Chic Technique: Opposite Day

Did you ever do Opposite Day as a kid?  I don’t think I did, but I saw it in movies and on tv programmes from time to time and it looked like fun.  Good, silly fun – and don’t we all need more good, silly fun in our life sometimes?

I’ve realised I do Opposite Day as an adult and I think I will make it more of a habit now that I am aware of it.

One of my fears is that I get stuck in a rut.

Singing the same old song.

Being in a rigid routine day after day.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my simple life and can’t imagine myself doing anything that radical, but sometimes it’s nice to shake things up.  Let people – including yourself! – wonder if they really know you at all.

It could be big things and it could be little things.  It could be doing something that is not ‘appropriate’ for your age.  Here’s what I mean:

You can watch Coronation Street (even though you loathed it when your mum watched it when you were young)

You can spray on a Britney Spears perfume and like it (even though you are not 14)

You can look into an at-home weight-lifting routine (having not been to a gym in years)

You can start reading entirely different genres of books

You can have a 180-degree change of opinion on a topic

You can decide that life is short and you’re going to like what you like, doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks

You can be inspired to become a clean eater and be in the best shape of your life (even though you thought your ‘sweet tooth’ was permanent)

You can think about doing something different to your usual and your first thought is ‘but I don’t do that’; then you realise you would like to try

You can feel excited at the wide-open possibility that is the rest of your life

I was going for a brief 20-minute stroll before work today and I could feel the goodness of life and anticipation of what is to come bursting out of my chest.  It was almost a physical feeling.

Yes, we have a big life change coming up – selling our business and leaving the city for the tiny town where I grew up – ‘life in the country’ – but the more I read and learn and inspire myself with my thoughts and questions and listen to what I really want, the happier and more excited by life I become.  It’s a beautiful thing.

Do you ever find yourself feeling constrained by your own ‘this is how I’ve always done it’ thoughts?  I am getting less and less tolerant of restrictiveness in the way I think.

We all know, we’ve been told enough times, that we are capable of pretty much anything; it’s just our thinking that holds us back.  But that dampening voice in our head can be a most powerful thing and I know it can be hard to overcome at times.

It can be done though, and here’s how:

By asking questions of yourself and writing down the answers

By going after what sparks a germ of excitement inside you

By following the breadcrumbs on what makes you happy

By being around people who light you up

Who’s up for Opposite Day then?  What do you think you might do on Opposite Day?

I’d love to hear,

Fiona

PS.  My book ‘A Chic and Simple Christmas’, which was previously only available on Kindle, is now out in Paperback, with a beautiful new cover.  You can order it from the publisher CreateSpace here, or from Amazon here.  CreateSpace is often better value shipping-wise if you don’t have an Amazon in your own country.

Too much information?

I received a great reader question, and I’m sorry, I did not save the name of the sender:

‘I think my biggest barrier to leading a chic life is being inundated with too much information.  Which diet, which skincare product, which exercise, what habits.  I wish someone would come up with a top 10 for leading a chic life because there is so much information out there that I don't know what to focus on!’

I can totally identify with this!  Sometimes it feels like I am squirrelling all this information away, in my mind, on my computer, in my clear-files and all over the place really.  Then, do I ever take it in, or am I just gathering data?

I have become a lot better about this though, and I think the main thing it all comes down to is knowing that I already know everything I need to know inside – and you do too.  Having this thought in mind helps with that panicky feeling that comes up when you start trying to sift through all the information you’ve come across to see what you need to take in and what you can let go by.

With anything we want to find out available at the click of a button today, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the choices available to us.  But stop and think to yourself ‘what is good for me?’ ‘what would I like to do’ and ‘what feels right to me’.

These days I stop myself when I think ‘I should do that’ and now think ‘what do I want to do’.  Of course, I still have to go to work and honour commitments like that, but in my free time I can please myself.  Even with little things, like thinking I ‘should’ read that book because it’s due back at the library soon (even though I’m not in the mood for it), it feels so deliciously rebellious to read something else entirely.

Or choosing to wash the sheets tomorrow instead of today.  I usually wash them the same day I change the bed, but if I’ve been out and busy, what difference is one day going to make?  It’s only when I used to put them off and put them off and then find it was the day before sheet changing day and they were still in the hamper… and we do have a third set but then I’d have piles of sheets to wash.

But back to the information quandry of our chic reader.  My first thought is to come up with your own top 10 for a chic life.  Note down ideas you want to try and stuff that’s worked well for you.  Diet-wise, when I tried strict South Beach (no carb, I think?) many years ago when it first came out, I found myself weak and dizzy on the first day so I abandoned it, guilt-free and not saying I’d failed another diet.

But these days, I like being low-carb-ish, it just feels lighter and more nutritious.  So I know that works for me.  I know now that I enjoy using inexpensive mass-market skincare and cosmetics.  I love to try new brands and products.  I tried going high-end and sticking with one type, but I got bored plus I don’t think my skin looked any better.

Make all this your work of a lifetime, working out what works for you, custom-tailoring all your choices to suit your lifestyle, your wallet, your values.

Instead of thinking ‘I don’t know what to focus on’, change your thought to ‘I am finding out what suits me’.

It’s finding that balance between being too rigid – only sticking to one thing forever – to too loose (‘I don’t know what to focus on’).  Sometimes I feel like I am being flaky because I change my mind fairly regularly on things I like and don’t like, but it feels better (and more true for me) to know that I am following the breadcrumbs along the path to find out more about myself and enjoy my life.

After all, wouldn’t it be boring if we never changed?  Never grew?  Imagine if you ate the same foods as twenty years ago, wore the same clothes, same perfume.  I do feel like I haven’t changed that much, but when I see an old photo (sometimes not even that old) or read an old journal entry, I’ve changed heaps!  And that is a good thing I think, that I haven’t noticed day to day, it mean the evolution is gradual, plus it’s there.  It’s still fluid and consistent, not non-existent or at a jerky speed.

So let’s look upon all those choices as opportunities to evaluate and choose what is right for us.  As I said at the beginning of this post, we do know inside, it’s just that often-times we are too busy to notice.  And I say all this as much to myself as I am to you, because I am also someone who loves to take in information and learn new things and every so often find myself full up and fed up, saying ‘Stop! Stop with the information!’

That’s when I know it’s time for a rest, time to stop Googling, time to start opening my journal instead and asking questions of myself.  There are also different times too – you will happily be going along absorbing everything you find, and then you instinctively know it’s time to pull back and listen to yourself.

Does this ring true for you too?  Do you feel like a crazy person sometimes with all the words in your head?  Is it must me then?  I’ll say one thing though, life is never boring when you have an inquisitive mind.

Fiona

PS.  My newest book came out this week!  'How to be Chic in the Winter: Living slim, happy and stylish during the cold season' is now available in Paperback and on Kindle.  You can see it here.

PPS.  Have you see my latest video yet?  I recorded it on Monday and it is on YouTube below:

How to be Chic in the Winter

New book out now on Amazon

My newest book has just been released on Kindle and in paperback!  It is called 'How to be Chic in the Winter: Living slim, happy and stylish during the cold season'.

I wrote this book for myself initially, because I found I kept doing the same unhelpful things over and over each year to cope with the cold weather - eating sweet and stodgy fattening foods, feeling lazy and unmotivated, being grumpy and generally an unfun person.  I started gathering all my thoughts on living an ideal chic winter at the beginning of our New Zealand winter earlier this year.  I then lived all my principles and ideas throughout our winter and have been finishing the book up in our spring, which is now.

I am happy to say that they work (or else it wouldn't make a very good book would it!) and I almost feel like I have cheated, having experienced a very easy and pleasurable winter and now it is spring already.  Yay for that.

Included are my favourite winter recipes, because that was my biggest hurdle - coming up with meals that felt comforting and hearty, but which were also healthy.  They are all very simple to make, but also very importantly they don't take too long to put together.  I like to keep prep time to a minimum because I would rather go for a walk or read a book than spend too long fussing around in the kitchen.

Below is a description and list of all the chapters and recipes so you can get an idea of what's inside.  You probably already know this, but you can preview the book on Amazon by clicking on the cover image, and read the first few pages there (I think they show you approximately 10% of the book).

I really hope you enjoy 'How to be Chic in the Winter', and would love to hear your thoughts!

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'How to be Chic in the Winter: Living slim, happy and stylish during the cold season '

Late summer heading into early autumn/fall is a such beautiful time of the year. You can feel everything growing still and soft; nature is slowing down and people are getting cozy. The most stunning colours can be found outdoors at this time.

Despite the natural beauty, despite your looking forward to the coziness of winter, you find that a few short months later yes, again, things have gone awry. You have ploughed headlong into winter without design or plan; you are wearing the same clothes as last year because you have not put thought into your wardrobe; you have put on weight from indiscriminate eating and you are complaining in your head, or worse, out loud that ‘it’s cold today’. This was me!

Many warm-blooded creatures hibernate when it is cold out and go with their natural instincts by doing so. They do not enter the spring season stressed out; rather, animals waking up from hibernation are coming to sleepily, well rested and ready for the warmer season; so, why don’t we?

We would not go to sleep for months on end, but perhaps we can take a leaf out of their book and make each winter a mental spa time of rejuvenation, beauty and pleasure.

I decided to write this book as a kind of insurance, to remind me of my exciting winter plans. It is easy to be enthusiastic about the winter season when the leaves are turning. Fall fashions are always fun to look forward to, even for a non-fashionista like me – the September issue of Vogue! I can rekindle my love for the colours of plum, navy and camel at this time of year. But a few months later the novelty has already worn off.

This book is also a toolkit of all the ideas that have worked so well in previous winters, as well as new ideas I want to capture. I started this book in autumn, and am now finishing it up in spring. I am so pleased to have tried all my ideas out in a ‘test’ environment!

Read ‘How to be Chic in the Winter’ to discover my strategy for not just surviving, but thriving this winter; on how to have a chic and beautiful winter season and emerge, like a butterfly ready for a gorgeous spring and summer.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1. Know that winter is a different season

     Start winter with a goal

     Be ahead of the game

     Look forward to winter

Chapter 2. Create a winter menu plan

     Breakfasts that are warming, filling and healthy

     Lunches for work and home

     Dinners – tweak the winter classics

     Snacks

     Fiona’s favourite winter recipes

        Red Lentil and Tomato soup

        Pumpkin Soup

        Vegetable soup

        Spaghetti Bolognese

        Savoury mince

        Shepherd’s pie

        Roast chicken

        ‘Bangers’ (sausages) and mash

        Parmesan chicken

        Crumbed chicken

        Pasta Bake

        Rice Bake

        Apple and Boysenberry Crumble

        Bliss Balls

Chapter 3. Break up the long winter

     Learn something or have a project to complete

     Keep active

     Be social

Chapter 4. Work on feeling good

     Home as your winter sanctuary

     Dress in clothes that make you feel good

     Be cozy when you are at home

     Take care of your grooming

     Keep well

Chapter 5. Keep your motivation up

     Do things quickly

     If you are a summer person

     Make plans for the next six to twelve months

Chapter 6. Create your ideal chic winter season

     Bonus journal questions

     To finish

About the author

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You can order 'How to be Chic in the Winter' here on Amazon.  Thank you for reading down this far!