Corinne Ellison

Ever had a conversation with a friend and received the answer ‘I’m ticking along nicely’? Many of us convince ourselves that life is something to pass the time, something to endure, a life sentence which is assigned to us. ‘This is my lot’, ‘Fate has dealt me these circumstances’.

Ask yourself: am I happy? If the answer is ‘Yes, but….’ or ‘Yes, I think so’, ask yourself: am I truely happy? If you are reading this with interest, may I be so presumptuous to assume the answer is ‘No’.

Don’t be afraid to admit to yourself and others that you would like more out of your life. Do not apologise for your dreams, however wild, seemingly unlikely or mundane.

Above all, never settle for satisifactory. Everyone is capable of achieving their wildest dreams – IF they dare to work towards them with commitment, determination and positive passion.

Add the phrase ‘ticking along nicely’ to the banned phrase bank!

A Starting Point – 17th February 2010

This, my first post, was intended to be a positive starting point for my philosophy in self development, in simple terms. However, due to my current life circumstances, I am starting with a case study – me! I have listed 12 worries or problems significant to me today and followed this with an action plan on how to resolve them.

My aims for this blog:

• Help you understand the basics of self development
• Encourage exercise at all levels, from beginner to advanced and encorporating this into daily life
• Nutrition and Diet  – what I have learnt so far
• Overcoming barriers in life

A little about me:

I am always changing, restless, ambitious, motivated and indecisive. I am a contradiction in everything I do. I started life as a midlands girl, dreaming of becoming an actress in London. At school, I misbehaved and got considerably lower grades that I should have.  I also developed a love for earning money, selling Avon cosmetics to anyone who’d listen and working endless shifts in a residential home around my schoolwork and partying.

Life carried me to university in the North and a career as a nurse. During this time, I started property developing with my partner Damon. We appeared on Channel 4′s Property Ladder in 2005. We went on to start a chocolate fountain business, travelling the country attending markets, large shows and weddings. This business continue to grow, and continued to cause me stress!

I then studied to become a midwife on the South Coast and loved being by the sea. The chocolate fountains were still going well and my life in 2006-2008 consisted of university work, hospital shifts, agency nursing, fountain bookings every weekend. 

The financial rewards of the above work finally started to pay off and in 2008, we moved to Poole, Dorset. My recent achievements include 3 marathons, 2 triathlons, successful online business, 2 degrees and helping several friends achieve a specific aim in their life.

So, moving on to the 12 current worries in my life:

1. I feel as if I am not getting anywhere with my work on a daily basis. Action: Act on Important tasks before Urgent! I will expain this in a later post.

2. I don’t feel my actions are as useful as they should be to move us forward. Action: Act on more Important tasks.

3. I am worried about finances and accounts issues. Action: speak with accountant, create master plan for April.

4. I worry over mistakes I have made recently with some bills. Action: Pay bill, speak with accountant!

5. I fear having to nurse again, as this is something I would like to  leave at this stage. Action: stick out with our current work plans until April then reveiw.

6. I worry about physical signs of stress that are showing! Action: Address health problems, ignore stress.

7. I am not in control of mundane tasks such as housework, shopping, sorting bills, filing etc. Action: 30 minutes of housework everyday.

8. I have concerns over a recent diagnosis of a hole in my heart. Action: chase up hospital next week regarding results and plan.

9. Guilt about not keeping up with my triathlon and marathon training as a result of my heart and worries. Action: attend triathlon club swims and track sessions, gym, turbo trainer and  slow runs.

10. Our new business project – photobooths. We are behind schedule on everything! Action: Prioritise this project above others.

11. Another business project – training course for online marketing, we are yet to take purposeful action on our developed ideas. Action: Prioritise this project for completion of task daily.

12. Several people who have either hurt or annoyed me recently.  Action: hand over communication to others.

So in essence, my action plans focus on:

1. Prioritising daily tasks or projects
2. Ignoring minor worries, taking decisive action on major concerns
3. Careful planning, daily, weekly, monthly and long term.
4. Persistence in implementing plans
5. Little and often with health and fitness aims, one step at a time

Earlier today, I felt completely bogged down with worries of all description. Writing down these worries and creating logical, practical resolutions enabled me to let go of minor trouble and take action!