Let's explore new ideas, things and places together!
Let's not do the usual New Year's resolutions; whether you're feeling positive or negative, often the heralding in of the new year leaves us feeling a bit flat. The twinkling lights, merriment and Christmas cheer is replaced with a cold and wet January...and resolutions, no matter the good intentions get left behind for realities quickly.
Last year we started the Anxious Explorers Club to invite you in joining me to challenge ourselves to a year of explorations! Are you ready to join in again; whether you are starting from scratch or continuing from 2024, you are welcome here?
Each month we will focus on different areas to explore, both physically and mentally, to attempt to finish 2025 in a more confident and positive place.
I invite you all to join in and help me create a community of people willing to have a go, with no judgement, with clear instructions to help avoid any fears and a willingness to learn something new to you!
Why do I feel that this is better than New Year's resolutions I hear you ask? Well resolutions are often built on negative self beliefs and are based on the idea that you can just give something up that may be a long term habit, often based on a coping mechanism. Smoking for example isn't just a habit for fun its often a form of meditation and escape, I believe that most of us need to build healthier & happier habits before we can just give it up.
Fear stops us from doing new things; fear of the unknown, fear of being laughed at for doing something wrong, fear perhaps of what change might bring...those voices in our heads are our childhood coping strategies, put there in the belief that they will protect us from bad things happening. As adults they don't always work quite as well, instead stopping us from finding happiness in new things...but unlearning them can be a bitch!!!
Often when we are struggling in life we return to old favourites, old habits and the things we know and feel safe in, stuck in a pattern of the same movies that comfort us, music that is safe and familiar and the places and people that we are used to, whether we feel happy or not, it's better the devil we know!
But what if there is a better, happier and more confident world for us out there?
What if simple changes were the start of a more positive and less anxious existence? It's not easy but together perhaps we can encourage each other, step by step out of our comfort zone and in to the unknown but safely and in manageable bite sized pieces, alleviating the anxiety!
Each month we will focus in on a subject or theme; you can join in via social media; we will post any shared images and often post questions on our stories, or you can join our Whatsapp group (scan the QR code to join - be aware that joining this group means that your phone number will be visible to other group members) to be able to chat with other like minded people and then start sharing what you did or discovered. You can tag us in your images stories or posts if you want to share or or send via message on Instagram or Facebook if you would prefer.
Doing this online means that anyone can join in from anywhere in the world, hopefully finding new friends and a sense of confidence in knowing that perhaps more people than you thought are just a little bit more anxious than you knew!
The Explore List:
JANUARY: Music & Films
Sometimes in life you wake up and realise that perhaps the things you think you like were shown to you by others, the music was dictated by partners, friends or family and maybe you don't really feel a connection to these songs anymore or perhaps everyone you work with is raving about this new show and you just don't get it but you smile along to avoid any negative comments towards you.
Well its time to explore!
We are starting off simply with exploring new music, tv & movies; I don't necessarily mean newly made, I mean new to you. Perhaps you've never listened to 50's music but you liked an Elvis song you heard once, start there, listen to more music from that era. Perhaps there are movies in your watch lists that you keep feeling 'not in the mood for', well now is the time...you might hate it, you might love it or you might only like part of it; for instance the costumes, style it was filmed in or a certain songs riff or beat. This is where you will learn what you love and what you really don't...this is the place in which you find more confidence.
FEBRUARY: Art mediums
At Artists Clubhouse we believe that everyone has a creative hobby in us, we just may not have found it yet so this month lets try new things; whether its something you like the look of or think you would enjoy, perhaps its the opposite of what you already do, maybe its something you liked in the past or is something you want to make for your house?
Let's try lots of them and see what we enjoy!
It could be drawing or mess making with chalk, pens and paper or knitting, crochet or sewing, photography or film making or maybe its a mixture!
MARCH: Places
Next up is starting to challenge yourself by exploring new places, you could start small by exploring a road nearby that you've never walked down before, or sitting for a short time in a park or cafe you've never spent much time in. You could plan in visits to local villages, towns or cities or search for forests, rivers or lakes within driving/walking/public transport distance. Start to notice what your fears are, what holds you back from certain places? Is it the transport, the number of people or lack of people, perhaps the noise or the silence...is there a way of over-coming these fears? Could you ask a friend or family member along with you, could you research your route online before going, could you ask questions at a local Tourist Information Centre maybe?
Starting to be aware of your fears can help you to move past them; acknowledging what makes you anxious can then help you work out new positive support mechanisms to build confidence and slowly learn to move past what's holding you back.
APRIL: Exhibitions
Find an exhibition to explore, it only has to be one, it could be a local artist or a larger exhibition combined with a trip? Ideally the exhibition will inspire you personally whether it’s an artist, science or history!
MAY: Workshops
Challenge your growth and learn something new by booking on to a workshop! Whether it's a one off or a series, workshops are a great way to meet like minded people, develop new skills and learn more about yourself.
Through learning more about your likes and dislikes you will gain confidence, letting others opinions in less and be able to stand proud in your self.
JUNE: Activities
This month is all about trying new activities, from mini golf to axe throwing, paddle boarding to wild swimming or how about gaming, hiking or rock climbing!! It could be anything, perhaps its joining some friends on something you would normally say no to or taking yourself along to something you're keen to try.
The reward to pushing yourself to try something new with feel so good, you might learn something about yourself, you might meet some new like minded people
and you might just enjoy yourself.
JULY: Adventures
"An unusual and exciting or daring experience" - for some this might be going to to a new restaurant, for others it might be jumping off a high diving board, whatever it is for you then lets try to create a new memory this month!
Obviously don't put yourself in danger or at risk unless with trained professionals but do try something that perhaps scares you just a little.
We are over half way in to the year, I am hoping that with challenging yourself each month you might start to see some growth in your confidence? If not then don't be discouraged, sometimes we experience set backs or it just takes each person different amounts of time to overcome their individual anxieties!
AUGUST: Personal challenges
I’ve been challenging myself to show my face on Artists Clubhouse social media more as it’s something that makes me anxious!
August is all about challenging those unique barriers, something that you personally hate or avoid doing! It could be a certain social situation or perhaps something more specific such as public speaking.
Absolutely make yourself an exit strategy, break it down and put boundaries in to place to keep you from being overwhelmed; you could set a time limit to leave an event, having already stated a time you need to leave by, plan gaps in to a speech to let yourself catch up or just start by interacting more in a meeting.
Whatever it is for you, break it down in to steps.
Try not to over think it and instead think of it as practice...confidence comes from practice!
SEPTEMBER: Outdoors Adventures
Septembers challenge is all about exploring the outdoors! I can't comment on other countries but here in the UK we can experience a range of weather just in one day meaning we are always caught out and never prepared. As the summer ends and the days get shorter we often feel a shift in mood, the natural want to hibernate taking over which is absolutely fine but a lack of desire to do anything mixed with a lack of vitamin D can really leave you in a depressive state.
So this month we are going to embrace the weather and pack a picnic, grab a raincoat and your suncream and be ready for anything that comes your way.
Let's go adventuring!
OCTOBER: Lean in to the season
October’s challenge is to lean in to the season & celebrate everything that’s great about autumn!
It’s easy to ignore seasonal changes and celebrations & instead see the negatives, especially with the weather getting colder and wetter!
So your challenge is to fully embrace the changes!
Go pick the perfect pumpkin, make some decorations & get that perfect costume and watch your mood lift out of the puddle!
NOVEMBER: Review & planning
I don't know about you but I tend to find the end of year can be triggering, all that reflection of the past year and what you have...and haven't achieved! We tend to focus more on those things that we haven't managed to complete or perhaps haven't even started.
So for this months challenge I am asking you to sit down and reflect now in an attempt to avoid those new year blues. Why not spend a bit of time reflecting, how has your year gone? What did you achieve, have you celebrated those wins, no matter how small?
What didn't you get around to? What stopped you? Could you challenge yourself to get it done before the end of the year? Or perhaps you could better plan for the year ahead to make sure you tick off some of your goals.
Can you start to plan in dates and goals now for the following year to help you feel excited for 2026?
DECEMBER: Social event
December is all about celebrating, getting together with others to enjoy the season!
I hope that you have been following these challenges monthly and that your confidence has started to grow, perhaps not loads but at least a little and now its time to celebrate those achievements no matter how big or small!
So your challenge for this month is to organise a social event!!!
Don't panic, it doesn't have to be a big thing unless thats what you want to do...it could be arranging to go to a Christmas market with a friend, meeting for a few drinks with people you've met recently or perhaps its a seasonal hot chocolate with a family member!?
If you feel ready to organise a bigger event or holiday get-together thats great, just make sure you remember to set some boundaries if you need to, for example: an end time, a budget for the evening or state how the bill will be split up front, perhaps you want to make an invitation (Canva is a great app for making things like this) stating all the information to limit the stress of catering for the wants of lots of other people, or maybe its stating that its a bring your own style buffet to limit the stress of cooking a meal...whatever it is, to support you feeling less stressed or anxious, then it is ok for you to do!
You did it! You got through the entire year of challenges!
If you missed some then hopefully you will have planned in to focus on them for next year back in November...if not then lets make a bucket list right now!! What do you want to achieve in 2026? What do you want to try and what do you need to challenge yourself on?
Have a happy December and New Year and I can't wait to start Anxious Explorers club again with you in January!
If you feel you could do with more support to build confidence and feel happier, did you know we have an online creative course that will help support this journey! Creating Your Happy is a curated journey with creative activities to help you relax, feel happier, learn more about yourself and why your mind are perhaps struggling with anxiety, depression, anger or stress. Work at your own pace with a full years access so you can go back and forth if you want to.
All the activities are based on creative joy and play so you don't need any art experience; read more here.
Share what you find; tag us or message us on Instagram @artistsclubhouse or Facebook @weareartistsclubhouse and use the hashtags #anxiousexplorers #anxiousexplorersclub
If you need more information or further instructions to help you avoid any anxiety, then please do get in touch with feedback via email emily@artistsclubhouse.com or social media so that we can improve our offering.
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