You can now pre save my new song Princess Heart, scan the QR code.
Princess Heart is the first song that I wrote. It talks about finding your identity, worth and hope,
I wrote Princess Heart in Melbourne with my music mentor Merelyn Carter.
Brett Wood plays guitar on the song, and we recorded it at The Song Store in Melbourne.
I remember being in the recording studio and saying this is my dream.
Remember that you are worthy, valued and loved.
I have a new song coming out in July, it is called Princess Heart.
I am really excited about this.
Princess Heart is the first song that I wrote while recovering from an eating disorder.
It is a song about hope, about recovery and about faith.
I wrote this song sitting in the kitchen of my music mentor Merelyn Carter house in Melbourne.
It was the first of many trips to Melbourne over the years.
I remember writing this song it was difficult and I didn’t want to finish it.
This song was written in 2008, and we reworked it last year.
I am so excited to share this with you, and I hope that it encourages you.
I will share more when the release date is finalised and where to find it.
We are now halfway through the year and it is officially winter here in Perth, Western Australia.
I have two Frangipani trees out the front of my house and I love watching the changes in them. In winter I notice the leaves start falling to the ground, the flowers are gone and it is time to shake off the old and watch what happens next. They are changing and what looks like pruning they are actually preparing themselves for the next season.
It is a bit like us, seasons come and go and changes happen.
Today I am thinking about goals for the next few months, I love to have goals.
I have a girls’ group at my schools which I run, last week we looked at goal setting and what we are working towards for this term.
My thought today is we have six months till the end of the term and what will your six months look like?
What changes do you want to see happen?
What areas in your life do you want to grow and achieve new things?
I love using SMART for my goals-
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic and
Time-bound.
Some of my goals for June are-
Setting up my private practice in counselling
Releasing my song Princess Heart
Updating my website – The Heart Project
Continuing my gym workouts 5 days a week to work towards competition in 2027
Looking at speaking opportunities
Go to an open mic.
What is a goal that you are working on or towards in June?
I would love to hear from you.
Let’s encourage one another.
June is going to be a place where growth will happen.
June is a space to create something exciting.
I will share more soon.
The past few years I have been setting myself goals and when you set goals, you find yourself stepping out of your comfort zone.
I don’t know about you but stepping out of your comfort zone takes courage, it takes a yes moment and you may be doing it with some nervous energy.
You maybe doing it with quite a lot of nervous energy.
It is saying yes to new things when you really just want to stay home and hide under the covers.
I think that growth happens in the moment of the inbetween, that decision of the goal and then reaching the goal.
I describe myself like a duck on the outside, people will see me gliding across the water without making a ripple, but don’t let that fool you, I am paddling for my life underneath.
Goals are scary because it is places we have never experienced before and stepping into those places is where you learn so much about who you are.
It is stepping into the unknown.
How do we do this without shrinking back and not believing in what we are capable of?
To be honest, it begins with a yes.
Yes, I will commit to this goal, yes I wll talk to others that can support and encourage me in working towards the goal.
Shrinking back and playing small is what I have done for most of my life, especially being a people pleaser (I am still working on this).
We all have a dream, a goal, a desire in our hearts.
It may be buried at the moment, but the joy is in discovering the hidden dream.
Take that dance class you have been thinking about doing, go to an art class, try something just for fun.
You never know what will happen.
This week, decide on one thing that you would like to do that you have been thinking about. Then say yes and see what happens.
I am cheering you on and you have got this.
I will share more soon.
Today is the first weekend in about 4 weeks that I have nothing planned.
It has been a very productive last 4 weeks, and I am very grateful for every opportunity.
I have entered a bodybuilding comp and am now working on growth phase, so I am still working out Monday to Friday, cardio three times a week, steps to get in and practising posing.
I also was interviewed on the couch about my song Rise, which was a great experience. You can watch that on YouTube or Foxtel.
Last weekend was one of my niece’s 21st birthday and then Mother’s Day.
I also had a session with my music mentor and am working on one of my songs, Another Summer and Butterflies. We are getting this ready to record.
Also, I am working in my role as a primary school Chaplain five days a week, which I love.
Today is a day of rest, one where I am staying home for the whole day. There is still meal prepping to organise, steps to get in and things to do around the house. Working on my website as well.
Recovery is important, rest days are important and slowing down is important.
What do you do to relax and look after yourself?
What is one thing that you could plan today, even for 30 minutes?
Take the time to rest, take the time to recharge and take the time to look after yourself.
I would love to hear from you about how you rest.
Last weekend I had another new adventure, where I had an interview on The Couch.
I have been stepping out of my comfort zone lately.
I was interviewed about my song Rise and then I got to sing my song.
I loved the experience and the opporunity.
Please enjoy.
Saturday, 25 of April, I competed in my first bodybuilding competition in Perth, WA.
I have been training since I committed to my gym journey on May 11 2023.
I said to my coach I need a new goal, and I decided to compete.
It has been an interesting journey, and I have learned so much along the way.
I have an amazing coach who supports me and listens to my many, many questions.
It has been a journey of early mornings and following my training and meal plans.
I loved the whole process of this journey. Except for my little moment on registration day when I got my outfit. I was in the moment of. I don’t think I can do this. I am so not ready for this. I was already so invested for me there was no turning back, and I had already paid for everything.
What have I learnt along the way-
Trust your coach
Follow your meal plan
Get organised
Meal prep
Ask questions
Trust the process
Show up everyday for your gym sessions
It is cold in the mornings in winter (but it is okay)
Believe in yourself
and
You can do it.
Peak week I found so strange, I am so used to singing and speaking on stage, but this was so different. This was a different level. I know for me there were so many new and unknown experiences.
There were so many new experiences, 3 layers of tan, finding the venue, seeing the stage for the first time, just finding my way around,
Did I like it? Yes. Would I do it again? Of course.
We are looking at April 2027.
Now the new goal is to build more muscle, eat more, yeah!
The journey continues.
I am so glad you are here, you are worthy, valued and loved
I have been quite lately with my writing and that was because I was on school holidays which I really enjoyed.
I just needed some time to decompress.
Last year was a full year so productive, I loved it.
I released my first single Rise, and that was a beautiful experience. I was on the radio, and hearing my song on the radio was my dream.
The whole experience of writing, recording and the end product was my dream.
I also finally completed my Diploma of Counselling, Yeah!
I decided to commit to finishing it by the end of last year and I did.
I am also working towards my first body building competition this year. This has been one of those trust the process journey.
I have been working with my coach and I have a posing coach as well.
As well as all of the above I work full time in my role as a Primary School Chaplain which I love.
This year I am really excited for I will be releasing another single soon and hopefully will be going back to Melbourne for more recording.
I have also been going to open mics.
This year my other goals are to speak more, sing more and share my journey more.
What are your goals for this year?
What is something that we can encourage each other with?
Keep dreaming, shining and showing up.
You have got this.
I will share more soon.
I am so excited to share that my song Rise has now been released, we released it on 1st of September in time for Body Awareness and Eating Disorder week.
Rise is available on Spotify and YouTube.
This has been a dream for me, and it is so surreal.
I have had so many amazing people help me on this journey.
I have to say that I am so grateful for Merelyn Carter from Carter & Carter.
We have been on this journey for many years.
Rise is a song about overcoming, it is my story, my testimony.
It is about finding hope in those difficult moments,
I want to make a difference.
I will share more soon.
Tracey Buckley
theheartproject.net 