I love reading inspirational stories/bios of successful people 🤩. I love getting to know how they got to the place where they are. And I often read that some of those who succeeded and are millionaires today💰 had to sacrifice it all to get there 😔. That they had to put their work first, that they worked 16-18h a day/ 7 days a week. That they put family and friends aside to work work work 😌.
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I am ALL about following dreams, working hard etc 🤗. I think you know me that well already and you know that I work a lot 😉. I’ve always had some ‘extra projects’ (having some extra jobs, being a coordinator in a students volunteer society 👩🎓, having a music agency and booking gigs for 5 bands 🎶, writing and publishing a book 📖, now this blog…) since I turned 16. I never was this kind of person who comes back from school/work and just chills 🤷♀️.
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BUT
I could never pay such price as putting my family aside or putting health over work/my projects 🤷♀️.
Maybe that’s why I’m not as successful as others 😬 but I prefer to have a long and healthy life full of laughs and love ❤ instead of just working till I hit a burnout 🙄.
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That’s why I stepped aside a bit in January. As you may know I didn’t feel good most of the time and didn’t want to do something ‘because I HAVE TO’. I just waited for my energy to come back to me.
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The choice whether you choose work over all or you choose a bit slower life is yours but make sure that it is good for you 😘
Tag: healthy mindset
SELF LOVE: Start your day well
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the way you start your day has HUGE impact on the rest of your day! ⚠️ And it’s all up to you! If you wake up thinking „Ugh, it’s gonna be a tough day 😑” it is gonna be in fact a tough day 😉. If you get up from bed thinking how much you don’t feel like doing anything it will stay this way 😪 – you won’t feel like doing anything 🤷♀️. If you start the day with negative mindset the day won’t magically turn into a positive one 😉!
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And so if you want to practice self-love/self-care throughout the day you need to start the day with the right mindset 😉!
➡️ 1. Think positive thought – something positive (can be small!) about the upcoming day 🤗
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➡️ 2. Don’t think what you „HAVE TO” do that day. Think of it as an opportunity, as something you ‘GET TO’ do 😃
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➡️ 3. Write down positive affirmations for the day like „I can do it”, „I am enough”, „I am beautiful” etc 💪
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➡️ 4. Take care of your body – have a good nurtitous breakfast, take vitamins and stretch a bit 😋
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➡️ 5. Do something fun – dance to your favourite song 🎵, be goofy with your partner/kids 🤪 or anything else that will boost your energy and bring a smile on your face ☺️.
And now go conquer the world!
Why is self-care so important?
Why is self-care so important? 🤔
First of all when you take care of yourself, when you are rested and calm you look at world differently!
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I got to a point couple months ago when I was so tired and so burnt out that nothing was bringing me joy, I was tired, stressed and annoyed all the time 🙄 When one small thing went wrong I’d instantly explode like a bomb.
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And then I finally learned to rest, to take care of myself, to have some me-time and I felt so much better! Not only I felt rested, calmer and was doing everyday duties or working on my projects with a smile on my face 😊 but also I wasn’t so tense and e.g. I wouldn’t explode when something unexpected happened or when something went wrong 😊 I was happy and excited to work again! I was nice to people around me again 🤗
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Second of all, you can’t feed others from an empty bowl! So you can’t take care of others unless you take care of yourself first! 😉 You NEED to be joyful, calm and rested to be able to help others and to be happy about it 😊
Smiley Future – Step 56
I hope that last week’s step nr 55 about gratitude got you interested and ready to practice it! 🤗 You’re ready? Let’s get to today’s task straight away! 🤩
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For the next couple of days (until our next step in a week) every night when you’re laying in bed already think of 3 things that you are grateful for in that exact moment 🙏. Notice how you feel before that excercise and how you feel afterwards. Does something change? 🤔 Does it get easier with time to find reasons to be grateful? 😊
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So as not to forget about this excercise stick a note next to your bed with a reminder 📌.
How do you like that excercise? Maybe you’ll practice it every night from now on? 🤗
Write down your reflections 📝
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Today I am grateful for my friends, for the support I get from my husband and for our financial situation 😊🙏
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Next week: Gratitude towards other people
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Source: @chodakowskaewa‘s new book “90 days – design your tomorrow”
Smiley Future – Step 55
Admit it, how many times during a weekend you think of Monday and you feel scared and angry already? 🤬 Got you! 😉 In the next few steps we’ll practice empowering your attitude that can improve quality of your life and increase your happiness 🤩.
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And that attitude is gratitude so feeling satisfied and appreciating what you’ve got (or not), what surrounds you and what you experience 🤗.
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Human tendency to notice negatives 👀 and danger 💥 can be explained by evolution – this perceptivity saved our ancestors plenty times yet complaining is something more 🙄.
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Constant complaining is a habit. Good news is that – as every habit – you can work on it and habit of complaining can be replaced with gratitude 😉.
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You’re probably wondering what it has to do with strong will and perseverance? 🤔
Practicing gratitude:
🔅Lowers stress (and that empowers willpower, remember?) 📉
🔅 Lowers tension, levels excessive expectations and frustration (that can lead to total giving up on your goal at first obstacle) 🙏
🔅 Helps noticing small successes and strong points that empowers motivation and perseverance 🎯
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As Robert Emmons and Robin Stern say „Clinical trials show that practicing gratitude can have dramatic and lasting positive effects on a person’s life. It can reduce blood pressure, improve immunity, promote happiness and life satisfaction, generate behaviors such as helping others, generosity and cooperation. Additionally, gratitude reduces the risk of depression, anxiety and addiction” 🤩
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Have I convinced you? Let’s start our today’s task 😉:
➡️ How often do you feel gratitude?
➡️ What are you grateful for?
➡️ Is feeling grateful dificult or easy for you?
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Next week: Practicing gratitude – excercise 🙏
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Source: @chodakowskaewa‘s new book “90 days – design your tomorrow”
Smiley Future – Step 51
Let’s continue practicing mindfullness 🧘🏼♀️. Next excercise is careful observation 👀. It lets you notice and appreciate simple, obvious elements of reality and it serves you to feel that you’re a part of a beautiful natural environment what tends to slip out in everyday rush 😉.
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➡️ 1. Pick an element of nature in your close surroundings and focus on that for a minute or two. It can be a flower 🌸, a tree 🌳, an insect 🐞, clouds ☁️, moon 🌚…anything
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➡️ 2. Don’t do anything else ❌ just watch the element 👀. Relax and observe it as long as your concentration lets you.
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➡️ 3. Look at the chosen element as if you’ve seen it for the first time 😁
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➡️ 4. Explore every aspect of that chosen element. Let its presence soak you completely 🤗
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How do you feel after that excercise? Do any new thoughts, discoveries come to your mind?
Write them down! 😊
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Next week: Practicing mindfullness: awareness
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Source: @chodakowskaewa‘s new book “90 days – design your tomorrow”
Challenge negative thoughts
Are you fair to yourself? 🤔 Do you treat yourself well? 😉 Do you think of yourself in a nice way and understand your needs and problems? 🧐 Do you expect same results as others from yourself or are you over ambitious and tend to be critical of your achievements? 🙄
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Imagine a situation: your friend calls and tells you that she failed at work and is afraid she’s gonna get fired 😰. What do you tell her? 🤔 You probably tell her not to worry, you try to assure her/him that she’s/he’s probably over dramatic and that it couldn’t have been that bad. You emphasise that she’s/he’s good at her/his job and that she/he won’t get fired 🤩
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Now imagine same situation but you’re the one that failed at work 😉. What do you tell yourself? Do you blame yourself? 😶 Do you keep saying how bad you are? That you deserve getting fired? 😬 Do you tend to be overcritical to yourself? ☹
Is that what you would say to your friend? No! 🚫
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Be a friend not only to others but to you as well! 🤗 Be supportive, understanding and loving ❤
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How to challenge negative thoughts? 🤔
Stop thinking:
❌ „No one likes me.”
❌„It’s all my fault that she’s upset”
❌„I shouldn’t have made that mistake”
❌„I can’t do this”
❌„Why does this always happen to me?”
❌„Everyone is out to get me”.
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Instead think:
✔„What is another possibility?”
✔„What would the people who care about me say?”
✔„What is the worst that could REALLY happen?”
✔„If my friend had this thought, what would I tell her?
✔„Can I be 100% sure this is true?”
✔„What is the best possible outcome?”
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Remember, be a friend to yourself.
Be kind 😘
You’re not a robot. You’re a human, you make mistakes and that’s ok 😉
Love yourself 🙏.
P.s. Check out my Instagram for an idea for the cheesiest homemade gift for Valentines Ever!
Smiley Future – Step 50
🧠SMILEY FUTURE🧠
— Step 50
Let’s start our practicing mindfullness series! Ready? 🤗 First excercise is mindfullness breathing 💨. You can practice it in any position and at any time of the day. Try to stand still. Set a timer and focus on your breath for one minute.
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➡️ 1. Inhale with your nose 👃 and exhale with your mouth 👄
➡️ 2. Let your thoughts come and go freely, don’t focus on them. If you start habitually wonder about things to do, your problems etc just bring your focus back to breathing and let your thoughts go away
➡️ 3. Concentrate on your breath: how does it float through your body, how each breath in fills you with oxygen and life and how each breath out lets you get rid of what is unnecessary
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If you liked that excerise and it let you relax you can practice it longer 😊
Write down any observations you’ve noticed while practicing mindfullness 📝
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Next week: Practicing mindfullness: observation
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Source: @chodakowskaewa‘s new book “90 days – design your tomorrow”
Smiley Future – Step 49
🧠SMILEY FUTURE🧠
— Step 49
To notice your emotions, to be good to yourself and to understand yourself better you’ll need mindfullness 🤗
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What is it? 🤔 In short, it is an intentional focusing on here & now without judging it. Practicing mindfullness we focus on what we experience in a specific moment, here & now ⬇️ We dont think about the past or the future 🚫, we focus on what’s happening now. Couple next steps will be about mindfullness ☺
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During mindfullness training try to remember about couple tips:
💫 Don’t judge your thoughts and emotions that you’re feeling
💫 Be patient and persistent – let your thoughts and emotions go in and out in their time
💫 Keep your head open, imagine you’re a beginner at every training
💫 Avoid expectations – just try practicing mindfullness without any script or thoughts on how will it go
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Task for today: Are you attentive every day? 🧐 Do you focus on here & now, feel the presence? If yes, in what moments you find it easy to be focused on here & now and when is it harder? 🤔
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Have you ever practiced mindfullness? 😊
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Next week: Practicing mindfullness: breathing
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Source: @chodakowskaewa‘s new book “90 days – design your tomorrow”
P.S. See my post on Instagram with a tutorial how to make that Seed Starter Valentine gift
P.S.2. I am doing 28 day Self-Love challenge at my Instagram – come join us!
Smiley Future – Step 47
Next couple of steps will be about a very important subject – a connection between emotions and your will power and perseverance 💪
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Have you noticed that when you’re angry, mad or feeling any other strong emotion you tend to react totally differently than how you’ve planned? 🤔 We all know it and it is worth taking a closer look on how emotions influence your willpower. Today we’ll start with sadness 😞
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Try answering those questions:
➡️ What do you do when you’re sad? What are your needs to get through the sadness and soothe it? Do you tend to make yourself feel better by eating 🍕🍰🍫? Do you sometimes resign from some important to you actions to reach your goal because of sadness? 😰
➡️ When you’re sad do some sabotaging thoughts appear? Create helpful reactions for them 😉
➡️ What can you do to get through sadness without resigning from your goals and giving up? If you tend to ‘eat the emotions away’ (we all know the term ‘comfort food’ right? 😅) try finding a solution for it. For example change unhealthy snacks 🍿🍫🌭 for healthy ones 🍎🥜🥗 or try finding another ways to soothe the sadness other than eating 👍. Maybe a conversation with someone close to you 💬, watching a comedy 🎬 or a relaxing bath 🛀? You know yourself best! 🤗
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If this excercise is difficult to you and you’ll feel tense 😬, take couple deep breaths when you’re done with the questions, relax your body and have a rest 😘
Next week: Anger vs willpower
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Source: @chodakowskaewa‘s new book “90 days – design your tomorrow”
How to be HAPPY 