Just one more.

As I shared last month, I'm trying to introduce new ideas or mantras into my life that allow me to be the best I can be every day, but aren't so strict that it's easy to stumble once and tell myself I'm a failure.

If I set myself rigid rules, such as having to do a set list of things every single day, the one day I can't tick them all off - however valid the reason - my critical voice rears its head and that's when my
anxiety finds it easy to creep up on me.

That's why this year I'm goal setting and planning in a different way; I'm focusing on the tiny steps which add together to meet the big goals, rather than getting overwhelmed by the huge picture every single day.

One of the new little mantras I'm using is 'just one more'.

This can be applied to so many things, and that's why I love it. The basic concept is always going that little tiny step further. Whether it's a huge task I've worked on or I've only made a tiny dent in what I need to do, I'm trying to always do one little extra step before stopping.


I've got five examples here of how I've put it into practice so far:

Just one more... colour on the plate
I picked this up from The Doctor's Kitchen podcast and it's so simple and brilliant. Whenever you've planned or put together a plate of food, think of a way to add just one more colour. If it's a pretty beige meal, that's easy. If it's already full of colour, add one more and make it even more of a rainbow! The example in the podcast episode was stirring spinach into curries and sauces. It's an easy, doable tip and over time will make sure I'm getting in more variety and more colours.

Just one more... push up
I've really been getting back on track with my exercise and I'm trying to always push it a tiny bit further. Whether it's adding one more rep before giving up, holding that plank a few extra seconds or simply putting extra effort and commitment into the moves I'm doing, this is sure to get me  results and help me get to new levels with my fitness this year.

Just one more... tick
I absolutely love a to do list and tend to make a list for the week rather than per day, as some days I'm just far more productive than on others. Sometimes, the tasks are tiny, such as a bit of life admin or a job that needs doing around the house. That means there's always one more tick I can add before leaving the house or curling up to watch a film in the evening.

Just one more... paragraph
This applies to both reading and writing. Whether it's adding a bit more to a blog post or to the fiction I'm writing, or reading an extra paragraph, page or chapter of a novel or some non-fiction, I'm finding this an easy area to keep going one step further.

Just one more... question
This one applies to meeting new people or to catching up with old friends. So often, our conversations are a bit empty or remain very surface level. I want to make sure I'm really getting to know people properly and listen to what they have to say. Spending a bit more time and asking that one extra question could lead to you finding out new ways to connect or let someone open up about something they need to speak about. This made a difference for me in 2017 so I want to carry on.



Hopefully, that's given you some ideas to use yourself. I'm looking forward to carry on using these three simple words and see where they take me.

Sophie x


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