Operation Self Care

Some days it can be hard to feel our best. I know that I certainly have been there, and the times where my confidence is the lowest it can be the most difficult to stay strong. In a day and age where we are told that if we do not look like the models in advertisements, it is easy to think we are not as beautiful or worth attention. However, today I want to urge you to begin to live a life full of confidence. There are many benefits that come along with choosing confidence, and hopefully within this post you can begin to learn how to be confident and see these positives. Society tells us lies about how we should perceive ourselves. The truth is that we are enough exactly the way that we are, and we should firmly believe this. Why should we allow the world to steal our joy and peace? In my opinion a lot of the anxieties and fears that we have stem from not feeling like we measure up to unrealistic expectations. We must fight these expectations, and be ourselves. We were creat...

Recently, I came to realize the importance of managing my mood. How I am choosing to perceive things has a direct effect on the way that I go about my day. If I wake up allowing myself to let the negative have an influence on how I feel, I will respond in a negative way. As I have discussed in previous blogs, we all have a choice in how we respond to things. I believe that by realizing the magnitude of our moods, we can more effectively make these choices. We must understand why we feel these ways in order to move forward and make good decisions that are beneficial to our wellbeing. Today I am challenging you to take a look at the past week of your life. I know for me I had many times where I struggled to believe that I was capable of completing a project or task. I did not want to become a person who gave up, but there were definitely times that I did not do my best. I suppose this is why I feel so strongly about helping others who do not know where to turn; I have been there a...

Sometimes I like to think of the mind being almost like a garden. The flowers and other plants that exist in your mental garden are a reflection of how closely you care for them. Let's say that these flowers represent the thoughts that you have. If you take care of your thoughts and "water" them with goodness and happiness, your flowers will thrive. If you ignore what your flowers need, they will wilt and ultimately you will not function properly. I have decided to challenge all of you to find a new focus, and in doing so really try watering the flowers that you have ignored for so long. I am on the same journey, so you are definitely not alone in this. My focus recently has been on homework, exams and my job. While this is all good and well, I will admit I have made certain mistakes that have prevented me from living my life to the fullest. Even though I know I cannot ignore these things in my life, I have decided to make my personal health my first priorit...

In my life I have definitely experienced many times where I simply wanted to give up. I am sure that this is a common feeling amongst many people, and it is certainly tempting to give in to those feelings. Constant stressors can take control of how we are living our lives, and can grip us into feeling as though we have no hope or direction. I know this may seem discouraging sometimes, but when we are the weakest and most exposed we truly learn who we are and what we are capable of withstanding. Here are three of my tips for realizing your inner strength, even when everything is fighting against you. 1. Realize you can take control of your actions. This is one of the most empowering moments of our lives. The reality is that we can choose to let the bad affect us, or allow it to steamroll over our hope and dreams. The power of perception is real, and if you perceive everything as something that will help you grow, you will grow. Choose today to begin controlling your actio...

The Christmas season is a time for the world to be renewed. As the first snow falls, we see the world around us transforming into a winter wonderland. Decorations begin to appear, creating light even when the world seems to be full of darkness. For some, Christmas is a tough time. Perhaps there is a loved one missing from the table, or an issue has arisen that seems to be hopeless and impossible. It is easy to become discouraged during this time, when the world is supposed to be full of hope. In this day and age, our society has placed a large amount of emphasis on the need to buy things. We are consumed by the idea that material items will help us feel fulfilled and happy. As I have discussed in previous blogs, this is certainly not the truth.  Distracting ourselves with meaningless products and things is simply not the answer. You are probably asking yourself,  "So how do we find the answer?" This is a very good question, and I'll be the firs...

In my own life I have recently experienced a lot of difficult situations. There were countless times where I wanted to give up and let my anxiety, worries and frustrations take control of who I was. In my opinion, this is not an uncommon scenario. I think that these are feelings that many of us have; we want to give up at the first sign of a daunting task or beginning of a conflict. As hard as they may seem, the worst days do not have to be impossible to get through. After all, we have survived 100% of the bad days that we have experienced before! It is crucial to remind ourselves that the bad we experience is meant to help us grow and learn. If there is one good thing I can say about the bad days, it is that I learned more about myself from them. Maybe you are at a point in your life where you feel lost, or that you are in the same rut you simply can't seem to get out of. It is easy to want to give up, but I urge you not to. Not matter what you are going through, there ...

Growing up, I’ll admit I had times where I was definitely not a nice person. Day to day, I was focused on one thing: taking care of my needs, in a selfish way. After living my life this way for a while, I started to realize that it simply was not working out. I was miserable all the time, and felt like I was in a continuous cycle where I never truly was happy. One day, after scrolling through my social media feeds and seeing several ads promoting kindness, I decided it was time to make a change. Why not start living my life being committed to showing people kindness and being that change? The world is in desperate need of more individuals who are not afraid to express love and kindness unconditionally.  Today I am challenging you personally to incorporate small acts of kindness into your daily life. Here are a few reasons as to why this would be a beneficial action to take. 1.  It can contribute to better social skills. A study taken by the National Institu...

One of the first steps of learning how to achieve a happy and healthy lifestyle is to acknowledge who you are and what you want to accomplish. Being truly happy is a very personal thing, and the bottom line is that it starts and ends with you. How you treat yourself has a lot to do with the kind of outlook you have on life, and growing in this can help you find your path and purpose. Even though we are all on separate journeys, there are common techniques that can be used in order to aid you throughout your progress. Here are a few of my favorites, and I highly recommend you try out a couple of them just to get yourself started. 1.  Before any other steps are taken, I suggest that you take some kind of personality quiz. I have linked a great one here for you to test out. Personality quizzes can help you put into words the kind of feelings, thoughts, or tendencies you may have. It is possible that this can give you some answers you may have been searching for, but most spe...