relationships

Positivity and Progress for 2018

With the New Year just a few days away, the time to contemplate the positive changes that you want to make in 2018 is now!

You may already be aware of the changes you wish to make in the year ahead, as well as the goals that you wish to work towards. However, if you do not have a solid idea yet then it is a good idea to take a moment to assess the year that has just passed.

What do you feel went well in 2017? What did you achieve? What do you wish you had done differently or given more importance and attention to? Perhaps you had an ambition for this year that you weren’t able to accomplish. It’s a great idea to reassess your intentions in regards to these things, and then decide if further action should be taken.

Big Goals

The large goals that you wish to accomplish may stay the same for you this year. Perhaps you are studying or working towards a difficult career change. Think about how you have progressed with these things in the last 12 months, and then determine if there’s anything you can do to enhance your progress in the 12 months that now lay ahead of you.

Healthy Living

Positive changes can also take a different form, such as making adjustments and improvements to your diet and lifestyle. Will this be the year that you find an exercise that you enjoy and can partake in regularly? Will it be the year that you kick your food cravings to the curb and embrace a healthier diet? Maybe this is the year that you truly embrace self-love and self-care, and in doing so boost your happiness!

Relationships

The way that you interact and engage with other people – especially those who are closest to you – is also perhaps something that you wish to pay attention to this coming year. If you feel like you have been neglecting your relationships recently, or that you have drifted apart from certain people, then the New Year is a wonderful opportunity to reach out to these people again.

Wellness for 2018

However you wish to move into the New Year, I believe it is super important to do so with kindness for yourself and those around you. Be sure to express gratitude to the people that you appreciate, and extend forgiveness to those who you believe to be in need of it. The New Year is a chance for a new start – both for you and everyone around you!

If you have seen my new wellness for women membership site – Truly Julie – then you will know that I am on a mission to inspire and motivate women to become healthier and happier – and I would love it if you would join me on this journey as we move into the New Year!

Enjoying The Holiday Season

During this time of year it is easy to get stressed out by all of the additional pressures that go hand in hand with the holiday season. And, because of this, you will likely have seen article after article talking about the best ways to beat that festive stress. Continue reading Enjoying The Holiday Season

Self-Care Sunday – Rebuilding Self-Esteem

I can’t believe we are in week four of my Self-Care Sunday series already! If you haven’t caught my videos from the previous weeks yet then you can check them out below:

The latest topic in my Self-Care Sunday series is all about Rebuilding Self-Esteem and Becoming More Optimistic.

This can be a difficult topic for many people – myself included. It is often something that we try not to think about because it can be a scary thing to explore – but it is super important to do so if you want to live your happiest life as your best self!

Toxic Relationships

When I took the time to figure out what was causing the most harm to my self-esteem, I discovered that my toxic relationships were at the top of the list!

Although identifying this as a leading reason for your low self-esteem might not be a difficult process, actually working to resolve the negativity in these relationships – or walking away from them entirely – is not always so simple.

The chances are that if you have been dealing with toxic relationships for a long time that you are also probably not used to putting yourself first. However, this is something that you absolutely have to do if you are to rebuild your self-esteem and become more optimistic.

Resolving Negativity

Attempting to resolve negativity in your toxic relationships can sometimes be achieved through open and honest communication. Express your unhappiness to the person in question, let them know how their behaviour makes you feel, and express what your boundaries and needs are. If this person can’t understand or respect what you are asking of them, then it might be time to walk away from this relationship.

In the following video I talk more on the topic of Rebuilding Your Self-Esteem! Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel whilst you’re there so you can be automatically alerted about future videos in my Self-Care Sunday series!

I have put together a downloadable PDF for you to look at alongside this video, and you can click here to enter your email address and receive this download.

Also, if you have seen my new wellness for women membership site – Truly Julie – then you will know that I am on a mission to inspire and motivate women to become healthier and happier – and I would love it if you would join me on this journey as we move towards the end of 2017!

Self-Care Sunday – Digital Detox

The latest topic in my Self-Care Sunday series is that of learning to digitally detox! This is something that is becoming increasingly necessary in the age of social media domination in which we live.

Studies have shown that the average digital device user can check theirs as many as 85 times a day. This can often add up to an unbelievable daily amount of five hours! Often we use our devices for short bursts of time, such as sending a message, making a phone call or searching for information. However, many people also often spend extended periods of time browsing the internet on their devices, playing online games, and engaging in other digital activities. Although this can sometimes seem relaxing, we are really increasing our dependence on our devices and paying less attention to our real life relationships, pursuits and responsibilities.

There are many reasons why it may be super necessary for you to go on an extended digital detox, but also it is something that you can do regularly for short periods of time. Leaving your devices alone for a whole day is a great way to disconnect and get your time back, but you can also try scheduling periods during the day where you go without them. This could be 30 minutes, an hour, two hours or maybe more…the point is that you are disconnecting from technology and focusing your time and attention on other things.

In the following video I share a tried and tested method for encouraging yourself and those around you to detox regularly from digital devices. You can do the activity that I discuss at home when you are with your family, and also when you are out with friends or co-workers.

I have put together a downloadable PDF for you to look at alongside this video, and you can click here to enter your email address and receive this download!

Self-Care Sunday – Managing Stress

As I shared with you last week, self-care is one of my favourite things to talk about AND is also something that I consistently work to make a part of my own life. In fact, I’m so sure about the power of self-care that it’s the focus of my upcoming book – Recharge: A Year of Self-Care to Focus on You.

In order to celebrate the launch of my book I am going to be sharing one topic from the book every Sunday for 12 weeks. This is something that I got started with two weeks ago, and you may have caught the first video on YouTube!

Last week as part of my Self-Care Sunday series I was talking about Managing Stress.

Managing your stress levels is an imperative part of living a happy and healthy life. When you let stress get the better of you then your health can suffer the knock on effect and your happiness will also be harder to maintain. You may find that your ability to focus and concentrate is impeded, and that your relationships with other people become more difficult to manage. It is also normal that your anxiety levels will increase!

An important part of overcoming your stress is to create the positive mindset that you want for yourself. So, instead of telling yourself and everyone else that you are stressed out, try to say that you are powering through and that you are getting on top of all that you need to do!

In the following video I share some of my insights into living a stress-free life and also talk you through a super simple breathing technique that you can do to combat present moment stress! You can do this anytime, anywhere AND nobody around you even needs to know that you are doing it! This means that you can bring back some calm into your mind and into your day regardless of the situation that you are currently in.

I have put together a downloadable PDF for you to look at alongside this video, and you can click here to enter your email address and receive this download!

How to Overcome Disappointment

Disappointment is something that some of us may experience more regularly, or feel more deeply than others, but it is true to say that it will of course feature in all of our lives at some point. Continue reading How to Overcome Disappointment

How to Deal with Negativity

There are countless reasons why negativity may feature regularly in your life. Perhaps you have some not-so positive relationships that you haven’t let go of yet, or perhaps you are still dealing with incidents in your past that have affected you in an ongoing way.

A lot of the negativity that we experience as people unfortunately largely comes from other people! Passing judgement is something we are all guilty of to some degree, but it is important to remember that you don’t always have to absorb this judgement when you are on the receiving end of it.

Choose Compassion

Making an extra effort be compassionate and kind in all that you do is a great way to tackle negativity. This is an idea that you should particularly embrace if you are experiencing negativity in a direct way, such as someone challenging you in an unnecessarily unpleasant manner. When you give nothing but positivity back to these people then you are much more likely to be able to disarm this negativity and resolve the situation.

Understand Intentions

It is an unfortunate fact that people who experience negativity from others often go on to spread this negativity around. Those who seek to cause emotional harm to others, or who do so unconsciously, will most likely have received this kind of treatment from one or more other people. This is why choosing not to engage in this behaviour and opting for positivity instead is a great idea. Doing so breaks the cycle of negativity that is being spread from one person to the next, and encourages love and happiness instead.

Overcoming Negativity

Whether the negativity in your life stems from you or come from others, the most important thing is to remember that you can choose to overcome it. You are in charge of your own happiness, and you must make the choice to create the life that you want for yourself.

Every time you find yourself in a situation that makes you unhappy in some way, then ask yourself how you would advise your best friend to deal with this situation. Would you encourage them to walk away? To try to confront the issue head on? Perhaps you would advise yourself to take some time to process your feelings properly before attempting to address the problem.

When it comes to self-love and self-care, you have to be your own best friend. And, treating yourself as such is a simple but effective way to overcome negativity!

Yoga and Mental Health

It is an unfortunate fact that the importance of your physical health is often placed above your mental health. This is a damaging attitude that is sadly quite prevalent in our society today! Taking the time to care for yourself in emotional and spiritual ways can often bring more benefits to your life then that gym session that you always prioritise!

The great thing about practicing yoga is that doing so can boost both your physical and mental health, strengthening the body whilst it also soothes the mind. With a regular yoga practice, especially one that incorporates aspects of meditation, you will soon notice that you are better equipped to heal yourself emotionally and to enhance your self-esteem and confidence.

Alleviating Anxiety

One of the most exciting ways that yoga can benefit your mental health is by helping to alleviate anxiety. When you practice yoga regularly you will notice that you are in a more relaxed state during your day to day activities. This will make you less prone to anxiety, and will also enable you to deal with it better in the moments when it does present itself. This is largely concerned with the breathing techniques that you will engage with during each yoga session.

Love Yourself

Your relationship with yourself is the most important relationship you will ever be a part of. When you embrace yoga as a regular feature in your life, you will naturally pay greater attention to this relationship, and begin to address any issues that may be present. As yoga goes hand in hand with healthy eating and additional exercise and relaxation practices, you will also naturally begin to place a greater emphasis on treating your body with more love and respect.

Become Aware of Yourself

During a relaxing yoga practice you will be guided through the process of becoming more aware of your physical presence. This can quickly help you to recognise areas of tension where energy may be blocked in your body. Only when you are aware of this can you truly work to resolve it and allow the flow of energy through your body to improve. As well as benefiting your emotional well-being, this can also help your body to function better, thereby improving your physical health.

This month on my wellness for women community website we are talking about the best ways to avert anxiety! You can click here to join us now and start on your journey to a happier, healthier version of yourself!

Coming to Terms with Your Anger

Anger is generally an uninvited and unappreciated emotion that can strike at any time in response to a negative experience. Although it can be difficult to prevent anger entirely, it is possible to address this emotion in order to help alleviate the effect it has on your mind.

Understanding your anger is the first step to being able to deal with it when it does occur, and in order to do so it is helpful to be aware of why certain situations prompt you to become angry.

Disagreements, jealously and rejection are common causes of anger. When we encounter any of these things our feelings can become hurt and this can lead to resentment, or even rage. When you allow these emotions to settle and spread throughout your mind you will be allowing your happiness to be compromised. Positive affirmations are a great tool to call upon in these situations in order to rapidly bring some positivity back to the forefront of your thinking.

The following are super helpful positive affirmations, not only for coming to terms with your anger, but also for helping to process and alleviate it!

“I acknowledge these feelings of anger and I am in control of releasing them from my life”

“I am a positive person who can confront my problems constructively and with reason”

“I am calm, I am at peace and I am totally in control of my emotions and my life”

If you find that jealousy often leads to feelings of anger, then it is important to explore these feelings. They can often be connected to loss or abandonment from your childhood.

Those who are quick to react to situations with anger will often find that this stems from self-esteem issues. This is something that can be addressed by taking the time to meditate on these feelings, and finding positive and productive ways to love yourself.

When you do feel angry it is very important to express this anger in some way! Many people try to avoid conflict and this is often because we are told as children that we should not express this emotion. However, keeping these feelings bottled up inside is not good for your physical or mental health, and it is important to have a productive outlet.

Learning From Last Year

Learning from past mistakes is something that does not come easily to everyone. Falling into patterns of negative choices can be second nature to many, and it can take a great effort to break this routine of cyclic behaviour.

If you feel like 2016 was not a good year for you in terms of the choices that you made and the decisions that you regret, then 2017 can be the perfect opportunity to turn this negativity into something productive. Instead of dwelling on the consequences of these choices, see them as lessons learnt and a basis for self-discovery moving forwards.

Mistakes are an inevitable part of the human experience, and something that absolutely everyone makes. Sometimes it may seem that you make more poor choices than those around you, however, you have to remember that not everyone is open and honest about the things in their life that they regret.

There is also much to be learnt from the good things that happened to you in 2016. Maybe you discovered a new hobby, made new friends or embarked upon a new career. When you invite something new into your life it helps you to understand more about yourself. It might show you that you have a skill or a talent that you were previously unaware of, or that you are seeking certain things in life.

The people that we choose to spend our time with will help to mould us and guide us through our own lives. This is why it is important that you surround yourself with positive, encouraging people who will nurture you emotionally. Making new friends, or starting new romantic relationships, can teach us a great deal about the love and kindness that we deserve – as well as about the abundance of our own emotional energy that we are willing to share and invest in others. Try to process any negative interactions you had with people last year and to understand the reasons for them. You can then release these experiences from your mind and have no restrictions as to how open you are to new connections this year.