Sharks! And being brave...

Well, after a super rainy December in Sydney we’ve finally got our summer. Right this minute, the laundry’s drying outside, there are pool towels everywhere, teens have been enjoying swimming at our place and I’ve been loving the warm weather and sunshine.

I know: we are so lucky. Covid during winter isn’t great—I know this because we did our autumn-into-winter when it all started in 2020. Summer does make Covid a lot easier to handle, and in Australia we’re fortunate with fewer people unwell and lighter restrictions on gatherings.

Wherever you are today, can I share a snippet of my world to make you feel a little better?

I’ve been thinking about bravery. For personal reasons that I’m not ready to share, I need a lot of bravery this year. Life is staring me right in the face like a smiling shark and it’s time for me to grow up (yet again) and do some hard things.

You guys, I am scared. I love comfort and success and celebration and ease. I love having fun and being fun for other people.

I don’t love swimming with sharks.

You want to know what I do when I have to grow (or grow up)? I pull out my thoughts and take a look at what I’m believing.

• If there’s FEAR, I need IDEAS.

• If there’s WORRY, I need PRACTICAL STEPS.

• If there’s SPINNING IN CIRCLES, I need a PLAN. (A plan that feels do-able, small steps, believable.)

I try to choose better thoughts as if a waiter’s walking by with several thoughts on a platter and I can take some new ones that will serve me better.

Today I read this and it helped.

Maybe it will help you, too.

I know the world is so hard right now for so many people. Yes, we’re lucky (infinitely lucky) in Australia because we’ve got summer and less Covid than so many other countries in the world. But here’s the truth: we all have our things. Remember this post? Nobody rides for free. It’s a good one, so if you’re new and you missed it, you might want to take a second to read it today.

All of us are in this together. We have right now—no guarantees of anything beyond that. Let’s go out there and try to make this weekend a good one…sharks, no sharks, or something in between.

Sending love (& loving all the new people who are here because of The 10 Minute Fix. Wow, I’m honoured that so many of you around the world are loving this book. I wrote it for us, so thank you! More friends! Yayyyyyy! You’re so welcome here every Sunday.)

Love Catherine x

PS.

• Okay, this made me laugh SO MUCH…see my Christmas swimmers above? That was one of my favourite presents. I was wearing that bikini last night when our 20-year old son walked in from his Brazilian Jujitsu class. He looked up and said, “Well THAT’S a stab in the eyeballs.” Seriously, I just about peed laughing. Do you think he’s had too many lovely young women in bikinis around this summer, and not a lot of 54-year-old mothers??? But body love means that I honour my own choices, and I’m choosing two-piece forever. You do you and I’ll do me! xo.

• Anyway, if you love my swimmers, you can order online and they’re such a great price. They have a real 1970s vibe, the fabric is thick and feels like terry towelling, and I love them. Not an #ad, but you can get yours here. Top & bottom sold separately.

Martha Beck's Secret to Life

Hello there!

In case the world feels a little crazy to you right now, I thought I’d share a quote I heard this week and absolutely loved.

“If there’s a secret to life, it’s this:
Find people you like, and do stuff with them.”

— Martha Beck, bestselling author and speaker

Simple and absolutely true.

Have you found your “people you like”? For me, 100% it’s my own family. I love (but also really really like) my sons. The older one is precise and analytical — a reader, a thinker, a talker, a breaker of chains. I can’t wait to see what he’ll offer the world. The younger one is warm and street smart — a reader of people, a creator, a builder, the one who draws together a circle of friends. He’s the glue everyone needs. And my partner is my truest friend — so smart, with wisdom to make the long shots I can’t even see, a foundation and a bridge for hundreds of people at work (and for us, too).

The family I chose and made …those are “my people.” It’s a little insular, but there’s nothing I love more than spending time with them. If you read my new book, you’ll know my favourite time of day is twilight. This photo captures one of my favourite memories with my people — dusk at Hyams Beach, three kilometres of deserted white sand, just us, laughing and running. There was a good dinner ahead of us, spaghetti bolognese cooked by me, a family movie night, beds to snuggle into, warm baths, clean sheets. This little trio — husband, son, son — is my greatest joy.

Today I’m thinking of Martha Beck’s secret to life.

Choose your people. Choose well. And do stuff with them. That really is the secret.

Happy Friday, everyone. I know things are tough out there, so that’s all the more reason to hang on to the people we love. Or this — go and find “your people”. I know they’re out there.

Enjoy your Friday.

Love, Catherine x

PS. It’s time for 31 Crush, and Victoria (the creator) is “the Victoria” in Chapter 2 of my new book, The 10 Minute Fix. She’s a creative dynamo, so lovely and so much fun! You can be coached by Victoria for the month of August — pay what you can — to fall in love with a new activity, habit or pursuit in August. Email Victoria to learn more. I did 31 Crush last year and it was magic!