Find what makes you tick

So, I am going to try something a bit new with this blog post! When I am not at work or busy crafting, I really love exploring what makes me - and other people - tick. To me, life is brilliant because everyone is different, not in spite of it. And I’m not talking about what’s on the outside - our race, skin colour, gender etc - but what’s on the inside.

By this, I mean what makes us, us. Yes, we are all unique, however, the more that I look into it, the more it strikes me that we need to spend more time learning about ourselves. Here are a few things that I’ve looked into that might be useful:

Myers Briggs / 16 personalities

This is the first place to start; the Myers Briggs Type Indicator has been around for decades and is built upon the premise that there are 16 different personality types out there. We are all predominantly more Extrovert or Introvert, Sensing or Intuitive, Thinking or Feeling, and Judging or Perceptive. When you do the test, it gives you lots of information about how you might be in a relationship, with children, at work, your strengths and weaknesses etc. Of course, it’s not a exact science - as I said before we are all different! - but it does help you to reflect on why you are the way you are, and why others are the way they are too. It helps me better understand those who are closest to me, especially if they do something that isn’t what I would do!

If you’re interested, take the test at www.16personalities.com and you will be scarily surprised at the accuracy of the results!

Find your inspiration

If you’re anything like me, you might find that without a bit of regular inspiration, your get up and go will have got up and gone! I need a lot of inspiration and it can be very tiring for Mr ACD who is so self-motivated it is UNREAL. Instead, I have looked in other places:

Podcasts: I listen to a few. Creative Rebels for side hustle inspiration. Power Hour to kick start my day and make me challenge myself to be more productive. Courage makers for fellow creative stories! There is so much out there, so get digging on iTunes!

Books: I read a mixture of trashy thrillers, business books and children’s novels. The latter is amazing as, when you re-read the classics of Roald Dahl, Mary Poppins and Rudyard Kipling, you see the true meanings. Find what motivates or relax you, and then start setting aside a small amount of time to this underrated pastime.

Fitness: I have never been a Sporty Spice. In fact, the polar opposite! However, when my metabolism started to fail me, I started to go to the gym and now it really helps me. It makes me feel better after a frustrating or long day at work, or to kick-start the weekend. I am just starting to get into some classes, however, it is about finding what works for you. I have also started trying to take walks at lunchtime to help with my concentration and my FitBit steps! I’m still getting to grips with fitness overall - I want to try and start going before work soon, if I can drag myself out of bed….

Find what makes you forget time

In this day and age when you see everyone on Instagram living their best life, with the most perfectly positioned brunch or flawless relationship selfie, it’s time to get back to basics. For me, what I love doing in life and what makes me happiest is measured in how infrequently I look at the time. And for me, this is crafting. When I am in the zone, sewing away, making lampshades, or doing upholstery, I literally forget to eat (shocking!). Or I look at the time and realise that two hours has passed and it feels like 5 minutes. Or I realise I have plans to go to the pub and I actually resent it because I am so in the flow. It’s never too late to find what you love - it’s great if this is your job, but it might be as simple as running, or reading, or swimming, or cooking, or hill-walking or whatever! But make sure that you find it, because life is pretty average without it. For me, I find myself going off-balance if I don’t have enough time to spend on crafting; and then, when I do, everything fits back into place.

Hopefully this doesn’t come across as preachy - I just genuinely find understanding people and hope this will inspire you to get to know yourself a bit better. Please let me know your thoughts below, I would love love love to hear.