The Positive Energy Exercise

The amount of quotes/phrases/analogies out there about life and what it means are endless. Some are eye opening, some are that aha moment Oprah always talks about. Others well are just simply spot on.

"Life is 10% what you’re given and 90% what you make of it" - Charles R. Swindoll

Does anybody believe in the cycle of karma? Hmmmm, a few sceptical eyes out there :)
But look at the above quote, ‘life is 10% what you are given and 90% what you make of it’, one of the simplest ways in day to day life to achieve that 90% is to send out positive energy.

Now what do I mean, when I say send out positive energy. If you are at school and the day doesn’t get planned your way, if you suddenly now have to have another hour of maths. Or if that pesky girl keeps getting on your nerves then simply take a breather, 5 minutes to remind yourself that getting angry is certainly not going to give you any help.

So you are meant to not scream, get flustered or punch the wall but take deep breathes as though you are in a meditation class. Why bother? Simple, because it is much healthier to just swallow that little storm and move on. Because one day in life you will receive storms that you could never expect or prepare for. Save your inner energy and try to enjoy everyday life before it’s ripped apart.

Think about it- why subject yourself to an endless cycle of turmoil emotionally, only to feel exhausted at the end of the day. By striving to simply just let it pass- you are doing yourself and the world around you a world of good.

There are bigger fish to fry than our everyday battles. Think about it, the people who are more happier are the ones who can deal well with not only the everyday and the mundane but the extraordinary also.  If you continuously practice to have positive energy in the small parts of the everyday, you will find yourself over time just simply saving your energy for the more important everyday tasks. So with more energy you can now fully use up that 90%, rather than waste it. If life is truly 10% what we are given and 90% what we make of it, then do everything in your power to exert that 90% to its full ability.

So the 101 to Positive Energy:

1. When the crisis occurs, stop, breathe and remind yourself to relax
2. Smile through the anger, even laugh if it helps
3. Envision yourself being happy and stress free
4. Don’t give up, if anger seeps in, beat it with positive thoughts, over and over again until you begin to believe the supposed lies you are feeding yourself
5. Life was never meant to be perfect so take it in its stride and don’t expect daises every morning
6. Take time to be alone once in a while and learn to be at peace with your circumstances. Sometimes too much exposure to our friends can lead us to envy their lives if we do not value our own.

At the end of the day, it’s about living the best life you can each and every day because as much as it sucks, there is no pause or rewind button but you do have the power to make things better.

The Reclusive Toad...

Where do I begin? How do I even do justice in explaining the title because the title in itself once I've explained what it means, will surely catch on and become the new ‘fetch’… hahaha oh please who am I kidding? But okay, here it goes…

I had done a solid year of the FFF challenge, 17-18^th birthday, yay!! I did it J. Coincidentally it was also my last year of high school when I finished the challenge, so I had about 5 months until I was officially finished with being a child (depressing, yes I know).

So I finished HSC, and then went into what seemed like the busiest and most thrilling summer of my life- the post HSC phase. I did schoolies, formal, graduation, went on a family holiday interstate, got into uni, went to parties and outings and all that jazz all the way up until the start of semester 1.

So when uni started things changed. Slowly and really without me intending to, I formed into what I now call- the reclusive toad. Basically I unknowingly removed myself from all social outings except with my close friends or if it was important and usually I’m the type of girl who will attend everything simply because I like socialising.

It wasn't intended but that first semester turned into some much needed ‘me time’. I think I had spent almost all of high school focusing on my friends and particularly the last two years of high school- I was focused on making it out of there as efficiently as I could whilst having a good time. So when that summer rolled around and I did so much stuff and then chucking in uni- a new and wild environment, totally alone- I was exhausted.

I would like to believe that subconsciously mini me inside, said ‘gurl you be crazy? We’re so tired of being out and about-stay home, watch movies & t.v shows and eat’ and so there you have it, I became a reclusive toad.

Reclusive meaning closed off from the larger world and toad because well it works alongside reclusive and I always picture toads, alone, on a lily, croaking away and totally content with life.

Now enough fluff about my life and let’s get down to the nitty, gritty stuff.

 Everyone knows that you need quality alone time now and then but no one really applies it let’s be honest.Who actually goes out of their way to plan ‘alone time?’ When I say alone time, I mean almost 100% removed from society physically other than your family, not going out-just simply being at home, alone with your feelings and thoughts.

Quite frankly, I think most of us are scared of being by ourselves with just our minds as company and our thoughts as stimulating and interesting conversation. However though as scary and horrible as it seems post reclusive toad phase, I have no regrets.

I’m glad I gave myself a chance to breathe and just re-learn how to be comfortable in my own company. I allowed myself to be at home, depressed and feeling down than being out and about in that state or even worse, trying to cover it up.

Semester 1 ended, and I had about 6 weeks to just chill and relax and get in touch with reality outside my house and hang out with my friends. Don’t get me wrong, I totally missed interacting with people face to face other than my family. It was refreshing and it just made me appreciate my friends even more especially my closest friends since they stuck by me during my little phase though I’m sure I wasn't the best fun.

Wrapping it up, when you start to feel emotionally and socially exhausted, don’t be afraid to take a step back and just have some much needed down time. Just like anything else, a healthy balance is always best.

The Pretty Selfie - fallen victim yet?

A picture taken of yourself that is planned to be uploaded to Facebook, Myspace or any other sort of social networking website. (urban dictionary.com)

Fascinating how modern technology has reshaped the social sphere and added a new dimension to the everyday tasks of a 21^st century female. Social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have fueled or should I say ignited and created the storm that is the ‘selfie’.

The Pretty Selfie seems to be one of the common ways girls can somewhat get the attention and compliments that they are craving. The 'selfie' gets posted, the number of likes increases exponentially as do the comments whereby  a friend will comment and say e.g., ‘you look stunning’ and the owner of the 'selfie' responds with various thankyou’s.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with people commenting underneath the 'selfie' and giving people compliments. However, the procedure to uploading a 'selfie' and the underlying issues it represents are intriguing. No one ever posts a 'selfie' without following some simple rules first…

1.       Apply Makeup

2.       Hair is perfect & usually straightened

3.       Pick a pose

4.       Hold the camera in position

5.       Take photo

6.       Evaluate

7.       Redo photos if need be-more  than once

8.       Add some filters until you find the perfect one

9.       Upload photo to either Facebook, Instagram or Twitter- feel free to caption

10.   Wait for the flood gates of torrential love, likes and comments to rain down and cue feelings and sensations of satisfaction.

I will admit I too have fallen victim to the 'selfie' and as they say you have to talk the talk and walk the walk. I’m insecure, no doubt. We all have those moments were we look in the mirror and loathe what we see in our reflection.  However the only way to bring you up out of the gutter and have some decent self confidence is to teach yourself to love every little beautiful and ugly feature. It will take your entire life to be comfortable within yourself but with each passing year you grow to be more and more comfortable with the reflection in the mirror as it changes and evolves.

However its extremely hard for girls to have decent self confidence since they are surrounded by images of beauty and perfection and what is termed pretty and hence why the ‘pretty selfie’ is so prevalent and girls feel the need to post one. However not every girl posts a ‘pretty selfie’, maybe because they don’t feel the need or simply because they are comfortable with who they are and aint afraid to be au natural. Also some girls just post the photo because they look good but weren't intending to do a ‘pretty selfie’.

Now to a little social experiment, I will also post a ‘pretty selfie’, follow the bullet proof formula and see if I can crack the 50 likes ceiling, 100 likes and all hell will break loose in FFF central from sheer shock.

Fearless,Foxy and Fabulous

Fearless, Foxy and Fabulous is a sense of mind set and life mantra that began on my 17^th Birthday in 2012. Tired and exhausted by my own faults and stupidity, I wanted 3 words to not only typify what I wanted to be as a young woman but to detox myself from society and my own false sense of reality . Eager to be better and do better, I started the challenge. 1 year. 1 year to completely reshape the inner me.

As all challenges one sets for themselves, this challenge was extremely tough. I created several rules or expectations for myself. For example:

1.       I stopped reading teen fiction, particularly teen romance

2.       Stopped thinking that my life was going to be like an American teen flick

3.       Stopped wanting my image to change

4.       Accepting my reality, no matter how boring it was

5.       Boys suddenly became like magazines, flip through but you finish quickly, meaning I had very little brain space dedicated to them. Very little. But as you get to know this wasn't always the case. I made mistakes, because that’s what humans do.

6.       Become the friend and person I would want to encounter

They sound a little overwhelming but I thought they were necessary to effect some real and tangible change. I will sometime in the future explain more in depth each rule.

Along my year long journey, I learned a lot from not only myself but my friends also. I believe that at times we must push ourselves in several ways to gain knowledge, whether by extensive reading, or simply just striving to do better in everyday life like I did.

I won’t lie, I am no genius, but I simply just watch the world around me, absorb and learn. My friends seem to think I have some good stuff to share, so this is how the blog came to fruition. I will blog about issues that I think modern girls are facing, ranging from ‘The Pretty Selfie’ to the everyday issue of confidence. I aim to simply share my view on such topics.

If you don’t like my opinion, fair enough J

If you do, sweet J

Take up the Fearless, Foxy and Fabulous challenge for a year ( follow some or all of my rules or even better make your own) and I promise by the end of the year, you will be one happy, healthier girl ready to fearlessly take on the world, feel great about herself inside and out exuding a certain foxy feel and be rendered fabulous by all those you encounter.