The power of patience: why taking your time is key for personal growth

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Inspired by our exclusive interview with Joe Sugg, nature's our greatest influence – teaching us about the value of the moment, and gradual growth

The power of patience: why taking your time is key for personal growth

Dear Happiful readers,

What is it that Ferris Bueller says? “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

It’s funny to think this classic pop culture reference could really be advocating mindfulness (along with taking a much-needed ‘day off’). And while we wouldn’t encourage you to mimic all the exploits of the protagonist, giving yourself permission to have fun, take a break, and savour the moment are certainly traits worth embracing.

In this issue, we’re encouraging you to take a leaf out of Ferris’s book. We’re calling for a respite from the relentless noise of the world, asking you to press pause, and revel in the journey, the experience, and not just the destination.

The patience of nature really epitomises this. Not only is the wilderness a place to marvel at and treasure the present, but it serves a valuable lesson. We might not be able to see growth before our eyes as it’s happening, but day by day, change is there. And in a week, or a month, progress can be unrecognisable!

Our special edition cover star Joe Sugg is certainly on board with this. In our exclusive interview, Joe opens up about the value of taking your time – how we’re so often in a rush, we don’t appreciate the advances we’re making. That, in particular, with our wellness, there’s no quick-fix. It’s about devoting the ongoing time, energy, and care to yourself over the long-term that matters.

The power of patience: why taking your time is key for personal growth

So, with that in mind, we’ve peppered this edition with a wealth of features to support gradual growth, and living for the moment – from setting ourselves free by joining the anti-perfectionist movement, to rediscovering our silly sides, and the power of adult play. Plus, our print-exclusive journaling pages are all about taking inspiration from nature to support our personal growth.

Let’s move away from a life at full-speed, and instead try a change of pace. Take a step into the unknown, and let you heart roam.

Your wildest imagination is a wonderful place to be.

Rebecca Thair
Editor


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Ranch Melt in Your Mouth Baked Chicken Recipe

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Ranch Melt in Your Mouth Baked Chicken Recipe

Buckle up and get ready for the best chicken recipe of your entire life! It is buttery, ranchy, and smoky with a crunchy panko topping. You’re going to be making this one over and over again!

Just 8 days before moving to a new city I decided to throw together a quick and easy chicken recipe for dinner that I honestly wasn’t even thinking about what I was doing. I was just trying to finish off things in the fridge, freezer and pantry as that’s always how I move- stop buying food and eat through as much as possible so I have less packing. 

Which means I created a killer chicken dinner recipe

a photo of a single panko covered chicken breast sitting in a creamy sauce with a serving of fresh green beans on the side.

UGH.

That’s always how it goes, when I’m not thinking and just playing in the kitchen the best recipes emerge. 

Thankfully I had enough thought after hearing Cade say for the 500th time that night, “THIS CHICKEN JUST MELTS IN MY MOUTH! It’s awesome!!!” to pause what I was doing and write it all down in my phone. 

This week I finally busted out the recipe and made magic happen again and I stand by this recipe until the end of time, it’s just that good! 

a photo of a 9x13 white baking dish full of golden chicken breasts baked in a creamy ranch sauce with a serving spoon sitting in the dish.Read more

Autumn watch: how to help our hibernating animal friends

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As winter draws closer, you might be wondering how you can best support local wildlife. While, in the UK, only hedgehogs, bats, and dormice are officially known to hibernate, many other species rest up and hide away to conserve energy – and there are numerous ways you can help!

Hedgehogs

Autumn watch: how to help our hibernating animal friends

These little creatures are perhaps the most likely hibernators to be found hanging around a British garden, so the best advice is to be cautious when tidying any potential hibernation spots near your house from late autumn.

If you have a compost pile, or are considering creating one, this is a particular favourite sleeping spot of hedgehogs, so you’ll be helping already! Just be careful when aerating or adding to your pile. Or, if you’re looking for other proactive ways to help, you could buy a specially-designed ‘hedgehog house’, or build a makeshift one from piles of discarded logs and leaves.

Tip:

Leave out tinned dog or cat food to help any travelling hogs build fat reserves. While it used to be common, it’s best not to leave milk out, as this can cause digestive problems for them.

Bats

Bats typically hibernate in groups, in quiet, cool areas – about 75% in trees in the UK, while the remainder might choose to roost under the eaves of buildings, or find their way into crevices in old brickwork.

The best thing you can do to help bats is simply not disturb them. Waking a hibernating creature can cost it a lot of its energy reserves, and, according to the Bat Conservation Trust, could lead to starvation for bats, as they lose their fats stores. But if you want more proactive suggestions, you could put up a bat box in a sheltered spot, roughly 4m above the ground.

Tip:

Invite more nocturnal flying insects into your garden, as food sources for bats, by planting night-scented flowers such as white jasmine, honeysuckle, and evening primrose.

Autumn watch: how to help our hibernating animal friends

Dormice

While they spend the summer months primarily in hedgerows or tree branches, in the winter these small mammals descend to the ground to nest in piles of logs or in grass clumps at the base of trees.

Leaving out food supplies can be helpful for when dormice do wake up, including berries, buds, and, in particular, hazelnuts, which are a great source of fat for them. If you have, or can plant, hazel trees, these are ideal habitats for dormice – and given their dwindling numbers, any help we can give to create mini sanctuaries for these mammals could be a huge bonus.

Tip:

Allow brambles and ivy to grow a little more wild where you can, as this can offer another good shelter option for visiting dormice.

Frogs

Amphibians often rest at the bottom of ponds over the winter months, so it’s best to clean them out before winter arrives. This gives frogs a clean and healthy environment, and helps prevent gas building up from decomposing materials below the surface if ice forms. If freezing conditions do occur, remember not to ‘smash’ the ice, as th

The Little Things Newsletter #332 – Life, laughter, and lots of great food!

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Welcome to the weekend, friends! I did a double-take when I wrote today’s date for the newsletter. Much like Anne Shirley, “I’m so very glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” The pretty leaves, the cooler weather with a promise of fall and winter activities, cozy fires (we lit the first one last night!), mugs of tea and cocoa in the afternoon, I love it all.

And not that I’m rushing things one bit, but I can hardly wait for the first snowfall. (Sorry, native Ohioans, that will never not be exciting for me!) I’ll be in Phoenix this week, and while the sunshine and visits with family and friends are always lovely, I can tell you now that I’ll be counting down the days until I’m back home to enjoy all the awesomeness that is fall in Ohio.

ON THE BLOG this week: Full of spiced ground beef and covered in tangy tomato sauce, cabbage roll casserole is a hearty stick-to-your-ribs meal. With all the flavor of the more labor-intensive Cabbage Rolls with a minimum of effort, this is a dinner-time win.

Peanut Butter Apple Dip is simple and slightly sweet, perfect to enjoy with apples, pretzels, or anything you can dip into it. Judging from the fact that at least 4 people requested the recipe the first time I made this, (and I nearly couldn’t stop laughing when I told them how simple it was) I’m calling this a success. What’s not to love about an appetizer that takes about 3 minutes to throw together?

This fully loaded Chicken Potato Broccoli Casserole starts with fluffy mashed potatoes that are mixed with tender bites of broccoli and chicken, then generously sprinkled with bacon and cheese. The result is an absolutely irresistible dinner.

Pumpkin muffins filled with melting chocolate chips and bursting with autumn spices – is there anything more quintessentially fall than the smell of pumpkin spices drifting through the house?

Baked oatmeal, loaded with summer berries and lightly sweetened with brown sugar is a great way to start the day. Berries are a mainstay in my refrigerator. The other day I had a few things that needed to be used up and baked oatmeal was the perfect way to make sure those berries didn’t go to waste.

What I’m CRAVING: These Cinnamon Coffee Twists caught my eye this week. They sound fantastic and I don’t know when I’ve seen a prettier cinnamon roll.

My FAVORITE THINGS this week are these inexpensive little jar openers. Nothing makes me feel older than when I can’t get a jar open these days. Seriously though, what’s the deal with feeling like

Do I need a health coach, a counsellor, or a nutritionist?

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With so many different experts out there, how do you know which is the right one for you? We explain more about how health coaches, counsellors, and nutritionists can help you

Do I need a health coach, a counsellor, or a nutritionist?

Who doesn’t want to be healthier? An England-wide survey of over 5,000 adults found that nearly 80% of over 18s wanted to make healthier lifestyle changes. For many, that means eating more healthily (40%), losing weight (39%), and exercising more (41%).

Being healthier can mean a lot of different things, for different people. For some, it’s making the switch from junk food and ready meals to learning how to cook a more nutritious meal (without spending too much time or money). It may mean losing or gaining weight, incorporating regular exercise into your daily or weekly routine. Or it could mean finding healthier balances between work and life, decreasing overall stress levels, and putting your wellbeing first.

With so many differing goals to become ‘healthier’, how do we know the right kind of experts to reach out to? We explain more about the different kinds of help and support out there, what they can help with, and how you can figure out which pathway is right for you.

What is health coaching and how can a health coach help me?

We all know that making healthier choices isn’t as easy as just deciding to change. If it was, we’d all be able to make big, sustainable changes without needing help and support.

Health coaching is about gaining support in making nutrition, fitness, and/or lifestyle changes. This could be to help with a specific, diagnosed health issue or with your general health and wellbeing. A health coach can act as a mentor, helping you to figure out what changes you want to make, set realistic milestones and goals, as well as learning new skills and techniques to put your physical health and mental wellbeing first.

Different health coaches may offer different specialisms. Generally speaking, health coaches can help you with a broad range of issues that could be holding you back from living a healthier life. This could include weight management, career development, learning how to manage stress or relationship issues, creating a better work/life balance, and more.

Wellness coaches may offer overlapping help. If you’re primarily looking to improve your sense of mental wellbeing, working with a wellness coach could be the answer.

What is wellness coaching?

It’s important to remember that while health coaches can help with a broad variety of issues and goals, they hold distinctly different qualifications to counsellors, nutritionists, medical experts, and personal trainers (unless otherwise stated by

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