What makes us keep on going when we face big challenges?

Today, between 3-4pm local time, the world will have the opportunity to participate in the hour of Sisu. In this hour, you are encouraged to do one thing that you know will benefit you but that you have been putting off - something that might seem a little scary to you, but that will help you to push out of your comfort zone in a really empowering way. 

Sisu is a concept that originates from Finland, used to describe the power that enables individuals to push through unbearable challenges. It is also a new term in the field of Positive Psychology which is being researched and applied to contribute to understanding other areas of the science, such as resilience, and post-traumatic growth. 

This whole year of 2015 is dedicated as the Year of Sisu, to spread the message that we as humans are stronger than the adversities we encounter and we can take action to move past these experiences, and break through to positive and empowered futures. 

From Sisu researcher Emilia Lahti:

"Sisu denotes extraordinary determination, courage, and resoluteness in the face of extreme adversity. It relates to an action mindset that enables individuals to take action against very slim odds and reach beyond the observed limitations of their present moment. Sisu begins where grit and perseverance end. As a construct, it is an integral part of the Finnish culture but it is also a universal capacity of humans all across the world." 

I wrote last week about defying your own limitations, and this fits so well with the concept of Sisu, as a means for breaking through barriers and tackling things head on. We all have so much potential inside of us, and so much strength and courage when it comes to the things that really test us. Sisu allows us to celebrate this and honour it. 

There is so much change that occurs in our lives, and if you were to look back on some of the things that you have experienced, you will probably notice that you have changed too. 

It is often the times that try us, that end up being the times that make us. 

How can you push out of your comfort zone today and participate in the hour of Sisu? 

Between 3-4pm in your local time, do something that pushes your boundaries - something that you know will benefit you but that you have been putting off. 

In preparation for our next Thrive Live event, I am going to dedicate my hour of Sisu to making my own vision board. This is something that I have done in the past and is something that I am ready to do again. We will be making vision boards at our Thrive Live event next week and I want to be able to share with everybody in the class to give an idea of what is possible, and heighten the co-creation in the group. 

Creative pursuits are often something that we know will benefit us but that we put off because we feel that allowing ourselves to be creative is something that is on the edge of our comfort zone. 

I challenge you to discover what it is that resides on the edge of your comfort zone, and choose to do that. 

With Gratitude, 

Niyc xx

P.S. I will be vlogging about creativity this week too, and so don't forget to check out the optimallyou YouTube channel to catch up with that tomorrow. 

Facebook optimallyou
Twitter @optimallyou 
Instagram @optimallyou
YouTube @optimallyou
Spotify optimallyou 

www.optimallyou.com 
(Our new site, launching soon - leave your email to be the first to hear about our launch!)

www.optimalyou.co.uk 
(Current site & online store - order your products and book your event places here!)

Letting Go To Feel Good!

Letting go is often something that can be thought of as being painful to experience. It can be associated with loss, and with hurt and with anguish, and can be perceived as being negative, and of leaving a gap in your life. 

Letting go might resonate with you in many different ways - letting go of a loved one that you have lost, letting go of a relationship that is no longer healthy, letting go of a friendship that is past its best, or letting go of a pet that you can no longer give the best home to. It might be letting go of your favourite clothes or pair of shoes that you have been clinging on to but never wear, letting go of a business idea that just doesn't seem to work, or letting go of a home, or a job, that you have grown to love. 

What if we think of letting go from a different perspective? 

What if letting go is actually a good thing - something that allows us to let go, in fact, of the pain we feel, instead of leading us to feel pain as the end result. 

What if we look at letting go as a positive process that is releasing us from things that no longer serve our best path and highest self?

I like to think of letting go, as prone to sadness or resistance as it may sometimes be, as something that is making way for better things. 

In every life experience there is a lesson for us to learn, a lesson that can provide purpose, direction, and motivation, for us to continue on and do great things. 

What can you choose to let go of this week to allow more positive things to enter your life?

Are you holding on to any stresses or worries that you will do well to release yourself from?

"Worrying pretends to be necessary, but serves no useful purpose."

You may be presented with situation where you decide to let go on a small scale, or on a larger scale, and your mindset and perspective when working through this can determine the impact and outcome of what you learn and feel. 

Letting go of things can actually be incredibly empowering, as we release our attachments to a particular outcome or object, and allow ourselves to become open to the possibilities and opportunities that surround us. 

By letting go - and sometimes by being forced to let go - I notice that I have experienced increased connection and development of new relationships and solidifying of existing ones, more freedom and a sense of inspiration and motivation for the future, and a sense of alignment with what is meant to be, and what is best for me. 

Think about the lesson in what you have experienced. Look for the positives that can come out of a negative situation. Notice the opportunities that lie ahead. 

Letting go might simply mean that you stop worrying about something and let go of the outcome, leaving you to feel light and free. 

Sometimes it is our negative mindset, thoughts, and perspective that we are in need of letting go of, and sometimes this key element can be the hardest to crack. 

Ill be talking more about negative thoughts and how to release yourself and let go, in my new video blog which will be coming up tomorrow. Keep an eye on the optimallyou YouTube channel where this vlog will be released, and subscribe to the channel to be the first to see :) 

In the meantime have a wonderful week!

With Gratitude, 

Niyc 

xx

Facebook optimallyou
Twitter @optimallyou 
Instagram @optimallyou
YouTube @optimallyou
Spotify optimallyou 

www.optimallyou.com 
(Our new site, launching soon - leave your email to be the first to hear about our launch!)

www.optimalyou.co.uk 
(Current site & online store - order your products and book your event places here!)

Remember Your Why

I went out to dinner with the girls this evening, for an early meal after everybody finished work, at 6:30pm. I figured I would be home by 8pm, so that I could write a blog post here, and then get an early night before my usual 5am start tomorrow. Our food took over an hour to arrive though, and one of the girls almost didn't get her meal at all, and so I arrived home at 9:15pm. I found myself moaning to the girls at the end of our evening, telling them that I have an hour of work to do when I get home, and that I have a 5am start tomorrow. The car journey home involved me weighing up the relative benefits of writing this blog post versus not writing it. Will I feel better if I just don't write, and I go to bed instead? Possibly. But what about my commitment to write something every day, and to blog every week?

This made me think. Who did I make that commitment to? Myself. Who am I letting down if I don't write? Myself. Who creates the pressure in the first place? Who makes the rules? Me. It made me think about why it matters if I do, or don't do something that I set out to do, if the only person that has created the standard and the pressure is myself. Then I realised that I needed to stop looking at WHAT I had to do, and instead think about the WHY. 

Why do I blog every week? Why is it important to show up and do what I say I am going to do? I guess that showing up and following through with my commitments are part of my values, something that is important to me. I also choose to remind myself that I love to write, and that writing is a creative expression of my ideas, thoughts, and feelings, even if it does end up as a late night post on a different topic to the one that I initially planned. 

I do what I do because I love it. Because it makes me happy, and hopefully somewhere along the line it makes some other people happy too. I'm going to wind up my night tonight thinking about some of the great things that I have done in the past week - things that I've done because I've wanted to do them. I've worked with fourteen personal training clients, and almost the same amount of coaching clients. I have delivered a corporate health and wellness talk, done a course walk around for the new Rising Sun parkrun event I am creating, and ran a successful Power Hour event, as well as leading two bootcamps, and recording the new optimallyou vlog. All of these things I have enjoyed so much, and have allowed me to make progress with my mission to serve others and spread happiness, by living my passion, and showing up for what I love. 

I always like to look for the lesson in a situation. Tonight I felt resistance, and that prompted me to explore and process what I was really feeling. Looking for the lesson made me remember my why. I mentioned the power of remembering your why in a previous blog post about exercise motivation, and I found myself shouting it at one of my bootcamps last week too - "remember why you're here, remember why you showed up, why you exercise, why it is important to you". Tonight it deserved an entire blog post. 

For the week ahead I intend to remember my why. I'll be looking forward to another Power Hour event this week, in Alnwick, and will be collaborating on our new Thrive Live event which is coming up in a few weeks time too. I'll be enjoying what I do, and resisting the urge to feel pressure attached to doing it. I will remember that in working for myself and pursuing my chosen path, that I always have a choice. I am choosing to do the work that I love and can be grateful to be afforded the opportunity to do so. 

Take the pressure off yourself this week, and choose to remember your why too. 

With Gratitude, 

Niyc xx

Facebook optimallyou
Twitter @optimallyou 
Instagram @optimallyou
YouTube @optimallyou
Spotify optimallyou 

www.optimallyou.com 
(Our new site, launching soon - leave your email to be the first to hear about our launch!)

www.optimalyou.co.uk 
(Current site & online store - order your products and book your event places here!)