KARREN BRADY ON THE SMALL TWEAKS THAT MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE TO YOUR LIFE

OVER THE YEARS I HAVE MADE SMALL CHANGES TO MY LIFE THAT HAVE MADE A REALLY BIG DIFFERENCE TO THE WAY I LIVE IT AND – MORE IMPORTANTLY – HOW MUCH I enjoy LIVING IT.

THE FIRST CHANGE I MADE WAS A YEAR AGO WHEN I CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT YOU ALWAYS (UNLESS IT’S YOUR MOTHER, OF COURSE!) HAVE TO SPEAK YOUR MIND. BECAUSE I WORKED OUT THAT IT’S NOT THE THINGS THAT YOU SAY THAT YOU LIVE TO REGRET BUT THE THINGS YOU don’t SAY, WHEN YOU KNOW YOU SHOULD HAVE.

LIKE WHEN SOMEONE IS RUDE AND YOU LET IT SLIP. LIKE WHEN SOMEONE IS CRUEL AND YOU DON’T INTERVENE. WHEN SOMEONE IS DISRESPECTFUL AND YOU WISHED YOU’D GIVEN THEM THE EQUIVALENT OF A VERBAL SLAP IN THE FACE. EVERY TIME SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENED AND I WOULD NOT SAY WHAT I THOUGHT, I WOULD BE SO FURIOUS

WITH MYSELF THAT I WOULD NOT SLEEP. SO NOW IF I DON’T LIKE SOMETHING SOMEONE HAS SAID OR DONE, I SAY WHAT I THINK, RESPECTFULLY BUT DIRECTLY TO THEM, AND WITH CONVICTION. I FEEL I HAVE RIGHTED A SMALL INJUSTICE, AND FRANKLY THE PERSON HAS NO DOUBT WHERE THEY STAND WITH ME AND WHAT I WILL – OR MOSTLY WILL NOT – TOLERATE.

THE SECOND THING I STARTED

TO DO WAS MAKE LISTS. A LIST OF EVERYTHING THAT NEEDS DOING, THAT HAS TO BE DONE, OR THAT I WANT TO

GET DONE. THERE IS NOTHING MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD THAN WRITING THINGS DOWN TO FOCUS THE MIND AND – BOY OH BOY – THE SATISFACTION OF CROSSING THEM OFF THE LIST WHEN THEY ARE COMPLETED! WELL, NOTHING GIVES ME MORE SATISFACTION.

NOW I CONTEMPLATE WHAT OTHER SMALL CHANGES I CAN MAKE WHICH WOULD HAVE A BIG DIFFERENCE. IF I HAD THE NERVE, I WOULD PROBABLY HAVE SOMETHING DRASTIC DONE TO MY FACE AND BODY, BUT ON THE BASIS I HAVE – AT MOST – AN HOUR OF DOWNTIME, A FACELIFT OR, MORE IMPORTANTLY, A BUTT LIFT IS PROBABLY NEVER GOING TO MAKE IT INTO MY SCHEDULE.

BUT WHAT ABOUT

BOTOX? LOADS OF MY FRIENDS HAVE HAD IT

AND I HAVE UMMED AND AHHED ABOUT IT BUT

NEVER HAD THE NERVE

TO DO IT. PROBABLY BECAUSE THE ONE THING YOU CANNOT GET FROM COSMETIC PROCEDURES IS THE ONLY THING YOU WANT – AND THAT IS A PREDICTABLE RESULT. THIS YEAR I THINK I AM GOING TO HAVE IT DONE, BUT ONLY ONCE I FIND SOMEONE

I TRUST COMPLETELY TO DO IT!

I’M ALSO GOING TO JOIN A GYM

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 49 YEARS! I HAVE REALISED AS YOU GET OLDER YOU NEED TO LOOK AFTER YOURSELF MORE. I JUST HAVE TO REMEMBER TO PUT “GO TO

THE GYM” ON MY LIST, LEST I FORGET!

THEY SAY YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE…

BUT THE TRUTH IS IF YOU LIVE IT RIGHT, ONCE IS ENOUGH. W&H

It’s not the things you say you regret but the things you donÕt say