Author: inspiringmax

Sink Or Swim

inspiringmax

Tell us about a time when you were left on your own, to fend for yourself in an overwhelming situation — on the job, at home, at school. What was the outcome?

I believe learning by doing is the only way to grow—it teaches skills that are never forgotten. Initially the situation may appear overwhelming particularly if it is based on dealing with a sudden crisis, however by using St Francis of Assisi’s quote I have found a way through many tough times.

St Francis of Assisi quote

The whole idea of sink or swim to me bring to mind pictures of young children being forced into the water by their parents as an act of love. The parents need to make sure they learn to get back to the side of the pool and save their life, if they fall into a swimming pool without an adult watching to rescue them. Initially, there is a lot of screaming and protesting. Then as the young child listens to the instructions, they are rewarded by the freedom of moving unaided in the water. They can swim and they are so proud. Nobody remembers the fear—they remember the success.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/sink-or-swim/

Ageing Well

inspiringmax

What are your thoughts on aging? How will you stay young at heart as you get older?

I believe has two choices when it comes to ageing.

  1. Embrace it
  2. Succumb to it

Personally, I choose to embrace it.  My life has become my own since I turned 50. Suddenly I can do many things off limits before because the families priorities needed to be different. My time and money is my own so now I can:

  • Buy what I like when I like—not that I do but I can
  • Travel overseas
  • Go away for weekends with little notice
  • Eat out for meals without considering the cost
  • Spend hours blogging
  • Spend more hours writing my book
  • Cook when it suits me
  • Start planning my retirement
  • Have an I don’t want to do anything day whenever I need to
  • Control my own sleep

Yes this old body of mine can’t do everything it used to, but my mind can do a lot more. Over my 50+ years I have developed a lot of coping strategies and emotional intelligence that I plan on using to keep my body and mind as young and active as they can be for my next 50 years. As my brain like all of the muscles in my body needs to be used daily to keep it working I will continue to focus on the positive and follow Martha Stewart’s top 10 tips on how to age well.

  1. Eat well
  2. Maintain a healthy weight
  3. Be active
  4. Get quality sleep
  5. Wear sunscreen
  6. Collaborate with a good primary care doctor (GP) regularly
  7. Find a passion
  8. Connect with others
  9. Stop complaining
  10. Stay curious

What do you think is important to age well?

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/young-at-heart/

Three Wishes

inspiringmax

Remember those lovely genies who grant wishes? Well, you’re one and you’ve just been emancipated from your restrictive lamp. You can give your three wishes to whomever you want. Who do you give your three wishes to, and why?

 

Wishes

Trust

Hope

Respect

Empathy

Encouragenment

Willingness

Integrity

Self-reliance

Harmony

Enthusiasm

Safety

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/generous-genies/

V8 Supercars Sydney 2015

inspiringmax

After weeks of preparation the Coates Hire Sydney 500 starts today at Sydney Olympic Park. I was lucky enough to spend a few hours yesterday watching the last practice event. I took many photos from various angles and vantage points however in the end photographing cars speeding at over 200 kilometres an hour isn’t easy to get right.

The action continues off track down the centre with many displays and car style shops and merchandising vans. There was literally something there for most tastes.

Oh The Places I’ll Go!

inspiringmax

Tell us about the top five places you’ve always wanted to visit.

When planning my holidays I like to divide my time between Australia as well as international travel. For this reason I am going to write a buckets list for each.

Australia

  • North Coast of Western Australia
  • North Queensland
  • Tasmanian Wilderness
  • Northern Territory
  • South Australia

International

  • Alaska
  • England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales
  • Iceland
  • More of Canada
  • More of New Zealand

Starting with the South Island of New Zealand early next year these places are the basis of our next 10 year travel plan. I love the planning and discovery stage of new adventures as I gather the information and start to think about what I will see when my day finally comes and I’m off to great places.

Photo Credit: Google

Photo Credit: Google

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/the-wanderer/

Bridges

inspiringmax

Oprah arrives in Australia today so I thought it might be fun to take some of her sage advice and make it this weeks Wisdom Wednesday’s quote.

Oprah bridges

Oprah’s quote is very powerful and one I agree with. Sometimes despite the grass seeming to be greener on the other side making a decision to cross or remove any option of crossing in the future is difficult. Sometimes you  have to get advice from the experts, weigh up the pros and cons and then take a leap of faith. Either way it’s not simple. But to move forward you have to make a choice—one way or the other.

Mallard Cottage

inspiringmax

It is 12 months ago today that my husband and I accidentally discovered Mallard Cottage, Quidi Vidi, Newfoundland, Canada. We were walking in the snow enjoying the picturesque scenery as the city turned from green to white, when we arrived at our destination—Quidi Vidi Village—a small fishing hamlet just outside St John’s. We arrived mid afternoon and hungry from all the walking decided to stop at Mallard Cottage for some coffee and cake, before continuing on our journey. Boy were we surprised. Coffee and cake were $10 from memory for—all you can eat homemade old-fashioned cakes. There were about 10-12 to choose from. They were amazing. We sat and relaxed for over an hour between us tasting at least a small amount of every cake—okay I admit it some thing more than once—because we could. Unfortunately we were too busy eating to take any photos, sorry.

While we were eating our cakes the friendly wait staff began telling us of the properties history. Mallard Cottage is one of the oldest wooden buildings in North America. Originally built-in the early 1700’s it is older than our country—Australia. This felt weird to think about given the beauty of the restoration and how perfectly it blended old and new. It also turns out that our accidental find has developed a reputation as one of the best restaurants in St John’s area. No wonder we want to go back. If your ever in the area, it is well worth the visit.

Share Your World – 2015 Week 47

inspiringmax

In your native language which letter or character describes you best?  Why?

I have always associated with the middle letter of the alphabet — M. It is the first letter of my name as well as many other things I relate to.

  • Mother
  • Mummy
  • Marsupials
  • Mentor
  • Manager
  • Mickey Mouse
  • Marmite
  • Moet
  • Motivation
  • Meat
  • Mountains
  • Motoring
  • Memory
  • Madonna
  • Moment
  • Marmalade
  • Macaroons
  • Mindfulness
  • Mental Health

What is your greatest extravagance?

These days I would spend the most money on books. I love bookshops especially secondhand ones and regularly several spend hours in them and buy many books in one hit.

Do you prefer exercising your mind or your body? How frequently do you do either?

I exercise my mind daily at work so I enjoy stopping it from working with some quiet time. One way I enjoy doing this is through getting physical. Time limits the amount of exercise I do and I do miss spending time at the beach. Bring on retirement so I have more time to exercise.

List at least 5 things that makes you laugh.

  • Spending time with family and friends.
  • The Golden Girls
  • Dancing
  • Television shows I watched as a child e.g. The Brady Bunch
  • Watch young children and animals play

What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Our speech night went well at Toastmasters and this week I am looking forward to several laughs catching up with family.

http://ceenphotography.com/2015/11/23/share-your-world-2015-week-47/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Transition

inspiringmax

For this week’s challenge, share an image that depicts transition. Let life itself be your muse.

When he designed the Sydney Opera House I am sure that JØRN UTZON  could not have envisaged the amazing displays this centerpiece of VIVID SYDNEY creates each year. I spend hours fascinated by the transitions that unfortunately because of their speed are difficult to photograph. The following photos are from 2014 and I loved the bright colours. If you are in Sydney during late May or early June it is well worth the visit.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/transition/

Supporting Others

inspiringmax

We all know how to do something well — write a post that teaches readers how to do something you know and/or love to do.

One of the main things I have a reputation for is support others. All my life—from the age of 9—I have been the person others come to when they needed a welcome ear to tell their problems to especially when they were fighting with their best friend.  With all the practice I had at school I think I was always destined to work in mental health.  Supporting others has developed into a passion for me and I find ways to do it regularly in my professional and person life. Below are some of the values I use when I support others.

Sincerity

Understanding

Passion

Professionalism

Optimism

Resilience

Teaching

Open-mindedness

Tolerance

Honesty

Empathy

Reasonableness

Strength

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/teach-your-bloggers-well/