On one of my trips into Bath City Centre last week I got talking to a very charming woman. We
had seen each other many times in passing and always said hello, each thinking we knew each other from some place.
As it turns out we didn’t know each other from any place, in particular, we had just become the smiling faces that took time out to greet each other. But once we struck up a conversation we realised that other members of our families knew each other. Amazing…
During our bus journey long conversation, I was told how lovely my smile was and how nice it was to see a smiling face around town. What a compliment and it really made my day.
And also made me realise what a smile could do on any given day; make someone feel special, make them feel valued, make them smile back perhaps for the first time that day, week or month.
You see we never know what someone is going through when we pass them on the street. We don’t know for sure if they are sad, angry, hurt, low in confidence, at a low point in life. There may be signs but no definite conclusions. But what if we gave them a 100-watt sincere smile just because we could, or a ‘good morning/afternoon’, even some eye to eye contact… What if that was all they needed to feel lifted?
The appreciation of another human being, the acknowledgement that they exist and matter, even if you do not know them (or ever will) is only one smile away. A smile is one of the easiest ways to connect with someone else and it costs you nothing in time, money or favours… and sometimes that all it takes to turn someone else’s day around.
So go about each day with a smile, even if you’re saying no to the free newspaper copy or to a street trader selling their wares, a smile and a polite ‘no thank you’ always seems to get a positive response.
Go on, try it!
Live Blissfully
YvonneB
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Published by YvonneB
A catalyst for change, Yvonne Bignall is a breath of fresh air in the extraordinary way she helps women 50+ to reconnect with life & their innate power through radical self-care, guilt-free!
She supports, encourages, and inspires women to prioritise their health, one bitesize action at a time. Her work is challenging as it navigates through difficult conversations, listening & observing how women’s health issues have been:
❊ Undermined
❊ Under-resourced &
❊ Swept under the carpet
She helps women to recognise & unpack old scripts that still (sadly enough) tell them that their value derives from their level of caregiving of others, their output. The truth is it is the input, the ability to resource self, which provides women with the energy required to realise their true potential.
Along with her team, she explores the thoughts, behaviour & habits, often born out of guilt, gender expectations, and reinforced narratives, with curiosity (not judgment), discarding the unhelpful, whilst reclaiming innate power through the creation of new patterns, restoring a sense of self, outside of societal expectations. In her opinion, this allows women to:
✔ Develop an elevated level of self-awareness
✔ Build / rebuild their confidence & self-belief
✔ Value all of who they are and invest time in who they want to be at their best
A self-care warrior, an encourager & inspirer, Yvonne is today an award-winning Women’s Health Advocate, Published Author, and an International Presenter. She is also a Radio Show Host and a Podcaster.
Yvonne is focused on building a community of women, www.PermissionToThrive.online, who are ready to reclaim their right to self-care, guilt-free, and who prioritise their health without apology, role-modeling behaviour & habits that inform generations to come of their true value.
She also advocates for self-care over burnout in the workplace, delivering practical webinars in the corporate space. In her own words, “It is time for employees to prioritise their wellbeing. How will they deliver their best work without it?”
One of her favourite quotes comes from Eleanor Brown, ‘Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel’
Connect with Yvonne and,
🌱 Become part of the self-care revolution at Permission to Thrive or
📞 Book a chat to find out about her coaching and corporate services: https://calendly.com/yvonne-b/20min
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