I hope you’ve had a good week, and you are looking forward to the coming one. This week in JTP land I am looking at celebrations, and this is the theme as we move through the next few weeks. So for Week 1 I am focusing on celebrating wins: big and small. 

Sometimes the biggest celebrations are for the smallest things: getting out for a walk when you really aren’t feeling at your best, or choosing water instead of another coffee. Small wins stack up into big change though — so let’s start noticing them. Take a read of Your Whole Self below to see why it matters.

One of our small wins is that this week, we have (well, Keith has) completed the update of the janethomaspilates.co.uk website, and I must say, it’s looking really rather good. 

That means over the last month both our websites — the main one above, as well as the members’ jtp.zone site — have been updated, making them both easier to use and find information for the coming year. 

Come and join me for a casual catch up and coffee on the Macmillan Coffee Morning, Friday 26th September

Remember, it’s the Macmillan Coffee Morning on Friday 26 September, and to mark it I will be at the Bawdon Lodge Farm Coffee Shop (information here) for a coffee from 10am. This is purely informal, so no need to book, though it looks like it might be quite busy. I would love to see you there if you can make it. If the weather is good we might even be able to go for a walk around the Woodlands too.

As you already know from the above, over the next few weeks I am looking at celebrating the wins of the day, whether it feels small or big, and why it matters.

We hear it all the time — think big, dream big, achieve big, the world is your oyster. But I can honestly say, I think it’s the little wins that keep us going. For example how virtuous do we feel when we choose water instead of that extra coffee, squeezing in five minutes of Pilates, or — and this is definitely for me — not pressing snooze for the fourth time on my alarm. 

I believe these are victories worth celebrating, because small wins build momentum, and momentum builds habits.

Now obviously there will be big wins too, and I thought I would share one of the wonderful JTP family’s big goals, which deserves to be celebrated. She will be 80 years young in October, and to celebrate this she is going to be whizzing down the longest zip wire in Wales!  The Penryhn Quarry zip wire I think is the longest not just in Wales but in Europe, either way I can’t imagine it. She wanted to do a Sky Dive, but was advised not to based on certain health issues … but the win to celebrate is the feeling and desire to do this, raising money for Mesothelioma which sadly she lost her husband to. This is a win that she feels strong and fit and able to take on this challenge and should be celebrated, launching herself into the next decade.

Now, you might be thinking, that’s not exactly a small win! But the thing is — behind every big, daring leap there are dozens of smaller wins that builds the confidence and strength to get there. The hours of movement, the decision to keep showing up, the mindset of why not give it a go? — they all matter, they are all wins, and should be recognised as such and therefore celebrated.

Celebrating the little steps is what makes the big ones possible.

So why does it matter:  

• celebrating small wins releases feel-good hormones, and trains your brain to look for progress instead of perfection
• it keeps motivation alive and makes you more likely to keep going — who knows, one day that zip wire could be waiting for you.

So here is a mindful moment to help you acknowledge and register those small wins: 

Before bed, write down one small win from your day. Don’t dismiss it. If it mattered enough to notice, it mattered enough to celebrate.

Have a great week folks, celebrating those wins — keep looking, moving and feeling good.

With love and support,

Jane xxx