“What if I told you 10 years from now your life would be exactly the same?
Doubt you’d be happy.
So, why are you afraid of change?”

― Karen Salmansohn

Why indeed? After a lifetime, of being afeared of change, recently I’ve been trying to making a few. Partly because I want to experience as much of life as I can whilst I have the chance and partly because, as the quote says, the only way to continue to improve is to continue to change.

Don’t expect to fall off your horse when you’re reading about the kind of change I’m talking about. None of them are the biggies such as moving countries, partners, houses or jobs, instead I’m talking about small, sustainable changes that in some way enrich, enlighten or just challenge the senses a bit.

After always giving cocktails a swerve on the basis that I don’t like sweet drinks and I can’t drink much alcohol anyway so why not just have a lovely glass of wine? This year, I have a monthly date with my friend Emma to drink my way through the menu (that’s if I can get past the Caipirinha bit of it – where were they hiding all my life?)

This week I went for a session of hypnosis for past-life regression (inspired by the book and experiences mentioned in this post) so after a lifetime of wondering about stuff like this but doing nothing about it, I’m now exploring it for myself.

I’ve started doing the 5:2 or The Fast Diet which is eating normally for five days a week  and then eating a quarter of usual calories two days a week (although I’m just doing it for one day a week for the health benefits and out of interest rather than to lose weight). It’s early days in the research but it looks like one of the very few realistic ways of keeping our bodies slim and healthy for most of our lives. Weight loss and maintenance is just a happy side effect – it’s also believed to reduce the risk of most of the diseases of the Western world. I know, right… what’s not to like?

Seeing others making changes is cool – they don’t need to be radical to be a bit inspiring. Changes which have brought a smile to my face recently include: a friend decided to tackle a life-long mushroom aversion and ate every one within a particular dish – an especially brave move as the dish was Chinese so contained three types of mushrooms including the eyeballesque straw mushroom. Another friend’s making a break from her perma-jeans style and rocking dresses and lipstick instead. Another is challenging her usual monochrome style and has been brightening up her office with work wear in technicolor.

Changes like these are so doable and can seem insignificant but actually they have a ripple effect through our lives. In ten years’ time, if ALL I end up being is a cocktail-lovin’, slinky, uber-healthy expert on life in medieval times, that ain’t no bad thing and it’s more than I am now.

So… what changes will you make this year? Oh and we should so meet up in ten and compare what we’ve turned out like!

Cocktails!