At the time of typing I'm in Spain, enjoying a few days of holidays with my family. The timing is perfect - I was really needing to have a break from my usual life in London. You know when you've been exposed to so much information that you cannot digest one more word - that's precisely how I felt just before traveling here.

These visits always work like a re-adjusting mechanism for me. I have the time to distance myself from my own life, to look at what I'm doing, to be open to hear what life tells me regarding how I'm moving forward.

And in this particular occasion everything is talking to me about change. Maybe not so much change on the outside - but certainly change in the inside. The old ways of going about life no longer seem bearable, let alone enjoyable. I feel a need to learn new things and to practice new behaviours (read more about this in the thought of the month, down below).

It feels as if all that I have been reading about in the past few years was coming together now - as in, "that was the theory, now comes the practice". I am finding pleasure in activities that don't seem that pleasurable at first - i.e. noticing my own predictable reactions to common events, and stopping myself from following the same path. In short, I'm finding pleasure in all new ways of going about life.

Overall this year, for me, feels as if marked with a big sign of excitement and of welcoming the unknown. I think that life is changing quicker and quicker every day, and that we are witnessing times where, what was valid yesterday, is no longer applicable today.

For some, as Terence McKenna stated, this will be terrifying. For others, this will be exhilarating. I'm no doubt in the second group. And I take that if you're reading this, chances are you are in the second group too.

What else is coming? Let's keep our eyes and ears open, let's take full advantage of the opportunities that arise. Here, have a beautiful month! ;)

I have been lately shaken by an insatiable need for novelty. No, I'm not buying new clothes every week; I mean novelty in the sense of novel ideas, new approaches to life, new thoughts and understandings and behaviours.

A voice inside me has been going off for a while whenever I have seen myself re-enacting the same patters of thought and behaviour that I've always had. "There we go again. Okay, let me guess: now you're going to feel this, say that, do that other thing. Popcorn, anybody?"

I feel I'm more than done with my own predictable patterns of thought and behaviour. Not only do I find them boring, but also I have the feeling that, if we are to thrive in life, now more than ever we need to be as flexible as possible. We need to be able to embrace the unexpected, rather than being frozen by events and stuck in our inability to take action because we're too busy thinking whether something is 'right' or 'wrong', for instance.

I'm not saying it's always easy. Here I am, with all my will to move beyond my own limitations, and I still fall for the same old tricks. But I believe that the first element needed for change is to want to change. And I've got plenty of that.

So this month I want to share with you a few things that I've been doing in order to stop living my life based on an old version of me, and to live it more from the newest, freshest possible version of me.

I have...

• ...swapped the night clothes drawer with the socks drawer. Every now and then I still reach for the socks in a place they're no longer at; this reminds me that it's all about adapting quickly.

• ...kept on writing with my left hand. I'm right-handed, and a while ago I decided that I wanted to be able to write with both hands. Now, writing with my left hand makes me feel like I am, in fact, taking a new approach to life.

• ...started writing all over the page. Before, I used to write the 'things to do' in my diary in an orderly fashion: starting from the top, I would write each item just underneath the previous one. I now write them down randomly over the page. This helps me to feel more flexible and open-minded.

• ...practiced stopping myself from judging others that much. 'He doesn't know as much as I do', 'She's not as flexible as I am' - I try to catch myself when I'm judging others and I swap the judgment for compassion and humility instead. "I actually don't know what's like to see life from the eyes of this person", I remind myself.

Now you may say that these are all superficial little changes which have no impact on my usual way of going about life. However, I would argue that it's all connected and that when I go reach for a sock in the right place or let go of judging whether the cashier is quick enough I'm actually practicing a new, different and more flexible way of living, which permeates through to the rest of my life.

Because that's what life is: it's not a large, unreachable canvas. Life is the puzzle made up of thousands of small-moment pieces. Care about the piece that you have in your hands now, and you're automatically caring about the whole puzzle. Care about practicing a new, fresh approach to life now - and the complete puzzle will be even more beautiful than what you could have possibly imagined.

Happy Novelty! :)

Every month I receive emails from readers - some of them contain questions or comments, and some of them are contributions, such as a positive story, an article or a tip.

This month Andy, from Austin, Texas, US, shared this piece of gratitude:

Thanks, Andy! :-)

This month I'm passing on to you an interview with Bruce Lipton called "The power of consciousness". This is a thrilling and consciousness-altering interview, which contains keys to creating the life we want.

In short, our personal beliefs influence our biology, which in turn influence the way that we relate to our environment and thus the type of life that we create. With a simple little change in our beliefs we can create a complete different experience of our own life.

Grab something to eat and/or drink, and pen and paper, and sit back to enjoy this 50-minute interview with Bruce Lipton. Ready for magic? ;)

I believe that being grateful for something is one of the most powerful tools to feel better immediately. Here are the two thanking bits of the month:

Thankful for... the sun. I know, I'm sure I've expressed my gratitude towards the sun before. But once again, after months of little light in London, I can't describe how good it feels to be sitting in the 30+ degrees sun, reading and writing :)

Thankful for... azahar. 'Azahar' is the Spanish word for the flowers of orange and lemon trees - which are in bloom at this time of the year... and this is the way that I like Seville the most: in Spring, smelling of azahar, with a very nice temperature, full of life and happiness and beauty. Love it :)

What are you thankful for? Share your gratitude on this page and read what others are thankful for!

Care to send me your thoughts about this issue's topics? Email me and let me know!

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please pass it along to your friends, family and colleagues, or send them to the Dare To Play It Big sign up page. I thank you in advance.

Stay well,

Cristina

P.S. Feeling stressed and worried because of problems at work? Then check my handbook "From Conflict To Calm" - based on my own experience with conflict with my boss, my handbook gives you the keys to move from a powerless situation to one of peace.

P.S.S. Tired of procrastinating? Wish you got more out of your own life but you don't know how? In my handbook "Power Over Procrastination" you will find the exact plan, techniques and tools I use to get things done easily - leaving procrastination behind altogether!