New Years Resolutions

We are six days into the new year how many of you have made resolutions? How many have already broken them?

I’m guessing quite a few..General stats show that only 8% of people actually achieved there resolutions last year, don’t worry I didn’t manage any of them either.

Do not fret!

Another new year offers another opportunity to achieve you goals. Hopefully these tips will help you get back on track and keep them.

1. Make your goals specific. A lot of people say to “exercise more” But what does that actually mean? Do you intend to reach a certain weight? Do you want to run a 10k? Maybe be able to do 10 pull-ups? Try a set yourself a certain target

2. Measure your progress. “If you can measure it, you can change it” is a fundamental principal of psychology. These feedback loops will be a source of motivation as you reflect on where you started and where you are. They will also help you to know when you are hitting a plateau or slipping backward, so you can adjust your efforts.

3. Be patient. Some people will see rapid gains only to hit resistance later in their efforts. For others, initial progress may be painfully slow but then they suddenly achieve rapid breakthroughs. Making lasting changes takes time.

4. Share your goals with friends and family. One of the most effective things you can do is to get an “accountability partner”, someone who checks in with you daily or weekly. It’s easy to break a promise to yourself, but far harder to admit it to a friend.

5. Schedule it. Have you ever said you can’t “find the time” to do something. Nobody finds time, we make time. We all choose to spend our time the way we do—whether that’s eating junk food or going to a spin class. Make your new goals a priority and actually schedule them into your calendar. If you have a fitness goal schedule recurring time blocks for your daily workouts. Want to declutter? Schedule time to clean out your wardrobe or garage on your calendar. Treat these New Year Resolution’s as appointments just like they were scheduled doctor appointments. You rarely reschedule your doctor, you should treat your time the same way. That which is scheduled gets done.

6. Something is better than nothing. Are you guilty of “all or nothing” thinking? Do you ever think, “Well, I might as well get dessert since I already ate those French fries?” And then, “I blew my diet last night so I’ll just restart it next week.” The difference between doing something rather than nothing is huge. If you don’t have a full hour to workout at the gym, just decide to make it the best 20-minutes you can. If you stumble out of bed and don’t want to do 20-minutes on the treadmill, lace up your sneakers and do five minutes (and you just might find you do another 15 minutes once the first five are out of the way). Any effort towards your goal is better than no effort.

7. Get up, when you slip up. Legendary coach Vince Lombardi said, “It isn’t whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up.” Resiliency is paramount. Don’t turn temporary failures into total meltdowns or excuses for giving up. Instead, just acknowledge the mistake and recommit to the path towards the goal. Forgive yourself. Slipping is part of the process.

Achieving your goals isn’t about willpower. It’s about developing the right skills, executing strategies, and having the patience that inevitably lead to success. Will 2017 be the year you join the elite 8%? xxx

Fringe Festival

Fringe Festival

Even from the moment we stepped onto Edinburgh High Street in the pouring rain lugging our bags from the train I knew it was going to be a good week. You could just feel the atmosphere of what was to come. Walking down the high street we were handed dozens of flyers about various performances, saw street artists such as magicians, stunt performers, dancers, and musicians. The streets were bustling; it was loud and crowded but you don’t mind when you’re genuinely interested and want to know what’s going on.

The thing I found about the Fringe Festival is that there is something for everyone. There really is if your with your family there are kids shows, if you can’t afford a lot there are street performances and performances that are part of the Free Fringe, if your with your partners and want something a little more adult, there are sex classes (that is not a lie there is a class called the Wank Bank Masterclass) and of course if your there for theatre, it’s everywhere in its many shapes and forms.

It’s also a great place to make some contacts if this is the industry you want to be involved in. Those of you who read my blog will know that I recently created a business card for the purpose of taking it up to Edinburgh to test the waters to see how well it would work. And I’m not gunna lie it went down pretty damn well. I wasn’t just throwing it at people, I gave my card to specific artists/creatives who I thought it would be a benefit for me to know. These included performers, directors, an agent or two. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re all going to get in touch, maybe none of them will, but I have noticed an increase in activity of people viewing my website and facebook page so it’s doing something.

I was also going to do a review about the shows that I saw, but looking back I know this is impossible to do, during the week I easily saw a dozen shows, and that’s just me counting them off the top of my head. So instead here are the top 5 recommendations of performances to see at Edinburgh (in no particular order):

1. Baby Wants Candy. This is a musical theatre group who create a new show every single night! No two shows are the same. When the show begins the actors ask audience members to shout out what the title should be of the show, once they have agreed on one the show begins. Improvisation, comedy and music at its finest.

2. Driftwood. This performance was a circus act, which included physical theatre, contemporary dance, gymnastics, ariel hoops and trapeze artists. With only 5 performers enclosed in a small performance space of a circus tent meant there was no room for errors. You are hypnotised by the movement and strength displayed in this piece.

3. Giant was the name of the performance created by Human Zoo whose performance tells a moving story of three generations living together. They achieve this through clowning and physical theatre but also includes puppetry and live music. If you’re looking for something a little different watch this show!

4. Another Fucking Variety Show. Is exactly what it says, this late night show hosts a variety of acts including a woman who loves headstands, a drag queen, a comedian and loads more, this show has something for everyone….over the age of 18.

5. And finally ‘Axis of Awesome’ this is a show that I had prebooked to see and I’m so glad I did. I learnt about this musical trio a few years ago from their hit song ‘4 Chords’ they are youtube sensations. This show will have you in stitches with their witty songs, comic timing and the fact that they are having just as much fun up there aswell.

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is still going on for another couple weeks until the 29th August! If you have a few spare days get there see some shows, meet the performers and enjoy! xxx