Let's Make The Change Today

Some days are a piece of cake. Those days, are when everything falls perfectly into place and the universe seems to be playing on your team. To do lists are completed, the family is happy and at peace with each other and the day in general ended up being a great one.

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Sometimes though the cards do not fall into place that nicely. We have times where all we want to do is shout, yell, scream, cry and pull our hair out. Everyone and I mean everyone has experienced those days.

It all comes down to how we make it through. How do we cope? How do we calm ourselves down enough to focus on the positive outcome?
There are a few things that I remain focused on and it seems to help my anxiety.

1. My friends and family has been and will always be here for me. I am a picture taking freak so it is easy for my to pull out some photos and see everyone's smiling face. That in just a text, email or phone call they will help me through the day. I am not alone. It is very comforting knowing I have such a great circle around me.

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2. Coffee. I mean seriously, I don't think I have went a day for the last few years without my Starbucks. I had a Keurig and loved it like it was my bff but it died on me. Long story short it chose to make a quarter cup of burnt coffee instead of the great smelling hazelnut I grew to need and love. If ever I am having a bad day I sit down, hold my cup and somehow it calms my soul with each sip.

3. I use to never read. You would laugh if you saw me holding a book. I use to pick up a book and start reading just to make myself fall asleep. Now it is an outlet. It gives me something to do to pass the time when I am stressed and takes me into another universe where I can re-direct my thoughts. If you have any book suggestions I would love to hear them!

4. The Internet can be a great tool. Most people spend hours and hours on Facebook, playing candy crush or start following the next "trend" to pass the time but I have found a ton of motivation in Pinterest. DIY projects, party planning for Madison's birthday, new recipes and great beauty ideas. I turn to Pinterest for motivation not only in creating new things but also for the quotes and phrases that can be found on there. Sometimes reading positive things over and over will re-route your mind down a more positive path instead of a negative one.

5. "Shopping is my workout". This is on a new shirt that I invested in and I am loving it. In all seriousness though if I am feeling stressed or a high level of anxiety I go into a store and window shop or even buy something. It just makes me feel better. It can be something as small as a bottle of nail polish to a new accessory or outfit.

The point in all of this is most days are hard, we run out of time, we are constantly feeling overwhelmed and it is easy to drown ourselves in negative thoughts. If we can re-channel our minds, focus on the positive things in our lives and overcome the obstacles of life than we will feel a sense of happiness and relief. So find what it is that motivates you.

Ask yourself this, "What makes you happy?", "What makes you smile?", "What decreases your stress and anxiety level?". Whatever or whoever that is, indulge your mind, heart and soul into it. Life is about living it to the fullest not being consumed with anger, stress, guilt and sadness.

Let's make the change today.

What Approach Will You Take?

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A Monday morning always seems to be the most difficult day of the week for me.

I miss the weekend, time spent with friends and family and nothing about my Monday is something that I look forward to.

 

I give myself Sunday evening pep talks and try to motivate myself to make it through the day.

I remind myself to smile even though my heart and mind is somewhere else and to stay focused on making it back to Friday.

 

I hate to wish time away but work is not where I want to be from 8 to 5.

I enjoy my time outside of the work place too much, but who doesn't?

 

If you are anything like me you try to find the small things that make you happy. Taking time to find things that might cheer you up. A Starbucks latte, a picture on your background screen at work, seeing the sunrise on your way into work and so on.

 

I am here to share some of the phrases that have sent me to a happy place.

Reminding me of what I do and why I do it.

Here is a little Monday motivation for your day!

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 Remember to smile.

Remember to appreciate the little things.

Remember that you are doing all that you can and that is the best you can do.

 

Most of all, when surrounded by all of the Debbie Downers, hold your head high and never let the negativity steal your spirit.

Positive thoughts warm the heart and calm the mind.

Will you try this approach today?

 

Motivational Monday!

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Can you tell what I woke up daydreaming about?

That would be warm weather, my upcoming vacation in May and the beach!

I could sit by the ocean with sand in between my toes soaking in God's beautiful work all day, every day!

Is there something you are looking forward to?

What gets you through those dreaded Monday's?

Speaking of Monday I am linking up with two lovely ladies, Kate and Kati, to bring you the GBU (the good, bad and ugly) of my weekend!
 

Let's get going!
 

 The Good:

Friday night we celebrated our five year wedding anniversary! If you haven't already read the honeymoon story click here for part 1 and here for part 2. It will be a memory I will never forget.

Here are a few wedding pictures and some from our five year anniversary dinner!

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bad:

My computer decided to crash on Wednesday so I had to throw down an extra weeks paycheck on a new laptop! It was totally worth it and I scored a great deal thanks to the help of Chelsee but spending that kind of money kills my checkbook!

 

The Ugly:

 Due to the new computer I pretty much accomplished nothing but writing tons of blog posts and reading up on some of my faves! Including Wifessionals, Southern Beauty Guide and Diary of a Debutante!

 

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a Kate Spade handbag of your choice!

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  Have a positive, stress free Monday and work week!

WOW...It changed my way of thinking forever!

Have you ever just sat in your living room, in your office or in your car and just had that moment. You cry. You feel depressed. You are sad. Surrounded by a world of confusion and chaos. Trapped in your own thoughts and feeling like no one will understand.
Well, for some reason on Monday morning I was that person.
I simply got out of bed, sat down on the couch and sobbed, like a baby.

I had experienced nothing.
I hadn't went to work and had a rough day.
All my bills were paid and my fridge was fully stocked.
But for some reason (No not from PMSing, for all those who may be wondering) I was sad.
This seems to happen to me every once in awhile. No explanation what so ever.
So this year in my long list of New Years resolutions I decided to try and find the positive in every negative. I try to find something uplifting and motivating to keep my mind from wondering from the greatness life has to offer.
So for some reason on that very day I made a cup of coffee and sat on my couch, while wiping the tears and feeling the strange sadness in my heart I googled "Feeling sad for no reason". As if God had sent the message straight to me I found this little (but sort of long) note of inspiration, motivation and reasoning.

"Stop feeling sad for no reason. Stop placing all of your happiness into whether or not your crush will text you back. Stop feeling a vague sense of melancholy, something that you aren’t able to pinpoint but you know is there.
I woke up today feeling that quiet sense of melancholy. The steps I took on the way to the bathroom felt heavy and when I looked at myself in the mirror, I could see myself cringing. This doesn’t happen very often, I don’t usually meet the day with a “Screw you!” kind of attitude but when I do, I get angry. How is it possible to feel so crappy at 8:30 in the morning? Actually wait, how is it possible to feel great at 8:30 in the morning? This is dumb though. These feelings aren’t real. I’m choosing to be in a sour mood. When there’s nothing there to make me feel sad, it’s quite clear that I’m the reason. I’m the one who’s making myself feel miserable. And since I’m the one who got me there, I can also be the one who gets me out.
For those of us who don’t have chemical imbalances but are rather just prone to feeling a boatload of emotions, we have to learn not to indulge every thought we have. It’s difficult though. With people who suffer from analysis paralysis and melancholia, it’s like we’re constantly betraying ourselves.
We get upset over minute things and then get upset over the fact that we’re upset. We get sad that the amazing person we went on a date with last week hasn’t asked us to go on another one, and then we get angry at ourselves for giving the person so much power. We choose the things that control us. We give our phone a lot of power. We get bummed out about text messages and phone calls and, oh my god, it shows that they read my text but haven’t responded back! We give the Internet a lot of power. When someone doesn’t follow us back on Twitter or write on our Facebook wall, we fall into a spiral of grief. Why?
We need to start figuring out what emotions are legitimate and which ones are bogus. If you’re feeling things every minute of every day, some posers are bound to sneak in through the back door of your brain. These posers are meant to veer you off track and get you upset for no reason, but they don’t come from a genuine place. They’re as fake as a Prada bag on Canal Street. We don’t like to admit it but sometimes we like falling into ruts for no reason. It reminds us that we’re alive and that SOMETHING is happening to us. Who cares if it’s good or bad?! I’m sad and it’s better than nothing!
Except it’s not better. In fact it’s a lot worse. All of those times you feel this vague sense of sadness, all of those times you let the posers in, add up to something major in the end. So we have to stop indulging every emotion we have. We have to realize we have control over these Monica “JUST ONE OF THEM DAYS” kinds of moods. Because they’re so not real. Seriously. Screw Monica for giving vague sadness some power! Not a month goes by that someone doesn’t post that video on their Facebook with the caption: “Sing it, Monica. Just one of them days…” Give yourself more credit than that. You know what I did this morning when I felt myself going into Monica territory? I stopped the “Just one of them days” bus and danced to some Rolling Stones. Now I’m all better. Don’t let your emotions punk you. Chances are you’re feeling something that’s not even there."

This little note was brought to us by "The Thought Catalog".

I am in high hopes that if you ever need words of encouragement that you can always come back to today's post to find your smile again, feel the warmth in your heart and to have a better day after reading it. It change my mood immediately. It re-guided my heart, mind and soul down a more positive path. I am ever so grateful that I stumbled upon this and that it changed my day for the better. I hope you too gain something from it.

 

WOW: 

 

Have you read something that changed your way of thinking, improved your mood or helped to brighten your day? Please share if so! I would love to gather some daily readings of WOW.

 

If you are still reading, I thank you. I know this post was lengthy but it came from the heart and was intended to show you that there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel. Don't give up!

 

XO