Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Decide to love

Today's post was going to be very positive and light and kind of airy, because it's been the whole month dedicated to love. Today is the 31st of July and I wanted to make a short summary of this month.
But I was disappointed with myself today. I didn't get up at 6 a.m., I didn't go jogging - so I couldn't meet my own expectations. I was so eager to wake up at the right time that I kept thinking about it the entire night and I fell asleep only at 4:40 in the morning. So when the alarm went off an hour and a half later, I turned it off and decided to give myself another 5 seconds - and I woke up again only around 8 o'clock. I felt very upset about it but didn't have time to think it over because I had to get ready and run to work. Then at work I had lunch and dinner with the people whose opinions and views on the life and work are very different from mine. Personally I don't understand how you can work with someone if you think that he/she is the stupidest person ever. And I felt this adulation and flattery and untruthfulness and there are several people like these in the office. And I didn't say anything about that, I kept my opinion to myself - but by the end of the day I was feeling miserable. I came home, I let the tears come out but then I laughed for 2 minutes. I know it should have been at least 5 minutes, but I just wasn't in the mood - this is again lack of pursuasiveness from my side. So, you see it wasn't the best day for me. But I have thought about it - and decided to love myself anyway. Even though I didn't get up as planned, I stuck to the 2nd part of this plan - I didn't eat anything sweet. Even though I didn't say my opinion about the colleagues - I still respect myself because every person is different, it is his/her own choice to think and to work the way that is best for him/her. If they want my opinion, I will let them know. Otherwise, I will make friends with other colleagues, the ones that inspire me, like my manager. Even though I didn't laugh for 5 minutes - I still did a great job to recover from today, I let the tears out and then I replaced them with laughter. So today I make a conscious choice to love myself. And that is the advice of the day:

Monday, July 30, 2012

Love and dare yourself

Today's post is again inspired by Mastin and his post in The Daily Love and especially this paragraph: "DOING A LOT OF STUFF EVERY DAY FOR A LONG TIME IN THE DIRECTION OF YOUR DREAMS. Not once, not twice, not a hundred times, but UNTIL it happens. Action IS the bridge between dreaming about it, and living it." While I was reading this post, I kept thinking about an old dream of mine - to lose weight. And I've realized that Ihave actually done very little to make this dream come true. I kept to a diet occasionally, I started doing a work out but could only stick to it for 3 weeks max. I have lost a few kilos during the last year, but if I had done the workout on a regular basis and eliminated as much of sugary staff and sweets as possible the result would have been much better. So I have decided to dare myself to live my dream. I am going to workout 4-5 times a week - preferably jogging in the morning before going to work. I can have some sweet stuff or some bakery for the breakfast ONLY if I had done the workout in the morning. I usually let myself eat anything I want on the weekends, it is going to remain the same, but I will have to reduce the amount of sweets to 1 item, i.e. I get to choose 1 sweet thing that I am going to eat that day.That's all what I can think of at this moment. But thinking about it is the easiest part. Tomorrow morning at 6:30 a.m. I should be out on the street. Let's see how devoted I am to my dream. I'll keep you posted.So the advice of the day is: 

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Love and stand up for yourself

Today I have discovered one more thing that I yet need to learn - and that is how to stand up for myself, for what I want. I was out in the park the whole and decided to have dinner at the foodcourt of a nearby shopping mall. I ordered sweet-and-sour pork, but instead got pork with mushrooms. I thought to myself: "That's ok, I will just eat what I have". But after a few minutes I remembered how Louise Hay actually made this comparison once. There was something about ordering a meal at a restaurant and ordering your wish from the Universe. And she said that if in a restaurant you get something different from what you have ordered, you would go to the waiter and ask him/her for what you really want. And she said that it was the very same way with the Universe. For example, you want a car, an Audi A8, and you express your wish and do everything to make it happen, but instead of an A8 you get an A80 - would you put up with that? I think that I would have done so, but now I don't want to. I did finish eating that pork with mushrooms, but I am not going to settle for less any more. I am going to stand up for myself and get what I really want.
So the advice of the day is:

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Love and be who you are

I am so grateful for all the people I meet in my life. For example, I have this new colleague at my new work place. Since we both started at around the same time, we began to spend a lot of time together. And I am so thankful for that, because I learn a lot from her. For example, one of the things that I am realizing is that it is great to always be your own self. I am quite a shy person and I have always been afraid to show my feelings and emotions. So now I am fighting this fear, I sing songs when I feel like it even if i am in the middle of a street (I am still afraid to sing them out loud, so for now I am singing them somewhat quietly). I jump when I feel happy and excited. Also I want to learn to do little dances to express joy. In my heart sometimes I feel like dancing but I am still too shy to do it. Another thing that I am learning is to say what I really think. I was always taught to be nice to people and so for me it has always been difficult to say if I didn't like someone's job or a piece of art, or a business proposal. But now I see that there is nothing wrong with it, that usually people won't treat you worse if you tell them your own opinion. 
So the advice of the day is:

Friday, July 27, 2012

Love and dance

Some time ago I decided to workout on a regular basis, at least 4 times a week. I began doing the 30-day shred with Jillian Michaels, but since there are a lot of exercise in the sit-up position my knees began to ache. So I finished with this series half-way through, tried to think of my own routine but it wa quite boring. And that's when I just turned on the music and began to dance and just try to fit in some hard elements, like dancing with weights in both hands. And you know, I loooove it so much. I felt a little down by the end of the day, but after the 20-minute dance out, the life is good again. So I am going to be short today and just give you this advice of the day:

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Love and enjoy moments alone

I love listening to music. I have music on almost all the time. Even at work when I am working on something that requires my consentration, e.g. preparing a presentation, I usually put in the earphones and turn on my iPod. But sometimes there are moments when I just need the silence. I physically feel this need to be alone, not to be interrupted by anyone or anything. I want my mind to calm down, to relax. And any music sounds irritating to me. That's what I felt today. And I think these moments are very important. You should learn to listen to your body and to your mind and the best way to do that is when you are alone. Usually when I feel this need to stay alone, I can't just sit and do nothing. And that's when I start to create - I begin to draw, or to make photoframes, or make something else with my hands - and just let myself think whatever thoughts come into my head. That is some kind of meditation for me, but not on a regular basis. And what is the purpose of meditation? Remes Sasson says: "the main purpose is the reduction of physical and mental stress and the gain of some peace of mind". But for me the real purpose is to listen to yourself, to find out your heart's inner desires. I learned that about a year ago when I felt completely lost in this world, was absolutely not satisfied with my job, and had no idea what I wanted to do. That's when I started meditating, and I found out that I did know the answers to all of those questions. I just had to listen very carefully to my inner voice. And because I hadn't listened to it for a loooong time, it became very very low and very hard to be heard. Now that I have figured out all of those question, I have stopped meditating - but tonight when I was enjoying some moments alone I felt that I miss it, that I really need more of myself-time, even if it's just 5-10 minutes.
So the advice of the day is:


Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Love and take a bath

One of the ways to pamper yourself is to take a hot bath. I remember a few years ago, when my sister was in the hospital after a car accident, me and my Mom were there with her 24/7. My Mom stayed there overnights, and I would go there early in the morning when my Mom left for work and wouldcome back home late in the evening. And that wa when I discovered all the beauty and all the relaxation that a hot bath could do. I had a certain routine: I turned on nice soft music, lit candels and just lay in the bath with my eyes closed. That was a great way to wash off any sad feelings or negative thoughts. I would come out feeling relaxed and calm. So bath was a great way to recharge myself. And for me 10 minutes is more than enough, although I know some people who can spend up to an hour in a bath. I think you ust have to fine what works for you.
 So the advice of the day is:

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Love yourself: eat healthy

What is a better way to demonstrate love to yourself then taking care of yourself. And one of the main ways to take care of ourselves is to make sure that we stay as healthy as possible. Of course a physical workout is a wonderful way to stay healhy and fit, but not everyone can do it. For example, I myself used to hate P.E. lessons when I was at school. I come from a family when no one was doing any kind of sport. And also our eating habits were far from healthy. I don't in any way blame my parents for that, they gave me the best they could. But now as I am getting older and hopefully wiser and begining to take an active part in my self-development, I realize how important it is to take care of my body. And for me one of the best to do so it is to make sure that I eat the right things, e.g. when I want something sweet I now would rather go for an apple, than a cookie. I am a huge chocolate lover, I was so used to eating chocolate and sweets that I would have some of them at least three times a day with a cup of tea. Now I am trying to control that. I still remember the proverb we learned at the 5th grade - "An apple a day keeps a doctor away". Not a cookie, not a chocolate - but an apple. And an apple has now been on my dinner menu for almost a year. I plan to live a long and healthy life, that's why taking care of my body and eating the right food is one of the main priorities in my life.
So the advice of the day is: 

Monday, July 23, 2012

Love and value

Every day when I begin to write a post, I sit down, reflect on my day (I usually write around 10-11pm) and I think to myself: "Ok, another day has gone by. What has happened today? What experience did I get? What new lesson did I learn?" So today I learned about value: about bringing value to every day of your life and also about valuing your or someone else's time. I thought about how important it is to make your every day valuable when I was reading about Jessica Redfield. I realized that there is only one thing in our lives that cannot be changed - and that is death. (I was trying to escape this word and replace it with something less negative, but then - is there a less or more negative degree when it concerns death?). Everything else is up to us to decide - what do you want to do today? Who do you want to be with and talk to? All of these things are totally up to you. So if you vakue your life, bring value to every single day. And aslo value other people's lives and time - don't make them wait for you and just wait an hour of their lives for nothing. And you know, now that I write it down I relize that it was my choice to sit there and wait when I could just stand up and go. But at the same time it was also my choice to make this hour count by devoting this time to myself, to listening and talking with myself.
So the advice of the day is:

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Love and appreciate

I have noticed an interesting thing - the more greatful I am for my life, for all the good things and pepople I have around me, the more there is to be greatful for. And now it has become my daily practice to notice all the wonderful things around me. And the more I do that, the more wonders I see. For example - the sunsets, aren't they just amazing and super beautiful? Or people in the streets being kind to each other. I always thank them in my mind for all their kindness. Like today, for example, I rewad an article about Shavarsh Karapetyan who saved the lives of 20 people without any hesitation of what it would cost him. I read this article, amazed and happy that there are such people in the world, and I was so thankful for him, for what he has done. I do appreciate all the wonders of the world, all the beauty and all the kindness and I try to do the same for the world and all the people
So the advice of the day is:

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Love and amaze yourself

Ever since I moved to the new place - I stopped watching TV completely, I just don't have it at all. And you know hat I have noticed - for these 2+ months there was not a single day when I just stayed at home doing nothing. I remember a couple of years ago sometimes on a Saturday or a Sunday I would wake up around afternoon, would turn on TV even before getting out of bed and could stay in the whole day. But now - every weekend I go to discover new places. Of course it is easy for my to find new places, because the city is still very new to me and there are a loooooot of places where I haven't been yet. But I also go the neighbouring towns and villages. There are so many places to visit, so many people to meet, so many things to be amazed by. So I strongly encourage everyone to turn off their TVs and go see the real life.
So the advice of the day is: 

Friday, July 20, 2012

Love and think good of yourself

A funny thing happened today which showed that I still need to work on my self-esteem. I was taking an after-lunch walk around a pond today in the afternoon. On finishing the circle two a guy sitting on a bench first said 'Hello' to me and then asked how old I was. I did reply to the hello part, but pretended that I didn't hear the rest of the sentence and just kept walking. But I kept thinking "What did he mean by that? Why did he ask me that? Did he want to say that I was too fat? Or was not dressed appropriate for my age? Apparently if he was interested in me, he would have asked for my name, not age, so there must be something wrong with me". Still thinking these thoughts I finished the circle three and came again to the bench he was sitting on. This time I was the first one to talk. "You said something the last time, but I didn't quite hear you..." He came up to me and asked about the age again. I wondered why, and I surprised to har his answer: "Well, you look so young, I wouldn't give you more than 17, but you are so gracious and self-confident, I couldn't help but stare". I smiled graciously and went to my friend who was joining me for the walk. And I couldn't help but smile. All day long.
So the advice of the day is: think good of yourself. Always.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Love and keep in touch with your friends

There are two main opinions on how many true friends a person really has. Some people think that a true friend, someone who will be there for you no matter what, is not that common to find and that you can have only one or two people in your life who you can call your real friend. Others say that this number is actually unlimited. My opinions on this topic have changed. Whan I was in high school and university I thought that I can only have one best friend - and so it was. I would choose a girl and make her my best friend. Of course it wasn't just a random girl, it was someone with whom we got along well, and we did spend a lot of time together, and I was completely sure that I could trust this person no matter what. But now that I think about it, it seems to me that it was some kind of a roleplay, especially in high school. I had this image about friendship from different movies and magazines, a certain idea what BFFs should do, what they should talk about and so on. Especially with this high school friend - I think it was such a childish and kind of forced friendship, it's no wonder that we don't keep in touch any more. 
The university friend, though, is still one of my closest friends. We now live in different cities, but whenever I come to visit, she is the first and sometimes the only person (except my family) who I get together with. And she has actually taught me a lot about friendship, well I think it was very mutual, we both learned a lot, and I am very thankful to her for that. And as I was growing up (I mean growing up mentally, gettting more versatile experience) I realized that one friend is not enough. I have spent several months and even 1 year abroad, I have lived in St. Petersburg for 3 years, and now I live in Moscow - and I have made and still making some amazing friends. Sometimes we don't see each other for several years, and sometimes we don't even talk to each other for several months - but does this mean that they won't be there for me when I need them? Of course not. I am completely confident in them. And I want them to be confident in me. That's why I think it is important to keep in touch. It lets them know that I am there when they need me, I will always help them, either with advice or with some certain actions.
So the advice of the day is: 

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Love and feel love

Did I tell you that a little more that a month ago I got a tattoo on my shoulder? I have been wanting to get this tattoo for about 5 years. And already back than I knew exactly what it was going to be, but I didn't have the guts to go get it done. And this year is very significant for me - there have been so many changes, both outside and inside. And I felt that I needed to get the tattoo done. I couldn't wait any longer. And now it's right there, where I can always see it, a liitle above the heart. The tattoo is a Chinese character 'ai', which means "to love people through your actions and with all your heart". You know, this is what I love about the Chinese characters - they seem to be so small but there is so much wisdom inside each one of them.  So this little ai is the motto of my life. I love love. And I love to love people. And I love just to feel the love around. When you feel love, you want to give love. And when you give love, you recieve love. It is like an endless circle. Circle of love.
So the advice of the day is: 

P.S. Actually I have told you about this, but since it is an important part of me now, I look at it every day, and I think about this meaning every day, it felt right to write about it again. 

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Love and show up on time

This is the continuation of the topic on respect. Showing up on time is another way to express your respect. I used to be late all the time. I blamed it on my genetics - my Mom is late all the time (she once even missed her train, when she was going to my sister's wedding), so I used to say "don't blame it on me, blame it on my genes". But this spring I decided to change this habit. I was job-hunting and went to 33 interviews within 3 weeks. Everything was fine, I was coming almost always on time. If I realized that I would be late, I always called the company and let them know. But there was this one time, when I came for the interview perfectly on time, and then I had to wait for about half an hour for my interviewer to come out to me. And that's when it hit me: "it is sooo impolite and unrespectful to make people wait!" And hat's when it all changed. It's been 4 months since that interview, and I should admit that I did come late for meetings with friends a couple of times, but believe me now it happens much much much less often than it used to. And I try to reduce the number of my late comings to zero. Because time is precious and we shouldn't waste it waiting for some other people. If you understand that you wll be even a little bit late, please give a call to that waiting person. We do have the luxury nowadays to reach a person almost wherever he is. A bit more than 10 years ago people didn't have cell phones (at least here in Russia), can you imagine how much time was wasted because of such people as I used to be, the latecomers? Please respect other people and thier time!
So the advice of the day is:

Monday, July 16, 2012

Love and respect yourself

This has been one of the hardest posts so far. I've been meaning to write for about a week now, I sit down, I  start writng and every time I am not satisfied with what comes out. I can't really explain the reason for that, I thought maybe it's because I don't respect myself - but I say it out loud, I can hear my inner start screaming: "How dare you say so!". So I guess that is not the reason. And the same inner self is trying to ay something about my self-esteem,  with that I can agree, I do have quite low self-esteem, I cannot always stand up for my own opinion and sometimes I prefer not to be heard, to keep my thoughts and opinions to myself - but I don't really see how that is connected to respect, for myself and for others. I will continue thinking about this, but for now I do want to get this post out there - the little something that I could write on this topic.

One of the means of expressing love - to yourself and to other people - is respect. First of all I want to talk about love and respect for yourself.  And for me one of the ways to show the respect for yourself is to take care of the environment you live in. You can't say that you respect yourself if you live in a place that looks like a dumpster. This comes from a personal experience. As I have mentioned, I now live in a new place and I share an apartment with 3 girls. And I used to have some issues with them regarding the cleanliness of our apartment. I don't think of myself as a clean-freak, but I do like to live in a clean and dust free space. And I used to get upset about them not cleaning up after themselves, but I think - it's their choice, not mine, if I want to live in a clean environment, I should provide myself with one. And now I try not to pay attention to the fact that I clean up more than they do. That's not important. What is important, is that I love to come to the place where I live and enjoy living here.
So the advice of the day is:

This is all I could write about so far, I will continue this topic in the later posts. 

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Love and chase yor passion

What is your passion? What is the one (or the several things) that inspire you? That make(s) your heart beat faster? The thing(s) that make(s) you get up early in the morning? Have you found this thing that we call passion? I haven't, but I am looking for it every single day of my life. Right now I have a 2-months old new job that really inspires me to learn, to try doing new things and, yes, to get early in the morning, much earlier than what used to be typical of me. And now that I think about it, I guess it can be called my passion, but I feel like I want something more than only a job to inspire me. That's why I am trying new things - I used to bake something new every weekend for about 6 months. But now I have moved to a new place and the oven here is not working and I am fine with it. So I guess that was not my true passion. Now I have decided to try painting. I really love portraits by a young Russian artist Asya All and I felt inspired to learn to draw like she does. I found some lessons on youtube, made myself paint ever evening for about a week, but didn't feel inspired to continue. Although it did help me to discover something that I love doing - it is drawing this little inspiration pictures that you see in the end of every post. And at about the same time I decided to practise my writing skills and that's how this blog started. And also this is a great chance for me to set aside some time only for myself, time to think of what is important for me and to actually listen to myself and to figure out my own opinion on these matters. So I guess writing could be a beginning of my passion! Because this is  the only thing so far that I have been doing every single day (including weekends) and I still love doing it!

So the advice of the day is: 

Friday, July 13, 2012

Love and dream

Do you dream often? How many dreams do you have? Do your dreams come true? How often does this happen? Some people say that you should live in reality, not in your dreams, they think that dreams are unpractical, but I really doubt it. You see, when you have a dream, it means that you know for sure what you want. For example, you want a house - you already know in your dream, in you imagination what kind of house it is, is it a big mansion on the beach or a cozy little house somewhere near a park. How many rooms are there in the house? Who is this house for, who lives there? In a dream you most likely already have all of these things figured out. You know exactly what you want. And it is much easier for yourself and for the Universe to make this happen. I do believe in the power of the Universe, I believe that every deed and every thought of yours goes out to the Universe and then you get a response. So when you know exactly what you want, that's most likely what you will get. Let's continue with this house example and assume that you did get/buy/inherited a house, but it is not what you've dreamed about. So again if you are absolutely clear in your thoughts about your dream house, you will not stop, you will continue working on your dream and the Universe will continue sending your the opporunities to make this dream come true. I have experienced this in my own life several times, the past 2-3 years have been the result of me having no dream (no dream for me equals no purpose), I thought I would think of a dream later and would figure it out later. So the past 2 years have been quite 'empty' for me, nothing has been happening. But as soon as I've found a new dream, things started to happen. I now have my dream job, and I am working on several other dreams as well.
And one more very important thing - the best way to make your dream happen is to genuinely believe that it is possible. If you have doubts in your dream how can it ever come true?
So the advice of the day: support your dreams

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Love and inspire people

This post is inspired by my friend, I talked on the phone with her a couple of days ago and she said to me: "Oh, you inspire me so much!". I was so happy to hear that. I am happy if my example, my life helps people in any way. You know, I have always believed in such sayings as "treat people the way that you want to be treated" and "be the change that you want to see in other people". If you make right choices and live your life without hurting other people, I am sure this will inspire your friends and family to live the same way. And the more people live without hurting others, the happier the world will be. This is just a very basic and simple example, but it does show how it is all very interrelated.
So the advice of the day is:

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Love yourself: expand you comfort zone

I think that one of the ways to make you feel loved by yourself is to let yourself constantly try something, to do things that might seem to be scary.
I've had this wonderful picture saved on my computer, but unfortunately I don't remember where I found it. As I was surfing through my pictures today, I saw this one and I can say 100% that this so true. I used to have a perfectly comfortable life: I had a job where I was already familiar with everything, and we were all like a little family. I had friends and family who were always there for me. I had a wonderful place where I loved to live. But still for the last year that I was leaving there I wasn't happy. Sometimes comfort does not equal happiness. So a few months ago I decided to make a step into the unknown, to quit my job and move to a new city and start looking for the dream job. And that's when the magic happend. Now I have the most wonderful job, which I found and it found me at the perfect time. This job has everything that I was looking for. It's been 2 month, and I still have a big genuine smile on my face when I come to work in the morning. I found my new apartment in 1 day. I began to socialise more because I needed to make new friends. And as for my friends and family - maybe I don't see them that often, but they are still there for me. And I am still there for them. You see, when you know what you want and you make some steps to get that, it all comes to you.
So the advice of the day is:

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Love your voice

Today's post was inspired by a video interview that Marie Forleo has published today on her blog. The interview was with a woman called Kris Carr. And Marie mentioned there that one of the things that distinguishes Kris Carr from a big number of other blogs is her specific voice. That's what makes her stand out. But what is your own voice? How and where can you find it? That's what I have actually been trying to do, I am learning to do: find my own voice both at my work and my personal life. You know, I was brought up in a family where children didn't actually have a voice. They were not allowed to talk when a grown up was talking, for example, at the table. Or my parents used to buy us clothes without us - so our opinion was not taken into considiration. I absolutely do not blame them for anything - that's the way they were brought up and they didn't know any other way. And my childhood was a very happy time for me. It was just recently that I have begun to realize all the impacts that my childhood is having on my adult life. And I am so greatful that I am realizing it and making changes happen. So this blog is actually a means of expressing my own voice. And that's what I wish for you too: listen carefully to yourself and then say your opinions, do not be shy or afraid to express your own thoughts. You are unique, be proud of it, love yourself for it.
So the advice of the day is:

Monday, July 9, 2012

Love for yourself

You know, about a year and a half ago I faced this problem that I didn't have enough love for myself. I first began with affirmations - everyday when I woke and when I went to sleep I would stand in front of a mirror, look myself in the eyes and repeat: "I love you! Ireally-really love you!" My mind began to take this information in, and in a few weeks it asked for the reason, what is so great about me, why should I love myself. So I came up with the idea of a little project which I called "100 reasons why I love myself". Each day I would write down at least 3 reasons (or more, if I felt like it). I did have some problems with name 100 reasons, because for me that seemed a LOT, so I did repaet myself a couple of times - but that doesn't matter. What's important is that I took at least 5 minutes a day to think about myself, only. And then I started to notice that I began to clean up in my apartment more often, because I love myself and I want to live in clean and beautiful surroundings. And I wanted to really work on making myself feel better, feel happier. I am sure that loving yourself is essential for being happy. So please, please love yourself no matter what.
Anв the advice of the day is: 

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Love and express yourself

Today's post is inspired by the movie 'Exit Through the Gift Shop". The main character there, Thierry Guetta, said that one of the main things he liked about street artists was that they were not afriad to express themselves. And that phrase stuck in my mind. I think the reason is because that it really appeals to me. For many years I have been shutting myself down, not letting myself be who I am, I have been afraid to express my thoughts and opinions. And I am so lucky that I have people in my life who show me that it is ok to be who you are, they teach me to speak up. If someone hurt me, it's not going to get better if I keep the thoughts and feelings to myself, I need to speak out in order to be understood. I am learning and trying to do all these things now. I have quite positive results, but there is still a long road in front of me. If you are like me  (the previous me, I would say), please try to change. You will see and feel for yourself how rewarding it is. It is much simpler to live when you are you, you don't need to worry what others might think about. Because you know what - most of the times it is all only in your heads. Peoply usually alreay have a lot of things in their lives to think about, and what someone else thinks or does usually doesn't matter to them. If you are worried about what your friends or relatives will think about you, then again stop worrying - people close to you want you to be happy. And being yourself, expressing yourself is part of being happy. So my advice for to day is:

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Love and pamper yourself

I have already written about taking care of yourself, your health. And today I want to give one more advice on how to love yourself - and it is to pamper yourself at least from time to time. Remeber how when you fall in love with someone, you want to spent all your time with them, you want to buy them unexpected presents, make surprises - basically just do anything to make them happy and smiling and to show and express your love and care. So my advice - treat yourseld with the same generosity, remember to spend time with yourself, to buy yourself presents, to take yourself out and just go to your favourite restaurant or coffee house for no reason, sign up for a massage session, buy yourself shoes or bags or jewelery - do something that makes your really happy. You truely deserve it, deserve to feel this love that you have for yourself! So my advice of today is:


Friday, July 6, 2012

Love to explore

There are so many things and places and feelings that are new to you, unknown, undiscovered. Be an explore of life. Wake up every morning, or at least every few days with an intention to learn or experience something new. For example, today I learned about such a thing as Higgs Boson. I came across this phrase in a poem - can you imagine that someone wrote a poem about a chemical particle? (I can tell you who it is - Samantha Rey of Bentlily) Though actually I didn't understand much about it from the article, because I have never really understood (or as I now see it - never wanted to understand) chemistry, nonetheless this has been my something new for today. 
And tomorrow I am going to a small town just outside of Moscow. For a long time I thought that it's not right that I have been to more places outside of Russia than inside. So I decided to finally take an action and explore my country. I bet it's going to be very interesting to see all the different people that live in my country. So my advice of the day is: take time to explore.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Love, just Love

"'Cause it's love that keeps us alive
When we're broken down inside" - 
Alex Band, "Love"


Can you think of any other feeling/emotion/state of mind that feels more inspiring, more uplifting than love. I don't think so. The butterflies in your stomach when you are falling in love with someone (or something, like a new hobby, or a new job) lift you so high up that it feels like you can do and achieve anything. When you are in love, you are always smiling = you are always in a good mood = you are always happy. And I am a true believer that if you want to be loved, you need to give out as much love as possible. There are two reasons, or explanations, for this. First, we, as a part of society, are taught from a very young age to reciprocate - i.e. if someone did you a favour, you should always respond in the same manner. So if you treat people with love, they will do the same to you. And the second reason, is, as Louise Hay puts it: "What you give out, comes back to you multiplied". It's a Law of Nature. If you do bad things to people, than something bad will happen to you or people who are close to you. And vice versa. So when you see that someone needs love, give it to him. When you meet other people, send your love to them. If you see that a person has been hurt, just show himthat he is loved , and remember: 

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Love to laugh

What is the one thing that can make you instantly happier? The one thing that can cheer you up when you feel stressed? Of course, it is laughter. Some reseachers even say that laughter may be as beneficial as a good diet and exercise for patients with heart disease. I have a friend who was so unintendedly funny that I would laugh my head off. Unfortunately we now don't work together and moreover live in different cities, so I don't get a chance to laugh with her very often. But that doesn't stop me. If I haven't had a reason to laugh during a day, then I do it without a reason - I just go up to the mirror and start laughing. I learned this trick from the guys at Radical Undoing, and to be honest I don't use the trick now, I have forgotten about it, but now that I've remebered I promise to do it every day. Do you promise to do the same?
And the advice of the day is:

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Love: care about yourelf

Today's post is inspired by this one - I read it today in the afternoon and I was thinking about it ever since. The Daily Love is a very inspirational blog for me. Thanks to Mastin and his blog I am learning a lot of new things. This blog of mine actually started because of that. And thanks to Mastin I am learning to show up for myself, for the things that matter. For example work outs - there've been plenty of times in my life when I started to work out, would do it first daily for a week, then every other day, and then less and less until I stop completely. Now it feels like I am on the right track - I have been working out for a week, then the last week was quite hectic - I was on a business trip for 3 days, and then my cousin with her family came over for 3 days to visit - and still when I had that 1 free day, I did get the work out done. And starting from yesterday I am back to my daily routine, because I know that in the end it is for my greater good. I need to take care of myself if I want to live happily ever after. So the advice of the day is: 

Monday, July 2, 2012

Love: listen to yourelf

What to write in today's post came to my mind on my way home. I felt very tired today, so what I wanted to say was: "Listen to yourself, listen to your body, to your desires. You do know what you need at any given moment. Sometimes you feel like giving yourself a one-day break from a work-out, and that's ok. You don't need to exhaust your body, just do what feels right for you at this very moment". And after I would have written this, I was planning to go to sleep right away. But then I came home, and I realized that all these thoughts were absolutely true, but my body was now saying to me absolutely opposite things, it was saying actually it needed the work-out. So I went for it, and now feel very pleased and happy. My body truly knows what's best for me, and the work-out was truly what I needed most both for my physical and for my mental health. Your body and your soul know how to take care of you, just let them do it. Sometimes they might be telling you that you do need a break, other times they are whispering to make a choice for healthier foods, etc. - you need to learn to listen to your body and soul. So my advice of the day is (and it does repeat one of the previous advice, but it is so important, that I have made a decision to use it once again):

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Month of Love

Today is the fisrt day of a new month, and  I've decided to make this month special - every single post of this month will be about love: the love you have for yourself, love for that special One, love for people around you, and all and everyone/everything else.
So what is love? According to Wikipedia, Love is an emotion of a strong affection and personal attachment. Love is also a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection —"the unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another" . My advice of the day: if you want to express your love, be kind.

PS: This pic differs a bit from all the other ones, this is only because this phrase was the first thing that came to my mind when I just started my drawing album. And about a day later I came up with the idea for the general design. I didn't want to redo this, because it would kind of lose it authenticity, the only thing I changed is I added the be happy words in the corner.