How to Encourage Yourself on "Off" Days

Sometimes, we all face those days when we feel demotivated enough to not do anything. This usually happens when the things did not go the way we wanted them to. We sit in frustration wondering why is this happening with us! We feel sorry for ourselves the entire day. And as the day comes to a close, we realize that we need to pick ourselves up and clear up the wounds and scrapes. If you are also going through such an “off” day, then here are few ways for you in which you can try to encourage yourself: Relax When you are feeling overwhelmed, the most crucial thing is to bring yourself back to normal. Take a deep breath. Go for a walk. Indulge in a candlelit bath. Or listen to your favorite song. Do whatever it takes to feel relaxed. Once you are calm enough, work through the thing which is making you feel off. Instead of pushing it under the rug, confronting it is a better option. Provide yourself with the opportunity to clear your mind. Set a goal Setting a goal for yourself is a great way to get yourself out from the rut of an off day. And the best method to achieve this goal is to make it public! Sounds weird? Well, putting up your goal on social media makes you accountable through public’s knowledge of your goal to actually move ahead and achieve it. Get up, dress up and show up Make sure to always look good and feel good. Have you heard about “Fake it till you make it”? Sometimes when you are having an off day, this proves out to be the best thing to do. So, go above and beyond to dress really well, make sure to be present wherever you plan to go and carry yourself as if it were any other day. When you get “too busy” to be consumed by the overwhelming feeling, you slowly start feeling the same way! Find something to look forward to Think of something which is in the near future and can perk you up throughout the day. Maybe a special dinner that you have planned for the evening, or a certain television show. Or else it could simply be the thought of a good book that you would return to bed with. When you think about your end goal for the day, you tend to be more encouraged to get through things in order to reach your goal.   Wrapping up: Whether it is due to excess stress, lack of sleep, or some other reason, know that we all face such off days sometimes in life. Everyone goes through high and low periods of motivation, with some days not going by so easily and others running quite smoothly. Despite all this, we are still expected to perform our duties and responsibilities at home and at work. So, just keep moving ahead and try to be as calm as possible. Remember that it is completely okay to not feel okay sometimes!

How Does a Life Audit Help You in Empowering Yourself as a Woman?

Most of the women never provide themselves the opportunity to step back in life and observe where they actually are. This is just like an artist stepping back from his wooden frame. Assessing how far one has come and where they want to move is a fundamental part of women empowerment. It is crucial for each and every woman to check in with herself once in a while about “How is she doing? Where is she moving? What is important now that perhaps wasn’t that important previously?” Using a life audit to figure this out is the best method. In case, you have never heard of the term ‘life audit’, then there is a very good chance for you to really benefit from one. Essentially, a life audit is an exercise of self-reflection, allowing oneself to really look at every aspect of their lives, take account of goals and distractions, and assess overall fulfillment. Put simply, It is all about organizing your own life and being completely honest with yourself. It is a kind of status report for the soul and there are plenty of ways to do it. The very first step is to write down your every goal, hope and necessities in life (such as to get a new job, love near the ocean or win an award) on a different post-it-note. Put your phones, computers or any other distraction off and set aside a major portion of time for your life audit.    The next step involves organizing the post-its by category such as family, career, health, etc. as themes. Now, organize the post-its by the time such as how long will it take in order to accomplish and check-off each post-it. If you need guidance, use the Stoplight Method: RED (means Stop!) These are the things you should say no to at this time. YELLOW ( means Slow Down!) These are the things in which you can still be involved, however just tone it back a bit. This is a kind of commitment that you can actually redesign. GREEN (means Go!) This is a mission balance and a must-have in life.                       Allocate your wishes in a timeline. Some goals of yours will be for the future, for instance, a Nobel Peace Prize definitely won’t emerge overnight. Some goals must be fast approaching; while there will be others which are general goals such as goals of your everyday life. Assign your every post-it in one of three timeframes, i.e. ‘always/every day’, ‘someday’ and ‘now/soon’. Now it is the time for you to see your organized information to decide which areas need to be nurtured and which can be evicted from your life. Wrapping up: We all have a pretty good idea about our goals and downfalls. This self-awareness is something which is undeniably necessary for one’s personal growth. What makes a life audit more beneficial is the fact that it makes us look at the bigger picture in a much more factual way. So, if you are determined to get your life in order this year, all you need is a blank wall, some post-it notes and some free time.

Some Sure Signs It's Time for a Lifestyle Makeover

“God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well”- Voltaire Each one of us have our own set of struggles and circumstances that we face in our  daily life. With that said, we all also have our own unique ways to cope up with these struggles. Some of the women have this tendency to bottle up their stress and experience symptoms of depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. While there are others who just express their problems by becoming reserved, isolated or exhibiting changes in their behaviours and mood.   A women’s lifestyle is decided by these factors which molds her life in an entirely different form. The key to living a healthy and happy life is to take control of your lifestyle. But, one need to know if they really require to make a lifestyle makeover. If you are also one of those women who are experiencing the below mentioned signs in your day-to-day life, then it is time for you to make a change in your lifestyle. Knowing these indicators will guide you to overcome the chaos in your life and find balance. A constant low energy A low energy can also be a sign of some serious health condition. However, if you know that you are not suffering from any such health issue, then it could be due to your lifestyle as well. It is possible that you are living a meaningless life and have stopped caring about yourself. The mere thought of changing something sounds exhausting to you. Start with a slow walk once in a day, eat one healthy meal on a daily basis, drink more water and replace all your junk food with healthy ones.   A feeling of being stuck Let’s be honest, we all have experienced this at some point or the other in our respective lives. It feels completely helpless to effect change. This usually happens when one is surrounded by some toxic people or are in an abusive relationship. Here is a secret for you- no one is helpless and everyone has the power to move on. Each one of us have the power to change our lives. Being continuously anxious Anxiety usually takes place when one act in ways or participate in things they don’t really align with their truest desires. The body with anxiety often lose control and find it difficult to do even the smallest of chores.The best thing one can do to fight anxiety is to listen to their body. Find out what your body require at that particular moment- a rest, a meditation or even a slight movement. Do anything that calms your nerves. Once you start feeling that anxiety has passed, create a plan in order to help yourself shift out of the toxic situations. Feeling as if you are just surviving One of the easiest ways to kill your creativity and zeal is to lose yourself in doing the same things over and over again. Just going to work to pay your bills and coming back home can prove to be harmful for your spirit. Remember that your life is supposed to be filled with challenges and experiences to feel alive. Just daydreaming about certain things you wish to do won’t take you far in life. If you have been feeling enthusiastic and restless lately, it is definitely a sign you need a change as soon as possible. Wrapping up: “Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me”- Carol Burnett One must realise that life is short and so do not forget to cherish each and every moment life offers you. Although, life do demand making certain difficult changes sometimes, these changes are the ones worth making for a happier and more fulfilled life. Remember the golden rule “You are responsible for your own happiness and no one else”.

How to be Happy in the Present Moment?

“Life is what happens to you, while you’re busy making other plans.” - John Lennon Many people live their life always expecting for something good to happen, thinking that tomorrow will be far better as compared to today, believing that the next moment will be more valuable than the present moment, persistently dreaming for something else. However, not many people know that that they would be truly happy if they could only allow themselves to be completely present in everything they do without the need to look out for something else or chasing something that will only happen in the future and is not there in the present moment. When your mind is completely present in the present moment every second of the day, you are at peace and are content. For life is now, and not yesterday, not tomorrow, not in 10 years, but now! So if you are looking forward to a more happier and successful life, then below are below listed are some of the moments worth experiencing each day: Moment of laughter Laughing and smiling put you in a good mood. There is also scientific and physiological evidence to show it. When you’ll take out some time each day to laugh, you’ll find it to be uplifting as well as contagious. So, try to surround yourself with more humorous people and find out chances to laugh as often as you could. Moment of stillness Stillness refers to the ability to shut off everything. By everything, we mean your mind too and get into a state of meditation. It is more valuable to practice the moments of stillness when your life is busier. The most popular ways to get into the state of stillness include meditation and yoga, even if that means only for a few minutes. Moment of Celebration Many people do not take out the time to celebrate anything in their life. So, how will they celebrate life on whole? Take out at least one opportunity each day to celebrate something good in your life, no matter how big or small the opportunity is! Moment of Humility Yes, feeling proud on your achievements is great, but a moment of humility is equally good. This way you appreciate a small role that you play in this huge universe. When you take out few seconds to appreciate the amazing world around you, you’ll feel happy for all that you have. Moment of Reflection In today’s fast-paced world, we all live a busy life. However, it is crucial to take out at least few moment every day where we just think and do nothing else. Simply keep your phone away from you, go somewhere and just reflect. Think about the day, the decisions and about the things and lessons you have learned from the past. Moment of Gratitude Take some time every day to express gratitude. Gratitude for everything in your life- for the people in it, the experiences you have had, and the complete world around you. Doing this simple act will make you a lot happier. Moment of Connection We are human beings at the end of the day. So, taking few moments each day to connect with your close ones- your family, friends, and significant other is crucial. Your happiness is not just about you, but about others as well. So, hold someone’s hand, give someone a hug or simply connect with someone positively. Wrapping up: Success and happiness are two things which are not easy to achieve. They require a lot of time, patience, efforts and luck. And so, you have to take advantage of those brief moments along the way till everything becomes right in your world. It is rightly said that: “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” - Arthur Ashe

Master These 6 Life-Changing Habits and Become an Influencer

Habits are influential, whether good or bad. Our habits are the sole result of our core beliefs. Bad habits, if not controlled have the power to devastate our lives. On the contrary, good habits are the blocks to your better as well as more rewarding existence. Life-changing transformations are not just hypothetical topics. They do occur when we take the charge of changing our negative thoughts and habits into positive ones. The door to a new world full of astonishing opportunities open for you just when your behavior changes in ways that benefit you rather than hold you back. And once you realize how to get rid of self-ruining behavior, you’ll find it considerably easier to accomplish other aspiring goals. This will also give you the confidence you need to achieve whatever that you desire in your life. Here are some of the ways for you to master the good habits and break the bad ones: Make a routine for yourself every morning Daily routines incredibly influence the decisions that we make throughout our day. Changing your routine in elusive yet evident ways is the first step towards breaking a bad habit. So begin your day by optimizing your daily routine. For instance, choose to wake up earlier so as to have enough time to undertake some of the strategies mentioned over here. Improve your health by increasing your fitness You must be having enough knowledge about ways to reduce your belly fat and be in better shape. But, the problem lies in you not taking enough efforts in doing it. Or you might be doing it inconsistently. Try to include it in your routine and make it a habit to work out on a regular basis and improve your health and thus overall fitness. Maintain a diary It often happens that we end up making some foul decisions in the heat of the moment and then realize it later when it is too late. You can keep a track of your thoughts and subsequent decisions by maintaining a daily diary. After every two weeks, examine your entries and observe the frequency of you making some bad decisions. Also determine if there are certain actions, thoughts or people who are repeatedly associated with such choices. Travel as much as you can Numerous studies have indicated the benefits of traveling. Exploring new places not only gives us enough knowledge but also helps in instantly changing our moods and perspective. It has also been reported that regular travelers often report feelings of satisfaction and happiness. They also have been found to have lower rates of major illnesses such as depression. Experiencing new places and culture gives us a sense of our own belonging. So, give yourself a new perspective by planning a trip to a place you have never been before. Put yourself in unfamiliar situations which will impart enough energy within you to break age-old habits. Emphasize on something other than yourself It is quite likely to get caught up in anxiety or stress-striven thoughts while trying to break a habit that is bad for you. Yes, being introspective is crucial, but encouraging yourself to uphold perspective is important as well. Take time and efforts developing habits that focus outside of you. This could be taking up mentorship or volunteering. This will also help you in making it easier for you to break habits in the long run. Ask for feedback from people around you Involving your family and friends makes it easier for you to hold yourself responsible. In case, a close one notices you sliding into a bad habit, ask them to hold you accountable. People who know us well recognize our self-ruining behavior before we know it by ourselves. Wrapping up So make your life meaningful this year by adopting these good habits. Yes, we know that we all come from different circumstances and there cannot be one hard and fast rule to break all the bad habits. Just try experimenting with a good mix of the above-outlined strategies and see for yourself what suits you the best!