As we say goodbye to 2020 we can safely say that it wasn't our finest hour but let’s take all of the positives and roll them into 2021.

If you are anything like us we made some huge sacrifices and decisions last year which actually produced no lesser happiness but did allow our mindsets to take this colossal shift in thinking. 

So as a team we decided to create 10 New Years ReVolutions instead of resolutions. These Revolutions would be mantras or standards that we as a family and as a business will live by and encourage others to live by also. There has been an awful lot of conflict in the media and in social circles in the last few years regarding Brexit and now the Covid-19 situation and if we can as a nation live by better values and morals we can accept everyone's differences and once again be a less divided nation. 

So here goes. Here are our 10 New Years ReVolutions that will shape or reshape our personal world so that we can live more fulfilled and happier lives in 2021 and beyond.

Love Yourself

We feel this has to be number 1 on our list as without this we can not move forward and we only live in the past. By learning to love yourself you will be able to see what truly is in front of you when standing in the mirror. You see, we are incredible and if simply take 5 minutes to apply gratitude to the mere fact that you are even standing in front of that mirror. The complexity and the miracle that is the human body is amazing and you are part of that miracle. We are constantly told that we aren't good enough or we need to have certain things to make us happy and if we get the latest designer handbag or that car we will be happy. It is nonsense and we need to start believing in ourselves and the fact that we need to find happiness within before we can be truly happy and content. 

Action step: Try a media detox for just a month and see how you feel, maybe even diarise it and note your emotions and feelings during this time. Maybe encourage your partner to do the same. Hell maybe you will start to love each other all over again. 

Share

Sharing is important in many ways but sharing causes us to communicate and when we communicate we build a community and trust. This might come in the form of sharing ideas or it may be to share your emotions and thoughts to lighten the load on your health and wellbeing. If we all start to share more going forward we can have discussions and reach resolves a lot quicker than if we don’t. Sharing ideas is an amazing way of coming up with solutions to problems, what we all need to believe in is our fellow men/women. Because we are all able to help one another, we simply just have to share.

Action Step: Try sharing your unwanted gifts that you received this christmas, they will only sit in a drawer or cupboard somewhere. Someone would really appreciate them.

Do Something Scary

This has plagued me my whole life but this one is relative to you and you only. We constantly live in fear, fear of acceptance and fear of failure. This is what stops you living your best life, not taking pictures of yourself on the beach and in your new car to simply post on Instagram to say you're having a great time. How can taking a photo of yourself be fun? Let's start living and I mean really living. 

Many of my acquaintances have said to me, how can you just start a business or buy that house when times are hard? Well when it comes to my fear level it's different. My fear level kicks when someone says. Could you just make a sales call this afternoon? Holy shit, I am paralised, frozen and overwhelmed. We all have to overcome fear but on the other side of fear is Joy and happiness. Because in my life I have felt complete freedom when I have overcome my fear. When this happens we truly start to grow and evolve and learn about ourselves so we can better versions of ourselves to ultimately serve others and your offspring.

Action Step: We all have things we just put off for the fear of it going well. Well try making a phone call to someone you have been meaning to catch up with. Or this is what we plan on doing this year. Pretend you are moving house and box up everything that we haven't seen or used in the last year + and give it away. I know that will make my wife's anxiety go through the roof but I promise you she will be happier when we have decluttered.

Care

Our communities are full of amazing people whom I would happily say 99.9% of are kind and thoughtful human beings. So lets start to show each and everyone of them that we care. Back in April 2020 we saw a huge community spirit that I only see at Christmas time. Every year on Christmas Eve we as a nation take part in this incredible show of community and people say hi to each other and have great words to share and wil help thy neighbour. But it comes to January 2nd and everyone has gone back to their rocks and swearing at each other. This is what I witnessed after the first lockdown and I myself have carried on saying hello to strangers and shop workers and refuse collectors, why has everyone stopped. We need to keep up our level of care within the community and what happens is we will start to see a coming together and a unity that we need in the world right now. Random acts of kindness is something we encourage in our family and business and such small acts make a huge difference.

Action Step: Write a physical letter to a neighbour who lives on their own, they will be delighted. Or leave some change in a parking meter. (what a treat right)   

CARE FOR YOU

Want Less

Consumerism has to be at record highs and it doesn't show any sign of slowing, so we wanted to build a habit of wanting less and thus having more. There has been a huge surge towards quicker and quicker logistics which has made Amazon globally famous and wealthy at the same time. Yet this culture has driven a need for more and more crap. Because we can have it delivered in just 1 day sometimes the same day less time is taken to think if we actually need the item or not. Take a look in drawers and cupboards or certainly in your loft at the amount of stuff you own that you do not need and may have been bought two of because it's actually easier to buy another instead of looking for the one you have. We have become a society of gotta haves. We struggle with the idea that you can't be happy unless we have this stuff, when the complete opposite is true. We have recently sold our house and moved into rented accommodation and I couldn't be more happier. We now have a garage and a loft space with boxes and boxes of stuff we do not need. I can not wait to distribute this stuff to charities, hospices and anyone who really needs and we are building a habit of living with less, it feels great. I want to see just how little we can live with.

Action Step: Before you make that next purchase give it 24-48 hours before you click buy it now and if you still want by then, it's fine but more often than not it's an impulse.

Give More

This year our business plans on giving more than we have ever given before, not just donations but in time. Giving your time is actually free because you have plenty of it even if you tell yourself you don't. We will be helping in our community wherever possible and we have already booked to do pamper parties within our salon for care workers and nurses that have been so busy during the pandemic. 

Giving has to be the best way of creating happiness as it always by law has to come back to you in some form or another. Giving advice is another skill everyone shares as we all have experiences that we can share. I plan on going into schools where possible this year to share my experiences in business and life to help students better understand the needs in the world and help them get over their worries about getting a job and how that is best served. If I am able to I want to mentor someone whom I can show and shadow to maybe their first employment role.

We have 3 businesses and 2 unruly children so if we can spare the time to give more, most people out there can do the same.

Action Step: Ask your local hospital or hospice if you could volunteer for a few hours a month or write a blog on your experiences and get it out there, you don't know who you might be helping.

Change Something

There is a famous saying and it goes like this: If you want something to change, you have to change something. There couldn't be a more truer statement out there. I hear many people moaning or complaining about their situation or circumstance but day in day out carry on doing the same thing putting it down to luck or they will get around to it one day. If we continually change and evolve we will change our circumstances mainly for the better. Sometimes change does go wrong but as long as we learn through our mistakes we will be better versions of ourselves going forward. 

If you believe in fate or not you are in control of your destiny and whether you turn left or right you will have a different outcome. So knowing this, if you change just a small thing in your life the outcome could be exponential. It could be something as small as not putting the TV on and reading a book or using this lockdown time to really hone your baking skills. Any change is a good thing and if we all make one small change for the better we can all become that little bit happier.

Action Step: One area I believe makes the most change in my life is to change the direction that you travel to work or walk the dog, you will notice so much more and maybe even bump into someone who has that next opportunity for you. 

CHANGE YOUR HAIR CARE ROUTINE

Slow Down

It's so important to slow down, as we travel through our journey of life we become busier and busier on the quest of more and more money in which we will be able to retire eventually but to what end. What does this look like for you because if we want to retire happy we need to be fit and healthy and if we do not slow down in the main part of our lives our health will be compromised. 

Before we know it time goes by and we have been running if not sprinting on this treadmill that is life doing the same thing day in day out with looking at the here and now and how we can actually enjoy the now. If we start to live in the now we can always be happy and will have more time and headspace to eat better, exercise more and spend more time with our loved ones. 

We do not want to get to what is seemingly the mecca of life that is retirement and be unhappy, unhappy that we didn't spend time with our children, our parents and our partners. Experiences are the key to happiness now and if we can share this with our loved ones we can truly be happy when we come to slow down.

This is why going for a walk is one of the best activities you can do to help not only your physical health but most importantly your mental health.

Active Steps: Try breathing techniques or meditation to slow down your thoughts, your actions and to get clarity in your mind. Reading self help or learning books are a great way to slow down and better our minds.

Be Yourself

Being true to ourselves keeps us accountable and we stay authentic and genuine to our friends and family. If you have an opinion or a question you should speak it. In our teams we will encourage them to question our decisions and to put forward theirs. If our teams can all be themselves we all know who we are dealing with and can all be up front with each other so there isn't any ill feeling or arguments, everything out in the open. 

Speaking openly can be awkward but ultimately be the undoing of many rumours and speculation.

Action Step: Do you know what I hid for many years? It was my why, my reason for doing what I do. It was not telling my own wife and life partner that I wanted to change education and set up my own school, in fear of being laughed at. So I challenge you to tell someone who you care about your why, your great big dream. Maybe it just might spur you on.

Don't Look Back

As we say a massive goodbye to 2020 we have to reflect on a year that will forever be in our memories for one reason. But we must reflect on all of the good that it produced. Many business leaders I have spoken to have had much the same feeling. That we must slow down, want less, be ourselves, change, give more, share, love ourselves and get out of our comfort zones. The future is where it's at but the right now is where you will find happiness, so go and give your wife or your kids or your dog a great big hug and tell them you love them. Because if we dwell on the past we will be indebted to it and we will never move on. 

Remember you can not change the past and you certainly can not predict the future but you can live and be happy right now.   

We will be implementing all of these revolutions in the coming weeks and months and we hope to make a permanent change in all of our mindsets however big or small.

How will you make a difference this year and beyond?