Focus, Simplify, Minimalize

Lots of "stuff" distracts us from what is most meaningful in our lives. Who doesn't want to be happier, more productive, and have a more meaningful life? When your time and attention is spread between a million different objects or activities, you come away from it all feeling frazzled and unfulfilled.

Right now, on my desk, my attention is divided between:

• A library book on writing amazing cover letters
• Past cover letters and cover letter writing tips I've collected over the years
• Another library book "Awaken your strongest self"
• Three notebooks
• A brochure from a potential job I should review
• My day planner covered by 2 bill-like mailings
• Colorful pens and markers if I want to be creative
• Two pens
• A rainbow kaleidoscope thingy
• Block letters that spell my name
• My computer, keyboard, and mouse
• Aromatherapy "Ylang Ylang" oil I was going to blog about

ALL of these things I want or need to do something with. And I'm overwhelmed by where to start. I need to set a goal: clean up desk, put away things I don't use, use or do the things I need to do, and ultimately simplify my set up.

What helps you focus?

The Time Is Now

Just do it. Nike came up with this great slogan decades ago, and it has worked its way into culture over the years. Just do it. Just get up and do IT, whatever IT is for you. Depressed? Get happy! Jobless? Network! Lose weight? Work out! Figure out whatever IT is and just do it.

Procrastination is a life killer. There are countless articles online to help you beat your own boredom:

• Boost your willpower
• Morning routines of successful people
• Multitasking may diminish (not boost) productivity

Stop making excuses for yourself, stop trying to start perfectly, do something with your life to make it the one you want it to be. You only get one, remember?

From one of my favorite blogs on living a mindful life:

Each moment is limited, fleeting, precious. Let’s not waste another one.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Meditate on what you want it to be filled with and then go forth and do.

How do you make the most of your days?

10 Tips for Meditation

I find myself extremely overwhelmed at times. Life, work, relationships, family, health, exercise, social media, etc. everything seems to be happening all of the time. My mind is constantly consumed with ideas. It prohibits me from falling asleep easily almost every single night. I need to work on quieting my mind. Just saying the words "quiet my mind" makes me feel more relaxed. So when I Googled this phrase, a post came up (turns out, I've already read it) that reviews 20 practical tips for quieting the mind. I'm not going to re-post all 20, but I'm going to list the ones I find most practical and applicable for me.

1. Make a formal practice of it. Set aside specific time to be with your mind & thoughts, preferably two times a day. A friend of mine does a 7&7 practice: 7 minutes in the morning, and 7 minutes at night.  Find out what works best for you and just do it.
2. Start with your breath. Focusing on the breath brings your mind and thoughts into yourself, relaxing your mind as well as your body.
3. Stretch first. Loosening up the body not only helps you get in touch with yourself but it allows you to more easily sit comfortably for a duration of time.
4. Notice frustration creep up and let it go. I get frustrated easily. Focusing on my breath simplifies this process and allows me to relax.
5. Pick a specific room in your home, or wherever you happen to be, to meditate. Make sure this space allows you to feel at ease.
6. Commit for the long-haul. Meditation is a life-long practice. Do the best you can every day and then let it go.
7. Generate moments of awareness during the day. Finding your breath and being present wherever you are will help you extend your meditation practice to other areas of your life.
8. Don't stress. This may sound redundant with "quieting the mind" but it is extremely important to remember. Just do the best you can, meditation is what it is.
9. Meditate early in the morning. The minute you wake, your mind may race to "the day" in front of you: what you have to do, what you want to do, where you need to be, etc. Meditating right when you get out of bed will help you focus for the rest of the day. Still early morning? Carve out 10 minutes to stretch and focus on your breath. Let everything else go and just be.
10. Be easy on yourself. You were able to make and take the time to meditate. Congratulations. You are doing the best you can. Good for you.

I'm eager to hear how your practice forms. Feel free to leave comments and thoughts below.
Be well ~

Being Humble

Being humble is a trait to be admired. Why? Because it means you aren't trying to push your agenda onto anyone else. It means being comfortable in your own skin, knowing your strengths, and accepting your weaknesses.

I am not the most humble person. My parents always gave me compliments growing up. And I've always had an overly-positive attitude. These two things have contributed to an uppity & confident nature. I find that my boyfriend tends to be more humble than I. When I give him a compliment such as "You look really hot today," oftentimes he'll say "Nah..." From my up-bringing, I see this as him not accepting compliments. Unlike me, he doesn't flout his confidence or his success, which I consider to be humble tendencies and ones that I admire.

So how can I (and you) become more humble? According to the comprehensive site LearnThis, there are 8 number of actions you can take today to be more humble:

1. Thank others
2. Redirect praise to others that may have helped you
3. Don't try to be right
4. Don't take credit for yourself, credit others
5. Don't be first
6. Appreciate everything
7. Listen more than you speak
8. Don't judge others

I think these sound like pretty easy things to do. Thank you for taking the time to read this post. And please let me know if this idea sparks anything for you. I'm here to listen.

Be well, be happy.

Yoga Crystals

My yoga studio in town is absolutely awesome. Seriously. Not only are the classes challenging and replenishing, the people live & breathe yoga. There's an Om wall. They are legit.

The studio owner - Pamela Maldonado - practiced with a big crystal on her mat in one of my earlier classes. There are also several crystal sculptures in our practicing room. What do they mean?

Well, apparently crystals are good for healing your chakras.

You can give your body a "tune-up" if you balance your chakras.  Learn about your chakra colors here.

Different color crystals work on different chakras.

Allow yourself to be creative with the crystals. Find out what particular crystals are known for, and match them up to what you might need at each chakra. Because each person is different, there is not a prescription that will suit everyone. As a starting point, though, the rainbow guide will work well.

Pam's was pink: green or pink for Anahata or the Heart chakra.

What chakra do you need to work on?

• Root
• Sacral
• Navel
• Heart
• Throat
• Third-Eye
• Crown

Let practice guide you.

Healthy Mind, Happy Body

I've wanted to start a blog for a while on healthy living. It's always been a passion of mine. Living healthy is critical to happiness.

This will be a blog to collect my thoughts on happiness, health, fitness, stress relief, simplicity, and more.

To read:

Stress Relief
50 Healthy Ideas for 2012
My Pinboard: Healthy Mind, Happy Body