When you look at your schedule, does your heart sink or are you happy?

This is a great time of year to reassess the way you spend your days.

As the old saying goes, "If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always got".

Think about your life right now.

What are you pleased with?

Where would you like things to improve?

As you look at your schedule for the day / week / month ahead, noticed the feelings that crop up for you.

What tasks and events are you excited about? What energises you just thinking about it?

What drains you as you contemplate the idea of it?

How can you shift things so you do more of the things that help you feel at your best?

How can you delegate the things that fill you resentment?

Take control of your schedule and create a day to day life that will support you in everything you do.

"What you think about me is none of my business" - Elle Macpherson

I came across "What other people think of me is none of my business" years ago and instantly loved it.

But to hear a real (i.e. not fictional) person say it with conviction - especially someone who's lived so long in the public eye - is brilliant.

Is there an area of your life where you pay too much attention to what other people might be thinking about you?

Your choice of partner? What you eat? Where you live? What you choose to wear? Taking a new job or starting your own business?

It's completely natural to care about other people's opinions - after all, our ancestors would have been exiled from the tribe if they stepped out of line. And this would have meant certain death.

But now, we can assert our own choices more freely.

Stop letting thoughts of how other people may or may not be judging you control the way you live your life. No one can shine under that kind of scrutiny.

Easy vegetable soup - Eating well to support yourself

I attended a really interesting event at the College for Naturopathic Medicine last night.

I have a healthy heart (my ECG last week confirmed that) but know that when I'm stressed / in self sabotage mode, I can be prone to turning to sugary and fatty (yummox) foods to make myself feel better.

This can lead to self loathing filled thoughts telling me I'm no good at anything (what we eat really does affect our moods so while this isn't strictly a confidence coaching blog, eating well can definitely help boost yours).

By cooking more in batches, so I can heat up a quick lunch or dinner that will be comforting and nutritious, I'm better able to eat in a way that supports myself. And I get to feel virtuous too.

I'm feeling especially good after being complemented on a soup I made for lunch today. I'm sharing the recipe to show how easy it is (anyone can cook, no matter how much they lack confidence in that area).

When you think of your own nutritional weak spots, rather than just beating yourself up ("I always leave making lunch too late and end up grabbing something unhealthy, expensive and unappealing..."), think of ways you can support yourself more in the future.

Soups and dall really works for me as I've never eaten a salad in my life. If you're more of a salad type soul, prep your favourite leaves and veggies in advance and make it easy for yourself.

Anyway, here's my easy veg soup:

. Chop some leeks (I do this finely as I love the flavour but hate the texture - I have to cook for myself as if I were a hard to please 4 year old sometimes) and soften them in some olive oil.
. Scrub (but don't bother peeling - lots of nutrients in the peel plus it saves time and energy) some potatoes and carrots. I usually go for a ratio of one leek, 2 big potatoes and one carrot but mix it up according to your own tastes).
. Start boiling them in a separate pan.
. Throw in a little wholegrain pasta to add bulk.
. Rinse a can's worth of cannelini beans and add these, too.
. Add some stock. I use Marigold's Swiss Boullion vegetable stock (along with a little nutmeg for wellbeing - I add a little nutmeg to everything from hot chocolate and beans on toast to soups and bakes. Got to have wellbeing...) and mix it all in.
. When the leeks are done, combine the contents of both pans and simmer until it's all so deliciously soft it's easy to mash.
. A few minutes before you're done, throw in some chopped coriander and let this wilt into it.
. Use a potato masher to mash it a bit.
. Serve with wholemeal rolls (or whatever kind of bread you enjoy).

Enjoy as much as you feel like now and keep the rest, in batches, in your fridge (you can also freeze some) for healthy lunches for days to come.

Tuning into your inner wisdom

Even if traditional meditation isn't your thing, you can get similar benefits by doing anything that helps you access a natural flow state.

For some people, it might mean walking in nature or even a favourite art gallery. For others, things like gardening, cooking and other everyday things can help you access your inner wisdom.

Before you start, ask your unconscious mind a question you'd like the answer to.

It might be anything from "What is this situation with ___ trying to teach me?" to "Am I on the right track with ___?"

Then focus on your walk / gardening etc. but notice any signs that crop up.

What do you associate with each one?

Are any of them common (e.g. well known as representing a certain thing or they crop up a lot as a personal sign)?

Trust yourself and enjoy life as it begins to flow that bit more smoothly...

Bloggers unite for human rights

I just came across this and thought it was definitely worth highlighting (http://www.bloggersunite.org/event/bloggers-unite-for-human-rights-2009 for more information).

Most of my work, now, is about wellbeing. Whether it's my journalism / writng or coaching, I'm very lucky to be able to focus on all sorts of things that can help readers and clients (and myself) live better lives, eat better, relate to others more easily and so on.

I know how lucky I am to live in a safe place (I'd started typing "in a safe part of the world" but women, men and children all over the world are unsafe if they suffer abuse in their own homes from the people who are supposed to love and protect them) and to be able to focus now on wellbeing rather than survival, like so many people on the planet.

Over the years, I've had "activist" spurts but it would literally hurt my heart and I burned out a couple of times by trying to do too much when I was younger.

I attended a peace and disarmament conference at the United Nations in Geneva to mark International Women's Day in March 2002. I heard horror stories about "peace keeping" troops raping the women they were supposed to be keeping safe as well as inspirational stories about troops and civilians trying to make the world a safer place for everyone.

My first ever press conference as a freelance journalist was with Eve Ensler (VDay.org founder and playright), Elizabeth Lesser (founder of the Omega Institute), Sally Field, Jane Fonda and several activists risking death on a daily basis to make a difference in their homelands (Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan). At the same conference, I got to meet longtime activist and life saver (or so it felt when I first read everything I could get my hands on by her in my early 20s), Gloria Steinem.

Eve Ensler started VDay because her heart was breaking hearing audience members's tales of survival after performances of The Vagina Monologues. They now fund grassroots organisations around the globe, helping put an end to violence against women and girls.

I've been fortunate to interview people who are making the world a safer, more peaceful place (including Ibrahim Issa from Hope Flowers School in Palestine, Marianne Williamson, Martha Beck and Getrude Matshe) and feel so lucky to get to be inspired as part of my job and, hopefully, raise awareness about these and other amazing people.

But, apart from using my Amnesty and Greenpeace credit cards (a lot), I don't actually do much at all apart from trying to help individuals feel better about themselves.

Is there a way you could become part of the solution? It might be raising funds, volunteering time and skills, writing letters to political prisoners and MPs or something else - give it some thought and trust that you can make a difference.

Check out websites like www.amnesty.org (or others that speak more to you.

And if you have a blog, why not add yours to this day of campaigning?

Could taking a step back from your obstacles could help you overcome them?

I had my first ever Wii experience while babysitting this evening. Computer games have come along way from the ones I remember (Pac Man? Donkey Kong?).

One involved shooting targets, balloons, tin cans, space ships and I was trying to avoid the ducks (I don't eat meat - feel guilty shooting at it on a computer game!).

M said the tin can level was the hardest but I said, "No, the space ships" (they kept kidnapping clones of my avatar and "I" was making scared noises on the screen).

She said, "That's just because you're scared of them!"

And it was true - there was a part of me that felt in danger of annihalation. I was cringing and yeeshing at the screen whereas when M tacked that level, she shot at the spaceships without any emotional attachment / fear.

Is there an area of your life that you're too closely identified with to make the progress you'd like to be seeing?

By taking a step back and reminding yourself that you're not actually in danger, your head will be much clearer and you'll be better able to avoid the problems that crop up day to day.

Connecting with people (Linkedin)

I've just joined Linkedin and, though very new to it, am enjoying connecting with people from my various walks of life.

If you're on Linkedin, you can find me at http://www.linkedin.com/pub/eve-menezes-cunningham/14/702/979

DIY doctoring - Take some time to do an audit

Have been so low on energy lately (including a few instances where I was sleeping for 14 hours and I couldn't do things like go to a party next door, sit upright without feeling faint, stand up and so on) that I went to the doctor.

Assumed it would be anaemia or something (not being a medical professional, I decided to keep my diagnosis to my self) but have been referred for more tests.

Am sure it will all be fine but it made me think about some people I know (my parents) who never go to the doctor.

With my health and with life in general, if I feel something's not right, I'd always rather look into it and find out what I can do to improve things rather than bury my head in the sand (it's very claustrophobic, the sand gets in your eyes and it's impossible to breathe).

Is there something you've been concerned about? Might be your own health? Your performance at work? Your business's security? Your relationship? Your finances?

Pay attention to your concerns. Whether it's nothing to be worried about or a good time to take stock and start doing things in this area differently, once you know what you're dealing with you can take action.

The world is your lab

I love all the CSIs. Especially CSI:NY.

I love it when they go lo-tec and use basic science. It's still beyond me but "proves" that they can find what they're looking for even without all the fancy computers.

I had a bit of a catch up this weekend and in one episode, Stella and Mac were in Greece and declared that the whole world was a lab. They used a fountain for a special kind of water they knew existed because they're magical scientists. Then they located a coffee burner as a heat source and Stella sacrificed a platinum earring to ____ (OK, I tranced out a little then and don't know what chemicals they were using but it was impressive).

In real life, it's easy to get sucked into familiar ways of doing things and not even try to improvise when things get a little off track.

But finding ways to turn the world into your lab - somewhere you can experiment with different approaches to problems until you find a strategy that works better - can help you shift things.

You don't have to start with something high risk and scary but if, for example, you're trying to become more assertive, rather than jumping in with your boss / partner / whoever you have the most issues with, start small. Experiment with writing a complaint letter or email in a way that enables a company that's let you down to respond in a way that allows everyone to win.

If you're trying to pluck up the courage to ask someone out after being single / in a relationship for ages, practice saying a simple Hello to people you normally wouldn't engage with (a chat at the checkout counter when shopping? Starting a conversation with a stranger at the bus stop)...

There are all sorts of ways you can experiment more.

Getting lost - and being OK with it

As Andre Gide said, “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

Personally, I like to know my next step.

Just the idea of getting lost in a maze makes me feel quite nauseous. Even though I know it's supposed to be good for you (taking yourself off autopilot and trying new routes even to familiar places energises all the senses as we pay more attention to our surroundings).

Think about it, though. We rarely make progress (as individuals or on a larger scale) without allowing ourselves to spend time in uncertainty.

It may be being physically lost or considering applying for a new type of job / leaving a relationship in the belief that you will find someone who's better for you in the future.

Think about your life.

Are their areas you're happy to get lost in?

In which areas does the very idea of being lost make you feel anxious?

How can you shake things up a little? (Not so much to make you feel so uncomfortable that you end up retreating back into your comfort zone but enough to help you glimpse the other options that are out there for you).