 2 minutes
5. Pelvic floor lifts while you’re standing in a queue – 2 minutes
6. Buttock clenches while sitting in traffic or on the bus – 3 minutes
7. Pointing and flexing feet while sitting at a desk – 1 minute

There’s an extra 17 minutes of exercise here, so if you were to do that every day, it would mean nearly two hours of extra exercise per week while you were doing other things. Result!

Sometimes, it can feel like you are not only spinning plates, but that there are just too many plates spinning. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, or know someone who is, try one of these ideas to help manage things:

1. Write it all down. As soon as it’s down on paper, in a clearer format, it usually looks less overwhelming.
2. Give yourself a finite amount of time to ruminate, worry or panic, then decide to stop. Your time is up! Move on to something else now, psychologically and physically.
3. Decide what small thing you are going to do today to help yourself, do it, then plan for tomorrow’s small action. One step at a time.
4. Delegate a task to someone else – and perhaps be prepared to pay for someone to take one of your ‘plates’ away from you, if you can.
5. Be honest with yourself: does everything that you think you have to do need to be done? If not, strike it from your mind/your list. The world will probably still turn if you don’t do it…

Whether you subscribe to the notion that ‘you are what you think’ or not, there is something to be said for your thoughts having an effect on you. And if you harness the power of your thoughts by thinking ‘big’, amazing things can happen. You can rise above the little things too. No more keeping yourself small (and perhaps insignificant…). 
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It’s not only about thinking big either – you can believe big, act big, dream big, work big, give big, forgive big, laugh big, imagine big, love big, live big (are your eyes going funny because they’ve seen the word big too much?!). Take on this list of ‘big’ and you'll probably start feeling bigger. Be a believer in big and see where it takes you. An awfully big adventure awaits!