6 RANDOM THOUGHTS ABOUT NUTRITION

 

 

 

Avoid large portion sizes

American restaurants are particularly infamous for large portion sizes. Whenever eating out, it is best to eat until you are satisfied. Just because you have been served, does not mean you have to eat it.

“Healthy desserts” are not healthy

Gluten-free Desserts, vegan desserts or otherwise are not healthy. Just because they are marketed healthy it does not ensure that the calorie count is on the lower side of the scale. Vegan desserts are probably the biggest myth of keto diets.

What to do after a cheat meal?

There is no room for feeling guilty about cheat meals unless they are occasional. All you must do is back it up with hydration and high-intensity workout when you hit the gym. It is best to not hold the practice of gorging every week. A simple trick to achieve this is by practicing to eat the same thing on Monday as you would do during the weekend.

Relish Your Meals

Be grateful for the food on your plate. Chewing your meals properly and eating slowly also ensures proper assimilation and absorption of the nutrients during digestion.

Salads are complete meals

Salads with their fiber and protein content deliver a punch. With a lean cut of meat, lots of roughage and vegetables, they lower the frequency of hunger pangs during the wee hours that has the potential to derail your diet.

Pay Attention to your Food

Map the energy in your body after meals. Experiment and hit that sweet point. What kind of meals is making you energetic? Is it a salad? Is it a protein shake? Read your body’s reactions and plan your meals accordingly.

 

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Why Your Sleep is a Priority

Without sleep, what are you?

Honestly, one cannot emphasize enough on how sleep affects your health. Read more to find out how.

Sleep’s Correlation with Weight Loss
Lack of sleep encourages untimely hunger pangs, increase in appetite and in turn, weight gain. This occurs because of the simple imbalance of two hormones in the system, ghrelin, and leptin. Ghrelin, on the one hand, results in hunger with a special affinity towards carbohydrates. Leptin, on the other hand, inhibits hunger. Now, how sleep affects your health is a slight shift in your sleep-wake cycle causes the levels of ghrelin in your body. This subsequently leads to increase in carbohydrate intake which when converted to fat can result in weight gain.

Sleep’s Correlation with Muscle Gain
The weekend warriors struggling to achieve the perfect six pack need their sleep too. Both duration and the quality of your sleep are key factors to muscle gain. Lack of sleep increases the cortisol levels in your blood. The cortisol levels initiate a catabolic cycle leading to the breakdown of your precious muscle. This process simply puts you back to square one. Wondering how to increase the rate of muscle gain? Do this. As little as 20-40 gram of good quality protein before bed can both decrease the rate of muscle breakdown and promote amino acid synthesis.

Sleep’s Correlation with Your Overall Well-being
Sleeping habits directly affect your mental health and sleep deprivation increases chances of clinical depression and anxiety. It affects your glucose tolerance levels which can lead to a higher risk of diabetes and obesity. Sleep deprivation, irrespective of whether acute or chronic, shows signs through your behavior. From decreased attention span, inadequate concentration in achieving results in simple tasks and memory retention, the consequences are indeed severe.

To reach the adequate amount of sleep required, simple everyday tricks are best practices. Setting a bed-time routine, meditation, limiting alcohol or caffeine intake are recommended. Within weeks of a set bedtime routine, you will experience the changes of how sleep affects your health in a positive way. Waking up tired is never an option!

IS BEING A PERFECTIONIST BENEFICIAL OR DAMAGING?

PERFECT
Who is a Perfectionist?
Perfectionism is a tendency to aim for the best and to refuse anything less. Perfectionism is often characterized by certain qualities that are noticeable to everyone. Perfectionists are never satisfied with their current situation. They are always motivated and have an incredible aptitude for spotting opportunities for improvement. If you are reading this article and you realize that you fit the aforementioned description, then it is most likely that you are a perfectionist. Another way to know that you are a perfectionist is if you have been described as a perfectionist by two or more persons in the last one month.

Perfectionism is a very complex trait that harbors both positivity and negativity. Being a perfectionist makes you predisposed to certain likable and enviable traits. Perfectionists are leaders, goal-getters, adaptable, progressive and they do not tolerate mediocrity. While perfectionists have all of these lovable traits, it should also be noted that perfectionism has its setbacks too. A perfectionist can very easily be predisposed to negative traits such as being antisocial, timid, depressed, disgruntled, competitive and difficult.

It is clear that perfectionism has two opposite side to it. Perfectionism could mean pursuing your dreams and giving your best in each of your undertakings, or it could mean being critically judgmental on yourself, discontent with self and eventual rejection of self. In a world where there are so many opportunities and uncertainties, it becomes crucial to explore the nature of perfectionism and to see if it is actually beneficial or damaging to be a perfectionist. For us to give a verdict on perfectionism, let us first explore its upsides and downsides.

Upsides of perfectionism
The upsides of perfectionism are the constant desire to be better. Positive perfectionism aims to do better in every pursuit and to give the best in every situation. Positive perfectionism is motivated, driven and adaptable. Positive perfectionism rejects mediocrity. Contained below are the perks that come with being a perfectionist.

Hard work and dedication: Perfectionists are usually hardworking and dedicated. Perfectionists are dedicated to the achievement of set goals and they will remain undeterred until they accomplish it. This trait is by far one of the most enviable features of a perfectionist.

Resilience and tenacity: It is quite common to find that perfectionists are actually very resilient. They can push their mental and physical capabilities to the furthest limits. This trait is particularly relevant when faced with difficult situations.

Leadership: Perfectionist can be great leaders because they will give the best of themselves to their followers. More importantly, they are always motivated which is a key leadership trait.

Progressive and successful: Being a perfectionist means that your chance of being successful is very high. You have a tendency to give your best and in most cases, that is all you require. Perfectionists look for ways to improve the status-quo. Perfectionist is quick to embrace new innovations and new ideas that will further their goals and facilitate the attainment of their pursuits.

The downsides of perfectionism
On the flip side, being a perfectionist has some very dangerous disadvantages. While it is hard to ascertain whether the perks of being a perfectionist outweigh its disadvantages, we will find out once we are done enumerating its numerous downsides. Most times, perfectionists tend to suffer greatly from lack of content, as they always dwell on their flaws instead of their strengths. Being a perfectionist also presents feelings of depression, self-hate, and dejection. It is only expected that when you are too preoccupied chasing goals and brooding over your failures instead of enjoying your accomplishments that you will wind up feeling emotionally drained and sad. Sometimes, a perfectionist will embark on endeavors that are completely out of reach. They may not have the skill set or resources to make a pursuit a reality, but they will judge themselves harshly and unfairly when they fail in the undertaking. According to professional analysis, contained below are some of the downsides of perfectionism:

 

Inclination towards harsh self-judgment: A perfectionist is often inclined towards the dangerous path of harsh and disparaging self-judgment. While it okay to introspect and give an honest evaluation of yourself, the perfectionist takes this process to a whole new height or in better terms, a whole new depth. The perfectionist will condemn himself badly. He will disregard all of his efforts and gains while focusing solely on mistakes and flaws.

Lethargy: we explored the fact that perfectionist has an inclination towards being motivated and hardworking. However, the opposite could also happen to a perfectionist. A perfectionist may also exhibit signs of being lethargic and lazy. This happens because they have a “perfect picture” of how things should be in their head. They may become inactive and unable to act because they feel like the situation isn’t ideal enough.

Lack of content: While discontentment may seem like a trivial matter, it actually has very shocking ramifications on your health and entire quality of life. You will rarely find a perfectionist that is content. Consequently, perfectionists are often victims of emotional turmoil, sadness, and uncertainty.

Dwell on their shortcomings: Being a perfectionist often makes people focus on their shortcomings and flaws. Instead of looking at their strengths, they simply dwell on what they do not have. I contend that widespread perfectionism is the fuel that has propelled the cosmetic surgery industry to staggering heights. There are individuals that have had innumerable cosmetic surgery procedures in the elusive pursuit of a “perfect body”.

Being excessively competitive: Perfectionists are often times highly competitive. While it is okay to be competitive, it is completely different when you feel you must win all the time.

Fear and excessive introspection: Perfectionists often come off as “uptight.” The reasons for this are because they are always thinking and second-guessing situations. Fear and excessive introspection are some negative habits that come with being a perfectionist. Often times, these traits cause lethargy.

After exploring the perks and disadvantage of perfectionism, it is very hard to ascertain whether perfectionism is in fact, good or bad. While there are two sides to the coin called perfections, we can always learn ways to improve the upsides perfectionism while lowering its downsides.Ways to improve the upsides of perfectionism and decrease its downsides:

– Dwell on your accomplishment and celebrate them
– Take up new challenges that are within your reach
– Adopt a positive ideology towards life and pursuits
– Change your perception of the failure
– See life from a lighter perspective
– Have a life outside your work and pursuits. Hobbies and leisurely pursuits will help
-Learn to love yourself

It is imperative that you love yourself and this means that you must love your perfectionism too. Perfectionism is a very advantageous trait. It makes you enthusiastic, formidable and resilient. However, you should learn to appreciate life and enjoy diversions. Learn from your mistakes and move on to new. Finally, always think of the world as your playground.
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ENHANCING WORKOUT MOTIVATION

Let’s discuss how to UP your workout motivation

Similar to life, we all tend to face lots of challenges during our quest for a fulfilling fitness life. These moments are most times geared up by outside influences, which may sometimes create negative impacts on our mental state and invariably leads us into procrastinating our exercises. If it becomes a habit, we find ourselves being inactive and trapped. So today we’re going to share some motivating techniques that will help you get on the right track with your exercise and enhancing your motivation.

Set goals

Setting goals gives your life direction, bolsters your motivation and self-confidence. Set goals and create strategies to ensure you execute these goals accordingly. You can decide to set a goal to do a hundred push-ups daily, by increasing your number of repetitions and with consistency; you can quickly achieve this goal.

Join a Team

Registering for exercising sporting events made up of a community of people enthusiastic about exercises will certainly motivate you. These groups of people will also motivate you into training along with them, especially in preparation for a competition. You could take up sporting activities such as basketball, dodgeball, flag-football, etc. Training for numerous events with precise timelines will propel you towards exercising and keeping fit.

Incorporate movement all day

Low impact exercises such as walking, skipping, hiking, running, yoga and lots more are effective ways of managing the overall health and weight of the human body. Instead of taking a cab or driving to your place of work which is a few miles away from your home, you should occasionally take a walk. Sometimes take the stairs instead of the elevator, jog/run to the close by grocery store. These exercises are perfect ways of enhancing your exercising motivation thereby producing excellent results.

Partner-up

Look for a training partner who ‘s committed to training, to work as a team. The aids in ensuring that you stay motivated as you wouldn’t want to fail your partner during training and your partner wouldn’t also want to fail you. Partners are great motivators, and morale boosters. You and your partner can decide to set some penalties for misconduct; this is another excellent way to keep you on track and motivated to keep up with the practice.

Challenge 

Always take note of your weight at the beginning of an exercising circle and some halfway through it. This is yet another motivating factor. If you notice that you lost a couple of calories within a given time frame, you will certainly be motivated. You can get to know how much weight you’ve lost ever since you starting exercising by utilizing a clothing item. Get a piece of cloth, wear it at the beginning of the event and wear it again after a while (a week or more), you will undoubtedly see some changes.

Organize an Event or join one 

Organize an event around you and your colleagues at work or friends. For instance, you could set aside every last Sunday of the month to visit the 1000 steps with these friends. You could also run a mini boot camp such as going to the local park where you will have to set up circuits. If this becomes a yearly event, it will event build up. Or you can just visit the park for a game of Frisbee or soccer.

These are a couple of ideas to help assist you in staying motivated with your exercises. If you can adapt these, you will realize how easy it is to exercise and stay fit – consistently!

HOW TO NOT GAIN WEIGHT THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Enjoy The Holidays Without Gaining Weight

weight x holiday

The Holidays are an excellent opportunity to spend more time with friends and family, and usually, that means eating. The best moment of the holidays is often the dinner, but there will be a variety of dishes around for days before and after the celebratory food itself.

Do the holidays usually end with you in a food-induced coma?

There is no need to turn your holiday dinner into a diet meal. After all, it’s supposed to be a holiday and a celebration. But, it doesn’t have to turn into a binge either!

Use these six tips to make sure you have a happy and a healthy holiday season without gaining weight:

1) Have Breakfast 

Knowing you will be eating a lot of food later in the day might make you think that skipping breakfast is an ideal way to save calories. While this does make a little sense, it’s an approach that will backfire! Instead of saving you calories, skipping breakfast will cause you to overeat when it’s time for the meal because, after skipping your first meal of the day, you will be hungrier than you usually are.

Avoid this problem by having a considerable breakfast, and you will feel less hungry. Therefore, you will eat less later in the day.

2) Drink Water Before and During Your Meal

Water is calorie-free and filling. Drinking water before and during your holiday meal will reduce your appetite, fill you up, and stop you from overeating. Ensure you start drinking water 1-2 hours before you start eating and then take regular sips throughout your meal. Drinking water instead of beer or wine will also help save you lots of calories.

3) Fill Up with Salad and Soup

Soup and salad starters are filling, but contain relatively few calories. You are more likely to stick with better food choices when healthy meal choices are available at all times especially during the holidays.

Make the most of this by having a significant portion as your appetizer. That way, when it’s time for the main meal, you will already be reasonably full and will be less motivated to eat a lot of fatty main dishes. Don’t undermine this strategy by eating lots of crackers or bread, just have the salad or soup alone.

4) Skinless Turkey Breast and Veggies, Please!

Veggies and skinless turkey breast are arguably the lowest in calories of all the food offered and the most filling. Make sure you make these two food items the foundation of your meal. The protein-rich turkey and the fiber in the veggies will satisfy your appetite without taking in a lot of calories. If you are tempted to get a second serving, go for the low-calorie vegetables, as they are the least likely to make you gain more weight. Also, avoid high-fat sauces that will significantly increase the number of calories to even vegetable dishes.

5) Go Easy On the Side Dishes

Side dishes like; mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and cornbread are very high in calories. While you don’t have to avoid these foods totally, it’s the holidays, after all, just don’t go overboard and overeat of these high-calorie meals. If you want to have second portions of anything, fill up on green veggies and white turkey meat. Also, don’t overeat when it’s time for dessert. A little piece will please your sweet tooth.

6) Walk it Off

Once you have finished eating your meal, and the washing up is done, don’t just fall asleep on the couch in a food-induced coma. Instead, go for a brisk walk. Walking is gentle enough, and you can do it soon after a meal. You won’t be doing much rigorous movement while walking, but make it active enough that it will burn those extra calories. The excellent idea is to take your friends and relatives with you, as this will make it more enjoyable.

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THESE 3 THINGS WILL DRAMATICALLY CHANGE YOUR LIFE

There are several things you could do that will dramatically add some meaning to your life.

Outlined below are 3 things that will dramatically change your life once you start doing them.

 

#1 CREATE SOME BOUNDARIES AND ABIDE BY THEM zone - iwontlose
Create some personal boundaries, and ensure you abide by these boundaries. Do not create boundaries and fail to take responsibility for your actions, and do not create boundaries and take responsibility when other people misbehave. It would be ideal to make people understand that once you have set some boundaries, you would do anything within your powers to abide by these set boundaries.
Firm personal boundaries are vital because they tend to improve one’s self-esteem, happiness, reduce anxiety and stress. With your boundaries set, you would certainly get a life that is pretty much aligned closer to your priorities and that that of others. Additionally, you would be able to make your decisions based on your priorities. To ensure your boundaries aren’t weak, ensure you do not take too much responsibility for peoples actions and emotions and do not expect other people to take too much responsibility for your emotion and actions.
When you take on people’s responsibility, emotions and behaviors, all you are doing are trying to seek their love, approval, attention, and affection.

 

#2 BUILD A BODY YOU’RE CONFIDENT IN

fitn body - iwontlose

Research has it that humans tend to behave better once they feel confident in themselves. I’m a firm believer in this scientific axiom, and I can eloquently attest to the fact that whenever I feel sure, all other aspects of my life feel better. Over the past few years, I have been opportune to deal with clients who think less of themselves, and after counseling them, they become more confident, more interesting, and they feel like trying out things they thought they could never do before and lots more.
With all that being said, I guess it’s high time we looked at the grand strategy you could adapt to building some reasonable confidence in you.

 

Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Identify what kind of body makes you proud
What kind of body makes you proud? What can you do with this body when you finally got it? You alone should be able to determine if your perfect body is just a body with some level of fitness, or a body similar to those of wrestlers, or those usually seen on magazine covers. Your ability to identify the kind of body that makes you proud is your first step in being confident.

Step 2: Identify the tradeoffs attached to getting that body you wish for
For instance, a good number of people love the idea of having six-pack abs, with some 90% percentage detesting what it takes to achieve these abs. As a result of this, these people have resulted in other alternative media to consume these belle fats by:
Passing some happy hours with your friends.
Getting to bed earlier.
Not eating late at night.

Placing themselves on diets.
Identifying these tradeoffs would go along way in assisting you.

 

Step 3: Derive simple strategies for creating this body
Most often it takes a lot of hard work to achieve success. Well, success doesn’t only come through hard work and perseverance; you could also achieve this through motivation, discipline and most importantly by deriving simple strategies. Derive simple strategies that will assist you in creating that body which you crave for. Similar to achieving set goals, building a body you are going to be proud of would certainly require some consistency, patience, and persistence.

 

#3 CREATE A DAILY ROUTINE AND STICK TO ITroutine
Creating a daily routine isn’t just enough, but sticking to this routine is a lot better. Routine builds character. Pick positive tasks that will benefit you in the long run, for example:

7:00 am – workout

6:00 pm – dinner with the family

Also, chill out from doing everything!

 

What are some other things you’re doing in your life that are positively impacting you? let us know! Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter for all the exclusive content from iwontlose.com

No Commitment = Failure!

You need devotion. You need commitment.

If you were to type ‘how to achieve success’ into Google, you’d gain thousands of opinions from thousands of people within minutes. However, there’s only one real way you can open the door to success, and that’s by committing to the cause. If you aren’t committed, you’ll be striving to reach something you don’t actually want and your chances of achieving success will fall to almost nothing.

Passion v Commitment – Steph Curry is passionate about basketball, and J.K. Rowling is passionate about writing. As far as enjoying yourself goes, passion is a great way to get started, but you won’t be able to push yourself to the next level if you don’t have commitment. Why? Because passion can’t pull you through those dreaded tasks that offer no fun at all.

As soon as the passion runs dry and there’s one too many hard days, this is where the majority give up hope of ever achieving their dreams. Although the passion is still there deep within, they can’t get those unpleasant tasks done to jump over the hurdle.

If you want to take the next step and ensure you can keep progressing through the hard times, commitment will always be the most important factor. If you work as a waiter/waitress in a restaurant, you might hate the job, but you can also be committed to saving enough money to go on holiday or start your own business venture. Sure, passion would allow you to do well but it wouldn’t get you through those long, hard days working long shifts and this is the main difference.

Promoted from ‘Knowledgeable’ to ‘Expert’ – In life, there are various topics we seem to take an interest in whether it’s sport, cameras, documentaries, mountains, playing an instrument, or anything else along these lines. Whenever we have this interest, we build up a foundation of knowledge required to talk about the sport, play the instrument, take high-quality photos, etc. However, there’s one factor preventing us from becoming an expert on the topic; commitment.

Without commitment, there’s no desire to continue learning and become the best of the best. When you commit, those tough days suddenly seem easier. If we use the instrument as an example, commitment will see you continue even when the fun ends and even when everything seems impossible. Over time, you’ll see real improvements, and you can become an expert on the topic. Since we know that experience is the key to improving at something, the commitment to gain experience when the tough gets going is the best way to keep progressing.

Commitment is Within Every Successful Person – Whether it’s somebody at the top of your field or any other professional at the top of their game, you’ll find commitment in every single one of them. With businessmen and women, they’re committed to becoming the strongest in their field. With sports players, they’re committed to training every day and being able to play the sport professionally. With writers, they’re committed to writing even when the tough days come around. As soon as the commitment had been made, the passion became more than just a hobby for these people and they promised themselves success.

If you want to succeed this year, take this simple first step and commit to your cause. Whether it’s your career or perhaps even a relationship, commit to reaching your goals, and you’ll have the motivation to get through the tricky days (and weeks, months, and years)!

Maximizing Muscle Growth and Body Fat Loss: Eating Before a Workout

If you want to lose fat or add muscle (or both!), you know that your performance in the gym is one of the most important factors to consider. Therefore, this leads to the question of what you should and shouldn’t be eating before a workout and this is an important question for many reasons;

  • Your pre-workout meal will give you the energy to push further in the gym
  • Muscle breakdown can be reduced
  • Fatigue can be reduced with the right meals and supplements
  • Testosterone production can increase

Ultimately, this is only four of the main benefits and steps that lead to greater results. So, what should you consume in the hours leading up to an intense workout?

Nutrition – First and foremost, your pre-workout meal is important because the experts always note how fitness is more about food than exercise. For the best nutrient absorption and digestion, we recommend separating protein and carbs. When taken together, the two can be hard to digest, and you want the nutrients hitting your muscles while in the gym. With poor digestion, you don’t get this benefit, and you could also cause cannibalization within the body; this is where muscle tissue is broken down.

We recommend eating carbs first since these are easier to digest; around fifteen minutes later, you can consume your protein. In terms of ideas, we like fruit since the carbs (fructose) can be used almost immediately for energy rather than being stored which is what happens with many sources of carbohydrates. While most people choose a banana post workout, this is actually a bad idea because this is the time where you need to replenish glycogen storage.

Finally, for nutrition, we recommend adding salt to your food because sodium boasts electrolyte properties. Not only does this control the level of water in your body, but it’ll also regulate muscle/nerve functionality and blood volume. With electrolytes, you should receive an added boost while lifting weights and performing cardio work.

Supplements – In addition to your nutrition and pre-workout meals, we also recommend spending time considering supplements. Of course, these aren’t a necessity, and you’ll get along perfectly fine without them, but they might just provide the added boost you need.

Creatine-Monohydrate – If you haven’t heard of this product previously, it combines three amino acids; glycine, methionine, and arginine. With these in your body, you’ll see numerous benefits from increased strength to improved high-intensity performance. Furthermore, creatine will aid the production of ATP, and this is the main energy molecule in our bodies. Considering creatine is affordable, this is a great place to start.

BCAAs – Standing for Branched Chain Amino Acids, BCAAs is another product that combines three amino acids but this time valine, leucine, and isoleucine. By blocking serotonin in the brain, your brain experiences less fatigue, and you can stay focused in the gym. Additionally, muscle loss and muscle breakdown are reduced while protein synthesis is improved thanks to both anabolic and anti-catabolic properties. 

However, these benefits are overshadowed somewhat by the main advantage of BCAAs; stimulated insulin production. As the cells absorb amino acids more efficiently, this leads to a more successful and rewarding workout.

Beta Alanine – Finally, the third supplement we suggest is one you aren’t likely to have been recommended before; beta alanine. As a non-essential amino acid, beta alanine can be found in the muscles, and it boosts muscle endurance as well as decreasing fatigue. Therefore, it provides a huge benefit when lifting weights in the gym.

Conclusion – Now, you should have everything you need for a successful meal before working out as well as the knowledge to pair this with useful supplements to see real results in your muscle growth and body fat loss goals!

You’re Doing Just Fine: Here are 10 Reminders for Self-Love

Love starts within…

To survive in a world that can be cruel love is an important emotion to understand. The happiest people of all are those who have mastered the love they have for themselves as well as for others. Today, we have ten reminders to keep you on track this week!

Bad Choices are Inevitable – No human on this planet has ever gone through life making all the right decisions; believe us. If you can’t accept this, you’ll never be able to show self-love. If you can accept this, you’ll learn from your shortcomings in order to make better ones in the future.

All Feelings are Valid – In the world right now, there are others better off as well as people worse off than your current position. Even so, this doesn’t make your feelings somehow invalid. When you experience pain, go through it without judgment and come out the other side without acting rashly.

We Can’t Read Minds – If anyone on this planet could read minds, they would be filling out stadiums each and every night. For some reason, we like to suggest what others are thinking before using this to criticize ourselves. Sadly, assumptions can ruin relationships (and self-love) so don’t let this happen.

Anger Always Runs Deeper – No matter what you might think, anger never just appears out of nowhere; it comes from a deeper emotion of pain or fear. To build on self-love, work on treating the root cause of the issue rather than acting on the anger. If you can understand your main concerns and issues, you understand yourself better for the future.

We’re All Unique – Have you ever met someone with whom you clicked instantly? With this in mind, why do we get so upset when the opposite happens (not getting on with somebody)? Remember, you won’t like everybody, and not everyone will like you. Once you realize this, you won’t have to try to change anything, but instead, you can focus on the positive relationships in your life.

Hope for the Best – For most of us, it’s completely natural to continually consider the worst-case scenario so why not flip this around? Of course, there’s nothing wrong with preparing for the worst, so you have a plan in place, but positivity will lead to a world of self-love and optimism.

Let Things Happen – Following on a similar theme, it’s ok to just let things happen rather than anticipating the reaction or analyzing each moment like basketball highlight show. Although it might be hard, you need to learn to be present in the moment because this shows respect and kindness towards yourself.

You Can’t Keep Running – No matter how many times you try to run away from things that hurt, it will always catch up with you. Whether it’s heartbreak or something else unpleasant, you can show yourself love by dealing with the issue head-on. Once you get over this hurdle of pain, the wound will start to heal.

‘No’ is a Word – In all the words in the dictionary, ‘no’ has to be amongst the most underused and for no good reason at all. If you’re to appreciate your own time and value your worth, you need to start saying this magical word more often. Remember, our time is limited on this planet so do things you will enjoy.

This is Your Story! – Finally, you must never forget that this is your story and only you can affect how people will tell it in the years to come!