For years I’ve been good. Good, not great. This relates to most things in my life. I was always good at school. I got good grades in most subjects. I was good at drawing. I never considered myself to be an artist nor did anyone else. I was always told I was good, so I believed just that and possibly never strived for greatness.

Then I became a mum. I’m not a good mum. I’m an amazing mum! I can say that because I feel it. Because I see it in Caspian.

But not only have I realised that I’m a great mum, I’ve also allowed myself to be better at everything else since. I’ve stopped holding myself back. For Caspian’s sake and for my own. Part of that was letting other people get to me. When you allow other’s into your head it can create problems. Even people who care for you, who love you, might see issues where there are none and in doing so, they stop you from being the best you can be.

WHEN YOU STOP PROCRASTINATING

Well, if there’s one thing I’ve been absolutely bloody amazing at, it’s procrastination. One thing is to allow others to hold us back, but why do we let ourselves do it so much? Some call it laziness and others call it being scared. Whatever the reason, you need to stop and simply start doing instead. Take action!

As work has heated up over the past couple of months I’ve had to do just that. I simply couldn’t afford to just let one day take the next. In the process I’ve learned just how much I love what I currently do and how fantastic it makes me feel because I’m achieving amazing things. I’m showing myself more than anyone else how great I can really be.

I still have a lot to learn. I’m yet to become super organised, but this is one of my goals for 2017. I love being creative and in that I think you need to allow yourself some freedom. Though running a successful business definitely requires organisation and now that the blog is becoming just that, I need to take charge. I’ve also come to see that keeping our home organised gives me more time to focus on what really matters. Quality time with Caspian and Daddy Long Legs as well as work. How many people are fortunate enough to say they love what they do? I cannot take this for granted. Yes, I’ve worked hard for it and there’s still a long way to go before I’ve fully achieved my dreams, but I’m loving every step of this journey so far.

I think the biggest thing holding me back was the fear of failure. The fear of letting not only myself down but those around me as well. If you don’t give a 100% then that can always be your excuse if things don’t work out. But as cliche as it sounds, we only live once and it’s up to us personally to make the most of it.

Having built my blog from scratch, it’s been a steep learning curve. I want to grow it even more, I want to pursue my photography and I want to continue making films. I might have put my acting career on hold for the moment, but filming and creating is what drives me right now. It wasn’t on the cards to start a YouTube channel until next year, but something changed and it simply felt like the right time.

BECOMING A VLOGGER

If you want to see what we’ve been up to check out my channel here. I’d love it if you subscribed. I’m now doing weekly vlogs with highlights of the week’s events, so you can catch up with us every Sunday. In December I’ll even attempt Vlogmas. This means I’ll upload a new video every day through until Christmas. My plan is to introduce all the things I love about the holidays, the differences between British and Scandinavian Christmas as well as read some of Hans Christian Andersen’s fantastic fairy tales relating to this time of year. It would be fantastic if you came along for the (sleigh) ride!

Here’s my latest weekly vlog if you happen to have a spare 15 minutes, and are keen to find out how to pronounce that elusive Scandinavian word of ‘hygge’ that seems to be on everyone’s lips at the moment!

What is holding you back? How can you achieve your dreams in 2017?