How I See It - Pt 2
Note: (There are a mountain of links in this post, but I do not earn anything from these if you click them. They are only given as a resource.)
Hey, loves.
I hope you're all well. Belated Happy Mother’s Day, too. To all my beautiful Queens who put in that work to love, support, and guide our next generation to greatness. I also wanna send my love to all of you who have lost your mothers or your precious babies. As a woman who has suffered two miscarriages and lost her first-born daughter when she was four years old, I know that it’s not easy on holidays like that.
Just remember this.
No one’s grief is the same, so don’t listen to anyone who tries to tell you how to deal with your loss. You do what you need to do, love. No matter what that is.
So, as promised, I'll be continuing from my last post regarding the things I've done to get to where I'm at now. We discussed therapy and the benefits, and now I'd like to talk about all the other things I’ve tried or that I’ve benefitted from doing over the past year.
SN. (Undoubtedly, the number one thing that will drastically change any day to a more positive one is to NOT wake up and jump straight on your phone! Always try to wait at least half an hour (or the longer the better) before checking emails, messages, or scrolling etc. Your mind is calmest and most receptive when you first wake up, so don't trigger or fill it with crap as soon as you open your eyes!)
Just breathe, be thankful for another day, and maybe try one of these things below instead, if you don’t already.
1. Read a Chapter of a Book, Write a list of your Goals, Listen to a Motivational Speaker, a Podcast by a licenced Life Coach or Therapist, or a Pastor or Religious Leader you resonate with.
(I won’t be suggesting any religious leaders here, because you will have your own that you resonate with if you are religious.)
With that being said, the first person I want to talk about is Marisa Peer.
You can find her on YouTube here, where she has lots of free videos, meditations, as well as masterclasses and courses. (She has a challenge starting soon too!) She's worked with celebrities and even royalty, so is very well known and respected in her field.
Some of my favourite videos by her are the ones where she talks about self-limiting beliefs, boundaries, why nice people finish last, and how to be successful. I really resonate with her and the things she says, so definitely check her out.
The next person is Tony Robins.
Like Marissa, he has many videos on YouTube, here, talking about a myriad of things, and he has masterclasses and courses. But he also gets you hype! I love how energetic and passionate he is when he talks, and I find that listening to him first thing in the morning really gets you pumped lol. Like this video. You’ll feel like you can do anything.
Or, if you’re on a Spiritual Journey, why not listen to Sadhguru, or Abraham Hicks.
Now, I know not all of you are spiritual, or you already follow your own faiths, but again, I'll say that this is all about finding who and what you resonate with. If you don’t know about Sadhguru, Google or YouTube him. There is way too much to talk about when it comes to all his wisdom, so best you go on that journey by yourself.
Abraham Hicks, I love for their talks on manifestation, the law of attraction, and their books, which you can find on Amazon. Their YouTube is here, but many of their clips are published on various other accounts, so just give their name a search.
2. Right, next up is diet and exercise.
(Yes, I know... but it’s really not what you think…)
Last March when lockdown began in the UK, I started keto and lost 40 pounds in four months before switching to pretty much eating whatever I wanted in moderation and including exercise in my life. Currently, I do a 10-minute HIIT workout every morning like this or this, or sometimes Yoga, but the point here is to choose something you like to do for as long as you have time for, and more importantly, you enjoy it!
If you don’t like it, you won’t stick it out, and consistency is key here. There are so many free workouts on YouTube (yes, YouTube is most definitely our friend) and they range from a few minutes to a few hours. No one can say they don’t have time for a 5-minute workout in the morning, and if you are saying that, you really do need to change your mindset.
You can’t imagine how good even a short workout in the morning can make you feel. (And this is the goal here – to feel better about yourself!) Knowing you've already accomplished something early in the day to better yourself changes your entire outlook of the day.
Trust me.
Along with the weight loss, I also started taking a multivitamin and upped my water intake for obvious reasons. Drink plain, herbal, or water with diluted juice if you prefer, as long as you start getting those fluids in right now, you can switch it up later. I cannot stress to you how important it is to stay hydrated, loves. Within days of drinking at least 2 litres a day, you will feel amazing. You’ll have better digestion, feel less tired, have more energy – the list is endless!
When it comes to food, I eat as little processed food as possible but still have days where I eat whatever I want. I am a true believer of a little bit of what you fancy does you good, just not every day. My body is mine to take care of, it is important to me, and as I learnt to love and care for myself, I became more aware of what I put into it.
If you consistently put shit inside yourself, then you’ll feel the same.
SN: Just to make this clear here… I do not believe in body shaming at ALL. We are all different shapes and sizes and are perfect exactly how we are. I’m talking about food and exercise here because of the benefits it has for the mind. It’s a proven fact a balanced diet and some form of movement makes you feel better. However, you know within yourself if you are happy, and if you are, that is ALL THAT MATTERS!
On the days I don’t workout, because there are days I don’t, I either dance or try to get a walk in somehow. I try to get at least a 20-minute walk in, which I do with my children who absolutely love it!
(I'll say here that doing this with others is great for initial motivation, if you lack any. It's something you can enjoy together. Me and my children even play games during our walks, such as eye spy, guess the song, the floor has lava, etc.)
If you don't have children then obviously you can't do this with them, but even a 10-minute walk alone is great for quieting the mind. It's a chance to have peace, where you can think and even meditate, which leads me to my next thing.
3. Meditation and Mindfulness.
Doing this alone will change your life.
Here are some videos to get your started below, or there are hundreds of apps and challenges to choose from.
Meditation Benefits – Here.
How to Meditate – 5 Minutes
Meditation for beginners – 10 Minutes.
These are just a few to get you started and some information to explain the benefits, but the world is your oyster here so go wild and let me know if you find any that have helped you. I’m always adding to my meditation playlists on YouTube and Spotify. You can even spend just the first five minutes when you wake up or before you go to bed being grateful and soaking in those feelings (which is when your mind is quietest).
In addition to the above, I also have this headphone headband that I use at night to listen to mediations while I sleep. There are many different types, but this one is an example.
Affirmation sleep meditations are amazing!
You know how I feel about affirmations.
4. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Listen to Music.
Make playlists! To get you hyped, to workout to, to make you think, to make you daydream, to make you feel love, to play when you meditate, to cry to, hell, make them for everything! People often disregard the power of music, but best believe I have playlists for all my moods and without it I don’t know where I’d be.
Music is so so good for the soul and mind.
5. And finally, Be Kind to Yourself!
We are not perfect, so please stop beating yourselves up! Life is a journey filled with unlimited lessons. Take one step, one second, one moment, and one day at a time. Small steps towards change leads to massive ones. We are all learning here, so please remember the things I talk about aren't meant to trigger or make you feel bad. We are allowed our down days, our sad days, our lazy days, but the most important thing is to have the tools and inner strength to pick ourselves back up again and carry on.
You truly are already amazing, exactly how you are, so please believe that.
As you see, I have done or tried many things to get to this point of inner peace, self-love, and freedom. I don't do all of them every day so I'm not saying you should, the point here is to be consistent with whatever you choose to do, and to give you some tools that could make a difference in your life.
Remember, it's up to you to decide what works best for you, always.
As a reminder, this is a safe place, and we're all here to help each other. We don't judge, and anyone truly open to change, feeling better, or enhancing their wellbeing in any way is always open to new.
So, until my next post, loves, I hope you have an amazing week. Please let me know if any of these things work for you, or if you already do them, how they have affected you. I love to hear about things I haven't before, so don't be shy about messaging me about them or commenting below. I love to hear from you.
My next posts will be about boundaries, self-care, and self-love, because to do most of the things I've mentioned above, you need to put yourself first, and I would bet money that many of you reading this are putting yourselves last.
And that shit needs to stop.
Until next time, love you all,
LeeSha xx