About Giving and DOING

The other day a friend posted something on social media about reciprocated love, and my comment made me catch a wake-up. I told him to give love to those that really need it, children, animals, the elderly that have far too little love in their life.

Not long after, I saw an advert for the South African Children's Home who is asking for people to join their team for the annual cycle tour for a fund raiser. This happened at a time where I went through a time of crisis myself and I was so absorbed about my own feelings of rejection and unrequited love.

That day I decided to follow my own advice and start giving my love to others. I signed up to join the cycling team, although I can hardly cycle 20km, and this is a 105km event. At least there is still time left to get change into a #FitCharlotte and raise the necessary funds. I have some ideas on the funding, and started training on the gym's little hamster bike. Over time, I hope to reach a place where I can go on the day and finish the ride in a decent time, since I don't fancy spending 5 hours on a bike.

Who are you giving your love to?

Dreaming of a summer holiday

On a cool, grey afternoon, I stare out of my office window and lament the fact that I am not on the beach in the summer somewhere.

I dream of going on exotic holidays to Morocco, Greece, South America, India... places with cultures and colours, such a different world. I even asked my HR lady how much leave I have left!

Relaxing, going on a run along a beach sounds so appealing now. Granted, running might mean going absolutely red in my face and walking half the way, but somehow I imagine running, with nothing really in your head aside from the rhythmic stride of your feet on the sand.


What do you do to relax? When I was younger I would try to play the piano, perhaps not well, but it did seem to weed out the stress of the day. Other times I would spend reading. I recently started reading a new book and now all i want is to go home and reading a chapter in the bath while the water gets cold. I also want to sit under a blanket and watch old school Romantic Comedies  with a cup of steaming coffee, perhaps even wipe away a happy tear as the crazy situation comes to a resolution.

I often find that this life doesn't allow us much time to take time out, and it is very important. We can't always go on a holiday, but without some switch off time, we are going to burn out. This has detrimental effects on our health, our friendships and relationships. While social media and technology makes our world smaller in a sense, it also has a way of disconnecting us from our time out.

Take time out, relax and do something you always love doing, but you think you don't have the time for. Phone that friend that lives far away, read that book that you've been meaning to get into, do something for YOU.

Good habit #2 Get enough sleep

When is the last time you woke up by yourself, without the need of an alarm clock, feeling refreshed and bright. Imagine waking up without an alarm clock and without the need for a caffeine kick to get us into a functional state.

It is a luxury we think we cannot afford. Yet, sleep is the time when the body goes through the necessary steps to recover from whatever tasks we put it through. While we sleep, the sub conscious processes information and the brain sorts the information obtained in the day. When we are sick or hurt, sleep is the best medicine to give the body's natural system the chance it needs to heal itself.
Sleep is not a luxury, it is a necessity. When we get enough sleep, we wake up in a better state of mind. The body can function at its best and the mind can do amazing things.

So, how does one go about getting enough sleep?

The trick is time management, or to be blunt, to stop wasting time. how many hours do we mindlessly stare at the TV without seeing anything that is of interest. How often do we browse the Internet or fiddle with a smart phone, without getting any benefit from it.

It is part of life, of course, but if we cut down on the time wasters, we have lots of time for value adding things.

An easy way to change your sleep pattern, of to create a routine for sufficient sleep. The exact amount of hours every person needs differs, but 7 or 8 hours might be a good start.

Decide on the time you want to wake up at, and go to bed the set amount of hours before. It might feel crazy to go to bed 2 hours earlier than usual, but give it a go.

Plan what you need to do before going to bed, and try to get it done. Set your alarm clock for the time, and then switch your smartphone to silent, or off. Put it out of reach, and close your eyes.

Falling asleep earlier might be hard at first. Perhaps try some meditation and focus on your breathing. Clear your head of runaway thoughts. The benefit of getting the "have to" things dive early, if that you don't have to worry about it when you go to bed.