Sunday, September 30, 2012

Create yourself

But, if you have nothing at all to create, then perhaps you create yourself. - Carl Gustav Jung

So today is the last day of September, which means that it is time to make conclusions about the month's theme. Writing about creation every day helped me realize that there are so many things that we ourselves can actually create. We are ourselves responsible for what is going on in our lives and all our days are merely our creations. And the most important thing that you can create is yourself. For example, you do not like your body, you think you are too fat. What can you create to change the situation? Well first of all you should create your attitude - this is your body, the body that is working for you, it does a great job supporting you every day, so the smallest thing you could do is learn to love your body. Acknowledge all the things that your body does for you and create the love. After that you can also create some healthy habits that will help your body work even better.

create yourself, redo yourself
renew yourself
be you, do what you do,
hold your head up high, everything’s gonna alright
you’re you, i’m me, let’s live in harmony
coexist with each other, love each other
be yourself
you have to be yourself, be real, be honest
cause ain’t nobody got time for that
they really don’t

This is the lyrics of a Willow Smith's song  "I am me", really-really inspiring.


So the advice of the day and of the month is: create yourself. Make a conscious decision to be who you truely are and who you truely want to be and go ahead and create that person.


Saturday, September 29, 2012

Create beauty

Beauty. Relaxation. Inspiration. Creation. Life.
Do you understand what I am trying to say?:) Beauty around you helps you relaz after a busy day. When you are relaxed you feel inspired to create. And what is our main creation? It's our life, of course.
So the advice of the day is: creaty beauty around you, and it will help you create a beautiful life.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Create songs

About a year ago I was talking to a friend and she asked me "How long ago did you sing songs to yourself?" Sing in front of a mirror, or when you walk in the street and just feel like singing without your i-pod on. She said that happy people always sing to themselves and she hadn't done so in quite a long time. I remembered about this conversation during the week in Spain. The first night we arrived there we immediately went to the beach. I was standing there in front of the sea and felt so incredibly happy that I want to dance and sing. And I started just to make up some songs in my head, and I am still smiling when I think about these happy moments. I guess my friend was right. I searched the Internet a bit about this and found these facts:
"The physiological effects of singing are fairly well-documented. For those who doubt its power, just look at songbirds: When male songbirds sing to female songbirds, it activates the pleasure center of the male's brain. In fact, scientists have discovered that the effect of singing on the birds' brains is similar to the effect of addictive drugs on human brains [source: EurekAlert]."
So the advice of the day is: create songs, even if it is just in your head. Sing them to yourself and notice this happy state of mind.



Thursday, September 27, 2012

Create morning rituals

Do you have any certain morning routine? I don't, but I really want to create one. Right now I usually snooze the alarm until the very last minute, then get up, dress up, make up super quickly and rush out of the apartment. I remember last summer I was also very interested in creating a morining routine, and actually succeeded in that - I woke up at 7, took a shower in the morning (now I only do that in the evening), applied the make up very carefully and went to work on foot. It took me an hour to get to work, but it was very nice to have a long walk before work. And now I want to create certain morning rituals, because I will need it very soon. I  I have just enterted a University - my studies have already begun, but since I was on vacation I had to skip the first three days. And also I have planned to have English lessons via Skype in the morning. So I have to be fresh and energetic since 7 o'clock. I have found these tips here:
  • Decide on a wake-up time and stick to it. Give yourself 30-60 minutes for your morning ritual.
  • Get Moving. The hardest part of waking up is getting over the sleepiness; it’s all too easy to drift back off to dreamland. So get up and get moving. This is a great time to do a little exercise. If that doesn’t fit in with your schedule then just do a few stretches or walk up and down some stairs a couple of times.
  • Choose something that you want to luxuriate in. It may be reading, swimming, yoga, gardening, creative projects or study. Really, it is whatever you find enjoyable. Now dedicate a little time to this in the morning.
  • Do it for thirty days. To instil a habit you need to do it for thirty days, so stick to your ritual and don’t miss a day. Before you know it, it will become second nature for you.
  • Write up your morning ritual, make it look uber cool with computer texts and graphics. And then frame it, and keep it by your bed

I think these are quite useful ideas and I plan to implement them into my mronings.
So the advice of the day is: create your morning rituals! 

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Create space

I have been away from computer for a week, and when I came back yesterday I had over 150 mails in my inbox. I deleted some obvious spam and still I had <100 letters left. I began to read them, because I really like these newsletters which I am subscribed to, but then I've realized that I do not want to read them. I was forcing myself to do so, but was not actually recieving any pleasure out of them. During my vacation I was away of any information - I didn't even take a book with me, I just turned TV on a couple of times, but it was in Spanish anyway. And now that I have come back I feel that I do not need to read that many newsletters, because they are blocking my flow of thoughts. There are thousands of interesting blogs out there and I am subscribed to about 10 of them. There are some who write on a daily basis, some write twice or three times a week, the others once per week - so during one week it means about 30 newsletters. All from very interesting people, all sharing some useful information - but at the end of the day I have so many thoughts that sometimes I can't understand which of them are my own. So I have decided to create some space for myself and to unsubsribe or pause subscription to most of these newsletters. I can always go directly to their blog and update myself, but I do not want to have so many e-mails in my Inbox. It makes me feel obliged to read them and that just takes up my time.
So the advice of the day is: create space for yourself and your own thoughts.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Create vacation

This is just a quick post to let you know, that I am just back from vacation. It's been wonderful to take a break and to get away from computers and TVs and all the electronics. But I am happy to be back home. And even more excited to go to work tomorrow. I am so grateful for my job. And I understand it even more clearly now.
So the advice of the day is: create vacation!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Create new friends

Ok, they may not necessarily by your friends, but even new acquiantances broaden your outlook on life. As you know I have just entered a university. There are 34 people in my class. So there are 33 potential friends in my life. I have seen them only once (I am still on vacation, so I will miss the 3 days), but I already have 2 people with whom I think I will become good friends. I think that getting to know new people is vital, becasue we get to learn new things from them and they might challenge us to develop. I am very excited about get to know all these new people in my life.
So the advice of the day is: crete new friends.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Create a poem

I love this feature of Samantha Reynold's website called Instapoem. She asks you all the different questions that make you really think about yourself and sometimes people around you, the questions you might not even think of. And than your answers are turned into beautiful poems. The poems are changed every once in while. So here is mine:

It was the day we laughed so hard
we made the peonies bloom

I was three
it was sunny

we were running like dogs
a game of hide-and-seek
happiness all balled up in our lips
shooting out of us in shrieks and bellows

I'm a swan
she declared

and I decided I was too

an open minded swan
with nothing to do
but chase the wind

they say it whips you in the face
but this isn’t how it works
if you run hard enough
the wind bores right into you

I don’t remember anything else
except the smell of the warmth
sweet as brownie

the wind carried the rest away.

So the advice of the day is: create poems (either yourself or with a little help). 

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Create motivation

A few days ago I finished writing a motivation letter to apply for an exciting position opening within my company. I don't meet one of the main criteria but I have decided that it is not going to stop me. I was in fact deeply motivated to apply for the job, but still the letter itself inspired me so much to fight for it, to prove that even without this one criteria I can still be the perfect fit. And that' s when I thought that it is a good thing to write these motivation letters even just for yourself for any kind of task. If you feel uninspired to work out but you know that it is good for you and for your health, write a motivation letter, describe there all the reasons why it is important and then read this letter just before you go out for a jog or start the workout. I haven't tested this on myself yet, but I think it will work. I have noticed that I have very hard times with sticking to the work out rouitnes and I am pretty sure that such a letter could get me going. I will write this letter while I am on vacation and will test this technique when I am back. I will keep you informed on how this is going.
So the advice of the day is: create motivation letters.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Create your support group

We are all human beings and it means that we are not supposed to function alone. Yes, there are momonets in our lives when we need to be on our own and we should take time to stay alone with our thoughts, but that is only a small part of the day. All the other time we are among other people, and these people are very-very different. It is very important who you communicate with on a daily basis. There is an old proverb that says "Who keeps company with wolves, will learn how to howl". It is very true but has a negative meaning, that is why I prefer this modern 'rule of 5' which basically has the same meaning as the proverb: "You are the average of the five people you spent the most time with" (Jim Rohn). And I would say that it does not necessarily mean 'to spend time in person', you could read books or follow in social media the people who inspire you. That is what I have learned with my own experience. Last year I was feeling depressed for quite a long time and I was looking for support among my friends. When I was trying to communicate my feelings to one of the oldest friends she only said: "oh, that must be the PMS". Other friends were there for me and I am very grateful for that, but I am not sure that they understood exactly what I was going through.
That was when I began to read books by Deepak Chopra, Brian Tracey, Robin Sharma, Louise Hay and others and their examples inspried me to become a better person, they made me believe that I deserve and can have much more that I had at that time. I am very thankful to my cousine, Marsiya, who intorduced me to Deepak Chopra, his was the first self-improvement book I read. After reading them it was so much easier for me to take that step and quit my job and move alone to a different city. But when I was here alone, I realised that I needed a support group. I needed someone to share my thoughts with. In St. Petersburg I had two friends who new a bit of what I was going through. I didn't feel that I can share a lot because I was afraid of what they would think about me. I am still very accurate about who I share my thougnts with. And I should admit that even my sister and Mom do not know about the existance of this blog. But the main reason for me to start writing here is because I wanted to share all my thoughts, to find people who are going through the same period in their lives. I began to write the blog in May, in July I have decided to make daily posts and all these time I haven't been looking for any readers, it was enough for me to just pu the thoughts out there and to hope that someone might read them. I have told only one of my friends about this blog but  now I feel that I want more readers, I want more comments,  I want to have discussions, I want to create a support group. "The goal of a support group is to create a warm non-judgmental atmosphere where members can talk about life’s challenges without embarrassment as well as give support and encouragement to each other". That is exactly what I want. I want to encourage and to be encouraged. I want to give and be given advice. I want to ask and to be asked questions which help you and me to get deeper into our feelings. I want support.
As you know I am writing this post a bit in advance (today is Sunday, September 16 and the post will be published on September, 21). I am on vacation and I don't have a laptop here, because I have decided to take some time off computers and cell phones. But when I come back I will begin to search for supporters and for those who need the support.
So the advice of the day is: create your support group!

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Create handmade things

I was surfing the Internet for some inspiration on 'create' notes and ran across this website. I looove the motto: "A creation a day keeps the dcotor away". The author of that website is a teen girl who took a challange to make one creative thing a day for 7 months. She created everything from papaer houses to pastrami sandwiches. I think this is such a wonderful idea. To make things with your own hands every single day. I would probably implement this idea some time in the future.
I actually loved doing thnigs within my own hand, here is one of my creations - I decorated the photoframe and put a picture in there that I love:

So the advice of the day is: create things with your own hands.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Create your thoughts

Everything you think creates your life. - Jackson Kiddard  

When we create something, we always create if first in a thought form. If we are basically positive in attitude, expecting and anvisionong pleasure, satisfaction and happiness, we will attract and create people, situations and events which conform to our positive expectations. - Shakti Gawain 

Create happy thoughts to create happy life. I have noticed for myself that when you focus on the good, on the positive your life becomes better. I have almost completely stopped watching TV - because there are so many negative news, and so many movies with crime and disaster that I don't want to know and to think about. I have made a conscious choice to watch only comedies, or movies which I know will have a happy ending and which do not contain violence. I choose to become friends with people who are very positive, who know what they want and even though they might not know at this time how to acheive it, they don't just sit, they actively search for solution. This way I myself become more proactive. I choose to think thoughts that are encouraging and supportive of myself, thoughts that contribute to my happy living.

So the advice of the day is: create your thoughts! 

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Create a break

Today I am going on vacation for eight days. Since I wanted my blog to be updated daily, I was going to take my laptop with me and to keep writing every day. But last week my laptop broke and I thought that it was a great opportunity to get a real vacation, away form laptops, TVs and cell phones. The blog posts will appear every day though - I have prepared for that and scheduled posts to come out at around the usual time. I will be back in 8 days. Relax, take it easy:)
And the advice of the day is create a break. Wether it is a 15 minute break at work, or a day in the nature away from any electronic devices, or week off in some unknow country - it doesn't matter. Jusst create a break to unplug and listen to your own inner self.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Create knowledge

I just came from the university a couple of hours ago. I graduated from my first University in 2007 and I thought I was done with studying. After those 5 years I was so tired of different exams and papers that I never wanted to do that again. But last year I began to feel respect to people who were continuing their education and I start to feel inside of me this desire to learn.
My first diploma is in teaching English and German. I remember little of German, because I haven't used it at all after the graduation. And teaching has never actaully been my dream job, I just went to that University becasue they had the best faculty of foreign languages in my town. So when I started to realize that I needed to change something in my life, I also realized that even though I had a diploma, I didn't have a profession. At that time I had been a secretary at a marketing agency for over 2 years, and I didn't even have to think a lot in order to do my tasks well. And I wanted to awaken my brains, to make them think again. That was when I realised that I needed to continue my education.
Moving to Moscow gave me this great opportuniy. I have found the perfect master's program. I am able to combine studies with my job. And at this orientation meeting I already met a few interesting people. And what I like most about this master's programme is that the people there already have a job, they have experience in all kinds of jobs and I think it will be very interesting to get to know all of these people. And I am even more excited about the program itself, I think it is going to be very interesting, it will make me think again. Think in new terms, terms which are not at all familiar to me at the moment. And I am so excited about this new stage of my life.
And the advice of the day is: create knowledge. Be thirsty for knowledge. New knowledge makes you brain work. 

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Create destinations

Every year in the beginning of January I write down the places I want to visit. To be honest only a few of them have come true, and this year I actually didn't get to go to any of the places on my list. At the same time I have been travelling a lot, it was mostly on business trips and in my home country, but I am still very thankful for that. I have seen more cities outside my country, that inside. And to be honest I think it is not good. That's why I do not get disappointed about not going to the places on my lsit.
But jhaving such a list keeps me open minded and motivated. It keeps me aware of other palces in the world and of all the other cultures and people and traditions. And I know that someday I am going to visit all of these places. and i just love this inspirational picture I saw today:


And the advice of the day is: create your destinations.




Saturday, September 15, 2012

Create your values

One of the books that has had a great impact on me and on my today's perception of the world is "Focal Point" by Brian Tracey. I read it twice within one month: first I simply read the whole book from cover to cocer and the second time I wrote down a short summary of the most important parts and questions in my notebook and after that I answered all these questions, also in written form. It helped me a lot to realize all the values in my life, what is really important to me. I have shared with you one of Brian Traceys' techniques to figure out your values just a few days ago. And I think that  knowing your values makes your life so much easier. When you know your values you will know exactly what decisions to make. For example, you are offered a wonderful and exciting position, the only thing is that you will have to be on business trips most of the time. Now if one of the main values for you is your career and adventures than I guess you would definitely say yes to this opportunity. But if your value is your family and you want to spend all you free time with them, than it is a totally different decision and it will be easy for you to make it.
I have figuered out my values about a year ago, and it has really helped me a lot. Knowing myself, I can say that sometimes I used to be rough with the people I love. But when I understood that my relationship with my family is one of the biggest values for me, I have decided to change. I don't want them to feel bad becasue of my bad mood. So I am now trying to either talk nicely with my Mom, for example, when she gives me a call, or just say at the very beginning of the conversation that I am not in a good mood right now and I will call her back later when I feel better. This way I don't hurt my Mom's feelings and I don't feel bad about myself. This is only one of the examples of how getting to know my real values has helped me in my daily life.
So the advice of the day is: create your values!  

Friday, September 14, 2012

Create opportunities

My laptop broke yesterday. I was watching (well, actually listening to) a video, when it just turned off and never turned on again. Since yesterday was quite an emotional day at work, this surely upset me a lot. But I didn't stay upset too long because I looked at it as an opportunity to express gratitude for several things. First of all, I am lucky to have my sister around, so I can use her laptop unitl I figure out what to do with mine. I am also lucky because now I will get the opportunity to buy a better laptop which will be useful for my studies. The third thing I am grateful for is that even though I don't have money right now, but I can buy the replacement within a month. And last but not least I am thankful that now I have the perfect excuse to leave the laptop at home when I go on vacation next week. So instead of getting disappointed I've decided to look at the opportunities that this situation is offering me. And I am absolutely positive that the same thing can be done in almost any kind of situations. Choose to focus on the possibilities, instead of the negatives. I know that sometimes it can be hard, and in this cases I usually let myself cry and whine and complain about stuff, but I set a time limit for that. As a rule, I give myself one day, I buy chocolate cake, eat as much as I want, turn on a  very sad movie and cry and think of all the problems and how bad I feel (if I want to). And the next day I start to look at the bright side, to search for the opportunities. And you know what? I have noticed that now that I let myself relax and go negative, I actually want to do it less and less often.
So the advice of the day is: create opportunities out of every situation.



Thursday, September 13, 2012

Create thank you letters

So my manager left today. Went back to Sweden. I took a pill today so that I didn't start crying when we were saying the final goodbyes. But when I came home I couldn' t fight my tears any longer. I feel the same way as I did 7 years ago after my first year in a summer camp when EVERYBODY left during one day, and only 6 people stayed for the post camp. I remember I cried my eyes out, it was so hard to say goodbye to all the wonderful people I had met and with whom I shared some of the greatest moments. And today even though it was just 1 person, I still can't believe how hard it is. I am so thankful to her for taking me into the company, for believing in me sometimes even more that I believe in myself, for teaching me so many things. I am upset that I didn't get a chance to say all those thank yous in person. That is why I decided to write a thank you letter to her, because I think that it is important to let people know about your thoughts, feelings and appreciation. I know that it would make me happier, and I guess you will agree with me.
So the advice of the day: write thank you letters. If you are like me sometimes and don't have the guts to say all the wonderful words in person, then a letteris the best way to show that you care.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Create your future

The best way to predict future is to create it. - Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee

I am absolutely positive that we ourselves create our future. Every single decision you make defines what you are going to be.


Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Create memories

I am sitting on board of the airplane as I am writing this post (it will appear on the blog a little later when I have internet connection to actually upload it). I am already on board but the flight has been delayed for an hour. I don't mind it though, because I love airports and love the flights. I can feel the spirit of excitement and adventure in the airport. People are going to new countries, they are going to see and experience things they have never seen and experienced before. And as I am sitting here I am thinking of all the wonderful memories that started in an airport. I remember myself as a 19 year old student waiting for my very first international flight to the USA. That was the beginning of the best summer of my life. A year later I was a 20 year old student at the same airport waiting for the beginning of the second best summer of my life. At 21 I was again at the airport but that time it was the beginning of a 12 month adventure which turned into the best year of my life. And oh how many best vacations of my life began in the airport!..
And as I keep thinking about it, about the happy memories I come to the conclusion that while it is great to have these certain anchors (like a certain place or a song) that remind you of happy moments of your life, you should also strive to make each day memorable. And for that I really love 2 techniques - one was suggested by Robin Sharma and the second one by Brian Tracey. Robin Sharma proposed to write in your dairy 5 things that you are grateful for each day. For example my 5 things for today would be:

1. I am thankful for my job and for all the wonderful opportunities it offers for my development and growth.
2. I am thankful for my friends and all the things that I am learning from them, for example anything is possible, you can even enter a university in Germany. All you need is your desire and actions.
3. I am thankful for my family and for their huge support of me and of all my beginnings.
4. I am thankful for this possibility to travel, to see the world and my own country.
5. I am thankful for all the abundance of this world, abundance of love and support.

The technique suggested by Brian Tracey offers you to write down three most memorable events of the day. So my three main events are:
1. I had Lunch with my friend from St. Petersburg. And also talked on the phone with another dear friend who I haven't seen for three months already.
2. I talked with my mom, haven't called her in 3 or 4 days, which is not typical of me
3. Business trip to Kazan.

Brian Tracey suggests then to write next to each of these events what sphere of life it represents. So in my case the first one is friends, second is family and third is career. And if you do that for at least a month you will be able to identify which spheres if life are important to you, which of them appear in your journal most often.

I think both of these techniques are very useful, I used both of them at certain periods of my life. They do help you realize that each day is unique. And if it isn't, you might want to start making it unique. Every single day deserves to be remembered. So the advice of the day is: create memories! 

Monday, September 10, 2012

Create courage

“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.“ – Christopher Columbus

This New Year's Eve at 12 am I was standing on the beach in Ventura, CA. The night was very foggy and dark. As we were driving to the beach we could barely see the road. I was barefoot and was walking along the waves. The wind was quite strong and as the waves were coming close to me, I was running away from them. But then I thought to myself: "Why? Why am I doing this? I want to feel the ocean and I keep running aways the second it tries to get closer?"
And that's what very often happens in our lives. We dream about something, really want to achieve something, but then when we feel that we only need to make one more step away from it - we get scared, we run away. We think that we are not quite ready at the moment, or that it is not the right time, or we postpone it for tomorrow. And the only reason for that is the fear of getting out of your comfort zone. For example you dream of finding the job you love. You think about it all the time, you visiulize it in your mind - and you feel very comfortable doing that sitting at home with a cup of tea and having a good-enough job that pays good-enough money. You are safe, you don't have to worry about anything, you recieve your salary regularly. But what happens once you are offered a postion in the company of your dreams. But let's say it is a starting position and it pays a little less. But you know that it is exactly what you want and what you will love doing. WHat will you do in this situation? When I try to apply this situation to myself, I think that the previous me would have chosen the comfort of the known, would have stayed at the same job even though it was not exactly what I liked. And that's exactly what has happened to me. I have been going to a job for about a year without feeling anyhow inspired to do so. I didn't have any immediate opportunities when I finally quit the job, but they showed up as soon as I was free and ready for them.
So the advice of the day is: create courage, courage to accept the opportunities as they come into your life. 

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Create your actions

Happy people plan actions, they do't plan results.
Dennis Waitely

Happiness is a state of activity.
Aristotle

What is our life? What does make our life be filled with happiness, filled with different events, people, emotions? What does life consist of? You could say a lot of different things, but I would name just one - actions. If you just sit and plan to do something, spend your days dreaming about it - can you say that you are living your life fully? No, I don't think so. It is action that makes you feel alive. Making steps to fulfilling these dreams of yours, not just dreaming about htem in your mind. I am not saying that you shouldn't act without thinking and planning (although that can be useful, too), but at some point you have to start taking actions otherwise you will be disappointed with your life. I have realised that on my own. Last year, when I was feeling depressed most of the time, I was not satisfied with the way I was spending my life. I knew that I had to change something but for about half a year I was just thinking about it and saying to myself "I cannot quit now, I have a vacation coming up, and if I change my work I will not get a vacation for the next few months..." So I was finding excuses to postpone the single most important step - taking the action. But after 6 months of procrastination, even my body, my organism got tired of that and I ended up bursting into tears in the middle of a grocery store. For me that was an indication that it was time to act. Enough of waiting for better circamstences or thinking about all the if's? I had to start acting. And now 9 months later I feel that it has been one of the best decisions of my life. I am so happy to be where I am right now. And all of that is the result of one simple action.
So the advice of the day is: create your actions!



Saturday, September 8, 2012

Create your own circumstances

I have to be honest with you guys that I am a little bit drunk when I write this and I will probably schedule this to get posted tomorrow (I have a dear friend visiting me for the weekend so I might not have time to actually write something tomorrow). So i just want you to know that i am  writing this on a Friday evening just after the wine tasting with my colleagues. And I want to let you know how happy and grateful  I am for working in this very company and with these very people. They have trust and belief in me and they see my potential. I need this so much at times when I am self-doubtful. Knowing that these wise people with really great experience see me growing and developing and actually believe in me, this gives me so much courage to keep going! And I am also extremely thankful of myself that I have created these circumstances in my life, I had the courage to quit the previous job, I had the courage to move to Moscow on my       own and i also  had the courage to believe in myself, believe and be absolutely sure that I will get the best job ever. So it is basically me who is responsible for what is happening in my life. And it is you who is responsible for everything that is going on in your life. Not your boss, not your parents, not your friends. It is you and you alone who makes things happen in your life. So the advice of the day is: create your own circumstances!   
    

Friday, September 7, 2012

Create reasons to smile

This is a highly inspirational video, just watch, there is nothing more that needs to be said:
http://realneo.us/content/funny-inspirational-video-week-%E2%80%9Cfree-parking%E2%80%9D-watch-it-28-million-other-people-already-watch

And the advice of the day is: create reasons to smile - everyday and for everyone, including yourself!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Create caffeine free diet

That is my new challenge. I have realized that I need to have a cup of coffee every morning in order to feel fresh and have no headache. And that is already an addiction. I have never had any kind of addiction (except for chocolate, but I have it under control most of the time), nor do I want to have one. So the purpose of this challenge is to prove myself that I am not a caffeine addict. I don't plan to stop drinking coffee for the rest of my life, no this is not the point. The point is to reduce the number if consumed coffee to one-two cups per week or less if I feel like it. And also this is the first step to creating the new habit of healthy eating. I have decided not just start all the healthy habits in one day - like cut out the sweets, the coffee, regular work outs - but introduce them one at a time. And oops! I just remembered while writing here that I forgot to do my abs workout today...((
So the advice of the day is: create caffeine free life!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Create more you time


You know how sometimes we get so involved in everything that is going on that we don't have time for ourselves. I have already wrote about it in several posts but I think that it is never too much. The importance of setting time aside to be alone with your thoughts or just some time dedicated only to you can never be overrated. When I was living  in st Petersburg it was much easier to find some alone time because I was renting my home on my own. But now that I am living together with my family I find it a bit harder to do so. After a week of spending most of the evenings with them, preparing dinner, eating, watching tv together, I have realized that I lack this me time. And that's what I want to create now - create a certain routine where I have some hours with the family and then an hour or two for me. And this is also the advice of the day: create you time 

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Create new habits

I have a question for you - have you ever tried to create new habits in your life? Something that you never did, but understand that it will be useful for you to do it? How much time does it take you to make this habit stick?
Writing everyday posts for theinnerhappiness is a new habit for me. First when I started to write this blog I wanted to write whenever I felt inspired, but then one day I realized that I want to write every day and I did it. I guess there might be 2 or 3 days missing, but that happened because I stayed for a sleepover at a friend's house unplanned. But anyway, I do have this habit now and it wasn't at all difficult for me to work on it. 
At the same time I have several other habits that I want to become a part of my life and they just don't stick. These are very good habits - like daily physical activities, or healthy diet (not diet, but healthy food, less sweets) - but it is such a big toruble for me to integrate them into my daily routine. I have decided that after my vacation I will start working with a coach on healthy eating, who should develop a menu with the products that are good for me. And I will have to report to her weekly on my progress. I hope that with her help I will finally be able to stick to this habits for a couple of months so that after that it becomes a part of m life. Meanwhile I am working on the abs-workout routine. It has been pretty successful so far.
And the advice of the day is: create new habits.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Create happiness

Are you aware that you are responsible not only for your own happiness, but also for happiness of all the people around you? And I mean not only people close to you but all the people that you meet on the street, or at a coffeshop, or on the bus. Even a little smile, or a compliment can make another person happier. So please remember to be polite and calm with other people, show your respect (because everyone deserves to be respected), smile and look people in the eyes when you talk to them so that they know that you care.
Do you remember this post about More Love Letters and where I said that I want to do something like this here in Moscow. So I have finally made the first step - I wrote the letter. Originally I wanted it to be a postcard and I have even prepared several cards, but when I set down to write it, I felt more inspired to write on a simple piece of paper. So here it is (the letter is inside this envelope): 

The brackets on the sides are smileys:) I plan to leave this little letter at a Starbucks or maybe at the swimming pool where I will go tomorrow. Or any other place where I will feel like it. I hope that this letter will make another person at least a bit happier. And I do plan to continue leaving this happiness letters around the city. 
So the advice of the day is: create happiness around you.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Create your dreamboard

It's been a week today that I have moved into a new apartment with my sister and her husband. At first I was hesitant about this because they are a family and I wanted them to create their own home. But after I was told that I had to move out from my previous place and my sister just began apartment hunting I decided that maybe it could be better for us to live together rather than we each move in with different people. Now our new apartment has already become a new home for us where we are happy to have friends and family over. Just yesterday my friend form high school was in Moscow and she stayed with us. And next week we will have our cousin with her husband visiting us for a couple of days and also one of my close friends from St. Petersburg is coming for the weekend. So this is turning into a place filled with friends and family as well as love, laughter and happiness.
And also yesterday I finished decorating my room and I have created a dream board, it is mostly a travel dream board at this time - I have pictures of places that I want to visit combined with some pictures of me with my loved ones. After I will have visited this or that place I plan to replace it with a new one, which represents my new dream/desire/goal.
And the advice of the day is: create your dream board.

And here is mine:

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Create your own body

A new month, a new season, new opportunities. Today is the first day of a new month, a new season - yes, autumn in Russia starts on the 1st of September. That's what I loved about living in the USA - the summer there is longer, until the middle of September. I know this is just a formality, but it matters to me if it is officially summer or autumn.
So as the new month begins I started thinking what could be the theme of this month's blog posts. I want to challange myself again. As you know I have some weight to lose. I love myself, I learn to love my body. I used to think that I would happier if I was thinner, but now I realize that it wouldn't actually matter that much - because for happiness the inside is much more important that the outside. Also I am sure that taking care of my body and getting thinner is a way of expressing the love for myself. I want to live a long happy life in a healthy body and I need to take care of it already now. I began working on that last month, but found out that me knee was hurting when I was running, so I stopped. And now I realized that I don't have to put pressure on the knees, I can start with swimming and add a little abs workout to that. I have already made plans with a colleague at work to go to the swimming pool twice a week. So my challenge for this month will be to work on the abs for several minutes a day. I want to start it gradually, to add little by little so that I don't feel overwhelmed and quit after a week or two. Also this will be a big challenge for me because I have 2 friends visiting me this month, and also I am going on vacation for one week. Usually on vacation I let myself do and eat whatever I want and just relax, enjoy the time and not think about diets and weight-loss. So it might be hard to keep up to the challange, but I have faith in myself and believe I can do it. I can take 5 minutes a day to work on my body!
So while I was writing this I have realised what the theme of the month should be: creativity. The root of this word is create - and that's what I manifest today: I am going to work on my body and create a healthier and better looking version of it.
And the advice of the day is: create your own body.