This year as you know I am working on self-care for myself because let’s be honest, I didn’t do it very well at all last year or the beginning of this year.

I needed to take action.

I needed to change how I went about making goals and achieving them.

I am someone who needs accountability for my goals.

I really do and I will admit it.

I can achieve them when I know that there is someone who can help me and guide me in the right direction.

What holds me back from reaching my goals?

Well let me give you some reasons that are on my list-

• I am afraid of failure
• I am afraid that I will not get it right
• I am afraid of looking like an imposter
• I am afraid of not being perfect
• I am afraid of looking silly
• I am afraid of getting things wrong
• I am afraid of making a mistake
• I am afraid of people judging me
• I am afraid of my judgement of myself
• Sometimes I am just afraid
• Sometimes I just don’t believe in myself
• I am impatient with myself
• I feel like I should know it straight away
• I feel inadequate
• I feel like I don’t have the skills

Should I go on?

No, we need to stop that inner critic, we all have one.

You know that little voice that can either set you up well, that can encourage and help you with your goals or the one that tears you down.

We have a choice of which one to listen to every day.

I have two mentors that I am very grateful for and for different areas in my life.

I have a Personal Trainer for my gym journey and I am very grateful for him. I meet every few weeks for a session and then I work on my own. I have a program in which I can record my sessions and this encourages me.

Do I think I know what I am doing?

No, but I have someone that I can check if what I am doing is helping me move forward with my goals.

My goal for the gym is to work towards a photo shoot and then the next step is to work towards a competition.

What!

This is why I need someone that I can be accountable to.

I need someone who can see the road ahead more clearly than I can.

My other Mentor is my music mentor who I have known now since 2008. She is in Melbourne and we catch up now by Zoom.

She helps me with my creative goals, for example speaking, singing and writing.

I started back up with her a few months ago and there is progress.

I also have another writer friend who lives in Perth and we catch up for coffee and talk about writing and other things.

I know for me that this just works.

All of my mentors came into my life at just the right time.

I am very grateful for them.

2023 is looking and feeling very different to last year.

I am working towards new goals and have support from my mentors.

Today I have completed week twenty-one of my gym journey.

Wow!

What have I learnt from the journey so far?

Quite a bit.

I have to be organised, I am now at the gym 5 mornings a week and this is non-negotiable for me.

I joined a new gym about 14 weeks ago as my trainer moved gyms.

I am grateful for my trainer as I am someone who needs to have someone with who I can be accountable for my goals.

It is working.

I have made new goals with my trainer for the next few months, which I am excited about.

I started at the gym because I wanted to focus on self-care, which to be honest I didn’t really do that well last year.

Last year was difficult.

My word for the year is self-care.

I knew I needed to focus on caring about myself this year.

Going to the gym in the morning before work sets me up for the day.

I know that I have given myself some time before I go and care for others.

I know I have taken time to focus on a goal I want to achieve.

I know that I can push myself in the gym and see progress.

I know that I need to be kind to myself as I go.

I know that I am getting stronger and this is also mentally.

I know that I look forward to my workout.

I know that I really enjoy my time at the gym.

I know that if I can commit to going to the gym in Winter when it was dark, wet and cold, then bring on Spring.

I know that now I am committed.

I know that this is a priority for me.

I know that I probably need to stop buying new gym clothes, maybe.

I know that going in the morning is the best time for me, I tried going after work and it didn’t happen.

I know that I still have so much to learn.

I know that I am looking forward to seeing my progress in the next few months.

I am excited to see what happens.

What is a goal that you have been working on this year?

I would love to hear from you, let’s encourage one another.

Will share more soon.

Have you heard that saying if you don’t fill your own bucket, you can’t help others?

Another one is you can’t pour from an empty cup.

I am in a caring role and am giving out a lot as a primary school Chaplain.

Last year was a difficult year, it was probably the most difficult year I have had as a Chaplain.

In October I will be celebrating 12 years as a Chaplain.

Yeah! I love what I get to do.

Last year was full on I had COVID which took me about a good six weeks to recover. I had very little energy.

Then there were two critical incidents that happened in about the space of 4 months apart.

I didn’t realise that I had gone into a pit, not a real one and an emotional one.

I had long service leave this year in February and I just crashed.

Life felt heavy, sad and dark.

It felt like a storm was coming and setting in for the next few months.

I didn’t see it coming, it blindsided me, it took me off guard.

It took my breath away, it took my joy away, I felt like I had been punched in the stomach and I was struggling to get my breath back.

I remember sitting on my couch, crying and thinking this is not what I had planned for my long service leave.

I did not have on my to-do list-

• Sit on the couch
• Cry
• Don’t go anywhere
• Don’t see any friends
• Sleep
• Watch Netflix.

I didn’t want to be creative, write, sing, or enjoy my life.

Slowly the storm clouds broke and I could see a glimmer of sunlight trying to cut through the darkness.

It didn’t happen overnight, it took effort, it took reaching out and asking for help.

Which just saying for me, is a huge thing.

It took prayer.

I decided as you may have known that this year is all about self-care.

It is about me doing things that fill my bucket.

When I went back to work, I was having a discussion with a friend, she said your bucket wasn’t very full last year.

I said a bucket, I just had a handle.

We laughed until we were crying with laughter.

It was so good to laugh, it was so good to have joy back.

This year I am making self-care a priority, to fill my bucket.

What are you making a priority this year, to fill your bucket?

Would love to hear from you.

Much love

Tracey

I started a new thing on Thursday 11^th of May 2023, I went to the gym at 5.45 am.

Yes, I know 5.45 am.

Now it is the 24 of June and I have been going to the gym at 5.45 am four days a week.

This is week seven of my gym journey and I am so enjoying my new routine.

Yes, it is cold and dark.

I had a thought to myself the other morning, it is going to be cold whatever time I get up because it is Winter.

Yes, sometimes I do want to stay in my nice warm bed but I feel so good when I get there.

I feel like I have accomplished a huge goal.

I am now getting up at 4.45 am, I have a coffee and get ready for the gym.

It does take a bit of being organised.

On Sundays, I will meal prep and organise my meals for the week.

This has saved me so much time during the week.

I will make sure my clothes have been washed and I have clothes clean for the week.

I have a new routine the day before-

• I will lay out my gym clothes and my work clothes for the next day
• I will organise my breakfast and lunch
• I will make sure that I have everything organised for the next day for work
• I make sure that my alarm is set for 4.45 am at least 4 times a week.

It does take a bit of organising, I am now going into week eight of my gym journey and my new routine.

I have also decided that for this term at school, I will not have takeaways and I will cook my own meals. This is something that I have achieved.

I am so enjoying it.

My routine does take a bit of discipline and organisation, it is so worth it.

I am looking forward to week nine for my new gym program.

What is something you can do this week for yourself?

What is something you can do for your self-care?

Let me encourage you in your journey.

I would love to hear from you.

Tracey

This year for me started out quite interesting.

I had school holidays from late December until February this year and then I had long service leave for 5 weeks.

In total, I had 11 weeks of leave, wow!

I had so much planned I wanted to get into the gym and work out, I wanted to go and stay at a hotel near the beach.

I wanted to take walks along the beach and just listen to the waves and feel the sand under my feet.

I wanted to declutter my house and sort through things.

I wanted to go out for lunch and catch up with friends for coffee.

I wanted to work on my self-care.

I wanted to journal.

I wanted to work on my book.

I had so much planned for this time off.

But!

I did not realise the impact that last year had on me.

It was probably one of the hardest years I have had as a Chaplain.

I felt like I carried that year on my shoulders and didn’t know the weight of what I was carrying.

I didn’t realise the impact it had on my body until I stopped after Christmas.

I mean I really stopped; I had no desire to go anywhere.

I had no desire to be creative and I love being creative.

I just sat on my couch and watched Netflix.

It was not what I had planned.

I felt like I had fallen into a deep pit and I had no idea how to get out.

I was stuck.

It was difficult and I reached out for help.

I was advised that I just needed to rest and recover.

I was questioning how do I do that, what does that look like for me.

I didn’t plan to spend my holidays, staying at home.

I went back to work and really didn’t feel 100% but I was so happy to see everyone.

Slowly I began my climb out of the pit.

I prayed.

It was a journey and I slowly began climbing out of the pit.

There is hope, there is always hope and sometimes you need a pause to gather your thoughts and work on your new journey.

If you are feeling like you are in a pit, reach out and keep reaching until you find someone who listens to you.

Keep reaching out, until you find someone that is there for you.

I am cheering you on.

I will share more soon.

Tracey Buckley

I joined the gym late last year in December, I think that I was helping them pay their mortgage for a while.

I decided finally to get a Personal Trainer and we worked on my goals and what I wanted to achieve by going to the gym.

My goal at the time was to go to the gym three times a week.

In February I was on long service leave from my job and I did get to the gym a few times and then I went back to work and things sort of stalled.

My turning point- I had a session with my trainer one morning at 5.45 am. Yes, read that again 5.45 am. Well, this morning he didn’t turn up (there was a confusion about the day) so I thought I am here so let’s do a workout. It was the push I needed.

I am grateful for the day mix up as this started me on my gym journey

I am now finishing week 4 of going 3 times a week and I love it.

I get up at 4.45 am have my coffee and then get ready.

I am at the gym at 5.45 am on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings.

I am loving it.

I have noticed that I am getting stronger, I have put my weights up on most of my exercises.

I have also planked for 5 minutes and 8 seconds.

This week I am going to try to plank for 6 minutes, aarhh.

Now just letting you know that I am not doing it for weight loss, I am wanting to get fit, tone up and for my mental health.

I am enjoying taking some time out of my busy day and spending time on my self-care.

Self-care is my word for this year and yes it is a work in progress.

I will share more soon.

Tracey

Last week I wrote about self-care and last year I really didn’t do it that well.

There was a lot going on.

So, I am putting in plans to do it well this year.

This is my self-care part two.

I know that it is another venerable post but I am wanting to be real with my blogs.

I am wanting to make a difference.

What are my plans for this year-

• Walk twice a week
• Sing everyday
• Go to the gym 3 times a week
• Once a month boxing session
• Blog one to two times a week
• Finish work on time once a week
• Work on songs – this could be writing and learning the lyrics
• Got to art therapy
• Sleep in one day on the weekend
• Catching up with friends
• Going out for coffee
• Being creative
• Write
• Work on my book
• Catch up with family
• Catch up with my nieces and nephew
• Visit my music mentor this year in Melbourne
• This is a difficult one for me but saying no to things (aahhh)
•  Have fun.

What are you putting in place for your self-care I would love to hear from you.

Let’s encourage one another in our journey.

Let’s cheer each other on.

From Tracey

My word for this year is-

  Self-Care

This is a vulnerable post, and I really want to encourage others through my journey.

Last year was the most challenging year that I have had in a long time.

As a Chaplain and also in my life journey.

I work as a primary school chaplain and I love my role, I really do.

I think that the last time that I have a year like this was in 2016, but that was also mild compared to last year.

There have also been other challenging years like 2007, but that is another journey that I will share later.

You know when you just go and keep on going when there are difficult situations happening?

It is like you have dived underwater and do not know where the surface is.

It is like you swim to the bottom, you swim to the side and then finally you find the surface.

You have held your breath for so long and when you eventually surface, you find yourself gasping for air.

It is time-consuming, it really is

This year I am going to focus on my self-care.

For me this is quite challenging, I know that I can support others but I need to take what I say to others and take my own advice.

Yes.

This year I am going to focus on things that I really love.

I am going to do things that fill my bucket.

I love being creative I really do.

So, this year I have joined a gym and have an amazing personal trainer.

He is also a boxer, so I have had I few PT sessions with him.

I also want to get back into my singing.

My plan this year is to visit my music mentor who is in Melbourne.

She is from Carer and Carter; they are country music artists who have won golden guitars.

I will share how I met her in another blog.

I have also decided not to take on too many things.

I find this difficult and after last year I really need to change what I do.

I want to do things that fill my bucket.

I was talking with a friend this year that said your bucket was not full.

I said my bucket, I only had the handle.

We laughed about this.

I am so grateful for the amazing people that I work with that have been there for me.

It has encouraged me so much.

I am grateful.

I will share more later.

What are you grateful for today?

Let’s encourage one another.

Tracey

I love being creative, I really do.

Most of you will know if you have been following me that I work as a primary school Chaplain, which I love.

I really do.

I love spending the weekends being creative.

Creativity for me is investing in self-care.

We always talk about self-care and what that looks like.

It is really important.

I must confess sometimes I am not very good at self-care.

I know.

I had a session with my supervisor this week and she knows that this term for me has been very busy and full on.

As I have said to some people that I work with, this term just looks different.

This term has been full on.

This term has been busy.

This term has been about others.

This term has had moments when I just sit in the space with students that want to have a chat.

This term I am available for them, they are my priorities.

My self-care has been-

So, this weekend I have been looking at a course about creating a journal by Roma Waterman.

Roma Waterman is an amazing Christian woman.

I have also been posting on Tik Tok, my user name is princesssparkles24, and I would love you to follow me.

I am also on Instagram traceybuckley1.

I have also been working on making some journals as well.

I am committing this week to create something every day and posting it.

I would love to hear what you are doing for self-care, let’s encourage one another.

I am also passionate about community.

Love you

Tracey

I don’t know about you but life gets busy, it really does.

I have just returned from a 5-day school camp with the year 6’s at one of the schools that I work at.

We went to Point Peron in Rockingham and had the most amazing time.

I was able to do abseiling, archery, orienteering, laser tag and the Point Peron Challenge.

Oh, and The Tracey Show, I will tell you more about this in another blog.

It was long days but oh so worth it, so many lovely memories were made.

I came home exhausted but very grateful.

I did rest for the whole weekend.

I have been thinking a lot about what brings me joy and bringing more joy back into my life.

Now it is not that I have totally lost my joy, it is that I need to have some things in my life that fuel me. That inspires me and that sparks my creativity.

So, for the next five weeks I am setting myself a challenge.

Drum roll please………………

My challenge for the next few weeks is to do something every day to bring more joy into my life.

To keep myself accountable I will blog about the things that I do.

I might even share some of my adventures on tik tok.

Search for @princesssparkles24.

I am being very vulnerable here.

Let’s encourage one another.

What is one thing that you can do each day to bring more joy to your life?

I would love to hear from you.

Let the challenge begin.

Lots of love

Tracey