One of my favourite poems is ‘you get proud by practising’ By Laura Hershey.
Those tiny actions that you repeat every day?
They change you.
Growing butterfly bush or buddleia in Australia is a wonderful option
Your tiny daily actions change your muscles and posture—ever seen the way a cellist or violinist holds their head at the dinner table?
They way you regularly think changes the way your mind works.
People who do systematic work become increasingly technical.
People who learn a style of deductive reasoning such as lawyers become increasingly bound by rules and logic.
Grevillia in flower
Your speech and communication habits change your relationships.
Have you ever noticed how many psychologists have similar communication techniques or attitudes? Or how teachers adopt a particular metre when speaking to 5 year olds?
Have you ever been talked down to by someone when they should have been talking up to you?
So my advice, for anyone really is to pick something to learn.
Could be a language, could be a way of walking, could be a skill, could be a craft, could be a body of knowledge, could be a sport, could be just about anything:
But pick something, and work on it for 5 minutes on a regular basis.
In time, I almost guarantee you’ll be really proud of yourself and how far you’ve come.
And I’ll be proud of you, too.
Note: None of the links in this post are affiliate links, but they do build my blog.
Small, repeated actions add up to big results. Listening to Afford Anything got me thinking about savings and investments. That got me searching for ways I can do that to fit my lifestyle. Paula says focus on the process rather than the outcome .
What I came up with is twice per month, once after my pay and once after my interest comes in, I make all the numbers in my savings accounts line up in a row. (Savings Account 1: $6222, Savings Account 2: $7222 etc). This has the effect of adding an extra $22.19 here, and an extra $7.54 there, which makes the total go up higher than it would by just adding $300 per month.
And my inner child loves seeing all the numbers add up in a row.
Relationships are more important than stuff. In this blog, Paula talks about how one of the best ways to heal trauma is to connect with other mammals and focus on building relationships.
That is one of the lessons of my life already. Friends, relationships, family, and caring about people has enriched my life inexpressibly. Having friends involves some simple repeated actions and being kind.
Something I do, is that my teacher buddies and I have coffee together during the school holidays. I initiate one text every school holidays, and if we’re free enough, we catch up.
And my social-self loves having stable, loving friendships.
Look at what other people are doing well, and do that. Paula speaks to people who are interesting and who also think. She’s a thinking person who talks to people who think. I love this so much.
My little brain just goes “Yaaaaaay” any time she has someone new on her podcast. I’ve bought so many books after listening to the people on her blog. Currently reading: Andrew Hallam, Millionaire Teacher because of listening to her show.
Something else she does really well is having a variety of reader cases (you can ask your questions) with regular guests, and completely new guests and ideas.
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By reading this blog, you agree that you read it under your own risk, and Gill’s Practical Bookkeeping is in no way responsible for any harm or prejudice to yourself, your business, or any fictional examples above.
I am not a financial advisor. I do not have an AFSL. I am a chick who likes to read, think, write, and has access to google. You should treat this blog with the same seriousness that you would treat anyone whose main qualification is access to google. This blog is for entertainment purposes only. It’s a little like watching The Good Place for nerds or artists.
Anything you take from this blog is your responsibility. Nothing in this blog, even if you are mentioned by name, address, and telephone number, pertains to your personal situation. Anything you agree with, or disagree with, you are welcome to comment on, but your opinions belong to you. You are responsible for your comments. If they are offensive, I will remove them.
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