Note to Self: Don’t Take Life Too Seriously

Christie Falls Trail (normal posing is boring)

Every once in a while I have the sudden realization that I’m taking life way too seriously. Unfortunately this usually comes in one big wave and I have to take a step back and kind of laugh. Why do I care so much about so many stupid little things?

The thoughts that tend to take over are usually just trying to make sense of life itself and plan accordingly. Everything from health to finance to emotions to career path to purpose… it’s so easy to try and understand, then make plans and goals and lose sight of the bigger picture.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what you end up doing or how you end up doing it. My most fond memories come from taking risks and not being so serious about my life. Being goofy around my favourite people and then laughing about nothing with them, being the coolest auntie on the block to my niece and nephew and becoming a kid again, trying new things for the first time to challenge myself, and pushing boundaries with what I already know. The most recent time I came to this realization was when I went rock climbing with my family this year.

I have gone rock climbing a few times growing up, but I never made it up to the top of the wall. I kept going about life just accepting that it’s not for me and I will never make it up. However, when I went with my family it was during a time that I was stressed out about life in general and having a hard time coping with it. Suddenly, my fear of heights and falling didn’t seem worse than the anxiety I had been experiencing all day every day, so I made it all the way to the top with ease. I completely surprised myself and it felt so good to accomplish.

It was a nice slap in the face that life is supposed to be fun, challenging, adventurous, and inspiring. I thought my days of rock climbing were behind me, because it was always something that we did with our school. It was a nice reminder about how exciting it is to try something new, and that the every day “problems” don’t really matter. This was just one example of many, but if you feel like you’ve been stressing out over way too many things all day every day, remember to take a step back and realize that you are, in fact, taking life too seriously.

One thing I have learned about myself is that I need to make sure other people are also not taking things too seriously because I know what it feels like when we do. I strive to surround myself with people that have the same mindset because I know that it will benefit everyone in times that we need it the most.

Why I Love Journalling

I have 4 different journals that are laying around my house, each of them holds some sort of purpose to organize my thoughts. I will explain each one and why I find it useful, and hopefully it will give you some ideas if you are looking to start journalling, or to find a reason why you should.

1. My “Goals” Journal

This is the journal I would say I go back to the most. It holds my financial goals, health goals, travel goals and overall life goals. It’s important for me to revisit so that I can stay on track, or re-evaluate my previous goals if needed.

I like to throw in some motivational quotes, or just phrases to help me when I’m feeling incredibly unmotivated. It’s also nice to look back at what I accomplished for when I am feeling like I haven’t accomplished anything. Some things that I thought I would never do, I end up doing and some things that I thought would be easy might roll on to the next page of goals so I can make a second attempt.

I also like going over my finances here so I can simplify what’s going on in my bank account and to find ways to minimize costs. It’s easy to just ignore what’s happening with your money online, but sometimes I need a wake up call. For some reason I find it fascinating to have a plan on how to spend my money and when, so I never feel guilty about making big purchases if needed.

I think my health goals are most fun to go through, because I most definitely need a wake up call for that sometimes. Whether it’s healthy eating or physical fitness, I need to go back to remember why I want to continue working towards these.

I also like to write down places I’d like to visit and jot down things I’ve learned about how to travel to each place and how to prepare. This includes thing I would want to buy in order to make it happen, or writing packing lists. This even includes things for camping, or road trips in general.

I like imagining a bright future and sometimes I get overly involved in that to the smallest detail, but I often find it fun rather than stressful. I think it can be quite beneficial to work towards accomplishing goals, whatever they may be.

2. My “Feelings” Journal

This sounds incredibly cheesy, but for someone who overthinks everything and has all sorts of chaotic thoughts floating around, this is a good place to understand what I’m feeling and why. My imagination has a habit of going wild which can be good for creative or optimistic endeavours, but when it starts going full tilt into more negative thoughts, I need to slow the heck down.

This is where this journal comes in handy. Sometimes my brain doesn’t have time to make sense of why the emotions that are coming up have arrived, such as sadness, anxiety, anger, or anything else that is a bit more uncomfortable than usual. As I’m writing, it slows down my thoughts and makes them into things that are just on a page – all of a sudden, they don’t seem so bad!

There have been numerous times where I am SO frustrated and I go grab this journal and begin writing so fast my pen wishes it stayed at home. By the end, happy thoughts arise and I feel much better. Not to mention, if you are someone who accidentally takes it out on a loved one, this is a great way to stop that from happening! I learned that the hard way. My poor boyfriend…

3. My “Creative” Journal

This is where I jot down ideas for YouTube videos, recipes for my cookbook I would like to create one day, and sometimes I just sit and doodle a bit. This journal is a bit sporatic, since I technically have more than one place for these ideas. When I’m out and about I will jot down a note in my phone, when I’m on the computer I’ll write ideas on Google Docs, but it usually will all circle back to my physical journal I keep in my house.

It’s quite often that my boyfriend will throw together a dinner with whatever we have, and it ends up being good – despite my constant nagging that “you shouldn’t mix those together it’s weird and will taste gross.” I honestly don’t know how he does it.

Overall, it’s fun to have a place to look back at your own creations and ideas.

4. My “Travel” Journal

This is something I bring with me when I travel, usually somewhere that is out of the country (which unfortunately, isn’t that often). This is something that my parents used to do whenever we went somewhere and it kind of stuck with me. Sometimes I forget a few days while I’m on vacation, but I try to at least write about stories that happened rather than what our schedule was like that day.

Of course, as a Lord of the Rings fan, this journal had to be a leather, old school journal (the one pictured above) so I feel like a true traveller. However, I’m a little too impatient to write the whole thing in calligraphy as Bilbo Baggins did.

This journal is nice to read when I’m feeling a travel bug coming on, but am unable to go anywhere. It’s funny to find things that I couldn’t remember in a million years, but as soon as I read my own memories I instantly am living in the moment. It’s easy to remember moments looking through my pictures, but in my journal there are often details that get overlooked and it’s cool to look back on.

Yes, I know journalling isn’t for everyone, and I might be a little hardcore with all of the journals I have, but I find that it’s a great way to reminisce about memories and achievements, be creative, work through hard times, and have goals to accomplish for the future.

Do it Now, Do it Now, Do it Now!

This quote from a Lululemon bag has been stuck in my head for years now. It’s very simple and doesn’t seem to hold a lot of meaning when you just read it once. In addition to this quote, a similar thing that stuck with me is a concept that Mel Robbins has been teaching the world, which is the power and the science behind making 5 second decisions. She found that once we have a gut feeling about what we need to do to make something happen, it only takes 5 seconds for our mind to start defending itself and protecting us from any potential dangers.

It can be anything from very small decisions to very big decisions, but either way, I absolutely believe “doing it now” without giving your brain enough time to think of why you shouldn’t is a great way to get things done. For example, if you want the dishes to be done before you go to bed so you can wake up to a clean kitchen, just go do them. If you wait to long your mind might say, “well I could just do them tomorrow morning, I would rather keep watching TV.” How does this make any difference at all? Well in the morning, you will wake up to a pile of dishes which is bound to make you feel lazy and/or put you in a negative mood. You might end up leaving them to do later, keep adding more dishes, and by the time you actually do them it takes an hour to clean and you have just lost time to yourself, not to mention how awful it would be to wash dishes for an entire hour.

Mel Robbins said she started with counting down from 5 in the mornings to help her wake up to her alarm, rather than hitting snooze multiple times. How easy is it to tell yourself the night before that you want to “wake up early and be more productive,” but when the time comes all of a sudden you hear the alarm, then think “oh yeah I wanted to wake up early today” …followed by, “but I feel tired and it’s warm in here and I don’t NEED to wake up?” Most of the time we know what we need to do to make changes, and that being lazy and putting things off never feels good in the end. I think by making these small changes, it can lead to the bigger changes you have been hoping to accomplish.

What Makes A Morning Person? Scientists Identify New Genetics ... — Source: https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/what-makes-a-morning-person-scientists-identify-new-genetics-behind-early-risers

I decided to write about this today because this morning I didn’t wake up when I said I would, had to do all of the dishes from the day before, couldn’t find anything to wear since the laundry has piled up, was too lazy to workout, didn’t want to write a blog, and just didn’t feel like doing anything in general. Luckily, I remembered this quote and realized I needed to meditate to change my mindset. I meditated for 4 minutes just listening to my breaths.

For the past few days, I’ve said I want to wake up early with my boyfriend who is still going to work, to meditate in the mornings to start my day with a positive mindset, and to exercise to keep up with my physical health. After I meditated, my negative thoughts changed and I realized I have been doing a lot of “thinking” and not a lot of “doing.” I don’t think it’s possible to always remember this rule every second of the day, however, it is something to keep in the back of your mind for when you are feeling unmotivated. I’m glad I had the morning I did, otherwise I would have been stuck in a lazy and unmotivated routine for more than just a couple of days. When I had the thought again that I should write a blog today, I just stood up, went to the computer, and started writing. It’s as easy as that! Don’t give your brain time to talk yourself out of doing something productive.

If you are reading this, I challenge you to stick to your decisions and act on them before the 5 second window approaches especially during quarantine where you can lose motivation in a split second. Start small, and perhaps this will help you with bigger, more uncomfortable decisions in your life.

How to Wake Up Early to Exercise - Thrillist — Source: https://www.thrillist.com/health/nation/how-to-wake-up-early-exercise

Mindfulness

Mindfulness seems to be a buzz word these days. I think that it’s easy to say and not practice. Most of us are aware that mindfulness is beneficial especially now that mental health has become a more common topic of conversation. I want to share with you different mindfulness techniques I’ve tried as I am still open to trying new methods, and am constantly learning what it means for myself.

MUSE – The Brain Sensing Headband

The MUSE headband is basically a band that goes across your forehead and behind your ears that has sensors that give real time feedback on your brain activity. You download an app on your phone that takes you through a tutorial, and once it is all set up it records your brain waves as you meditate. You start at 3 minutes of meditation, with a background sound of choice. The goal is to focus on your breath with the sound in the background guiding you along – it will get louder the more active your brain is. This tool is meant to train your brain how to calm itself when it is getting overwhelmed with activity. I know some people who go for about an hour, whereas I have only done a 10 minute meditation as my longest session.

I tried it for a couple months and I would say it gets more effective the more often you use it. It was helpful to me because just by putting on the headband, it forced me to sit still for a length of time. I am usually trying to do something at every second of the day to keep me busy. This tool showed me how important it is to give your brain a break. The way I think of it is like working out. You usually give yourself breaks in between sets, and rest days in between workout days. You could argue that sleeping gives your brain a break, but I think with the amount of stimulation it gets throughout the day, it is also important to allow it to relax a few minutes throughout the day. Not only does it have to make choices and take in information in the present moment, but it also has millions of memories to refer to and possible future situations to protect from as well.

I was just borrowing this device so I haven’t invested in one for myself yet, but I know they have come out with a new version that senses your breathe and heart rate as well which I would be interested in trying out.

Floating

Float Meditation: Elements Float Spa 280 — LIFE. CULTURE. PEOPLE. — Source: http://www.lifeculturepeople.com/culture-2/2016/6/27/float-meditation-elements-float-spa-280

My cousin introduced me to Float Space here in Kelowna as it was something I had never tried before. The whole purpose is to take away all possible sensations so you only focus on your own thoughts and your breath. You have the choice between going into a fully enclosed capsule, or laying in a bath in a room. The owner suggests to float for 60-90 minutes at a time to fully get the benefits of meditation. It is salt water so I learned it’s not worth touching your face and getting salt water in your eyes… that wasn’t so pleasant. Other than that I thought it was a cool experience, although I wish I used the foam pillow they suggested as my neck got quite sore. It was interesting that I had no sense of time after the first 10 minutes… and noticing thoughts that come and go, and which thoughts were recurring.

I can see this being difficult for people who are quite active and always on the go – I personally had a hard time being still but I also made the mistake of drinking coffee beforehand. I think it’s worth trying out at least once to see if it’s something you can invest in for the health benefits that it provides. The owner said it is meant to re-wire your nervous system to initiate calmness.

Yoga

I have only done yoga a few times a year for the past 6 years. It wasn’t until this year that I have been doing it more consistently. The difference is I was paying for drop in classes and due to my love for sports, I couldn’t find a reason to invest in a membership or monthly pass to keep up with yoga. Now, I am doing yoga videos that I find on YouTube because it’s free and I can do it in the comfort of my own home.

Every time I went to a yoga class, it was noticeably beneficial to my mind and body. Sometimes I would be so present that I would actually feel emotional and that I wanted to cry – maybe a shock to my system for how I forget about the importance of living in the “now”. My muscles and joints have always come out happy as well – nice and loose.

I can also see the spiritual aspect being addicting as well, especially being in a room full of people who are all connecting movement and breath together. I have been to some ridiculously spiritual classes that talk about your chakras, the third eye and enlightenment etc… with an open mind I kind of like to believe in all of it because it’s a cool take on life.

Now that I do yoga at home I never usually feel the emotion I do when I’m at a class, maybe because I don’t feel the vibe from other people, but I still get the benefit of staying in the present moment and stretching my muscles. To me, yoga is one of the best forms of practicing mindfulness because I am an active person and am very connected to my body. It is more effective for me personally to notice tension in a muscle and to become self-aware of letting that tension go in order to relax rather than sitting and focusing on my breath. With certain types of yoga, you focus on your breath as you flow through movement and this for me is a simple and effective connection to make.

Miscellaneous Mindfulness

Culinary Lingo — Source: https://www.eatright.org/food/planning-and-prep/cooking-tips-and-trends/culinary-lingo

Everything that allows you to be in the present moment can be considered a form of mindfulness. For me, cooking is a great way to be present as it forces me to focus on what I’m doing – especially when creating a new recipe. I also really enjoy colouring and painting, it’s an easy way to just let my thoughts come and go and get the satisfaction of making something beautiful. Also, any type of physical activity helps as well – from working out to rock climbing to skiing.

Although I have tried multiple methods and continue to learn about other possible ways of practicing mindfulness, I still struggle to work on it every single day. There are so many leaders and genuinely happy people out there who swear that meditation is what keeps them going in a positive direction. I think it’s important to stay grounded when things seem overwhelming and chaotic and that’s why I am constantly looking for mindfulness methods to find what works best for me.

I would love to hear what you have tried to implement mindfulness in your lives in the comments below.

Be a Creator, Not a Consumer

Every day, we consume information in all sorts of forms. We wake up, look at our phones to check messages, emails, social media and everything in between. We hear what other people have to say, we have decisions that need to be made and not to mention, our jobs take up 8 hours of our day! For some people these 8 hours are spent doing boring, mundane tasks given to them by their manager or supervisor. Consuming can be beneficial for learning or for fun, but over-consumption doesn’t leave room for our own thoughts and ideas.

What happens after work?

I’m speaking from personal experience here – what do I do after work on most days? I come home feeling tired, lazy and just want to numb out any thoughts. I either cook dinner or order in, but immediately want to watch a show on Netflix while I’m eating, after I’m eating and can’t think of anything else to do except browse my phone, play video games or watch MORE Netflix!!! It’s like my brain cells have been completely used up by work and I no longer want to think. If you don’t have room to think, how can you create?

We spend most of our days at work, and especially for younger people who are trying to grind in order to make a resume look pretty. Can you imagine what we could think of or come up with if we had nothing but time? Well I’m finding a lot of free time during quarantine and I am happier than ever – I don’t feel stressed, anxious or depressed. I feel positive, inspired and optimistic. This seems strange during a pandemic, but I didn’t realize how much of my energy was going into the daily work I was doing that was for someone else. There’s truly something special about creating something by yourself that is very liberating.

Why is it important to create?

When something feels like a task it usually no longer feels enjoyable. I could type out an essay about how to be a creator and not a consumer at a desk job as a project, however, I would probably have to follow guidelines, it might not have been my idea and I would have the time pressures of getting it done. Right now as I sip on coffee and am in my super comfy housecoat, I am loving typing this out because I’m excited to share my idea with the world to help inspire others.

Everyone on this planet has their own experiences, their own brain and there are infinite possibilities with what can be created. Imagine if you sat down to paint a flower instead of look at memes on your phone for hours. Why would this be beneficial? Well first of all, you would be learning a skill. You would be mindful in what you are doing. And you would end up with something that YOU created! Before sitting down to paint that flower, you didn’t know what would end up being on that page. But now it’s there. ISN’T THAT AMAZING?! Would you feel the same after looking at hundreds of memes on your phone? I don’t think so.

Implement creativity every day

I think a huge factor that could help save our brain power has a lot to do with using our phones, as most of us cannot change what we need to do at work. I’ve researched many ways on how to treat our “phone addiction” because I find it fascinating how much I use my phone without realizing. It’s also quite worrisome as to how much I say to myself “only one YouTube video before bed,” or “I’ll only browse through Reddit for a few minutes this morning,” or, “I don’t need to see all this stuff on social media” only to find that I’ve spent hours doing all of these things.

One thing that I’ve found to be useful is to delete apps that aren’t useful to you for your own personal growth. Especially if you want to work towards something and are procrastinating, getting rid of all distractions is essential. In addition to deleting useless apps, try not to use your phone for an hour after you wake up, and to put your phone away an hour before bed. I’ve heard of people who have baskets in their house for everyone to put their phones in so they can interact with each other and connect on a human level. So far, I’ve found that I have enough self-control to just leave my phone and block out times throughout the day to check anything new that has come in. I have found that my conversations with my boyfriend are wholesome and it’s much nicer knowing we are both listening to each other rather than kind of paying attention while still being on our phones.

So how can you implement creativity every day? Perhaps write a list of things you enjoy doing and why you enjoy doing them. Or anything that you’ve wanted to do for a long time but haven’t gotten around to doing. I’m sure all of us can think of at least one thing that requires creativity, but we haven’t been able to do it because our brains are already full of other things. Once your main distractions are gone, really dive deep on what interests you and just do it! Just start. There is nothing to lose when you are creating something and leaving a mark in this world, but there is valuable, unique talent wasted when you are consumed by everything around you.