The Couragemakers Podcast | Encouragement, Inspiration & Rebel Rousing for Mission Driven Doers, Makers & Shakers | - 074: Documenting Your Life & Choosing Your Word of The Year with Amy Parker

074: Documenting Your Life & Choosing Your Word of The Year with Amy Parker

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01/02/18 • 65 min

3 Listeners

The Couragemakers Podcast | Encouragement, Inspiration & Rebel Rousing for Mission Driven Doers, Makers & Shakers |

We’re back! Happy New Year Couragemakers, I can’t tell you how happy I am to be back!

If you’ve been listening for a while, you might have noticed that Couragemakers has been on hiatus since October. The end of last year was a hard one, I lost one of Grandmothers and had a health scare (luckily everything is okay). Taking a break felt incredibly scary - but it was a great reminder that the world doesn’t end when you need to take time for yourself and there’s no shame in needing time for yourself!

So, as I mentioned, Couragemakers is back to its usual Monday schedule! I have fantastic interviews lined up which I know you’re going to love, and I couldn’t be happier to start the new year off with this wonderful conversation with Amy Parker!

Amy is an in-house copywriter and general creative who loves making a mess, enjoys documenting her life (but not necessarily publishing it!), decorating things with washi and stickers, and generally finding little ways to make the world more joyful. She is the woman behind HappyPostBox and shares memory-keeping and planner-related posts on Instagram and sells printable planner stickers in her Easy shop. For the last year she’s been living by her first ever ‘word of the year’ - ‘joy' - and would absolutely encourage anyone else to give it a try, too.

In this episode, Amy shares all about choosing her word for the year, what she has learned during the year and some really helpful practical tips to set your own intentions for your year

We’re really dive into starting your year without pressure, how to use your creativity to record life without getting lost in the act of recording your life, perfectionism and liberating our inner people pleaser and treating your future self as a different person.

One of the things I love the most about this episode, apart from the fact that both of our cheeks were aching from laughing and smiling during our conversation, is Amy’s flexible approach to using a word to guide your year. I love how she sees it as a lens rather than something which you can use to create a rigid plan. I really admire Amy’s honesty in sharing the bumps in the road of her Year Of Joy are it’s really refreshing to see that her journey wasn’t linear, and that you don’t have to do it right, or in a certain way.

I hope this episode helps take the pressure off and helps you to add more joy to your own life.

Here’s to a Hopeful, Inspired and Creative New Year!

And remember, if you’re listening to this episode further along the year, you can start your own Word of The Year journey any time!

Now, onto the show!

About Amy

Amy is an in-house copywriter and general creative, who enjoys documenting her life (but not necessarily publishing it!), decorating things with washi and stickers, and generally finding little ways to make the world more joyful. She shares memory-keeping and planner-related posts on Instagram at @happypostbox and sells printable planner stickers in an Etsy shop of the same name (which started a couple of years ago when she couldn’t find any stickers for her planner of choice, the Passion Planner). For the last year she’s been living by her first ever ‘word of the year’ - ‘joy' - and would absolutely encourage anyone else to give it a try, too.

Etsy | Instagram

Things We Talked About:

Getting honest with yourself and choosing your word of the year based on what you need instead of what you feel you should be doing
The little things that bring Amy joy
Capturing real life versus what makes us look good
What Amy’s year of joy taught her
Treating your future self as a different person

Resources Mentioned:

Oneword365
The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo magic of tidying up
The Miracle Morning - Hal Elrod
1 Second Everyday Day App
Gretchen Rubin Podcast - four tendencies
The Curse of Lovely - Jacqui Marson
The Passion Planner
Planning Instagram Hashtags: #plannercommunity / #plannergirls

A...

We’re back! Happy New Year Couragemakers, I can’t tell you how happy I am to be back!

In this episode, Amy shares all about choosing her word for the year, what she has learned during the year and some really helpful practical tips to set your own intentions for your year

I hope this episode helps take the pressure off and helps you to add more joy to your own life.

Here’s to a Hopeful, Inspired and Creative New Year!

And remember, if you’re listening to this episode further along the year, you can start your own Word of The Year journey any time!

Now, onto the show!

About Amy

Etsy | Instagram

Things We Talked About:

Getting honest with yourself and choosing your word of the year based on what you need instead of what you feel you should be doing
The little things that bring Amy joy
Capturing real life versus what makes us look good
What Amy’s year of joy taught her
Treating your future self as a different person

Resources Mentioned:

Oneword365
The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo magic of tidying up
The Miracle Morning - Hal Elrod
1 Second Everyday Day App
Gretchen Rubin Podcast - four tendencies
The Curse of Lovely - Jacqui Marson
The Passion Planner
Planning Instagram Hashtags: #plannercommunity / #plannergirls

A...

Previous Episode

072: Getting Honest About Mental Health with Melissa Boyle

Hello Couragemakers and welcome to episode 72 of The Couragemakers Podcast!

This week I’m chatting to the wonderful mental health blogger Melissa Boyle. Melissa, or Mel as she likes to be known, is a social media executive, the blogger behind Geek Magnifique and the creator of Honey Bee cards - a card range specifically designed to give comfort and reassurance to people who struggle with their mental health. Mel is based in Bournemouth UK and is an unstoppable cat-cuddler who is also partial to the occasional dog.

Mel strongly believes that mental health needs to be an honest and open conversation. She is all about breaking down those walls and stamping out stigma, which is why Mel blogs about her own struggles and the experiences she’s had. Mel hope that by sharing her journey she can help others to feel less alone.

In this episode, Mel and I really dive headfirst into our own mental health experiences. We have a really open discussion about what it’s like to struggle with OCD from a young age and Mel shares her journey of seeking support and how it has helped her.

Mel shares fantastic advice about reaching out and asking for help, how to maintain friendships when you struggle with your mental health and how to share your struggles and your experiences with others.

We talk about the importance of mental health online communities, sharing your good and your bad days honestly and authentically online and and how being a passive observe in supportive online communities can make you feel less alone.

We also dive into the importance of looking after ourselves and re-fuelling, setting boundaries and how it only takes one person to open up and create a safe environment.

One of the many things I love about this episode, is hearing all about how Mel started sharing about her mental health. The idea of sharing our experiences with others can feel terrifying and overwhelming and we really dive into how you don’t need to go from zero to a hundred, how you get to choose who you share with and who to walk away from, and how to make mental health part of the conversation.

If you struggle with your mental health, I know you’re going to get so much out of this conversation. There aren’t enough really honest conversations about mental health and I love what Mel is doing to end the stigma and create an environment where we feel safe to share instead of ashamed and like we have to keep our experiences hidden.

Here’s to doing things our own way, looking after ourselves and knowing that we’re not alone.

Enjoy the show!

About Mel

Melissa Boyle or Mel as she likes to be known, is a social media executive, the blogger behind Geek Magnifique and the creator of Honey Bee cards - a card range specifically designed to give comfort and reassurance to people who struggle with their mental health. Mel is based in Bournemouth UK and is an unstoppable cat-cuddler who is also partial to the occasional dog.

Blog | Twitter | Honey Bee Cards |

Things We Talked About

Our shared experience of struggling with OCD from a young age

Sharing openly about mental health - going against the grain and being public about it

Advice for people who struggle with their mental health and maintaining friendships

Resources

Mental Health First Aid

Samaritans

About Meg & That Hummingbird Life

I’m Meg and I’m the host of Couragemakers and founder of That Hummingbird Life. I’m an INFJ creative and multipassionate who has a bit of a notebook and post-it note obsession, loves foot-stomping country music and likes her hot chocolate with way too much chocolate.

I started Couragemakers because I wanted to create a platform for passionate and unconventional women to have honest conversations and to share their stories, struggles and dreams. The intention behind this podcast is to inspire and encourage creative and mission-driven women to live a wholehearted life and follow the beat of their drum.

When I’m not recording episodes, writing bullshit-free, very vulnerable and encouraging Sunday emails to fellow couragemakers or making new friends with the wonderful guests, you can find me working on all manners of magic over at That Hummingbird Life...

Next Episode

075: Challenging the Sh*t That Holds You Back with Andrea Owen

Hello Couragemakers and welcome to episode 75 of The Couragemakers Podcast!

This week I’m delighted to be joined by Andrea Owen. Andrea is an author, mentor, and certified life coach who helps high-achieving women let go of perfectionism, control, and isolation and choose courage and confidence instead. She has helped thousands of women manage their inner-critic to create loving connections and live their most kick-ass life. She is the proud author of 52 Ways to Live a Kick-Ass Life and How To Stop Feeling Like Shit and the host of Your Kick Ass Life Podcast. When she’s not juggling her full coaching practice or hosting retreats, Andrea is busy competing in triathlons, chasing her 10-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter or making out with her husband, Jason. She is also a retired roller derby player having skated under the name “Veronica Vain”.

In this episode, we’re really challenging the myth that everyone has their shit together. Andrea shares her journey to reaching rock bottom and working her way back out, as well as her family origin story and how you explore your own.

We dive into listening to your intuition, the importance defining our values has in our lives, and we challenge the zero fucks mentality and faux positive Pinterest quotes.

We also have great conversations about how we get in our own way and what we can do it about it - from people pleasing and numbing out, to isolation and perfectionism.

Andrea and I had so much fun during our conversation, and it’s just so refreshing to talk about embracing what makes us human and really debunking the fact that no one has their shit together, and we’re all paddling like hell underneath!

Enjoy the show!

About Andrea

Andrea Owen is an author, mentor, and certified life coach who helps high-achieving women let go of perfectionism, control, and isolation and choosing courage and confidence instead. She has helped thousands of women manage their inner-critic to create loving connections and live their most kick-ass life. She is the proud author of 52 Ways to Live a Kick-Ass Life and How To Stop Feeling Like Shit and the host of Your Kick Ass Life Podcast. When she’s not juggling her full coaching practice or hosting retreats, Andrea is busy competing in triathlons, chasing her 10-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter or making out with her husband, Jason. She is also a retired roller derby player having skated under the name “Veronica Vain”.

Things We Talked About

Showing your human side and that you no one has their shit together
You don’t have to share everything with everyone
Bearing the weight and the pain of your own story
The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” Alice Walker

Resources Mentioned:

About Meg & That Hummingbird Life

When I’m not recording episodes, writing bullshit-free, very vulnerable and encouraging Sunday emails to fellow couragemakers (join the party here!) or making new friends with the wonderful guests, you can find me working on all manners of magic over at That Hummingbird Life. THL is the online home for unconventional creatives and multipassionates who want to show up unapologetically and intentionally as who they are, and really own, live and share their many stories. It’s made for cour...