Motivation Monday: sing and dance

Whether anyone is watching or not!


As my singing teacher says "We were born to be heard!" (She does go on, to explain that to cry and scream are just natural to us and so should singing, but another post perhaps? Check her out here at The Mac Project)

Its so inspiring to know that we have this natural ability to raise our voice and move our bodies - whether singing or screaming, dancing or bopping, whatever your taste in music is, embrace what you can naturally do with it!

There is no better motivation for the start of the week than singing and dancing! I wake up with a playlist ready and whether I have to drive to uni or stay home and clean - I blast my (always country) music and dance like nobody is watching.... even though the dogs/cat/bird/gecko's, etc. always are watching! Sometimes there is nothing better than singing either! Singing and dancing - like exercise, releases endorphin's and therefore makes you feel good - what better to do on a Monday morning?

Sing and dance your heart out this Monday!

KK

Shut your thoughts down

Overthinking is something that I often forget has only bad consequences. We imagine negative things that just will not happen and rarely realise we are overthinking, but we all do it at one time or another, right?

I believe overthinking is the biggest cause of unhappiness. It means that you are not living in the moment and finding peace, but don't forget - there is thinking rationally and overthinking.

I think it is completely okay to think things through - actually its good to do that, rather than being mindless, numb or not considering anything at all. However, you know you are overthinking when you feel like crap, well, that's at least how I know.

To prevent overthinking and be happy is to simply be in the moment, and for me, even daydreaming about my desires. 
Daydream about the little things and let any negative thoughts just pass by, like clouds in the sky. I try to listen to my breathing and give myself time to dream up all of the wondrous possibilities without getting too attached to any thought.

It's all about slowing down your 'monkey brain - watch this link' and coming back to the moment. 

I also pay attention to song lyrics, I try to put music on if I'm overthinking and just try to focus on what the person is singing. I even try to feel what the person is singing about and that can help me put things into perspective.

Other ways to slow down are to go for a walk, or even a run to shake the thoughts of quickly. I love to play with my dogs and run around with them, this way I usually end up smiling and laughing - forgetting what I was worried about!

There are so many ways to overthink, but just as many, if not more, to shake that off.

Remember that there is so much to live for, so why worry about it?

KK

February Reflections 2017

I find that, in the second month of the year, all resolutions have, uh, 'gone to hell,' but people tend to still be hopeful of a great year - the time it takes for the Earth to orbit the sun. I ended up doing quite a lot, in what also happens to be the shortest month of the year... (I am hoping that these facts are known to everyone...)

In anticipation of uni starting, (in early March) I felt that this February was all about 'starting the year off right' and getting inspired!

Here are some of the things I got up to in Feb 2017!

Lululemon and Collective Hub's - Practice to Purpose

On this sunny day, I had breakfast in Melbourne at the smart artz gallery event hosted by my favourite magazine collective hub and the active wear brand, lululemon. The event: From Practice to Purpose showcased innovative speakers with the initiative to focus on vision and goals. My friend, Michelle and I drove to the city early and were served smoothies, smoothie bowls and fruit, salad, coffee and more delicious foods, while listening to the speakers and getting some great motivation to jump into goal setting with a worksheet and an A4 quote - "Ideas alone won't create a life you love, putting them into action will!"

Birthdays!

I celebrated my mum and my beautiful friends birthdays - shout out to mum, Sarah and Andrew!

Devil Cat

The family cat - Mickey, got into a lot of mischief - half killing some birds, lizards and anything he could catch. I had a great time putting animals out of their misery and then keeping this fur ball locked up...

The McClymonts!

I saw The McClymonts live! An amazing country band (that I have worshipped for many years) went on their 'Endless tour' and I was close to the stage, just in euphoria, listening to these energetic girls!

The opener, Demi Louise was just as brilliant and I bought her CD too, one song of which - I relate to a lot Taxi Driver, Here I am with her in the bottom left photo and my mum and I with The McClymonts at the top!

Autographs and smiles all around!

The local show.

It's tradition for my dad and I to go to our local Agricultural show (which is now more of a general carnival) and I went again this year. I spent half the day with my dad and the other half with my friend and her friend, Michelle and Donna. The thing I love about this tradition is the little things, the community atmosphere and the fun! I always go in the morning when the livestock are being showed and graded, because that is just so fascinating to me - especially the cattle! Later in the day I watched all of the local talent perform on the small stage, including my super talented friend - Sunny, with whom I then watched the closing fireworks with! It really was a magical day - with me really focusing on the good stuff!

And that pretty much sums up that amazing month!

KK

The refresh

Things always get better. Its all about refreshing.

Whenever I have had a slump in life, (and I have had many) I find that I am better for it when I refresh my mind and make myself remember why I love the things I'm doing.

Now, I'm not talking anything huge or 'weird' like spa retreats, meditation, even travel or anything that comes to mind when I say 'refresh.'

Recently, I have felt up-in-the-air about my studies, blog and a few other things, so I thought about what I used to do to get myself motivated. I think it also helps, to come up with new, refreshing ways, to be inspired as well.

I used to do 'photo-shoots' with my friend (by 'photo-shoots' I mean taking photos outside with a cheap camera and ordering my friend around, certainly amateur stuff!) And the amount of fun we used to have, was just priceless, plus I got some great, genuine shots for my blog/memories. So I took to the park with my friends and did just that. I used my phone (I left my SD card at home, I bought the shell of the camera though...) and the shots came out really well. Once my friends got used to the idea of being more natural, everything just flowed. (So you'll be seeing some of those photo's soon!)

I also started writing with my personal projects again. I haven't had the inspiration to do this lately, so I let it go, put it low on my priority list and threw myself into study. I had forgotten this, but that was just what I needed for my inspiration to flow, letting go of overthinking.... I re-watched some great movies and downloaded some songs I used to listen to when I wrote and BAM, I could write with flow again!

Now with study... the hardest of all. I study science by the way, and it's not always easy. For me, it is very personal - how I get back into focus with this. If you want to know more about that side of me, head over to my other blog never doubt nature.

Some previous photo-shoots for fun!

Find what refreshes you and do it!

KK