Inspiration
 You are the only boss of you. You decide what your boundaries are. You decide if you want to stay or go. You decide what treatment is acceptable. You. Only You. You decide.
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Be near people who inspire you Make the time to be with people who are taking big steps, being brave, trying new things, making healthy waves and making a difference. Look to these people for inspiration. Be alone in nature Being alone in nature can put everything into perspective. It helps us to escape the woes of the world and to realize that there is magic all around us. Listen to music Hip Hop, show tunes, opera, or maybe even all three! Listening to epic music that you love can put you in a place where you are ready to create! Look at art or photography Art and photography evoke emotions within us. They inspire us to make connections, provoke us to recall memories and transport us to a different place and time. Find an artist whose work resonates with you and check it out when you want to get your creative juices flowing. Read personal development books What are you longing to do? I guarantee you that there is a book in the personal development section about someone who also wanted to do that and did it so well that they wrote a book about it. Listen to podcasts Listening to podcasts can inspire you in the same way that reading personal development books can. Listening to someone talk about the experience of doing what you want to do and revealing the steps they took to get there can really help to pull your plans into alignment. Have a shower and get dressed I know. This one seems basic. However, when you’re sitting around the house in yesterday’s pyjamas, teeth unbrushed and hair a mess, it is hard to feel inspired about anything. Clean yourself up and you’ll reset your mood. Read my blog entitled “The Work of Creativity” Creativity is a skill that can be trained, and in this blog I provide you with the four essential steps you need to train yourself in creativity. Exercise This may seem disconnected but hear me out. Exercise increases your heart rate, releases endorphins and makes you feel like a warrior. So, lift weights, ride your bike, rock out to some tunes, walk your dog. Whatever physical activity is your jam, go do that. You’ll feel happier, more motivated and totally proud of yourself. Take the first step towards your goal When you want to shake things up, try something new. Don’t wait until you’re ready. Simply start by starting; it’s the only way forward. Momentum can grow only if you are in motion!  Stop eating out of boredom. When you’re bored but not hungry, stay out of the kitchen. Period. Stop not saying what you mean. Do not keep your true feelings inside. Be compassionate, but be heard. Stop not meaning what you say. Be candid. Be forthright. If you can’t be honest, say nothing. Stop setting a boundary, but not enforcing it. Setting boundaries is hard, but enforcing them can be harder. If you don’t enforce them, there was no point in setting them up in the first place. We teach people how to treat us. Stop allowing yourself to be interrupted or talked over. Your thoughts matter. Don’t allow yourself to be treated as if they don’t. Stop allowing yourself to be drained by energy suckers. If a person’s energy is draining you, get away. Stop giving feedback to people who only want validation. Some people ask for feedback and want it. Some people ask for feedback when all they want is validation. Learn who the latter are and don’t waste your time. You won’t reach them. Stop saying yes to anything that doesn’t make you feel excited. Life is busy. Don’t fill your day with perfunctory obligations. You will only regret the time that is wasted. Stop ignoring your body when it sends you clear signals that something is wrong. Your body sends signals about everything. Learn to listen and respond.  Hug. Find someone you really like to hug. Do it tightly for at least 20 seconds. Play. Do something silly, playful and fun, even if only for a few minutes. Laugh. Not just a giggle. Find someone you can belly laugh with. Make them your person. Meditate or Pray. No matter your beliefs, find a quiet place to just be still. Exercise. Walk, dance, climb, run. Whatever. Move your body and elevate your heart rate. Go to bed early. Your body, mind and soul will thank you. Drink mostly water. Again, your body, mind and soul will thank you. Pursue a passion project. Write, build, create. Do something that ignites your soul. Carve out some space and time. You deserve it. Work through your difficult emotions. Feelings you keep inside of you are going to come out in other ways. Find a support system and a way to heal and resolve those difficult emotions. Read or listen to something uplifting. A poem, personal development, a podcast, a suspenseful novel. Even 15 minutes will inspire and uplift you.  Dear Mother Poems on the Hot Mess of Motherhood by Bunmi Laditan “The magic of motherhood is how it manages to drain and fill you all at once.” I try to read something inspirational every day. Dear Mother, by Bunmi Laditan is one of my favourites. This little book of poetry is my “go-to” on days when I don’t have a lot of time to read but I need some serious soul food. Laditan's poetry is simple, short and sweet, but manages to hit every motherhood experience, from the spiritual to the commonplace. Some poems are deeply personal, exploring themes such as self-doubt, deep fatigue and the challenge of single-parenting. Others are witty and examine the trials and tribulations of parenting young children and trying to live up to society’s expectations. Laditan’s work is relatable, amusing, touching, deeply personal and inspirational. Put on a pot of tea, snuggle into the couch and get ready to feel all of the feelings.
There are few things as powerful as a walk in the woods to shift your mindset.  Feeling angry? Go to the woods. Melancholy? Go to the woods. Grateful? Go to the woods. Adventurous? Go to the woods. Existential? Go to the woods You see where I'm going with this. Getting out in nature can completely change, restore, inspire, soothe, reset and redirect your mindset. Escape to the woods. Be quiet. Be still. Breathe and reset.  I have recently started listening to podcasts. I know, I know. Where have I been, right? Nonetheless, I have just discovered them and they are an introvert's dream. Someone can say lovely things to me but I still get to be by myself! As an introvert who does extroverted things, I give away a lot of my emotional energy. I must recharge by spending time alone with my thoughts daily. There are times, however, when I prefer to spend time alone with other people's thoughts! Watching t.v. just doesn't do it for me. I want to hear real people talk about their lived experiences. This is why listening to podcasts has become a really enjoyable habit.  There are so many podcasts that I enjoy. I have different ones that I listen to when I'm in different moods. Yet, the podcast that I'd like to share today is called "Straight Up", by Trent Shelton. What do I like about it? Well, his actual voice is soothing. I connect with his passion, honesty, strength and subject matter. As the title suggests, he tells it "straight up" and so much about his perspective resonates with me. "Understand something. Everybody is not going to get you."
(Trent Shelton)  Untamed, by Glennon Doyle, is an absolute game changer. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to be inspired by real talk about life, love, addiction, recovery, acceptance, parenting, forgiveness and perseverance.
Doyle's writing is both heart wrenching and light-hearted. I am finding that each day I experience something that I can relate back to this book. I know that I will re-read and refer to it often. |
InspirationThis section of the site will be a little of this and a little of that. I will be posting books, people, pictures, quotes and all kinds of things that make me happy! Hopefully, you'll enjoy them too. 
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