I WANT TO BE A "NOTICER"

Do you feel seen by the people around you? Do you turn your inner dialogue off long enough to listen when you're with a friend? Do you pause to notice the little things?

OWNING MY NOTICING

I love Ullie-Kaye's poetry (as you'd know if you've read any of my posts over the last couple of years since I discovered her writing). She often says what I'm thinking, but in a beautiful way that I could never pull together. A little while ago I read one of her poems that was about "noticers" and I realized that I'm a noticer - and that it's a good thing to be.

So, today I thought I'd tease that out a little and take some ownership of a quality that seems to be lacking these days - being a noticer....

TEN REVEALING QUESTIONS AI ASKED ME ABOUT MYSELF

Have you ever been analysed by ChatGPT? If not, here's your chance.

AN ONLINE PERSONALITY CHALLENGE

Recently, as I was mindlessly scrolling Facebook videos, I came across one from Digital Laura where she shared a ChatGPT prompt that will give you some insights into yourself that you may or may not be aware of. Because I'm looking at ways to be more mindful this year, and because I'm still on the fence about all this AI stuff, I thought I'd toss myself into the experiment and see what the outcome was.

Laura gives us a prompt to type into whatever version of ChatGPT you use. Here's the prompt:

FROM FINE LINES TO FIRM SKIN: WHY COLLAGEN IS KEY IN YOUR MIDLIFE SKINCARE ROUTINE

Today on the blog I have an interesting collaboration on why collagen is important and how to include it in our skincare routine. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

INTRO

I never used to think about my skin much - just threw on a bit of moisturizer and off I'd go into my day. But, as I'm aging (yes we all are...) I've realized I probably need to up my skincare game a little, and collagen is certainly high on the list of things to look into. 

Today on the blog I have an interesting collaboration on why collagen is important and how to include it in our skincare routine. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

BOUNDARIES, CREATING SPACE, AND BEING MINDFUL OF MY LIMITS

I'm not good at holding space - I get a lot of my identity from other people, and I have very poor self-differentiation.

KNOWING ISN'T ALWAYS ENOUGH

Several years ago I finally (way too late!) discovered what a personal boundary was, and how important it is to draw a line in the sand when it comes to dealing with difficult and demanding people. I wrote a blog post about it because I thought I'd grasped the concept, had teased it out as to how it would help me in the future, and I had begun to put it into place. Little did I know how easily my line in the sand could be erased and how porous those boundaries could be....

CHOOSING TO CURATE A MINDFUL MIDLIFE

A mindful Midlife is knowing what my heart, mind, and emotions need for me to live my life well.

A NEW YEAR AND A NEW WORD

I always love the beginning of a new year and choosing a new Word of the Year to direct my thoughts and help me grow more into my true self in this second half of life. As each year draws to a close, I find myself mulling over what my next WOTY will be, and as I allow things to simmer, I find a Word will often bubble to the surface.

That's exactly what happened this time - it came to me early, and it stuck in my head because it clicked in a way that resonated with how I want to approach this year ahead. So, for 2026 I'm embracing the Word: