Looking for the micro good things

Books, Reading, Pages, Textbooks, Words

I could talk about the fact that we are all very nearly a year into the biggest changes any of us could ever imagine to our lives. I feel loathed to go down that road as we’ve all had to adjust in so very many different ways.  I could highlight the importance of looking to the future with positivity and encourage you to sit tight and ride out this roller coaster we are on. But… and you must have guessed it was coming, but it feels trite to preach so instead I’d like to share something with you.

I was given a book for Christmas from a like minded good friend, it’s about one woman’s paddleboarding adventure, 800 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats with a fear of the sea. ’Ignore the Fear’ by Fiona Quinn,   https://fionalquinn.com/adventure-book-shop/ignore-the-fear-by-fiona-quinn

Whilst it is jam packed full of the route details, tides, weather, sunrises, sunsets, seals and dolphins, and certainly well worth a read if like me you enjoy everything about the sea and the adventures therein. This book within the first 25 pages changed me. 

‘Forget the big adventure’, they’re great if you have the time or money, but most of us don’t have a spare few years or thousands of pounds to finance. Instead look for the adventurous opportunities in everyday life.  Seek out the small, the tiny or even the micro-adventures, that add a dash of fresh air, green open space and feeling of fear to your day.

This is the paragraph that struck a chord with me and it turned out that Al Humphreys is a man who knows about adventure. Delving deeper throught the pages of the book and looking through his website  https://alastairhumphreys.com/microadventure-inspiration/ 

The idea is that micro adventures are incredibly accessible, non- committal, fun things to do. It doesn’t have to lead anywhere, be part of a greater plan or be a success in any way. It’s just for you, to do something you otherwise wouldn’t and to see things differently.  It’s not about spending huge amounts of money and traveling to far and distant locations it’s about accessing what’s around you within easy reach, so that it’s achievable and affordable.

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It all began to feel like a lifeline to me,  yes I have had my moments of feeling thoroughly  miserable, confused, afraid and fed up with the restrictions.

I am an outdoorsy type of person so a lot of the ideas are right up my street.  Of course it really might not be for you to sleep under the stars, swim in the river, kayak, or hike.  The more I thought about it the more I realised you can tailor the whole concept to you and what you’re interested in.

Looking for the small positives is not a new concept for me, it’s just what I talk alot about in my Clinical Solution Focused Hypnotherapy Sessions. I encourage clients to start looking for the small good things in each and every day, taking the time to notice, really notice and look for the small good things and how that makes them feel.

Making the ‘micro adventures or micro good things’ happen, planning them into our days or weeks we start to take control and begin to affect positive changes. When we make positive changes we are rewarded with a steady supply of those amazing neurotransmitters I talk alot about Serotonin, Dopamine, Endorphins. When we have a steady supply we are brave, happy, coping souls. We can make good decisions for ourselves in all areas of our lives, from how we interact with ourselves, others and how we know we need to care for ourselves with good food choices, good quality sleep, and exercise.

Planning, thinking, chatting about our ‘micro good things’ helps us to feel inspiration, hope, anticipation, excitement, it helps us to get some control (something that we have little of right now).

I invite you to think out of the box, grab a pen and start brainstorming, what do you like doing, what did you like doing? How can you bring that in some small way to your life? What would you like to try or get involved in? Is this something you’d like to do just for you or could the family get involved in?

Remember to think small, make it achievable and realistic for how we are currently living. 

Perhap you could simply change the route of your usual walk, pick up a different genre book, change radio stations, or maybe change your regular days routine – get up half an hour earlier to exercise, meditate, enjoy a cuppa and watch the sunrise, write a letter, prepare a different meal from a different country each week. Once you get started you’ll be surprised what things you could do.

Just imagine how different your life could be, if you just made some micro changes each day?

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. I hope it helps you in some way, please do share if you feel it would be beneficial.  

I’m off to sit in the garden with my coat, hat and gloves on with my morning coffee for today’s micro adventure, I’m not taking my phone I don’t need it the birds will entertain me.