With all of the horrendous events happening last Friday 13th, I've found that it's really important not to take things for granted. Instead we all need to look around us and be grateful for having our friends and family, along with our health and security.
So I've made a pledge to myself to try and spread a little sunshine through the cold and dark winter months by doing some good deeds on a daily basis. This can be something as simple as making a stranger smile by offering them some help, or even doing my bit for future generations by making some environmentally-sound consumer choices.
The first thing I've tried to do is to simply face each day with a little more optimism. This can be tough when it's getting darker in the mornings, but if we don't all make a little effort to greet each other with a smile, then the world's going to be a much more gloomy place – and it's even been proven that a little optimism can help us live longer too!
Even the way that we eat can have have a positive impact too. I know that with kids it can be all too easy to eat takeaways and indulge on freezer food, but everyone's going to feel a little better if they try and maintain a healthy diet that means that we can all try and eat ourselves happy!
By shopping locally and using less packaging, we'll also be helping the environmental concerns of our planet too. There are lots of local organisations such as Totally Locally that aim to help us improve our local communities through shopping through small and independent businesses. Not only can this help our surroundings, but it can prove a lot more interesting too!
What we actually choose to buy can be be incredibly important in giving our planet a helping hand. Even something as simple as buying an energy-efficient electric radiator from Verismart can not only help us burn less fossil fuels which will cut down the greenhouse effect, but it will limit our fuel bills which will leave us a little extra money to spend on fun things!
And finally, as we're coming up to Christmas, it's always sobering to think about those who are in need over the festive period. Whether it's the poor homeless having to survive another freezing cold night on the streets, or the fact that over one million older people haven't spoken to a friend, family member or neighbour in over a month, I'm going to try and make a real effort to get out there and do a little extra good in the upcoming months.
Remember to always think positive,
Jada x
