Categories
Health

The Puzzle Pieces of Someone

In all seriousness, If we had the ability to be in someones body with their shoes, I totally would. I believe that being in someone else’s body would be a great way to get to know them. For example, I know that I could walk miles and miles and miles because I’ve walked a marathon before, (a story for another time) but if the body of the person who owns the shoes you currently possess are not able to walk many miles you can tell a lot about them. Whew! If they can’t walk too much, then they haven’t been walking lately. If they haven’t been walking, then they probably haven’t been working out. Maybe they’re less disciplined, or they prefer to not workout, or many other options.

What are they wearing? Eccentric hats, elegant long coats, nice jewelry. I have always thought that pieces of clothing are puzzle pieces that when pieced with genetics, personality and personal experiences make up the picture that is who a person is. These puzzle pieces that make up a person can not just be found on their body. They have to be found in their life.

In our busy world, full of moving parts, before someone criticizes someone else, they don’t usually take the time to find a way to walk a mile in that person’s shoes, or dig into their lives. They just criticize and move on.

This is your daily reminder to care. I know that you may be struggling, you make be hurting inside, but there is no point attempting to take those feelings out on someone else. They won’t leave. You will just feel worse. I hope you understand I am telling you the truth, even if it is not what you wish or need to hear. Think of those people as you. They could be feeling the same way. Treat them as you wish to be treated.

“Do unto others what you wish to be done to you” – Literally any old religious book or important historical figure 😉

Free Email Updates
Get the latest content first.
We respect your privacy.
Categories
Health

What Has Covid Taught Me?

Covid has taught me the meaning of freedom and its purpose

Do you remember when freedom was having a day off from school or going on a vacation? Freedom was so easy to understand. Making your own choices about what you do, that is freedom. That was freedom. Now, the world is changing. The world has already changed, and there is no going back. Our definition of freedom has been redefined forever. We have to enjoy those small moments where we can forget about our troubles for one minute, and just enjoy the world. Those are moments of freedom. 

Confinement will never be freedom. Our parents might think we are free, but what they have to understand is that free time does not equal freedom. In this world, it’s hard being a teenager. We are beginning to break off from our parents, so we feel the freedom of sneaking out, or hanging out with our friends, or skipping school. In the beginning, we thought, less school equals more freedom! But that is not how it went.

Quarantine felt like a dream for the first few days because we had no school! But then every day started to feel like the one before it and we think of all the friends we could have hung out with, and now this dream is a nightmare. A nightmare where all of the freedom that we had is gone. This has gotten so bad that we wish to go back to school. 

Everything is not as bleak as it seems though. We are learning, realizing that while we might not have that much freedom, we do have a lot of free time. Will we use that free time to grow and rise? Or to sink? I hope that we all realize that in quarantine we can grow, become better people, with new skills. 

Overall, in quarantine, the freedom we have is the freedom to choose. We have the choice to get up early to work out, or not have that extra cookie, or to be nice and pay attention to our zoom class. These are the choices that we can control. Believe it or not, when we were not in quarantine, these were also the choices we could control. Being in quarantine does not mean we can give up on our dreams, it just means we have to chase them differently.

Categories
Health

5 Things to Do Instead of Comparing Yourself to Others

Practice self-awareness

Self awareness means being in control of yourself, and not trying to shove any part of you away. The way to practice this is when you catch yourself comparing any part of you whether it be your body or your mind, or when you find yourself judging someone, acknowledge that thought and the feeling behind it and change your focus. You can’t remove feelings like self-hatred or jealousy, but you can direct them away.

Refresh your social media

Social media is so important in our lives these days. This means if we spend too much time looking at accounts that spread messages of hatred or causing you to compare yourself your views of yourself and the world can change. Stop following accounts that spread bad messages, and find some new accounts that are positive and make you feel good about yourself.

Say some affirmations

Affirmations, just like positive social media accounts are a great way to spread positivity for yourself. Some simple ones that you can say in the morning and at night are;

  • I am grateful for who I am and who I am becoming
  • The light I see in others in a reflection of my own light
  • I am enough just as I am

Say these affirmations in front of a mirror when you get up and when you go to bed. It may seem stupid and weird at first, but they will have a noticble affect that improves your self-esteem.

Make a list of your strengths

Instead of spending your precious mental power on thinking about your weakness and flaws (which are beautiful too) spend time thinking about your strengths and what makes you special and unique. Your weaknesses and flaws are special and important parts of you too, but they tend to drag you down. Try to appreciate them by connecting them to a strength.

Practice gratitude

Gratitude is so important. There is so much to be grateful for in this world that surrounds you, and if we acknowledge it then our lives can become so much more beautiful. Below are some powerful ways to be grateful:

  • A gratitude journal to record what you are grateful for
  • Daily meditation to reflect on your life and the joys it has brought you
  • Yoga, to appreciate the movements of your body and soul

Thank you for reading!

Categories
Health

8 New Habits Perfect for 2021

Set one alarm and stick to it

This habit is very important to build over time. I have written about it in other posts, because it is a simple habit with a not-so simple fix that can completely change your mornings and through that change the rest of your day.

Fix your skincare routine and personalize it

A good skincare routine has many benefits. The main benefit is improved skin, which can help you feel lighter healthier and happier. Another benefit is an improved morning and night time routine, because doing your skincare can be very therapeutic. It can also help you wake yourself up in the morning, and help you feel cleaner and nicer before you go to bed.

Keep your calendar on your mind and review it

A calendar is no good if it does not help you. So make sure you keep your calendar in an easily accessible position -next to your bed or your desk to name a few- where you can easily review it and check it throughout the day, and keep it in the front of your mind.

Make your bed

Making your bed is an important morning habit to start your day off right. If your bed is made and your room looks nice, how likely are you to crawl back into it? Not very likely. Making your bed helps you get out of bed and stay there, and the action of doing it helps you get out of a sleeping mindset into a daytime-kickass mindset.

Try new recipes or learn to cook

Cooking as a hobby can be super therapeutic and helpful for clearing your mind, but cooking is also an important skill. If you know how to cook you can prepare nourishing healthy meals for yourself, and maybe your family. And to make cooking fun, try new recipes! Do new things. Who knows, your current favorite meal might not stay in that position for long.

A frequent yoga program that you choose that is correct for you

Finding a yoga program is great for beginner yogi’s who are not very good at choosing their own practices. A yoga program can be anything, beginner, intermediate, hard, and any type of yoga. Yoga offers so many benefits, it can help you stay healthy and it can improve your mind.

Get outside

Theres nothing more amazing than feeling fresh air with all your senses after a long day inside. Try to get outside every day, just for a little bit. The fresh air is more than just a nice sensation. It’s a healthy sensation. Find activities you enjoy and do them outside.

Work on your mindset through books and affirmations

Your mind is just as, and maybe more important than your body. The best ways to improve your mindset are through affirmations and positive books. Affirmations are best spoken in front of a mirror in the morning and at night.

Thank you for reading!

Categories
Health

5 Tips to Disconnect from Your Phone

Why disconnecting from your phone is important:

  • To much screen time is time consuming
  • Bad for your health
  • Leads to unhealthy relationships
  • Worsening mental health
  • Not focusing on the world around you

1. Don’t look at your phone right when you get up

The moments right when you get up are definitely some of the most important moments in the day. What you do in them will impact how you feel for the rest of your day. Because of this, going on your phone the first moment when you wake up will put all of the negativity on social media into your brain, and it will destroy the rest of your day. Instead of going on your phone, I suggest reading, or journaling, or dancing to your favorite songs.

2. Create routines that incorporate no phone time

In this day and age, it is so hard to stay off of our phones. They have become an extension of ourselves. But other things that have always been important to us, are our habits and routines. They shape our day and our life. So creating a routine/a habit that incorporates no phone time will allow us to get that much-needed screen time break. If you already have a routine, put around an hour into it for some other productive non-screen activity, for example reading.

3. Use your phones benefits to help you unplug

There are so many apps out there, and at least some of them are productive! You can use apps you schedule time away from your phone, or to organize your routines or your to-do’s.

4. Fill your free time up with activities you enjoy

Instead of using all of this extra free time that comes with quarantine for screen time, take these new oppurtunities we have, and do some more of what you love. Allow yourself to fill up you free time with activities that fill your heart, and others that let you grow. There are a lot of different fun tasks that you can do alone, off screen. Take advantage of your new free time to do something productive for your growth.

5. Separating work phone time from free phone time

Our phones can be or are necessary to be used for our work, meaning that it is sometimes hard to stay on task during a work period. Because of this, you need to create a system of checks and balances to keep yourself on task. This system could be an app on your phone that allows to to restrict what apps you use and the time period you use them for, or some other alarm system. Anything that will separate work phone time from free phone time is good.

Categories
Health

The Struggles of Quarantine for Me and How I am Trying to Overcome Them

Quarantine has changed our lives so much, in so many ways. In some ways, it has been good for me, for example this blog, but in other cases quarantine has caused so many struggles. The good news is that with a simple google search, I have realized I am not the only one facing these struggles. Teenagers everywhere are dealing with the awful side effects that come from virtual learning, and spending all our time at the house. But just because these struggles are shared, does not mean that they effect our lives in negative ways any less. Below are the main struggles that I face because of quarantine.

1. Mental fatigue

Mental fatigue has been caused in these times because of the overload of stress I have been feeling. With more people getting coronavirus and dying from it everyday, being stuck inside all the time, doing online school, being stuck around my family all the time, not seeing my friends or not experiencing any new fun events, there are so many causes for stress.

Solution

The solution I am working on is trying to incorporate more sporadic events, and things I actually do, along with hanging out with my friends social distanced, and creating a good plan for online learning. These events usually just mean going on a walk on my own, or going to get Starbucks or ice cream. Being in quarantine has reminded me of all the fun events and things I used to do with my friends, and I hope I can do them again soon.

2. All the time in the world to eat

Being quarantined in our houses most of the time is very important for everyone to stay safe, but it also means that the fridge and the pantry are only a couple steps away, all the time. In this situation it is way to easy to overeat, and overeat with unhealthy food that does not fill you up. I for one, am always grabbing snacks, anytime for any class. This is not healthy and is not good paying attention during class.

Solution

Meal plan. Creating a meal plan, and then only buying the ingredients for those meals. A meal plan should include snacks, but mainly consist of healthy meals that will fill you up. A meal plan is difficult to make, so I suggest you check with your family before making it. Make sure that your meals aline with the meals they are eating.

3. No concrete schedule

Because most of our activities have been canceled or moved online, and school has become rather uncertain, it is very hard to have a concrete schedule. Not just with activities assigned by others, but to-do’s you give yourself, and the time that you need to complete these to-do’s. With no concrete schedule, I know that for me I end up laying around on my phone a lot of the time.

Solution

Create a schedule! Pull out a binder, or your online google calendar and plug in when you will get your to-do’s done, and when you will do the other tasks you need to do to keep yourself active and moving. Make sure your schedule works with everything else that you and our family might have planned.

Categories
Health

Emily Harrington Amazing Lesson on Goal-Setting

“Impossible dreams challenge us to rise above who we are now to see if we can become better versions of ourselves” said Emily Harrington in an Instagram post on November 7th, where she talks about how she became the first women to free-climb the Golden Gate route up El Capitan, a 3,000 foot granite edifice that that draws thousands of climbers to Yosemite each year.

I choose to write my post about this quote, because Emily Harrington was able to achieve her impossible dream by working day and night to rise above herself and accomplish her impossible goal. She set this goal, not truly believing she could do it, but still setting herself to accomplish it. And she did.

This is the amazingness of goals. Set right, with just the right amount of disbelief in our ability but courage to try, they can be amazing things that push us past our limits and allow us to achieve the impossible. But this balance is hard to find, and to often our impossible dreams end up being just that. Impossible.

But this was not the case for Emily Harrington, and now she is a role model for many young women climbers everywhere, including myself. Her success is proof, that those “whimsical” goals we set for ourselves could actually come true, and that working for them could be the best decision of our life and push us past our limits.

Overall, Emily Harrington, using an impossible goal pushed herself to her limit and beyond, and was able to do something no women had done before. This is a beautiful message that should be shared.

Categories
Health

How to Stay Consistent with Your Healthy Eating

Why eat healthy?

  1. Eating healthy can be delicious
  2. Eating healthy will make your body strong
  3. You will be a healthier person overall
  4. In my opinion it is more fun to cook healthy foods

Create a grocery list and stick to it

A grocery list is the best way to make sure you are only cooking healthy meals. If you only buy the components of healthy meals, and don’t buy unhealthy food, you will be able to stay consistent with your healthy eating. I suggest a base grocery list of healthy fruits and vegetables, that can be used in healthy snacks and meals. You can add on anything specific for that week, but you will always have fruits and vegetables on hand. And if healthy snacks and meals are most convenient to eat, they will end up being what you eat.

Drink lots of water

Water is super important to staying healthy, because it has so many benefits. You can read about all of them, here. What I am going to say in this post, is that drinking water will help fill you up, which is great for not over eating. Over eating with any type of food is not very beneficial, and drinking water is one of the best ways to make sure you don’t end up over eating.

Make healthy snacks for easy access

This tip is one that can make sure that you consistently eat healthy. On Sunday, or Monday, put together a good amount of healthy snacks. Snacks that are easy to package and full of fruits and vegetables. Make enough for the entire week. Throughout the week, whenever you get hungry, instead of reaching for an unhealthy snack you can eat one of your healthy, pre-made snacks. This is making sure that one of the biggest contributors to unhealthy eating, snacks, are healthy.

Don’t drink your calories

Soda, Coke, Sprite, all of these drinks may be great, but they are just extra calories, and super unhealthy. On top of that, when you are drinking un healthy drink, it means you are not drinking water. An easy way to make your lifestyle healthier is to switch out all unhealthy sugary drinks with water.

Learn to cook delicious healthy meals

Cooking is not for everyone. I can personally say that I know I do not like to cook. Right now though, I am lucky because my mom cooks the meals for my family, and she is good at making healthy meals. But I definitely want to start cooking more, so I can learn to enjoy it. The more I enjoy it, the more I will do it, and the more healthy meals I will eat.

Make a meal plan that suits you

Meal plans are great because they allow you to not have to spend a lot of time thinking and planning for your meal each day. If you create a meal plan full of healthy enjoyable meals, then it would be the easiest option for you to follow it. This makes sure that you are eating healthy meals. When you make your meal plan, make sure it fits your own needs, and what you are able to get.

Categories
Health

6 Reasons that You Have No Willpower or Motivation

Willpower and motivation are both beautiful resources to get what you want in life. Unfortunately for many of us, we have very little of both of them. But on the other hand, there some very concise reasons for our lack of motivation and willpower. If you recognize these, you can start to take the steps to overcome them.

You have no purpose behind your actions

What I mean by this is, you have no why. There is no reason or purpose you do something. Most of the time, people won’t do something unless they have a great self benefiting reason to do it. If you have a purpose for your actions you will have more motivation and willpower to do it.

You reward yourself for everything

Rewards are a great motivation to get things done. But if we reward ourselves for everything, then we become way to used to getting what we want. Once that happens, we won’t be able to really motivate ourselves anymore, because we are unable to get anything out of it.

You have no goals or intentions for yourself

This is a similar question to having no why, but if you have no goals or path you are going to follow, and no direction for yourself, you won’t be able to get things done. This lack of progress will be caused by a feeling that nothing you do matters, because it won’t be following a path to a goal you set for yourself.

You only rely on motivation and willpower

I know that this may seem a little backwards, but it is an important reason. Motivation and willpower are both limited for us. We don’t have infinite amounts of them. That means that if we are always trying to only use them, than we will always be out. Instead of using motivation and willpower, try discipline, or other techniques such as writing down the time you will get something done.

You rely on others to feed your willpower and motivation

Willpower and motivation should come from within. The best way to get more of those resources is to train them, from yourself. If you rely on others to force your motivation and willpower, it will not build up naturally.

There is a brick wall inside your mind

This brick wall that I talk about is a metaphor. It is a metaphor for having a fixed mindset. Your mindset is very powerful because it is what determines if you will grow as a person. If you have a fixed mindset growth will be hard, and you will not have much willpower or motivation to get things done and learn in your life.

Categories
Health

10 Best Daily Journal Prompts for Inner Growth

Journaling is a beautiful way to improve yourself. See what you have accomplished, and learn how to keep improving. Sticking to specific daily prompts can really make sure you are creating a future for yourself that you love.

Morning:

Why do we journal in the morning?

We journal in the morning to set the tone for the day. We do this by making sure each day has a purpose, and a goal. The guiding questions below are basically perfect for creating a goal and a purpose for your day.

What is your daily intention?

How should the flow of your day go? What is the intention or purpose?

What will you focus on today to manifest the perfect outcome?

Remember, what you focus on is what manifests in your life. Focus on the positive, the beauty in your life.

What actions can you do today to manifest your desired outcome?

Action, along with focus, is the most important part of manifestation. What actions can you concretely do too manifest your desired outcome?

What will you do for yourself today, to improve yourself and also stay happy?

For this question, it is mainly focused on self care. What activities will you do to improve yourself and learn, while taking care of your body and mind.

Night-time:

Why do we journal at night?

We journal at night to release ourselves from the daily pressures, so we can get a better sleep and focus on tomorrow. It is a time for reflection and preparation. The guiding questions below are perfect for these journaling goals.

What was your favorite thing you did today?

How can you make sure tomorrow is even better?

For this question, think about the times during your day when you felt sad, alone, scared, or basically any negative emotion. What could you have done in the moment to turn it around?

What have you been overthinking? How can you release that pressure?

This will allow you to sleep better, and it will help you manifest your ideal next day. By getting things off your chest you are releasing low vibration thoughts, and making way for higher vibration thouhts.

What are you feeling grateful for?

Always remember to be grateful for everything you have.