Where do I start? Just over a week ago Carly from Mom of Two Little Girls shared an intentionally living challenge on Instagram and challenged us, her followers, to participate. It was a 7 day challenge with a theme for each day. I read her post about it this morning and she totally inspired me to do the same! Please pop in and read her post; I just love it! The Intentional living challenge.

To me intentional living means doing everything with purpose, being present and in the moment. This is something I lacked when I was in the depths of my PND, I was just living, surviving, I wasn’t present and that’s something I have had to accept and forgive myself for. But, now that I’m better I do try and live intentionally so I jumped at this challenge!

Day 1: kindness. It’s quite simple really, we all need to be kind. To each other and to ourselves. Although Tristan is only 2,5 years old it’s something I teach him daily; kind to his friends, his teachers, his pets and to anyone he meets. It’s so simple and easy to do but there is so much unkindness in the world and we can all make a difference if we make a start! It’s something I need to learn to do more of to myself; I am very harsh & critical of myself and it’s something I’m working on every single day.

Day 2: health & wellness. This was a big one for me and something I’ve seen across various social media platforms a lot recently. My parents came to visit last week, and on Friday I was just having a ‘bad’ day in that I was irritated with Tristan and in general. My mom picked up on it and I could see the concern in her face that I was sick again. Because she doesn’t live here she only sees snapshots of my life and doesn’t want to miss any signs of my depression returning so she gets worried easily if I’m a bit ‘off’. But I’m allowed to be grumpy or irritated or cross, it doesn’t mean I’m sick again. But it is a reminder that I need to keep a check on my well being all the time.

Day 3: self love. I think this is something society in general struggles with. As my picture for the day says, ‘speak to yourself like you would to someone you love.’ Are you seeing a pattern developing in these first 3 days of the challenge? I do; not only intentional living (duh) but also reflection on ourselves, inward. And it’s been so enlightening. I have definitely noticed I’ve taken a more gentle approach with myself since starting this challenge.

Day 4: motivation. I think every mother says their child(ren) is their motivation and it’s 100% true. But my husband is also my motivation as am I my own motivation. And motivation stretches through all aspects of our lives – health, happiness, fitness, wellness and much more.

Day 5: inspiration. One of the definitions of the word is ‘someone that people admire and want to be like’. I hope my blog, the fact that I’m sharing my journey as a mom – the good & the bad – inspires someone out there. I think we all want to be admired, don’t we? I also hope that I’m an inspiration to Tristan; I hope he wants to be like me when he grows up.

Day 6: family. My family is made up of those blood relatives like my mom, dad, brother, child, uncles & aunts, but also non blood relatives like my husband, mom-in-law, sisters-in-law & friends. Also my pets. If I consider you family I love & care deeply for you; I will always be there for you. And family should always have your back!

Day 7: travel. Oh how I love to travel! I have actually worked in the travel industry for well over 10 years and have my own travel business which I started in 2009.

What have I taken from this challenge? To be kinder to myself and others. We all have a lot going on and have no idea what’s happening behind closed doors so before we start judging someone else, think how you’d feel if you knew others were judging you.