August 22, 2013

Tara Stiles took the words right out of my blog post?

Well I had a blog post in the works for today about my life being chaotic right now, and my decision this week to put my foot down and take care of myself. I was sick with a lingering head cold and pushing myself, stressed out about finances and school, which was manifesting itself in acne and more tummy troubles, and using shopping and nut butter as my therapy. There is no stopping the nut butter addiction, I'm not that silly. Still, I've been eating a lot of bananas with nut butter.  I just finished reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin which also is probably contributing to my wake up call.  

I open my email inbox today and see my all of the thoughts I was feeling and trying to express in my blog post, nicely said by the lovely yoga guru Tara Stiles in the blog emails I get from her. She stole the words right out of my head and blog post! (Go to her site to sign up-she always has nice musings, contests, and recipes!) 

I'm trying to put myself and my happiness first in life. My time and money and most of all, energy is precious so I'm not wasting it or doing things I don't want to do that I don't have to.  Being healthy and happy and taking care of yourself not only helps you, but makes you a better person to be around.  In the email Tara says "We all have our stress. It's a part of life. It comes and goes and comes and goes again. The trick I've learned along the way is to deal with it when it comes so we aren't only happy and calm when it's on a gone cycle. "
This is true and usually it's a balancing for me, but lately it has seemed I can't get a a good grip on everything in my life. 

I'm going to repost her 5 Simple Steps to Take Care of Yourself Now, along with a few of my own steps that I am personally going to take in the next week or so. I've bolded and highlighted some major points that I like from the list!  If you want to see Tara Stile's full blog post, click here!
"5 Simple Steps to Take Care of Yourself Now by Tara Stiles

1. Get enough sleep. Wind down your night by putting your phone and computer away. Don't fall asleep checking instagram. (I'm guilty so I'm just saying) Sleep is essential to your health. Get enough. Start tonight. Here is a routine to wind down your night. 

2. Prepare more meals for yourself. If you cook, you are going to pay attention to what you are eating. Get interested in the kitchen. Start preparing your meals. Some of my favorite super simple heathy meals are here.  



3. Spend your time wisely. Your time is more valuable than your money. Think about it. It's true. Spend your time with people that make you feel good. Align yourself with work that fuels your creativity. If you have a job that stresses you out, find ways to not let it consume and squash you.

4. Don't postpone your happiness. Your life is happening right now. Watch out for thoughts like, I'll be happy when this happens, or I'll be happy when this isn't happening any more. Make changes now that help you feel better so you can take care of your self.


5. And don't forget You are Perfect! There is nothing to fix. Cultivate and work toward things that inspire you and make habits of things that nurture you. Your health and your life isn't a goal, it's an ongoing experience that is happening right now. Enjoy!"

So I've mentioned frequently lately that I need to work on getting more sleep. I'm working on it. I've also mentioned that putting the phone, computer, etc. away helps because those bright lights from electronics disrupts melatonin production and keeps you awake longer! I've been pretty good at meal planning, packing lunches, and preparing lots of my own food so that doesn't really apply to me.   You are an awesome person, but everybody has areas they can improve upon. 

This whole blog post I had planned for today was focused around NOT postponing your happiness. We get so caught up in the day-to-day activities that time just passes, and then we realize we aren't having all that much fun.  Everyday, the good and the bad, is life. Don't say you'll be happy when you get through this busy stretch, when this major work project is over, when you lose 10 pounds. BE HAPPY RIGHT NOW! You don't know what tomorrow brings so live life the fullest, carpe diem, and all that jazz. 


5 Things I am doing this week to make myself happier

  1. Painting my nails/toenails. I put this off and now my fingernails are chipped and toe nail polish has been on for a while so I'm going to have a glass of red wine this weekend and take the time to paint my nails. This seems like a silly thing to schedule but remember to pamper yourself, people. 
  2. Taking a bath. Okay so this has two benefits. One, it is relaxing and two, my legs have been really sore. I saw that Carlyn from Just Keep Sweating  had instagrammed earlier this week that she was taking an epsom salt bath for her sore body. I just can't manage an ice bath right now, so a warm, scented, salt bath sounds wonderful right now. 
  3. Getting some frozen yogurt. It's been a while since I've gone to a frozen yogurt shop, and I'm craving a delicious frozen treat with fresh fruit and chocolate chunks on top. Yum. 
  4. Setting up a financial plan.  I have a lot of expenses right now, with more on the way, so I need to actually use the Mint.com account I set up and budget my money. I'm going to set aside some money from each paycheck to put into a savings account, along with a set amount of money set aside to spend on unnecessary spending since that is kind of on the fritz.  Lastly, I'm going to start a jar of loose change and extra dollar bills as a "happiness fund".  Once it's pretty full, I'll get it counted and spend it on something that will make me happy. 
  5. I could teach you how to speak my language, Rosetta Stone. Okay so not really the Drake lyric reference but actually getting back in speaking French again. I minored in French in college (would've double majored if I had planned it out better) and haven't spoken it since graduating. It's a skill I'd like to maintain and improve so I'm going to look into dusting off some language books or finding an online program on the cheap to get back at it.  I can allot 30 minutes a day that would be spent surfing the internet (using that phrase makes me feel old) to studying some French.  



If you didn't read all this and are just scrolling here's the recap:

Life's too short to be anything but happy, and the time is now. 

I'll update you on my progress of course. 

What are some things that make you happy that you could work on doing?


8 comments:

  1. If you need anyone to get froyo with... I'm your girl :)

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    1. Um I'm pretty sure we have a definitely froyo date raincheck!

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  2. What a great and thought-provoking post. I need to start taking more time for me. I feel like I am always taking on a new challenge or project and I don't ever stop. I think I'm happy like this, but I'm always on deadline or rushing around. This gives me something to think about.

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    1. Thank so much! Being busy is great, but I don't like the feeling of always rushing around. Think about it and start with picking one thing that makes you happy and doing it, it can be as small as having more fresh flowers around the house or watching that movie you've wanted to see for forever.

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  3. I minored in French in college, too! I always tell myself I'm going to read Le Petit Prince in French and still have yet to do so. If you want a conversation partner, I'd love to get together and (attempt to) chat!

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    1. That's awesome! I'd love to attempt to chat. I need to brush up on some vocab first though. Or we could just go get french pastries and coffee and speak in English haha

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  4. I loved reading The Happiness Project, its a great book! glad you are taking some time for you and working on being happy! You deserve it!

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  5. I read the Happiness Project about a year ago. I read Spirit Junkie and loved that even more! Thanks for sharing! xo Tara

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