Thought of the week #27

Are you like me and get annoyed whenever you see a headline about ‘how to be successful’ or ‘the secret to success’? I honestly don’t give a shit how a successful CEO organises their day!

Success has a different meaning for everyone. Perhaps it’s a constant moving target that’s relative to where you are in life? It’s just a matter of locating it’s current position and taking a shot. If you miss, re-evaluate, locate the target again and take another shot.

Happy Monday lovers xx

Would you do your job for free if time or money weren’t the issue?

My bestie and I were chatting the other day about blog ideas and she suggested a post based on a YouTube video she had watched recently – “How would you spend your life if money was no object”. {Watch the video – very inspiring stuff}.

My bestie also suggested a post about your favourite knickers. You know the old pair of knickers that you’ve worn once a week for the past 10 years because they are stretched and comfy and your loyalty is too strong to throw them out? Yeah, that pair. Love them more than loathe them but let’s keep that knicker post for another day shall we!

Now, where was I?

Life. Career. Money.  Three topics that are all entwined whether we like it or not. We need a career in order to make money so we survive in life, right? Unless you’re Tamara Ecclestone and your billionaire daddy pays for everything!

But what if money was no object?  PAUSE. I’m going to let that question sink in a bit. If money didn’t exist, how would you spend your life? What career would you pursue? Where would you live? Would you have more kids? Maybe you’d live in New York in that loft apartment like you’ve always dreamed about? Or perhaps you’d become a teacher and educate the future generation about the importance of healthy eating and fitness.

Me? I’d become Prime Minister and immediately make it legal for all same-sex couples to marry/adopt/access IVF, I’d severely punish those that harm animals and children and I’d introduce 3 day weekends. Easy!

So I ask you, my lovers, why on earth would you spend your life doing something that you hate, to earn money to continue doing what you hate?

Some of us are working in jobs we dislike and some of us are living lives we dislike. A VIP in my life does just this; dislikes their life and dislikes their job but continually works around the clock to earn money doing something they dislike. The job has negative effects on this person’s health, takes them away from family and the hours make it impossible to have a social life. That’s just CRAZY to me! Where is the ‘living life’ part of that scenario?

Some people can’t accept change and some people find it hard to leap without seeing the safety net first. My VIP needs to throw away that old pair of comfy knickers and embrace a new (life) style. Sure, it’ll be uncomfortable to begin with but the change will be exciting and rewarding in the long run.

Do what you love because you’ll become great at it. The money will follow and your life will be become much happier.

Breathe with purpose. Live with intention. Be creative. Give generously. Be present.

L.O.V.E.

Searching for it? Falling into it? Maybe you’ve already found it?

A very dear friend of mine is falling in love with somebody special. I’m serious! My friend is falling in love as I type this. For the past few weeks I’ve listened and read about every lovey dovey sentiment known to womankind ….. and it’s so frikken cute!

{Darling anonymous friend, if you’re reading this ….. “sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N.G”}.

Remember the crazy butterfly feeling you get when you fall in love? Being giddy with excitement and every waking moment is consumed by thoughts of your lover? {It’s been a while for me, but I think I remember it feeling like this}.

Love is what we’re all wanting and ultimately the greatest gift we can give somebody. It’s affection and pleasure. It’s a virtue, a state of mind, an intimacy. Love makes us do crazy things. It also centres us, fills us with compassion and kindness.

And let’s not forget about lust!

Searching for love? It always happens when you least expect it. Increase your social life. Say ‘YES’ to every invitation. Have faith that your life is exactly where it’s supposed to be right now.

Falling in love? You start dating, meet friends, meet family, become exclusive, send 100 texts a day, wear cute knickers, talk and talk on the phone, snuggle on the couch with a bad rom com movie, leave love notes in cars/drawers/pillow, discuss future dreams …. and before you know the words ‘I LOVE YOU’ have escaped your lips without warning.

Found love? Love and pure happiness is waking up in the middle of the night, and feeling the heat of the person next to you. You turn around and see them in their most peaceful and vulnerable state. You smile, kiss their face in the most gentle manner so as not to wake them. You turn back around and an involuntary grin forms on your own face. You feel an arm wrap around your waist and you know it doesn’t get any better than this. That’s love.

Love is complicated and yet so simple, don’t you think? I feel extremely blessed to have found ‘The One’ that makes me want to wake up every morning and kiss his face.

Manage your happiness level

I’ve made some poor choices lately. I’ve embarrassed myself. My behaviour is off and my mood swings are causing me to be high one minute and a scary bitch the next. Bit like a drug addict really.

My AHA-MOMENT came on Monday when I realised it wasn’t what was happening to me, but HOW I WAS REACTING TO IT.

‘A-ha’ I hear you say.

You see it’s meant to be the happiest time of the year, yet I was allowing to let the little things build up and send me into a frenzy. I knew I needed to take back control of my reactions and make the conscious decision to be happy with this stage of my life.

Here are my top five ways to ‘get happy’ again:

1) Surround yourself with positive people. Happiness is contagious. If you’re with happy people, their happiness and energy will rub off on you. High-energy people will lift you up, while people who tend to be negative will bring out your cynical side.

2) Let go of anything negative that happened during the day. Those events are over and now you can move on from them. When you find yourself drifting, gently remind yourself to shift focus to the joys in your life. Positive thinking leads to lower rates of depression and distress and a better physical well-being.

3) Practice gratitude. You KNOW I’m crazy for showing gratitude. Often times we caught up in the daily grind and forget to think about what we’re grateful for. The trick is to make practicing gratitude a routine. I keep a gratitude journal {Gratitude by HappyTapper} on my iPhone and try to jot down 3 things that made me feel grateful that day.

4) Work up a sweat. Get those good ol’ endorphins kicking and get an immediate boost in your mood. I’ve recently started walking home from the office twice a week. New music blasting in my ears, wind in my face and Sydney Harbour to marvel at! It doesn’t get much better than that. My Mum’s best advice has always been ‘get out of your head and into your body’.

5) Meditate. Carve out some “me” time and meditate. Meditation will lead you to a more calm, peaceful and happy existence. It reduces stress and tension, builds confidence and energy and reduces anxiety. Loads of people find meditation difficult, but my best advice would be to download a meditation app. I’m currently using the CALM app on my iPhone. There is a huge selection of 6 minute sessions to choose from: calm, anxiety release, compassion, confidence, energy, sleep etc. Once you’ve mastered 6 minute sessions, build it up to 10-20 minute sessions.

Which one of these steps do you think helps you the most? Are there any you would add? Let me know in the comments!

Thought of the week #8

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”
~ John Lennon

Happiness is the best medicine. Happiness is a matter of attitude. Happiness is a way of life.

But we all know that no one is happy all the time because our minds are constantly thinking and finding something negative to disturb our inner contentment. Your state of mind is the determining factor that will create the way you feel.

Monday’s are crap. It’s hard to be happy on Monday’s. I get that! But smile at a stranger today and see if any happiness creeps inside your soul.

Photo credit: Yoko Ono

Dear French Champagne

Dear Lordy!!! Do I have some friends riding a merry-go-round at the moment. Up and down. Round and round.

Some news this week got me thinking about my own situation. How lucky I am to have a job I like. How thankful I am for my good health. How grateful I am for the love & support of family and close friends.

A while back I posted {view here} about Leah Dietrich and her thank you notes. Leah was the creator behind the website Thx Thx Thx – it doesn’t appear to be running anymore – but the meaning is still awesome. It’s all about writing thank you notes to the people or things that you’re grateful for.

Here is an example of Leah’s many thank you notes.

Acknowledging what you’re grateful for can be a useful tool. Even a healing tool. So I thought it was a good day to write/type/think about what we are grateful for. You may want to say thank you to a person, you may want to say it to a thing. It’s up to you.

I’ll go first!

Now it’s your turn. Who do you have to thank today? Your mum? The guy who makes your morning coffee? Ryan Gosling for his hotness?

Soul sparker quote to get you going

“There comes a time in life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. Surround yourself with people who make you laugh, forget the bad, and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don’t. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is part of life, getting back is living.” ~ Jose N. Harris

 

It’s a soul sparker quote, isn’t it? It’s exactly what I needed to hear today after my crazy weekend. I had the pleasure of spending Saturday night with some of my favourite people, eating superb food and sipping sparking wine while sharing stores and laughing around a dinner table. It’s moments like this that make me truly happy. My choices in life have led me to find some great friends and I’m so blessed and thankful for that.

So my question today is what sparks your soul? What are you thankful for?

Visual Friday Lunch

 

In case you hadn’t noticed – it’s FRIDAY!!!

I just wanted to share with you my lunch break visual today. Because sharing is caring.

Visual Friday

 

Happy Friday peeps …… and you’re welcome.

Now & then it’s good to pause…

It’s a quick post today and I’m getting straight to the point!!

Sometimes we need to pause …

This quote is from Guillaume Apollinaire, the French poet and novalist and I saw the quote mentioned by a fellow blogger Brittany over at Casa di Moo and I just knew I had to share if with you all. Because it is exactly what I am going to be doing for the rest of the week.