"An intervention for your 20s"

This is why I love writing. This girl just found a way to put everything that's been on my mind lately, all into one, beautifully honest article. 

A year ago, I might not have understood any of it. But I feel incredibly lucky that I do, and at a young age. 

In a nutshell: Life isn't easy, and it won't be perfect, but some days will be, and you have the power to live the life that you want to live, if you're willing to accept that and put in the hard work.

Check out this amazing blog post to see what I'm talking about.

Spoken like a real goddamn human being!

Letting go of emotional baggage.

Hate. Anger. Worry. Disappointment.

These are things that can take a heavy toll on us if we let them. They can sneak up like deadly predators and take us by surprise. And in an instant, our days are filled with negativity.

It's certainly easier said than done; there's no doubt about that. But once you have made the decision and have committed yourself to letting go of that painful baggage, you can be happy. After all, it's only a feeling that you are in control of.

Worrying never changed the outcome.

Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

Hate has caused so many problems in our world, but it has never solved one.

It's okay to feel sad or disappointed sometimes, but it's not okay to let that control your everyday life, or hold you back from your true potential.

You are the only one who can control your happiness.

Let yourself be happy! :)

Hope

First off, I want to mention that I'm super excited because my blog has reached over a thousand views! Thank you for keeping up with my posts, despite the sporadic frequency of my updates. I hope they are just as thought-provoking and uplifting for you to read as they are for me to write.

I'm gonna start off with a short little story of my twentieth birthday. This was right around the time when I had just started to pick myself up off the ground. I had finally allowed myself to realize that I was in full control of my own happiness, and had started doing day-to-day things to start uplifting my mood and relieving my stress. I had also just started to realize I wasn't alone in this. One of my best friends got me a mug as a gift, with the saying "just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly." I almost cried when I got it because it meant so much to me. Still to this day I'm not sure if she realized how much hope that gave me. Sure, it was just a mug, but the fact that she gave it to me, and how relavent it was to my life at the time, made me feel so grateful for my friends and my life in general.

It's a great quote that I think anyone and everyone should keep in mind. Don't ever lose hope because honestly, you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Holding On To Stress

"A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they'd be asked the 'half empty or half full' question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: 'How heavy is this glass of water?'

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, 'The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.' She continued, 'The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything.'

It’s important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night. Remember to put the glass down!"

An Awesome Blog Post I Want To Share With You Guys!

I recently found this blog called The Feelgood Lifestyle. It's basically what it sounds like, which is sort of the same idea I'm going for with my blog. Anyway, one of my Facebook friends shared this blog post a few days ago and it's pure genius. You should all check it out! 

It's called "Act Your Shoe Size: Five Lessons You Can Learn From Kids" by Rebecca Hunter.

It discusses some great things that we can take from children on how to be happy and carefree. I've been doing a few of these things myself lately and it definitely works.

Click here to read it!

The Four Agreements, Pt. 4

I'm back! And finally, here is the fourth agreement:

The Fourth Agreement: Always Do Your Best

Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick.  Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

This is not a new concept. You've heard it before. But that's only because it's the best advice! Life is hard sometimes and we are all occasionally faced with tasks that are more challenging to us than they might be to others; don't let that discourage you. For some it might be relationships, or maybe it's a workout routine you're trying to accomplish, or even your math homework, (for me, it's that microeconomics test I took yesterday)... If you can look back on something and truthfully say you gave it your all, then you have nothing to be ashamed of.

Happy ~A Documentary

I watched this incredible documentary last night called Happy.

It sort of explores the idea of happiness all throughout the world, not only talking about how to be happy, but also following the lives of certain people who are very happy today, despite horrific events that have occurred in their past. It also shows different cultures in the world who are the most happy or the most unhappy, and includes several interviews with psychologists who discuss the ways to measure happiness.

It is very interesting and incredibly touching! I highly, highly recommend it. You can find it on Netflix available for instant streaming. Here is the trailer!