Friday Challenge – Do Something You’ve Never Done Before

Friday Challenge

For the next four weeks we are presenting The Friday Challenge. These are easy to follow motivating articles from author Shelley Wilson who wrote How I Changed My Life In A Year http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Ky which featured on the blog earlier this week. It was followed by a guest author interview with Shelley http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Lb and she kindly agreed to write us four articles which I’d like to share each Friday with you as my gift to you wonderful readers, so that you too may be inspired to make positive changes in your own lives and those around you.

Over to Shelley…

Shelley Wilson

Could You Do Something You’ve Never Done Before?

If I asked you to do something you’ve never done before, what would you choose? Abseiling or white water rafting perhaps, or maybe you would opt for something a little less hair-raising and try a new food. To do something new was one of the first challenges I tackled in my book How I Changed My Life in a Year. As it happens, my plans went slightly askew as I received an opportunity to help my local junior school prepare for exam season.

As I run a holistic health business, I spend my days and evenings de-stressing the general public. I offer treatments such as reflexology and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) or ‘Tapping’ as I like to call it.

To be asked by the headmaster to give a demonstration and talk to thirty of the year six children (ages 10 and 11) was a terrifying prospect. I have three children, but that doesn’t mean that the school hall full of them wouldn’t scare me to death. As I was dedicated to my month five challenge – do something I’ve never done before – I couldn’t say no!

My fears surfaced fairly swiftly; fear of making a fool out of myself, fear of thirty impressionable youngsters thinking I was a moron, fear of forgetting my presentation. However, I’d told the headmaster I would do it and so I prepared myself as well as I could. (Sleeping with my copy of Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway by Susan Jeffers may have helped!)

Blinded by my irrational fears I momentarily forgot that Tapping (EFT) was the perfect therapy to alleviate apprehension. My task was all about helping the year six children cope with their trepidation of the impending SAT exams. So as I ran through my presentation, my anxiety gradually lifted. Standing before a sea of shiny, eager faces, who believed I was going to help them, I filled with pride and an eagerness to teach them a valuable self-help tool.

EFT is a simple process which can help alleviate anxiety and deep rooted issues that have a detrimental effect on our day to day life. The fear of the dentist, overeating, depression and so many other ailments can be vanquished using this method. It involves tapping lightly with your fingertips on specific parts of your head, face, body and hands. The tapping action vibrates along meridians (energy lines) within your body and neutralises any blockages. (For more information, or to find a therapist near to you log on to the AAMET site http://www.aamet.org).

The children were amazing and took to the therapy with an infectious enthusiasm, and I was happy to receive positive feedback from the parents once they had rushed home to teach their siblings how to ‘chillax.’

Challenge accepted and achieved; I’d never done that before! Trying something new can open up a world of opportunities, so I extend my challenge to you – Do something you’ve never done before and embrace the experience.

How I Changed My Life In A Year

‘How I Changed My Life in a Year’ – http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KAAUE88

Also on Amazon.com

Find Shelley on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/ShelleyWilson72

Next Friday we’ll be back with our second challenge.

Good Deeds Challenge Year 2 Week 22

Welcome to my second Year of Good Deeds, a challenge I set myself during April 2013. I decided to do at least one Good Deed a day for a whole year, now I an into my second year.

New Good DeedsDuring my week I’ll also being updating you on My Kindness Challenge which I’m also doing. I read about a new challenge to make the world a better place to live in. “Speak Kind Words, Receive Kind Echoes” see the inspiration on  The Kindness blog . During my learning process I’m donating money to charity for my slip-ups to make me work harder to achieve results. I earn no money from any of my book reviews, so having little to spare should focus my mind.

September 14th – Dark Gothic romance is Jane Godman’s book Echoes in the Darkness, Day 14 of Romancing September. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Hk

Am putting together plans for my next tour, this one will feature mystery books and their authors and will take place in November.

September 15th – Laura E James featured in Romancing September today with her book Follow Me , Follow You. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5xp

A school morning and I’m getting to know my new set of children that I listen to as they practise their reading. This year I have twins amongst my group, luckily they are not identical.  Donated a series of books to the school for their library that I had finished reading. Have been and bought a load more books again today, taking full advantage of the sales going on.

September 16th – Mary Forbes joins us on the Romance tour today with her book One Dance With A Stranger, Mary hails from Canada, it’s so great meeting all these people from across the world and bringing them together. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5yC

Getting lots of interest for the November Mystery book tour, busy sending out Q&A sheets and creating pictures to use on Twitter. I enjoy the challenge and the skills that I am learning from this task.

September 17th – Monica La Porta is the featured author on Romancing September today with her book The Lost Centurion, set in a stunning Italian landscape it mixes paranormal with hot romance. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Er

Am off out to dinner this evening with friends, a rare treat, and it’s another good deed opportunity as it’s my turn to drive.

September 18th – E.L. Lindley is chatting about her book Dare To Lose today on Romancing September. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5DE

What a 24 hours! The blog is SO busy at the moment it’s truly wonderful, thank you to everyone who reads and reviews book, signs up for tours, comments and shares posts and tweets and everything else you do for me.  So here is a little something back for anyone going through an anxious and stressful time at the moment and with children in the Uk off the University this month, I know there will be a few Mums out there in need of a little TLC, firstly why not circle the date of your birthday on every month of the calendar and give yourself a little treat once a month for a whole year. Plan out what you could do, it could be time out for yourself, meeting with a friend, 15 minutes meditation, buying a new book randomly in a genre you don’t normally read, anything, but give yourself a well deserved treat.

Have been helping out my dearest friends with some support at their own emotional times. Plus recommending books for them to read. If you want to read them too, try these, get them in paperback, you’ll want to flip back through them too often to read on Kindle.

You Can Heal Your life by Louise Hay

Heal Your Body/New Cover: The Mental Causes for Physical Illness and the Metaphysical Way to Overcome Them by Louise Hay

Next watch this video on Tapping or Emotional Freedom Technique http://eft.mercola.com/

September 19th – Today it was the turn of Rock Chick Nicky Wells and her book Fallen for Rock on the Romancing September Tour. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5DR

I’ve been out buying more books as gifts for people. Still at bargain prices.

September 20th –  The Dating Game by Susan Buchanan was our book on the tour today. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5CO

Have been delivering a birthday present for my Dad this morning, it’s his birthday tomorrow.

Good Deeds Challenge Year 2, Week 21

Welcome to my second Year of Good Deeds, a challenge I set myself during April 2013. I decided to do at least one Good Deed a day for a whole year, now I an into my second year.

New Good DeedsDuring my week I’ll also being updating you on My Kindness Challenge which I’m also doing. I read about a new challenge to make the world a better place to live in. “Speak Kind Words, Receive Kind Echoes” see the inspiration on  The Kindness blog . During my learning process I’m donating money to charity for my slip-ups to make me work harder to achieve results. I earn no money from any of my book reviews, so having little to spare should focus my mind.

September 7th – Today it has been the turn of Victoria Steele on the Romancing September tour and her book As My Heart Beats – Beckoning, here is a link to her post http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5E7

I’ve been in to work this morning to catch up on lots of paperwork and to leave the place tidy for my colleague.

September 8th – Cecily Gates promotes her book An Imaginary House by the Sea in todays Romancing September tour. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Fw

School is back and my Monday helping out at school starts again.

September 9th – It’s Debbie Peterson’s turn today with her book Spirit of the Knight. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Bq

Dropped of a birthday present to my God Daughter and picked up litter on the way home.

September 10th – June Kearns joins us on the Romancing September tour with her brilliant book The 20’s Girl, the ghost and All That Jazz. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5DA

I’m reading How I changed my Life by Shelley Wilson, this is my September treat read that I recently bought, I always like to give myself a treat after the summer holidays and the rush and stress of the return to school. Shelley tells us about Emotional Freedom tapping, a way to relieve stress particularly, here is a link to a website with a very useful video on tapping. http://eft.mercola.com/

Walked to town to do my shopping it was such a lovely day I detoured through three parks and picked up litter along the way.

September 11th – Today we have some poetry on the Romancing September tour, Pamela Beckford chats about her book Love – Lost and Found. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5xv

Took two big bags full of books to the charity shop and found that several local book shops are having a sale. Who can resist?

September 12th – Adrienne Vaughan talks about her book The Hollow heart in today’s Romancing September. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Aw

Went back to the book shops, books at 50p were calling to me, staggered out with another 14 books, had the sales assistant helping me out taking books to the till so that I could browse some more. The sale goes on for another 2 weeks, so I intend going back for more. Visited the local country market and bought chutney and a cake.

September 13th – It’s Della Connor’s day today as she tells us more about Spirit Warriors: The Concealing in Romancing September. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5xH

Had a walk out this evening and picked up more litter. Have invited author Shelley Wilson to write a series of posts for October about changing your life for the better.