Do it anyway

That's my theme for today's Motivation Monday.

We spend a lot of time dreaming for things to be different. We browse Pinterest imagining how great it would be to live in a model home. We read blogs about other people's lives and envy how perfect they seem. We watch haul videos on YouTube and wish we could have a closet filled with designer accessories. We spend a lot of time imagining and planning how these things might look and feel in our own lives, but somehow we get stuck in that first phase and never move forward with making these dreams a reality.

When we turn our eye self-ward we are much too critical. Our hopes and dreams seem meant for someone better prepared, and more experienced. Phrases like "I'm not organized enough," and "I'm not interesting enough," echo through our heads. These self-defeating words keep us from taking even small steps toward realizing our goals.

I have three words for you.

Do it anyway.
Just do it anyway.

What is the worst that will happen?

You are capable enough. When you take that first step, sure, you'll be scared, but you'll also be excited when you see yourself being propelled towards your goal. You'll be thrilled when you reach it. And you'll feel a little more prepared for the next goal you set.

So: Do it anyway!

You'll be glad you did.

Motivation Monday!

Ever since I started working my dream job, I've had Mondays off. I used to work a lot (I mean *a lot*), so whenever I had a day off I would slouch around all day doing absolutely nothing. No cleaning, no shopping. I didn't even put pants on.
It's a different story now.
I use Mondays as my recharge day, but instead of being a slug I like to recharge by getting done all of the chores that fall to the wayside on the days I work. I play catch up on my blog-reading. I study. I prep my blog posts.
Most of all, I search for motivation.
Motivation for not one thing in particular, but for my life in general. I've done a lot of soul-searching in the past 6 months, and through that I've come to cement my goals in my mind. I want to be happy, healthy, knowledgeable, and most of all I want to be a source of light for the people around me.
What do I mean by "source of light?" Let me explain.

A year ago I was miserable. I hated my job, my friends were not very good at being my friend, and I was just generally stressed out and grumpy. In turn, I made everyone around me feel the same way. Not intentionally, mind you, I just complained a lot and my awful mood oozed out of my every pore. When I left my stressful job, I decided to change everything, including my terrible mood. I wanted my interactions with everyone to be a pleasure for them, and I wanted people to look forward to spending time with me, instead of bracing themselves for the inevitable barrage of negativity. I want to be a source of light.

What is motivating me today is this awesome book my mom gave me. She knows that I love art books and that I've been trying to become more positive and thankful, and this book is quickly becoming my Holy Grail for finding inspiration every day.

This is the passage that I read today that is truly perfect for this post.

I spend every Monday doing the things I need to do (chores and running errands) and the things I love to do (blogging, and watching YouTube videos). I feel refreshed and renewed for the rest of my week, and I don't feel like I've wasted my day off.


Getting motivated is easy, it's staying motivated that's hard. How do you motivate yourself?

Embracing the changes

I've been doing a lot of thinking back on 2013 lately, and how much my life has changed since January. Or rather, how much I have changed my life.
I've made some BIG, scary, exciting changes this year. I left my job managing a shoe store to find my passion and chase it, without even knowing what that was. I "lost" many of my friendships when I left that job, and have developed and deepened the relationships that survived. I've settled into married life a bit more. I got my dream job!
All of these changes were stressful, even the good ones. I look back at January and realize I basically tore myself down to rebuild.
I didn't just make external changes though. When I left my job I decided to change my way of thinking and my behavior, because I realized I was holding myself back with my thought process and how I reacted to things around me.

I started thinking in a positive manner, and tried to be aware of and limit the amount of complaining I did. I started giving more, and expecting less. I started listening more. And I embraced the changes.

I'm the first person to say that in order to change something, you have to go through a period of being uncomfortable, sometimes even miserable, to end up where you want to be. But somehow I had forgotten that. I saw the opportunity I had to make big changes all at once, and I took it. I made a decision to improve myself and my life, and then I took the steps I needed to take get there.

Change is inevitable, and I think the longer we avoid it, the scarier it looks, and the more miserable we are without it. It takes a lot of courage to take the first step, but once you do, each step comes easier and sooner than the last. I think we can all do something to change and improve our lives; no matter how small or big that change is. From now on, I'm not going to avoid change. I'm going to embrace it.

Here's the YouTube video I did: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ_kZrSAftM

                                                                                                                                                                  

Read this awesome Huffington Post article about habits for happiness. 

And a little quote from the Brave Girls Club:

VoxBox Update

I promised an update on my VoxBox, and here it is! For those of you who don't know, I'm involved with Influenster which is a fun and awesome service that sends me products to try out and review on all of my social networks. They recently sent me their Good Life VoxBox full of fun goodies related to health and fitness.

The first products I'll talk about are the Zone Perfect Greek Yogurt bar, and the Nonni's ThinAddictives, because they were the first products I tried. The Zone Perfect bar was delicious. I had the Raspberry flavor; it was kind of chewy, a little tart, and I will definitely buy these the next time I get bars. I was disappointed in the protein-to-calorie ratio, so I wouldn't eat these as a protein bar. It is a huge step up from a regular granola bar though, and I can see these replacing granola bars for a lot of my friends.
The Nonni's was a couple of thin, sweet cranberry crackers. It was like dry, crunchy slices of bread. I don't know that I'll buy more of these, but I think they'd be nice for people who like a good crunch. They'd be delicious with cream cheese on them!

This New-Skin liquid bandage was the product I was most excited to try out. I've used New-Skin before, and I liked it, but it was pretty inconvenient for me to use. It came in a bottle with a brush, and I hated putting that brush back in the bottle after I had just swept it over a fresh wound. It also stung, due to the antiseptic. This product on the other hand is in a spray bottle (and does not sting!), and it is amazing! The formula seems thinner, which is great because you don't always need a thick goopy layer on a scrape or cut. It was incredibly easy to spray, and the bottle is small enough to put in a first aid kit (or a purse, which is where mine has stayed for the past 3 weeks!). The formula also seems improved, because I sprayed this on my knuckle and it has not cracked, or peeled. I would forget I had this on, if it weren't for the smell. The smell isn't really that terrible; kind of like plastic-y Twizzlers, but it's not great.

The Garcinia Cambogia Extract made me a little nervous to try, because my experience with diet pills is that they make you really jittery and anxious and irritable. I can honestly say that this did not seem to affect my mood or energy level at all. I did notice that I did not feel "snacky" during the day, and ate an appropriate amount of food at mealtimes. I don't think I'm really the target audience for this, because I don't really tend to overeat most meals, and this is suggested to be taken 3 times a day. I will be taking advantage of this after dinner, when I tend to want to continue snacking before bed.

I haven't had a chance to try this last product. I've suffered from headaches and migraines for years, and I've been tweaking my diet in the last few months to avoid them (and it's been working!). I will say the concept is brilliant, because this packet is easier to store and find in my purse than pills, which either need to be in a bottle (which rattles when you walk, urgh) or in a pill case and who has those anymore?! It's headache medicine in powder form, that you don't even need water for. Perfect for hiking/camping, or if you're ever somewhere you don't have a drink handy. On the back of the packet is the whole range of medicines in powder form, and it looks fairly comprehensive. I'm going to keep a lookout for these, and I may pick up a couple different types for when we go camping.

I really enjoyed my VoxBox, and I hope I get more in the future. Influenster is a really fun service, and if you are active on social media, and you want to review products, I suggest signing up. There are tons of categories; it's not limited to health and fitness products! I do have a few invites left, so if you would like one, please leave your email below and I'll send you one!

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/10717449/?claim=xfnbhz2vq2m">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Lazy Sunday

Ahhh Sundays. My favorite day of the week! I used to have to work weekends (thanks retail!), but now I have every Sunday off and I make sure I spend my Sunday wisely. By being lazy!
Andy and I wake up a little later than usual, slip on super comfy clothes, put on a pot of coffee and plop down on the couch to watch TV, read blogs, and watch YouTube videos. Today we watched some football (we're in a fantasy league with friends), drank pumpkin spice coffee, and snuggled up with the Moo. My mom-in-law, Bonnie, gave me this *adorable* owl mug, cos she knows I love owls. It's my new favorite mug!

I also get the urge to decorate and organize on Sundays. It is most decidedly Fall here in Maine, so I thought I would spruce up my dining area with a little Fall decor! The milk glass and hydrangea have been on my table all Summer, on top of my lovely silver plate (from Goodwill, only $3!). The candle is Tiki Beach from Bath and Body Works, and is on it's last legs (so long, Summer scent!). This lovely glass vase is from Bonnie as well (does she know me well, or what?) and I've filled it with some vase-fill that I got from Target last year on clearance. You can see the beautiful Maine foliage out my window, too!

I also like to spend some of my Sundays catching up on chores, like dishes and laundry. It makes my Monday so much easier when I have clean clothes and silverware. 

Andy and I spend every Sunday with our parents; we alternate Sundays with each set. Family is really important to both of us, and it's really nice to end the week catching up with them.