So you've Fallen in Love with Someone in Another Country. Now What?

{Collaborative Content} When you picture falling in love, you typically imagine that it will be with somebody who lives in the same country as you. But love can be really annoying. You never quite know when or where it’s going to pop up. It just happens, and then you're stuck with the practical matter of making it work - something that can be challenging if your lover is in another country. 

Don’t feel bad, though. Falling for somebody abroad is something that happens to a lot of people. The trick is knowing how to deal with it. 

Prepare Yourself For Fights

Crossing cultures can be a challenge. People have different expectations from relationships. It’s critical, therefore, to prepare yourself for fights. Things will likely go quite wrong at the start. 

Don’t let this put you off though. Even if things are challenging to start, these are typically teething pains. Things improve over time in most relationships as each person gets to know the other better. 

Being Together For Most Of The Year Can Be A Challenge

Being with somebody from another country for most of the year can be a challenge. Usually, there are strict limits on how long either of you can stay in any particular country. You may need to speak with immigration solicitors if you want your lover to stay by your side for longer. 

It’s Going To Be More Interesting

Dating and being with somebody from another culture can be a lot of fun. Because their life experiences are so different from yours, it can make for interesting dinner time conversations. You never quite know what’s going to come out of their mouth next. 

People May Judge Your Country Based On How You Behave

How you conduct yourself is important whenever you are in a foreign land. The way you behave matters because people will judge not only you individually, but also your entire culture. It shouldn’t happen, but it does. 

You’ll Be The Center Of Attention

If you travel to the country in which your lover lives, expect to be the center of attention for the duration of your visit. You’ll probably stand out quite a lot so people will want to get to know you more, particularly your date’s friends and family.

It’s a good idea knowing that going in so that you can prepare yourself. If in doubt, smile and wave. 

Be Prepared For The Stereotypes

Even in today’s international society, there are still stereotypes surrounding international relationships. People have certain preconceived notions that they can’t shake. Often, this can lead to negativity. Mostly, these stereotypes won’t apply to you. You’ll just be in love with your partner. But it might not seem like that to the outside world. 

Try To Learn The Local Language

Learning the local language is important for anyone wanting to go to a different country. You don’t need to become fluent, but just a few minutes practice every day will help you and your partner to bond more closely. You can often make tremendous progress in a short space of time.

How to Improve your Home and Family Life.

{Collaborative Content} Your family means the world to you and you care about them deeply. If you want what’s best for you and your loved ones, then it’s in your best interest to always be improving as a parent and role model.

Be glad to know there are ways to work on bettering your family and home life so you can all be happy and well. Parenting can be tough but it doesn’t mean that you should give up working on improving as the year’s pass. Use these tips to help you get back on the right track to having a successful and positive parenting experience and family life.

Consider Moving

You want your kids to be happy and have friends and activities. You want them to be at the right schools and to be close to playing areas and parks. You also need to make sure that you and your spouse have career and work opportunities that help you provide for your family. If you’ve visited London before and have fallen in love with certain areas of it then you may want to look into the ilr application in the UK so you can pick up and move and reside there permanently as a family.

Stay Active & Busy

A busy and active family is a happy one. Improve your family and home life by engaging with one another and spending quality time as a group. Get your kids involved in a variety of activities and hobbies and make time for play and exercise to boost your health and wellness. You’ll all be much more content when you’re on a schedule and know what to expect each day and are getting out of the house.

Eat Dinner Together

Improve your home and family life by eating dinner together each night. Family meals are an excellent time to share about what’s happening in each of your lives and to discuss any pressing issues. Come prepared by having a few topics to cover and then see where the conversation goes. Make it more fun by getting the kids involved in setting the table and preparing the food and meal.

Communicate Openly & Honestly

Communication that is open and honest is essential to having a successful and rewarding family and home life, especially when you have teenagers. You must be able to talk to one another maturely and directly without having conversations escalate into arguments and fights. Encourage your kids to come to you with problems or issues and be there to listen attentively when they do so or want your advice. Set a good example for your kids by speaking to your spouse openly and honestly and giving each other a chance to talk and share.

Conclusion

These pieces of advice will help ensure that you can quickly improve and enhance your family and home life. You’ll soon discover that everyone’s a lot happier and that you’re getting along better when you implement these tips. There will still be challenging and hard days but notice how many more positive and gratifying moments there are that you can be proud of.

Unexpected Challenges that can Create Distance Between your Family.

{Collaborative Content} Life can be very unpredictable at times. No matter how much you plan for the future, there will always be things that can get in the way of what you want for yourself and your family. In some cases, the challenges you face will be easy to overcome, but others will create large distances between your family members that can be very hard to bridge. This article will be exploring situations like this, giving you an idea of what can be done to seal the gaps when one side of your relationship has to move somewhere else. This process doesn’t have to be hard when you apply yourself to making a difference.

Work & Careers

Work can be one of the most important things in life. While most people will put their families ahead of their job, it isn’t always to control what will happen in the world of work. Many companies transfer their employees to different locations as and when they need them. This can create a difficult choice, forcing people to pick between moving away from their loved ones and abandoning the career they’ve worked hard to forge. If this happens to your family, it can be worth simply looking for new work for yourself so that you can join your partner in their new location. 

Providing Care To Relatives

It’s no secret that human lifespans are going up across the globe, though people often need help to live a good life once they reach old age. Medical conditions are a big cause of this, often forcing people to move somewhere new so that they can look after their close relatives when they can’t afford dedicated care. Relocating your whole family for this can be hard, but you could also consider the idea of moving the person who needs care. This won’t always be worth it, especially if borders have to be crossed or long distances are involved, but you can explore the idea to make sure that you keep your options open.

Visa Problems

It’s becoming increasingly common for people to find partners who live or have citizenship overseas. As the world gets smaller, more people have the chance to start relationships like this. Of course, though, those with temporary visas may find themselves having to move home once their family is built. You can apply for a spouse visa in your partner’s home country in an attempt to solve this problem, but you may also need to look for alternative visas if this doesn’t work out. This can take a lot of time, but the wait will be worth it to make sure that your family can be reunited. 

As you can see, having your family split between countries or locations can be a challenging situation. Many people find themselves with this problem to solve, but you can overcome it by working hard to make sure that you are exploring all of your options. There will usually be more than route that can be taken to bring your family back together.

Using Alcohol Free Cleaning Supplies in Your House?

{Collaborative Content} Hand sanitisers, disinfectants, and other cleaning products have naturally exploded in popularity over the past few years, thanks to ongoing events. The majority of these contain alcohol, however, which many people don’t want to use on their skin or around their home.

Picture Credit

That leaves open the question as to what products you’re left with.. Naturally, that only leaves alcohol-free options. While these have steadily grown in popularity, many people still question whether or not they’re effective.

The answer to this can be complicated, as it’s a lot more than a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

Are Alcohol-Free Cleaning Products Effective?

The most straightforward answer to whether or no alcohol-free cleaning products are effective is ‘yes, but only if you buy high-quality options.’ There are numerous options to choose from, such as SANZi, that will be just as effective as their alcohol-based counterparts.

On the other hand, however, there are some options that claim to be effective, although they wouldn’t be. At least, they won’t be as effective as you might expect. As a result, you’ll need to spend some time making sure that you buy the right option for you.

Pros & Cons Of Alcohol-Free Cleaning

As you might expect, there are multiple pros and cons associated with alcohol-free sanitisers and other cleaning supplies. If you’re considering buying them, then you’ll need to know these in advance. After all, some of the negatives could end up putting you off buying them.

There shouldn’t be any cons that large, however, as there seems to be more positives associated with the products. In general, non-alcohol cleaning products are much better on your hands and other areas, as alcohol could often damage your skin.

While this isn’t too noticeable, it can become more irritating over time. As such, you can protect your skin alongside your health with an alcohol-free solution. If you have children, there’s also fewer risks associated with accidental ingestion.

One negative with these products, however, is that they usually come in a foam or something similar. If you have a dispenser for hand sanitisers at home, for example, then you might need to change it for this. That’s because most dispensers are focused on gels, which is typically the form sanitisers come in.

How To Use Alcohol-Free Disinfectants Safely

While the use of hand sanitisers couldn’t be much safer, the same mightn’t be said for other disinfectants, regardless of whether they have alcohol in them. If you need to keep your home or business premises clean for a socially-distanced event, then you’ll need to use these.

To use them safely, you should always make sure the area is well ventilated. The easiest way to do so is to open some windows before cleaning. You should always make sure to follow the instructions on your specific brands’ packaging.

That’s especially true of any safety instructions, such as if you get it in your eye or a child swallows it.

Wrapping Up

If you’re going to buy an alcohol-free disinfectant or any non-alcohol-based cleaning product, you should always make sure that you know what you’re buying. While there are options that are effective, quite a few of them aren’t. As such, they wouldn’t be worth the investments.

The majority, however, could be worth considering.

Great Tips for a Beautiful Garden!

The summer is here and before the end of it, you want to know that you have utilised your garden properly throughout the warmer weeks. No one wants to have an outdoor space that they don't use, but if you do have one and you can use it to enjoy yourself, why wouldn't you? Making your garden as beautiful as possible is important, though, as you can’t exactly enjoy your garden space if it’s covered in dead grass and dead flowers. The garden should be lush and this requires you to pay attention to the colour of the grass and the way the soil is fertilised.

Your garden needs to be beautiful so that you can add value to your home, and you can use the help of landscaping companies as well as planting your own flowers to create the personal space in which you want to unwind. Your garden is an extension of your house, let’s not forget that. Without the garden your home may feel unfinished, so ensuring that you make your garden beautiful should be your top priority. Considering all of this, here are seven great tips for making your garden a beautiful one.

Image source: Pexels

Adding Colour. There is no rulebook when it comes to adding flowers. You can choose to use a repeated colour theme throughout the garden, you can stick to one colour as a uniform colour or you can go full groovy and add as many colours as possible. The point here is that you are well within your rights to add or take away as many colours as make sense to you. Colours make the garden beautiful, so choose flowers and plants that will make sense for your space. Make them pastel or bright - the choice is yours.

Remove Weeds. Don't get us wrong: weeds are beautiful in their own wild way. However, unwanted weeds never look beautiful and always look less appealing and somehow, more cluttered. You want your garden to look healthy, like it’s thriving. The best way to ensure that this is the case for your space is to eliminate the weeds every time they sprout up. Weeds can be beautiful but if you’re planting flowers, you need your flowers to have the nutrients and the water and not be strangled by the weeds!

White Picket Fence, Anyone? Oh, to daydream! You know that the image of the white picket fence are those that we all tend to chase from time to time, but the best thing that you can do for your garden to keep it beautiful is to fence it. Not only does the fencing add to the aesthetics of the space, it makes the entire garden stand out as a beautiful one. You can accentuate your garden in many ways with excellent fencing, and as there are so many types, you get a range of choices to colour code with!

Plant Patterns. You can group your flowers and plants to create a specific visual effect if you want to get fancy while you beautify the garden space. You can create stripes or circles, rainbow patterns and more. Your plants being grouped together could be all you need to do to beautify the garden.

A Little Art. Artwork isn't just for the interior of the home. There are so many art pieces that you can add to your space in the garden that don't need to be inside. From wall hangings to graffiti art, you can even get chalkboard paint onto the walls so that the kids can give you some unique art pieces, too!

Don't Forget Furniture. Your garden needs to be welcoming and if you want to truly add beauty, look at the options for furniture! You can add chic coffee tables, elegant recliners and even soft furnishings with waterproof material covers. Remember, this is an extension of your living area so you should make it so! You can even colour coordinate with your current living room, and that will really add some sass to your space. Extra furniture on the patio will look beautiful, especially if you upgrade to better materials. 

Remove the Clutter. A good landscaping company will ensure that you get the clutter from cutting down plants and trees cleared away so that you don't have to worry about it anymore. Removing the clutter will make your garden clear and tidy, which is what you need if you want to make the space look well-designed. A beautiful garden is a tidy garden.

Beautiful Kitchen Trends, Inspiration and Ideas for your Home.

{Collaborative Content} You have so many styles and designs to choose from when creating a beautiful kitchen. This can make it difficult to narrow down your search effectively, so why not take a look at some of the hottest kitchen trends below for a helping hand?

The first trend to consider is Nordic design. Lately, there has been an increased use of mid-century modern furniture in other rooms around the home, and this is something that is slowly starting to trickle through to the kitchen market. So, how do you design your kitchen in this way? Nordic design is all about functionality and simplicity. Therefore, begin by clearing away unnecessary clutter, and then use light wood textures and colour palettes that are predominantly white.

If this doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, why not consider an 80’s style kitchen? Today’s 80’s kitchens are a lot more refined and elegant. High-gloss surfaces, brass accessories, and mirrored splashbacks are still widely used, but they are a lot more sleek and stylish. To remove the plastic look that was often associated with this period, a variety of natural materials have been incorporated.

Finally, another trend to consider is using soft, muted colour palettes. Grays and charcoal are an easy place to start, but if you are feeling a bit more adventurous why not try pale green or pale blue? Tinted whites are also an option worth considering.

Kitchen Layout Ideas For Gloss Kitchens

If you want the type of kitchen that is going to wow people from the moment they walk in, a gloss kitchen is definitely the option for you. But, before you can choose the right kitchen, you need to make the most of the space.

To do this, you have got to consider different layout options. If you jump straight in, you may find yourself with a kitchen that makes the room look smaller or is awkward in terms of functionality. So, what options do you have available? One layout option that is becoming incredibly popular is an open plan kitchen and living room. This will open the space up, making it more sociable. However, remember that gloss kitchens make rooms look bigger in any case before you go knocking down walls. Another option to consider is a u-shaped kitchen. This is ideal for oblong rooms that have a door at the end. To ensure you have a balanced working triangle, have the fridge, cooker, and sink on three sides. Another option to think about when looking for kitchens for sale is a kitchen island. This is ideal for those who have a big kitchen, as you can break up the area and you can create a sociable space or you can have more room for storage.

Mistakes Made When Choosing Worktops

A lot of people rush into the decision and end up making mistakes when purchasing. We don’t want this to happen to you. So, read on to discover the common errors you need to avoid when purchasing worktops for your DIY kitchen.

The first mistake a lot of people make is cutting corners and looking for cheap worktops. Your worktops are going to take up a large amount of space in your kitchen, and thus they are going to play a huge role in determining the look and feel of your kitchen. If you opt for a cheap solution, it is going to show and have a negative impact on the appearance of the room. Not only this, but your worktops are going to get a lot of use, and, therefore, it is important to choose a solution that is hardwearing and durable. Timber is a fantastic choice, and you can click here for more information on this material.

This is another error people make – perhaps they look for the most stylish worktops, but they do not then consider the practicality of them. Both factors are equally as important. You should also avoid going for worktops that are in trend now, but likely to go out of fashion just as quickly. Bright pink worktops may seem like a fun idea, but you are assured to fall out of love with them in the near future. Instead, look for classic designs that will stand the test of time. Finally, when looking for kitchens for sale, make sure you spend around 10 to 15 per cent of your entire budget on your worktops. If you spend anything more or less, they may well look out of place when considering the overall effect. 

How to Brighten up Your Garden.

{Collaborative Content} You will undoubtedly want to spend much of your time outdoors during the summer. Your garden provides the perfect place to do that, as it’s your personal space, and you can use it for relaxing, having barbeques, and, of course, growing plants.

The problem is, many people’s gardens have seen better days. If that’s an accurate description of your garden, all is not lost because you take the following actionable steps to transform it into a bright and welcoming outdoor environment:

Clean up the Clutter

Part of the reason your garden is looking a little lacklustre is that you’ve got some rubbish, dead plants, and undoubtedly some overgrowing grass in it. To resolve that problem, you need to spend some time cleaning up the clutter.

Thankfully, the task is easy to complete if you’ve got a few essential items like a rake, your garden waste wheelie bin, and some bin bags for things that need to get collected with your household waste.

If you’ve got any rotting sheds, for example, it makes sense to buy new ones to replace them and dispose of the old wood. Depending on its construction, you could have a few bonfires. Otherwise, a tip run will be your best bet.

Add Some New Plants

Let’s face it: you’ve got an almost limitless choice when it comes to adding new plants to your garden. You could choose a mixture of flowering plants to brighten up your outdoor space and some ones that bear fruit and vegetables during the summer months.

Local garden centres and places like Poplar Nurseries are ideal for gaining inspiration if you’re unsure what to plant. You could also look at some gardening websites such as Gardeners’ World or even Pinterest for ideas.

Whichever plants you choose, make sure to follow the planting instructions carefully. For example, plants that love being in the sun shouldn’t be in shaded areas of your garden. Plus, you should invest in some netting and borders to keep pests like slugs away from plants.

Paint Your Fence Panels

Another way to brighten up an otherwise dull-looking garden is by painting your fence panels. You don’t need to opt for the same browns, greys, oranges, and greens that your neighbours use for their fence panels.

Consider bright and bold colours like yellow, sky blue, or even a bright red! Places like B&Q and Screwfix sell an array of fence panel paints that you can check out for inspiration. You may also wish to paint concrete fence posts white to accentuate your newly painted fences.

Install Some Simple Lighting

When it gets dark outside but it’s cool enough to sit in the garden and relax, you will undoubtedly want to have some lighting on around you. Consider opting for simple lighting solutions, such as fairy lights or even tealights inside glass jars.

You don’t need to spend lots of money on outdoor lighting, especially when you’re only going to use it a few times a year.

Thanks for reading this article, and good luck with your garden makeover!

5 Ways to Enjoy the Summer with your Kids.

{Collaborative Content} It’s at this time of the year that we all want to be able to get out and enjoy the weather so much more. During the winter months, we do still sometimes spend time outside with the kids, but it’s definitely not as fun. Instead, it’s better to try and think of indoor activities that you can do instead. But at this time of the year, it’s nice to get out and really enjoy the sunshine and the mild weather as much as we can.

 

When you’re a working mama, you won’t always have the time to do that in the week. But it can still be fun to try and think of ways that you can enjoy the summer with your kids in any way that you can. This can be in the afternoons and evenings, at weekends, or all week long if you are a SAHM! Here’s five ideas to inspire you.

1. Get Up Early

For starters, it’s always going to pay if you can make the most of the early mornings. If your kids are up early on the weekends anyway, why not get up and out into the garden or off to see friends or wherever and make the most of that time right away.

2. Get Out & About

Because the weather is so nice, you’ll want to try and make sure that you’re getting out and about as much as you can too. Getting the right Venicci branded products or other pushchair options is a good idea here. You want something reliable to get you all about, whether it’s in the woods or walking down the High Street!

3. Look For Good Deals

It’s easy to worry that doing more as a family will mean that you have to spend money, but you don’t have to. It doesn’t matter what your current financial situation looks like, you can look for free days out and find deals of local ideas in your area. You can also trade vouchers for tickets too. There’s always ways to be creative about days out.

4. Make Mama Friends

It’s also a nice idea to try and make friends with other mums that have kids the same age or people that you get along with. Then you can make more plans with them in the week, have play dates, and make sure that it’s a good summer for you as well as the kids.

5. Extend Every Single Day

 

Now, we all know that life as a parent can be hard work. No matter how rewarding it is, it’s tough. But they’re only ever small for so long. So try your hardest to make memories every single day. Spending afternoons in the garden after school. Making use of your time at the weekends – try to be creative about how you can maximize on every single day.

It doesn’t matter what you decide to do or how you decide to do it, it’s just nice for you to think about the ways that you can make the most of the summer as a family. Pick out what ideas will work best for you and enjoy that time together making memories.

K'Nex Battle Bow & Rad Rides *review*

{Ad/gifted items} I have a 9 year old child who just loves to build things. For the last few years his interests have strongly centred around creating things out of bricks, blocks and things that can he put together to bring his imagination alive. Give him a box of clicky things and blocks and he will bring it to life, I love seeing this creative side come out, learning through play is just so valuable.

If my son sounds like your child then you should definitely check out K'Nex because I know it will appeal. K'nex is one of the best STEM toys available on the market, build beyond the box with innovative and interactive products that encourage the child to let their imagination run free and have independent play. We were kindly sent a couple of kits to test out, Alfie was delighted. 

The battle bow set contains over 165 classic pieces and there are various different options that can be made from the included pieces. You can build 4 different items which are all so cool! Alfie chose to make the gun which using the included foam pellets which can fire a pretty long way! He needed a little help to make it and clip various bits into place but otherwise was able to make unaided. If you don't fancy following the instructions there are plenty pieces included to make your very own personal weapon!

Also sent was Rad Rides, once again another great kit which contains pieces to make more than one vehicle, the possibilities really are endless. The items fit together with the most satisfying 'click' noise! There are so many varieties of K'nex available there really is something for everyone. 

What do we love about K'nex?

- We love that it a true STEM item, it encourages all of the STEM categories and opens up a childs imagination

- Learn through play

- A wide variety available on the market

- A variety of prices to appeal to all

- Lovely and colourful and bright 

- Build beyond the box! There are SO many options. 

Anything we weren't so keen on?

- The instructions could be a little clearer, sometimes the pieces featured don't match what is in the kit so it takes the child a little longer to figure it out.

- It can be quite hard to connect the pieces but the more you play the more you get used to how they fit together

Overall we love K'nex, we love that the possibilities are endless and the creation is drawn from the child. My son just loves it. There are so many different choices and price ranges that these would make a perfect gift. I will leave you with some images of Alfie playing and his amazing creation! This was following the instructions, I have to say I was very impressed with how far the foam pellets go! So much fun!

* Please note we were kindly sent the items free of charge in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Managing the Return to Work After Being a Stay at Home Parent.

{Collaborative Content} Being a stay at home parent is a beautiful thing; you get to spend as much time with your kids as you’d really like, and you’re around to experience all the big and small things with them. And at the same time, being a working parent is a wonderful thing as well - there are a lot of benefits to working during the day and getting to spend time with your family from the evening onwards. 

And managing to mesh the two together, by going from a stay at home parent to stepping out into the working world again, can be a tricky thing. And because of that, we’ve got some tips you might be able to put to use in such a situation. 

 

Be Sure on Child Care

Of course, the thing you’re most worried about is just how your child is going to fare without you during the day, and that’s a completely natural worry to have. This is an adjustment period for the both of you, and dealing with these fears in good time is key to having a smooth transition. 

Make sure you get in touch with a childcare agency, such as the Angels by Day nursery, a long time before you’re due to head back to work. You want to be sure there’s a place for your little one, and that any feeds due have been fully paid, and that there’s always going to be somewhere safe for your child to be in case you or your partner are suddenly indisposed. 

Change Your Schedule Ahead of Time

You don’t want your new schedule, i.e. only being there to give your child breakfast before rushing off to work where you’re needed, to be a surprise to anyone. You need to practice at it, to ensure you’ve given yourself enough time for both handling the new arrangement and settling your child into it as well. 

Change your schedule a little right now - maybe take your child to daycare a little earlier than you were planning to, or leave them with a babysitter or family member whilst you run an errand without them. This’ll give the both of you the chance to get used to being away from each other, and you won’t toss and turn the night before you head back to work worrying over how you’ll manage! 

Talk to Working Parents

You’re not in this alone! There are so many other working parents around you, and it’s a good idea right now to get in touch with them and ask them how they’re managing. What did they do to change their setup? How did their children settle into it? Are they enjoying their time now? Ask as many questions to help yourself feel comfortable, and make sure there’s an understanding support circle there when you need it. 

Returning to work is a big adjustment, and you can have a lot of doubts during this time, but it doesn’t have to be impossible. 

Why Larger than Life Stories Can Improve Your Life At Any Age

{Collaborative Content} Have you ever noticed how children tend to be highly imaginative and optimistic about the future, whereas as adults we so often end up becoming jaded?

Picture Credit

Of course, there are many different potential reasons for this dynamic – but it might be that at least part of the equation is the fact that we encourage children to engage their imaginations and enjoy fun and larger-than-life stories on a regular basis, whether that involves structuring their birthday celebrations around Disney's Frozen party ideas, or dressing up to go trick-or-treating.

Here are some ways larger-than-life stories – in the form of films, books, and more – might improve your life at any age.

By helping you to get back into a worldview and outlook of wonder and appreciation

One great thing about larger-than-life stories is that they move your mindset from a fixation on the regular practical routines of your everyday life, to a frame of mind that causes you to once more notice things like wonder, awe, and adventure.

Sure, you may be accessing these feelings through a fictional tale – but this very often ends up helping you to experience a sense of wonder in the various dimensions of your everyday life as well, as well as a bit more of an outgoing temperament and some extra appreciation for the great things you have present in your own life.

The world tends to be a magical and exciting place when we aren’t moving through it on autopilot. Larger-than-life stories can help you to see things with fresh eyes again, and renew your sense of being enamoured with the world at large.

By encouraging you to dare to dream big

Whenever someone watches a film or TV show, or reads a book that focuses on a great adventure, the overcoming of challenges, intense drama, and all the rest, they are naturally conceptualising things in terms that are a lot more lofty than the small chores of everyday life.

One good thing about this is that it can encourage you to dare to dream big. It can remind you that there are many different ways to live, and many different adventures out there to pursue.

It’s not that you need to live an extravagant lifestyle, of course. But being reminded that there’s more to life than just making it from one day to the next can be very uplifting.

By shifting your perspective to the extraordinary in everyday life

There are many things that happen – or can happen – over the course of everyday life that could seem exciting, dramatic and remarkable, if only we would take time to notice them.

Engaging regularly with larger-than-life stories can remind you of the significance of things that you might normally take for granted in your everyday life. It might remind you, for example, that the hobbies you spend your time on are essentially threads that you’re weaving into your life story.

In one sense, great stories can remind you that you are always in the process of writing your own story – and in that way, virtually everything can be very significant.