How To Get Motivated

Since I started this blog I have always been open about my struggle with depression & anxiety. I'm sure anyone who struggles with mental illness too is aware that one of the common signs of depression is losing all motivation to do anything at all.

I am fully aware of how hard it is to get your motivation back once it's gone and although I try my best to live a positive, motivated & happy life I can't pretend that I don't struggle when it comes to motivating myself. 

However, for a few months I have been trying out different things to help motivate myself and I really want to share with you what I found helped me most in case it helps you in any way at all.

Lets get started,

1. Music

Music has been a huge part of my journey when it comes to motivating myself. The first thing I do in the morning is pop in my earphones and play music that I know will make me want to get out of bed and put me in a great mood! When you start the day right it really has a knock on effect for the rest of the day. 

I've also found this REALLY useful when it comes to motivating myself to exercise!

(Image not mine - credit linked)

2. Wake Up Early

Now for this to really work you will need to go to bed early too because if you wake up tired your most likely to fall back asleep during the day rather than getting things done!

I've found that watching the sunrise in the morning really gives me so much inspiration and puts me in a great mood for the rest of the day. Having some time alone allows you to gather your thoughts and plan out your day without distractions. Not to mention that waking up early means you have more time to get whatever you need done without stressing for time!

3.Write A To Do List

I cannot even explain how much this has helped me. I tend to do this on days when i'm not in work so that I keep myself on the go. 

I will even put simple things on there like 'get a shower', 'have breakfast', etc. Because although they are pretty normal everyday things it's so important to praise yourself for even the smallest achievements. Don't ever feel like you're not doing enough, baby steps are EVERYTHING.

4. Motivation Talks

Most days I try to listen to a motivational talk on YouTube. I've really found that after watching them I feel like nothing can stop me. So many times they have helped me get out of a rut when I've found myself feeling unhappy and unmotivated. It's true that anything is possible and you just have to believe in yourself!!

I hope this helps some of you and I will definantly be revisiting this topic when I discover more things along my journey.

Love, peace & happiness to you all,

Katie. xx

How To Improve Your Sleep

Ever since I can remember I have always struggled with falling / staying asleep. As a child I was always the one almost falling asleep in classes because I would of been awake most of the night before. I can never remember having a 'proper' sleeping pattern and I have spent most of my life saying "I'm tired" which i'm sure you have too if you're reading this post!

However, recently I have been taking my health a lot more seriously. As I explained in my last post (which you can read here) I have been delving into spirituality and along with that it seemed only natural that I started to look after my body aswell as my mind. I felt like to be in the correct place mentally and physically I needed to start changing the way I prepare my body for sleep.

In the past I would stay on my phone until the last second before I tried to fall asleep, I would get angry at myself for not falling asleep which in turn made falling asleep a lot harder, I often suffer from nightmares which cause me to wake up numerous times during the night & if I didn't have school or work the next day I would always stay up late and then sleep in the day after which would then totally mess up my sleeping pattern.

So, what have I been doing to try to change this?

1. Leave the phone alone!

I try to make sure that I'm off my phone atleast half an hour before I want to be asleep; now this is hard i'm not going to lie because sometimes i'll be watching YouTube or something will catch my eye and then time just seems to go so fast and before I know it it's 3am! To help with this I've started to have a little routine before I go to sleep. I make sure that I watch whatever I want to a little earlier and that way I find it easier to finish what I'm watching / doing and still manage to get to bed on time! Also, putting on your phone on air plane mode is never a bad idea to stop from getting distracted by texts or notifications, etc!

2. Meditate before bed!

One of the main reasons I've never been good at sleeping early is because my mind is always racing. As soon as I would turn off my phone my mind would try to occupy itself by thinking of everything and anything. Now every single night I try to meditate before I lie down for bed; I find this clears my mind and helps me to relax! It's also really helpful because it allows you to train your mind to be comfortable being unoccupied and I've found that really stops me over thinking before I sleep. I will either use the calm app for meditation or I will use a guided sleep meditation which are easily accessible on YouTube.

3. Think of a happy place!

Whenever I find that my mind is over thinking I will often take my mind to my 'happy place'. My happy place would be somewhere I find peaceful like the sea or near a waterfall. I imagine myself on the most comfortable bed right where my happy place is. I imagine all of my muscles relaxing and I think about how amazing my sleep is going to be. I find this so helpful when I'm finding it difficult to relax and shut my mind off. I promise if you try this you will probably be asleep within minutes - or I always am anyway! Lol!

I hope these little tips helped and I'll be sure to post some more tips in the future as I carry on trying to improve my sleep!

Hope you have a beautiful day,

Katie Ellen, x

Why I Started A Spiritual Journey

I first began delving into spirituality about a year ago. It started when I was going through a pretty rough time with my mental health and also going through some things in my personal life. I had discovered a YouTube channel called 'infinite waters' (AKA Ralph Smart who you can also view by clicking right here) and my whole perspective on life changed; I truly believe that I was meant to discover his channel.

After binge watching his videos I started to wonder how amazing life could be if I really pushed myself to become the best version of myself that I could possibly be. I decided then that I was more than ready for a change. I immediately discovered more channels like Ralph's, ordered books on spirituality and positive thinking and also started meditating every day (which I talk about in my other recent post which you can view here) and since then I've never looked back. 

I won't lie it's been quite difficult because I have / still am learning to break my old way of thinking which can be quite hard when you've been stuck in a rut for 20 odd years! But I can honestly say it's been worth every second and the difficulties are just parts of this amazing journey.

If i'm being honest before I discovered spirituality I felt like I had no purpose in life, I felt useless, worthless, depressed, anxious and at times I just didn't want to be here at all. Now I can truthfully say that I feel the complete opposite now; I know I have a purpose, I'm not useless or worthless and although at times I still do struggle with my anxiety / depression I know that I will always be stronger than they are. Now I wake up every single day so grateful to be living on this beautiful planet with amazing people and I can't believe how lucky I am to experience this life every single day. 

I can't wait to carry on sharing this journey with you all!

Have a beautiful day,

Katie Ellen. x 

3 Ways To Lead A Happier Life

I'm going to give you some tips on what changes I have made to lead a happier life. Bare in mind only a few months ago I was struggling to get out of bed because I was so depressed and now I wake up every day with a huge smile on my face and I actually look forward to every single day. I'm not saying these things will 100% work for you but i'm just going to share what helped me in hopes that it could help you too!

So, lets get started!

1.  Meditate

I will never be able to explain to anyone just how much meditation has changed my life. I use an app called Calm (which will really help you if you're a beginner!) and I couldn't recommend it enough. Due to my anxiety since I was a child I have never been able to get a full and good night sleep; my mind would constantly be thinking and then before I knew it my alarm would be going off! Whereas, now I use this app every night to calm my mind before I go to bed and it works wonders!

If you try anything from this little list please give meditation a go - It's allowed me to completely change my life around and become more positive and stress free!

      2. Distance Yourself From Negativity

If you know there are certain people in your life that cause you negative thoughts and feelings do not be afraid to distance yourself. It's time for you to be selfish and love yourself enough to create nothing but happiness for yourself. If you hate your job - look for a new one. If you don't feel loved in your relationship - leave. You are not obliged to stay anywhere that drains your energy and please believe that you are good enough for something better.

      3. Smile

I've spent so much of my life looking down at the floor I can't even begin to tell you! Before the new year I promised myself that in 2018 I would make it my mission to look around me and smile at strangers more. It's been quite difficult as doing this makes me so anxious but once I done it I couldn't believe how it made me feel. It made me feel good knowing I was a reason that someone smiled today. You really don't know what other people are going through and something as little as a smile could really brighten someone's day! Not to mention you can't see all the beautiful nature that is around you if you're stuck staring at the floor! LOOK UP! :-)

I'm going to leave this there for now but there will definantly be another one of these in the future! I really hope you enjoyed reading this and I hope it inspired you in some way!

Have a beautiful day,

Katie Ellen. x

Getting Your First Tattoo?

Hello loves,

So for this past week I have been wanting another tattoo so badly and since that is what I've had on my mind so much I decided I would write up a little post to try and help out people who are thinking of getting their first tatt by giving you some tips on how you can prepare for it.

First of all this is super cliche and kind of annoying but please make sure that the tattoo you are getting is 100% the one that you want. I suggest giving an idea a couple of weeks to think about before getting it done as there have been times when I have wanted a tattoo so badly and then a few weeks later had second thoughts. It's all about patience.

I would also like to state that I am of course not a professional; these are just tips that have helped for me in the past but for the best advice about preparing for a tattoo your best bet is to speak to your tattoo artist.

STEP NUMBER ONE

One of my main tips of advice is to make sure you get a good night sleep. Depending on the time of your appointment you want to make sure that you get yourself to bed nice and early so that your body is feeling alive and ready to tolerate pain.

For my first tattoo I made sure I went to bed early but as I got more & more tattoo's I became super cocky and thought I could handle a tattoo while I was tired and I can 100% tell you that I definantly felt the pain more when I was sleepy than when I wasn't.

STEP NUMBER TWO

Make sure to bring some kind of drink with you - preferably something quite sugary. This is because rising your sugar level can make you feel better during your tattoo. Sometimes the pain can make you feel quite light headed & some people even faint during the process so it is important to keep those sugar levels up & to also stay hydrated.

However, if you aren't a fan of sugary drinks you can bring a bottle of water with you to stay hydrated and also bring along a snack as this has the same effect as a sugary drink.

STEP NUMBER THREE

Something that helped me so much to stay calm during my first tattoo was bringing my sister with me; especially since she already has tattoos so I trusted her when she told me everything would be fine - and it was!

Having someone that you love there with you can make the experience much less scary and a lot more comfortable / calm. Now me and my sister often go together and it's become a really fun and bonding experience for us both.

STEP NUMBER FOUR

This step is completely optional and will depend on what your tattooist wants you to do after your tattoo is complete.

I always make sure that I purchase a cream called Bepanthen to use on my tattoo during the healing process. It has worked wonders for me and really helps with the itching you have during the scabbing of the tattoo. You do not have to use this specific cream but do ask your tattooist what cream would be best for you.

STEP NUMBER FIVE

ENJOY IT!

Yes, getting a tattoo can be scary and not everyone will have a great experience but just remember that once it's done you will have something beautiful on you for the rest of your life that represents you and your journey. You will never know how you will react to it until you try it yourself so try not to listen to other people! Getting tattoo's has become one of my favourite things and I love every single one of them for all kinds of different reasons and I hope the same goes for you!

Thank you for reading,

Katie xxxx

5 Ways To Be More Positive

Hello loves,

I think we can all agree that we all have situations or people in our lives that give us ALL the negative vibes. Lately I have been slowly introducing little things to create happiness and joy resulting in a more positive attitude towards life and I want to share these 5 little tips with you that I have found helpful when it comes to training my mind to block out negativity.

1. LET IT GO

There are so many things that have happened in my past that I have struggled to forget simply because I held onto the anger and hurt attached to those memories or people. Once I decided to lead a more positive lifestyle I realised that to do this I had to come face to face with these things and ultimately let them go.

Although it is hard I think getting rid of negative people is the best thing to do. It's so hard to be positive when you have someone down your ear talking about all the things they hate in life. Remember that this is your journey and sometimes it's best to leave people behind before you start it.

Memories are still something I am struggling to let go of. However, I have learned to detach the anger and hurt that came with thinking of those memories. I done this by thinking about them a lot - trying to understand the other persons point of view and also realising that I am human and bad things will happen to me it's how I deal with those moments that determine how I feel.

2. DECLUTTER YOUR SPACE

For me this is something that was completely necessary. I'm definantly someone who gets effected by my surroundings quite a lot.

The first thing I found helpful was to go through my wardrobe and bag the clothes I wanted to give to charity; not only are you getting rid of things you don't need but giving clothes to charities or homeless shelters can really boost your mood.

I also redecorated my room by filling it with things that make me feel happy. Posters with positive quotes, fairy lights, candles, plants and lastly some pebbles I had picked up from Brighton (which is my happy place!). It's little things like this that can surround you with good vibes.

3. REFUSE ANGER

This is something that I struggle with so much. I have always been an emotional person and anger is something that I hate feeling. I find that when i'm angry I begin to think all kinds of negative thoughts and it really brings my mood down.

However, I have began to look at things in a completely different way. For example; if someone is trying to begin an argument with me I will take myself away from the situation and remind myself that everyone has there bad days & that life is just too short to have petty arguments. Talking sense into yourself is so important when it comes to battling anger.

4. SOCIAL MEDIA

I'm definantly not going to be stereotypical here and tell you that you HAVE to stay away from social media to live a more positive life because I don't really believe that is true. You definantly need time away from social media, yes; but blocking it out completely I feel is a little unnecessary.

Finding a line between your online life and your 'real life' however is definantly important. By this I mean reminding yourself that you are a beautiful person & that you shouldn't compare your life with those on social media. You don't need that flashy car Kylie Jenner just posted on instagram, you don't need to hate your body because of Selena Gomez's bikini pics and you also don't need to be jealous of those online who seem to have it all because they 100% don't. Admire from a distance and be happy for them that they have what they do but don't forget to do the same to yourself too.

5.

Lastly is something so simple - SMILE.

I have gone through so many points in my life where I would smile and think 'Wow, I can't remember the last time I truly smiled.' and that is NOT cool.

If you don't feel you have anything in your life to make you smile then find it; even if it's a silly program on TV or a song that you love; finding time for things that bring us happiness will always lead to a positive outcome.

Thank you so much for reading and have a beautiful day.

Katie Ellen xxxx