You will never make the memorable discoveries unless you are will to stick your neck out from time to time. Raise your head above the parapet and see what is going on outside of your comfort zone.
Why are we reluctant to step out from the crowd?
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Thought for the Week (21)
I think we would all agree with the above quote.
So what forms our original attitudes and how can we change them?
Discovering new places… Paris
There is nothing like a bit of travel to shake it all up, blow out the cobwebs and reinspire you. Sometimes – even when you are doing what you love – you get caught up in the details of making things happen, and the days can sometimes start to merge into one another. Heading out to discover news things, people, places, food and adventures, with your phone off and your exploring hat on can be brilliant.
It was my fourth trip to Paris but the first time I have actually seen the Eiffel Tower up close – wow, what a triumph of engineering. It is so strong but beautiful
And so to Paris… we just spent a long weekend in the French capital – feel so fortunate that is is just over an hour away by plane – and after four days of walking, croissants, practicing bad French and chats in romantic cafes we feel refreshed and ready to roll! I thought you’d like to see a few pics from the windy lanes and dreamy architecture we discovered along the way…
Doesn’t this guy look like he is about to burst into song?!
The most enormous millefeuille I have ever seen
How about you? Have you taken yourself on a little discovery adventure recently? Where did you go? What did you discover? We’d love to hear about it!
Thought for the Week (20)
The discovery that it is Okay to make mistakes is an enlightening moment that will allow you to break free. The world will keep turning and the sun will keep rising. Some mistakes even end up with better results than the original planned event!
What do you think?
Life According To Mr. K – Love to Discover (1)
Six years ago, without even knowing it, I was completely lost. My career was going OK, but I had stopped dreaming and I had little to no ambition. I seemed to live only for weekends with the boys and a few holidays dotted throughout the year. Looking back I can see that I had everything the wrong way round.
Then a girl walked into my life and changed everything. Beth was to become my saviour, my purpose and my direction. It sounds dramatic but it is true. She reignited my passion for life. Little did I know it right then, but life was about to get a whole lot more interesting!
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Andre Gide
I have written on this blog before about our sabbatical in Japan last year. The decision to go was certainly one, which became the catalyst for huge change and even greater self-discovery.
We primarily found ourselves in Japan because Beth loves the place, the culture, the language and the people. And she is the most important thing in my life so not to share this passion would have been like not acknowledging a part of her.
My initial motivation for going had been to share in this love, to experience all the things she held close to her heart and hopefully, somewhere along the line, pick up a bit of the lingo. I needed to communicate with her friends better than just politely smiling and nodding my head. And to be honest, I couldn’t wait for six months off work.
But in the end it became something much more significant than that. The extended time away from home and work also became an opportunity to ask myself a lot of questions that I had never dared ask before.
I remember sitting on the banks of the Kamogawa River and taking my notebook out of my very masculine bicycle basket. I opened it up and then just sat there, pencil primed for what seemed like an eternity until I started to write. I think the pause was more to do with being flooded with ideas. It took a while to filter through the waterfall of cascading thoughts and focus on the moment. What was on my mind now? This is what I wrote:
Who am I, Where am I
- 35 years old
- OK job
- Great girlfriend (I hadn’t proposed at that point!)
- Own a bit of property (as well as you can own something with a considerable mortgage attached)
- A beautiful home
- Happy? Content?
When I was 12, is this how I imagined it would be at 35?
No, not unless astronauts trained in Kyoto!
I then started to write down as many honest thoughts regarding myself as I could bear to admit:
- Years of cruising around in second gear. Always just doing enough (whatever that now meant)
- Feeding my social laddish side
- But what about me, what about the boy before the alcohol and girls? What was I doing back then? I remember being interested. I remember asking question after question.
- Have I changed so much? More importantly do I care?
“Sometimes the best way to figure out who you are is to get to that place where you don’t have to be anything else.” – Unknown
Without doubt I am blessed with great family and friends. But there is more to it than that. I needed to answer the questions…
- Who am I?
- Where am I?
These are deceptively simple questions and I was really struggling to answer them.
My thoughts went automatically to sport and more specifically football (soccer), but what about ME? How was I going to make myself feel proud?
I decided to look back to my earlier childhood before sport became all encompassing. This took many chats, coffees, beers, runs, bike rides and lots of listening to music. It is amazing what can provoke memories and what you actually forgot you used to do. Isn’t it strange that to move forwards more often than not you have to look backwards?
“You will recognize your own path when you come upon it, because you will suddenly have all the energy and imagination you will ever need.” – Jerry Gillies
I decided to start by getting myself really fit and healthy. This was an aspect of my life that has always been a form of salvation for me. But ever since I turned 30 I had been in denial. My body doesn’t respond and recover as fast as it did in my 20s and I soon realized I needed to sacrifice a little bit more than I used to in this quest. I definitely struggle to enjoy everything around me if I do not feel good in myself. This was actually my first recognition of who I am as an individual. And getting fit again was an important first step on the road to doing what I love.
How about you? Who are you? Where you thought you would be? Have you thought about this lately? It would be great to hear about your journey too.
Until next time…
Mr K
Do What You Love interview – Mandy Henry
Today’s interview is Mandy Henry, who I first met when she interviewed me for television! That was nearly 10 years ago, back in 2004 when I worked at UNICEF and the Asian Tsunami struck. As a full time presenter at MUTV (Manchester United television), she and her team did a brilliant job helping us create a high profile appeal with the Manchester United first team players to raise emergency funds from the fans.
We have stayed in touch ever since, and some time back Mandy took the Do What You Love e-course at a time when she was getting itchy feet in her job. It was clear that TV presenting is something that Mandy is brilliant at, and loves, but the way the job worked wasn’t working for her.
Today Mandy shares how she made the leap into freelance presenting, to allow her to stay doing what she loves, but in a way which suits her lifestyle, and talks about what she has discovered along the way. – Beth
Goodbye Orchard House
Dear Orchard House,
It is with a little sadness that I write this goodbye letter, as you have been such a good friend these past three years. You have provided us with a cosy home, spaces to live, work and play, a relaxing sanctuary, walls filled with laughter and three happy Christmases. Today we are moving on to live near the sea and will miss you. If we could put you on the back of a lorry and drive you to Brighton we would, but English houses aren’t built that way…
You look a little empty with all our things removed from every room, but soon you will be filled again with new furniture, new people, new laughter.
Since we bought you we have grown a business, got engaged, married and pregnant, hosted many friends and some fun parties in the garden, made plans, decorated and redecorated, cooked many roast dinners and had many adventures. Thank you for your part in that.
Every home is a piece of our story, and you are no exception. We hope your new residents will be as happy as we have been.
Xx
‘A Field Guide to Now’ giveaway winner announced
And the winner of a signed copy of Christina Rosalie’s lovely book ‘A Field Guide To Now: Notes on mindfulness and life in the present tense’ is…
Kira Elliott
Congratulations Kira! We will be in touch by email! If you missed our interview with Christina you can read it here. Thank you to everyone who entered.
***
PS did you hear about our HUGE news? See here – so very happy and excited!
The Art of Discovery
The more you learn, the more you realise you don’t know, and I think the same goes for discovery – the more you discover, the more you realise there is to discover. This is one of the reasons I think life is so utterly fascinating – there is always something else around the corner, something to find out about the people you know, the place you live, your own possibilities, and on and on.
Discovery is a HUGE part of following a path to doing what you love. If you aren’t doing something you love right now, without exploring and discovering what there is out there, and what there is inside of you, you will have a hard time finding the sweet spot where you find yourself living your passion and your fullest life every single day.
This month we are diving deep into this topic with our new theme ‘Love to Discover’, with some fascinating interviews and a series of ponderings. We hope it will inspire you to ask yourself deeper questions, and discover more about yourself and the world you live in.
Are you ready for an adventure of discovery?
Thought for the Week (19)
You just know when you have found it don’t you?! I don’t know what you think but everyone has an extra spring in their step when you are doing something that feels so right.