Category: happiness

Series Kickoff – 5 Days of No Coffee!

Published 05/02/2016

I’m so excited for today’s post.

Today I kick off a new series of 5 day challenges.

What does that mean?

We all want to be the best version of ourselves. Maybe we want to exercise more, or quit eating sugar. Maybe we want to go vegan, spend less money, meditate or be less wasteful. Or maybe our goal is to spend more time towards our personal dreams or careers, instead of choosing Netflix.

But doing all of these things all at once can be overwhelming. I don’t know about you, but I’ve tried to change my habits in one go and it just led to failure. There were too many things to keep track of at once.

Comfort always kicked in. But comfort is a lie. In this context, I am referring to those times when we wish to be or do certain things, but choose the easy option that feels good instead. Like choosing the sofa instead of going for that run we promised ourselves we’d do.

Of course comfort is good in healthy doses, we all deserve some relaxation, but when you find yourself frustrated in where you’re at in life, this is when comfort is the enemy.

Realize that in every moment you have a choice. You can choose to build character and look back on your life knowing you lived it as the person you wanted to be, or you can choose the easy thing.

**Let me emphasize that everyone’s struggles are personal. What I struggle with, you might not struggle with at all and vice versa. The way I want to live my life, is not necessarily the same way you want to live your life. Everyone’s ideal self is going to be their own depending on their environment, personality, situation etc. With that being said, if you can relate to these challenges, follow along! 🙂 If not, maybe you’ll be into the next one.

Starting tomorrow (Monday), I kick off the Comfort Is A Lie Series with 5 days of no coffee!

The idea is to build upon my habits, to notice and track my experience, learn something new and hopefully ease my way into a new and improved me while inspiring others to do their own version.

There are many benefits to drinking coffee such as improving your energy both mentally and physically, and preventing certain diseases such as cancer and type 2 diabetes.

But there are also some drawbacks to coffee such as altering your state of mind from what you would naturally be, staining your teeth, causing anxiety/restlessness, and it is dehydrating.

Right now, I’m experiencing more drawbacks than benefits. I’m addicted to coffee, and if I don’t get my daily 3+ cups of coffee, my head starts to pound, I become angry and irritable, depressed and I hate everyone around me. It stains my teeth (yuck) and my mouth just doesn’t feel as clean as it does when I don’t drink coffee. Coffee breath anyone? I want to rely on my own energy and get it naturally from eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly. Coffee also bloats me like crazy, well, it’s probably the cream inside the coffee, but the combo isn’t good for me anyhow. I’m too dependent and feel like I can’t go a day without a cup or 2. I want to free myself from that.

But oh, the warm aromatic scent of fresh coffee in the morning and the boost of energy are very enticing and comforting, but I can do this! As an alternative, I’m going to only allow myself to drink Green Tea (it has much less caffeine) or Water.

I’ll follow up on my experiences by editing this blog post this Friday, and maybe in between as I go. I’m excited (and nervous) to see what I can learn from a week without coffee. I’ve done it before, so I’m prepared for headaches and flu like symptoms haha!

Anyone want to join me? It’d be fun and I’d love to hear your experience below if this is something you can relate to. Follow along as I attempt other 5 day challenges to make myself more into the person I want to be. And if you relate, join me, or create your own personal challenges that resonate with who you want to become.

<3 Pia

**Edit**

5 Days Later (Friday)

I made it! Here I am, and it’s been 5 days of NO COFFEE.

This week, I noticed a few things. I didn’t crash as badly as I thought I would. No Advils were needed. I was however, extremely tired. Especially by 9pm at night, and waking up in the morning was very difficult as well for some reason. Even today, on the fifth day.

On Monday, I was nauseous, and fell asleep really early. On Tuesday, I was still very tired, and my brain was super fuzzy, I couldn’t form a proper thought. My eyes were really itchy and tired too.

On Wednesday, I realized that my gums were less swollen and red. Coffee is acidic, and if you have sensitive gums like me, then they suffer a bit. My mouth felt clean, and I didn’t have morning breath anymore. By Thursday I was still tired and had low energy, but felt ok.

Today is the last day, I’m lethargic, but it’s good for me to continue the no coffee thing. I even lost a couple pounds because I didn’t crave as much food as usual. Coffee is known to increase cortisol, the stress hormone, which makes you crave sugary, salty and fatty foods. And I wasn’t bloated this week because coffee and cream bloats me.

So the benefits of no coffee for me? And maybe you?

No more morning breath
No bloating
Clean mouth, no swollen gums
Weight loss
Less cravings for sugary, salty, fatty foods

So that’s that! Next week I will do a new challenge and see what I learn from it.

If you have any suggestions you’d like me to try, please let me know!

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A New Beginning: I Wrote A Book!

Published 04/09/2016

Hi everyone!

I’m sooo excited to announce something very dear to my heart! I know I’ve been MIA for the past months. But it’s for legitimate reasons 🙂 I’ve been spending my time building businesses, building my health and fitness, and building my character. I escaped the 9-5 to do what I love. (I’m still helping on a part-time basis, but now I have a lot more time to focus on my dreams!)

But my proudest accomplishment is my new book, The Cozy Life: Rediscover the Joy of the Simple Things Through the Danish Concept of Hygge. It takes minimalist and simple living concepts up a notch and will hopefully inspire readers to enjoy what’s truly important.

It’s about the Danish concept of coziness (hygge) and how it helps us embrace the simple things in life, be more authentic, and reconnect with ourselves and our loved ones. It also includes illustrations I’ve drawn, practical tips, activities and personal stories.

EBOOK: There is a FREE PROMO for 2 days starting tomorrow for the official launch (April 10th, and 11th) for the Kindle version here.

PAPERBACK: If you prefer holding a real book in your hands, you can grab one here. The book is definitely the cozier option and looks the prettiest.

If you decide to purchase the book, it would also mean the world to me if you could leave a review and share my book with your network. The more reviews and downloads I get, the higher I can climb in the Amazon charts and hopefully become a best-seller!! <3

Here is a description:

In today’s world, we’re constantly rushing from one thing to the next and are struggling with information overload. We’re more disconnected from ourselves and our loved ones than ever before. Rediscover the joy of the simple things through the Danish concept of Hygge in The Cozy Life. This book will inspire you to slow down and enjoy life’s cozy moments!

Learn about the Danish cultural phenomenon of Hygge, and the secret to why Denmark is consistently rated the happiest country in the world

Embrace the little things and take simplicity and minimalism up a notch

Add Hygge into every aspect of your life with practical examples and tips

Say goodbye to the Winter Blues and live a healthier, centred life

This charming little book, filled with hand drawn illustrations, beautifully addresses that yearning we all have for a more authentic life, created by ourselves instead of external forces.

What’s stopping you from living a more meaningful and connected life?

This book marks the start of my next chapter in life. Expect more posts on this blog as well! I can’t wait to share the magic of hygge with the world! 🙂

What’s most important is I want to thank all of you for inspiring me to write this book and spread the message about living meaningfully and authentically. This book would not exist without you and I know it will bring you infinite amounts of joy and inspiration.

<3
Pia

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Simple Living, Nature, Tiny Homes & Art

Published 09/26/2015

Just a little Saturday morning inspiration…

I came across this YouTube vide below. It’s a little documentary about a travelling hobo artist named Dan Price. He tours his underground home, talks about his art and philosophy. He is all about the simple living. Really simple living, living off the land mostly, and connecting with nature, and making art. He never wanted to grow up and be an adult, and loved the magic you had back then as a child. So he applies that artistic magic to his lifestyle. He’s lived in tents and teepees, but now lives in a hobbit style home in the hills. Watch the video below.

He’s written a couple books too, one on Radical Simplicity. Now edited to My Simple Life, and a book about his Tiny House.

And one on How To Make A Journal of Your Life. This one inspired me to connect with the outer world, and document my life again. I used to write everyday as a teenager to document my high school life. It’s’ wonderful to pick one up and read through it again. Albeit slightly embarrassing too haha.

He’s written a Moonlight Chronicles Series that documents his life traveling the world and the many adventures and observations, and he’s definitely inspiration to the style of books I want to write. I’m really glad I came across this.

Check him out, if you enjoy whimsical things about the meaning of life. It’s a really beautiful breath of fresh air.

Adios and enjoy the weekend!

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More Minimalism YouTube Channels

Published 08/29/2015

It’s 2:41 in the afternoon, and the air is moist. There is a raging windstorm going on outside, which has decided to blow over one side of my balcony railing onto the street below, and tear our patio gazebo apart into a tangled mess of canvas canopy and broken metal. Even with all of this going on, I am very comfy and cozy snuggled up on the sofa with my love, my laptop, and a hot cup of english breakfast tea.

Today has been a great day so far. We spent the morning wandering around the Museum of Vancouver to see the Happiness exhibition and a really neat exhibition on the history of living in Vancouver from the 1900’s to 1970s. Of course my favourite was the hippie display. A good day to slow down indeed.

Anyway, I just wanted to update my list of Minimalism YouTube Channels because it seems to be getting some popular attention, as I’ve found a few (more than a few) more since last time.

Melissa Alexandria – Probably my favourite channel right now. Melissa covers so many different areas in our lives with regards to minimalism and what that means. It’s very inspiring to watch someone go through their journey and follow along.

Samantha Lindsey – Samantha shares her inspiring story on how minimalism helped her deal with anxiety.

Brittany Taylor – Brittany takes a more nomadic approach to minimalism, but it is so cool to watch someone with such a free and spiritual lifestyle. She’s really into acro yoga too.

Carrie LeighAnna – I like Carrie’s simple and sweet approach to minimalism. She also has a really great capsule wardrobe.

High Carb Hannah – Hannah’s channel is more vegan based than minimalist, but she does live a minimalist lifestyle, and I love watching her and her fiancé, at Unconventional Living, build their intentional lives.

My Minimalist Baby – For those of you who have little ones!

Noelia Lewis – A beauty inspired minimalism channel.

The More We Explore – Watch this couple on their journey to living out of an RV.

This week…

I took a bit of a break on my workouts because I was on the 3 day juice cleanse. So I’ve made a commitment to start up with Blogilates again on September 1st to start the new calendar month!

I’m practicing my intuitive eating. Trying not to stuff myself. It’s helping. We bought a scale, and my body actually fluctuates between 4 pounds over an entire day. That weirded me out a little.

Every night I’ve been reading a bit of my Astrology book, but I’ve not been as focused on my goals.

Giving back is great, I’m excited to the Annual Walk for the Kitties event for VOKRA.

I’ve been more honest with the relationships in my life as well as career. I find that when you put the truth out there, a weight is lifted, and things are more likely to turn for the better 🙂

That’s all folks. Some things I could improve on, is focus on eating even better, and smaller meals more often throughout the day. I think my spending could be a bit better too. I don’t really buy a lot of stuff, but I know I could be more aware. I’ll aim for that this week. Less spending and eating better.

Anyone else trying to live more intentionally?

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Why We Need To Slow The F*** Down

Published 08/08/2015

Pardon the language in my title. But seriously. I’ve just finished a book (I read a lot of books sometimes) written by my partner’s aunt, called Have You Ever Had A Hunch?

It’s a book about the importance of creative thinking and being in tune to your inner creative intuition. It looks at all of the ways that we repress ourselves and how society blocks our creativity. But there were a couple points in this book that really stood out that I must share.

Living in a Hurry -Up Culture

We have become overstimulated and overwhelmed by all of the choices available to us and there are way too many options that stand in the way of deep examination.

“Political “experts” sell their pre-packaged thinking, financial analysts, theirs. Into whose interpretation of political events or economic eventualities should we buy? What commodity will reflect well on us? Which new fashions will enhance us? What cereal displayed in the rows and rows of cereals in the ultra-super-megastore should we choose? Which of the latest technological applications is best? How long will it take for it to become outdated? How do you keep up with the ever-changing future? How much more time will we spend trying to make choices? Will there fever be enough time to explore our individual creative desires?” ~ Have You Ever Had A Hunch?

It’s incredible! Because we are being bombarded with information, we rarely have a moment to sit and contemplate everything thrown at us, and we don’t take any time to listen to what our own souls are crying for us to do.

People who are removed from their own instincts about things become more and more confused by the multiple perspectives they are constantly being offered and become incapable of defining their own world view. And thus, we suffer from a loss of authenticity. This is something I can really relate to sadly.

Our poor kids today are growing up in a busy culture as well, and not having time to themselves to create and be imaginative.

“In the United States today, it is the age of the microwave child, many of whom have never kneaded dough, never watched a meal being cooked from scratch. The ingredients are not of importance; it’s the finished product that counts…a goal is achieved without the creative process, without the stimulation and sacrifice of work. Instead, there exists a need for instant gratification.” ~ Have You Ever Had A Hunch?

Our Lack of Solitude

“There might be a place inside your head where ideas dwell, but nowhere to bring these to fruition is a cruncher.” ~ Have You Ever Had A Hunch?

Creative people need a space for solitude in order to reach those depths within. But many people are afraid to be alone with themselves. But being alone allows us to really think, it’s required if we want to get to know ourselves, and not get distracted by the constant information out there.

But anyway, enough about that. I just wanted to share those nuggets of information should you be inclined to check out the book!

This week…

I didn’t end up biking to work at least 3 days a week (oops). I blamed it on not making enough time to ride to work. However, I have ran 5km twice this week to make up for it and I’m noticing a huge difference. I’ve done well with intuitive eating, BUT have not always made 100% healthy choices. There was chocolate birthday cake, and a wine and cheese girls night in there somewhere. This week I must do better.

I’ve been setting a few minutes everyday practicing feeling blissful and not suffering. I tend to whine and complain, so I’m trying to get over that.

I didn’t make any unnecessary purchases. Yay to that!

Last weekend I donated a cat tree to Katie’s Place. And almost took a cat home.

I tried to squeeze in important family/loved ones time but I could have done better here. I was having an emotional and hormonal week contemplating my life and career, so I think my attention was more towards myself. I saw my family on the weekend and had brunch, and did a road trip with my partner to Harrison Hot Springs though.

I asked my boss to work part time. The company is still my baby, but we aren’t as busy currently so it was a good time to see if I could focus on all my projects on the go. I’m torn between growing the role full-time, vs time on my projects. There’s a great opportunity there that I need to sort out.

And that is all folks! Nothing very exciting. I’d love to hear how your week went! Is anyone else trying to live intentionally?

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A Fresh Start to Living with Intention!

Published 08/01/2015

Hey everyone! Long time no chat. I’ve been a bit MIA these days because, well, basically life just sort of took over, but I am back and I want to give this thing the love and attention it needs. I’ve also been fighting a fear between just being myself vs trying to be objective and informational, if that makes sense. But a good friend helped me realize that, what is the worst that could happen if people I knew in real life knew me as personally as I shared myself on this blog? So I’m going to be more real, as I definitely enjoy reading those blogs more than pure informational ones (i.e. 10 Ways to Get Over a Cold!) Be warned, this is a long post, but it’s an intro to a new start, so if you have the patience to read it, then cool!

A lot of things have changed and I must admit that I got distracted from the Minimalism thing because I had moved into a new house with my SO and had a promotion a few months back so I was very busy and overwhelmed. The result was a house full of things (combining my things with his things) and being too mentally exhausted to focus on anything else with all the work stuff going on.

After having gone through some intense personal development workshops and seeing the person I want to be wasn’t exactly who I was currently, I am committing to live a more intentional life starting today, August 1st, 2015! I plan on checking in weekly to see how I am doing, and I am happy for you to point out of I miss any updates (eek!). One thing I need to work on is committing to tasks that are somewhat ‘repetitive’. I seem to have a difficult time with this. But my coach said something brilliant.

Building Character means doing the things that uphold your values and who you want to be, despite you not feeling like it or wanting to do it.

Amen to that. But first.

I kicked off my “Fresh Start” by reading this book, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo. It’s absolutely incredible! Talk about a unique, quirky perspective on minimalism. Basically, Marie talks about the Japanese KonMari method of decluttering, where you hold every item in your hand, and only keep it if it “sparks joy”. She anthropomorphises objects, teaching you to show them love and appreciation, and thank them for their purpose. For example, if there are gifts or cards you don’t want to keep but feel guilty about getting rid of, know that the purpose of a gift/card is to convey someone’s emotions about you. Once that purpose has been served, you have no other obligation to keep the item.

I finished this book in a few hours and was well on my way to decluttering what I had accumulated since my last purge. I got rid of 4 giant garbage bags of clothes/linens, a bunch of books, dishes, and random knickknacks that had no meaning. I also went through useless documents that I thought I had to keep for record keeping sake. Granted, I don’t have a ton of things because I did do a huge purge last year, and I am not the biggest shopper. But I did well! I am so lucky to have a partner who was super supportive of it all.

“Go ahead! I like my office but the rest of the house is yours!”

Yay!

Anyway, pick up this book. It’s very cute, but extremely practical and claims to make you a tidy person for once and for all.

Let’s take a moment to talk about Minimalism for a second. I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos lately on minimalism,

Here are a couple I absolutely love:

but most of the Minimalists I am running into, whether on YouTube or on the Blogosphere, focus on extreme minimalism. Like, literally living with only, probably, one item of everything you need. Their decor is very neutral, simple, and clean. Which is really cool, and I wish I could do it, but I can’t ignore who I really am.

You know what brings me joy? Anything antique/vintage/retro and bohemian looking. Think eccentric grandma! Ornate designs carved into wood, colourful eccentric patterns against a neutral background, and textures. I do like to keep the bedroom fairly neutral and relaxing though as a space to clear my mind. Also, my wardrobe is pretty minimalist and neutral. My home just has to be eye candy. Here are some photos below.

So while my tastes don’t match what the norm seems to be out there in the Minimalism world, I adore every piece I own and they all spark joy. This is what it means to me. It means many things to different people. For instance, the world traveler minimalist who lives from their backpack, or a van converted into a home. I think it’s important not to confuse minimalism as one way of being because the purpose is ultimately the same – to get rid of the things we don’t need, to make room for the things we want.

And now, I must move onto to my Intentional Living! I’m not going to lie, I’m a bit nervous to start this. But the blog, Blonde on a Budget (another one you need to check out) really inspired me. Not only is she living more intentionally, but she has been on a Year Long Shopping Ban and onto her second! Amazing work Cait!

Below is a list of things that I intend to focus on so that I can live more intentionally, simply, and meaningfully. I’ve already been doing these things, but the goal is to STICK to them and remember the higher purpose.

Health and Fitness:

Daily Pilates: Currently I’m doing Blogilates daily. (Guys it’s so much fun!)
Bike to work at least 3x/week.
Intuitive eating which is creating a good relationship with food, mind and body. Learning not to eat for emotional reasons, just eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full.
Vegan/Vegetarian diet. I love animals way too much to eat them. Also not eating processed foods, too much sugar/alcohol/caffeine/crap. Currently I’m open to eating seafood, but most of my diet is primarily vegetarian. Let’s see if I can get to vegan. Any advice?
Cook more! Less eating out. Save money. I’ve been doing pretty well here.

Spiritual/Emotional:

Everytime I have the impulse to eat something bad because of emotional reasons (boredom/sadness etc), sit in the feeling, recognize it’s a misguided opportunity to connect with ourselves. Being ok with just feeling the emotions.
Be more present.
Astrology!: I must admit, whether it’s true or not, I find it so fascinating because the things I read seem to be extremely accurate. Been reading a bit of this book everyday. The Only Astrology Book You’ll Ever Need.
Be more aware and ethical in my lifestyle choices, whether it’s cleaning products, food, clothing etc.
Practice my daily Bliss feeling and no suffering so I can learn to push through uncomfortable feelings when I don’t want to do something.
The minimalist lifestyle, living simply, enjoying the little things and open up space for what is important.

Finance:

Currently live on half of my paycheque, and save the other half. Only buy things I need such as food and toiletries. Spending a minimal amount on ‘going out’ and other miscellaneous things.

Giving Back:

This Blog: Writing consistently, and personally, to hopefully inspire others. And I will be honest when I fail on any of these things in my weekly updates.
Animals: Donating money or supplies to Katie’s Place, a local animal shelter in my hometown, Maple Ridge.

Relationships: I think I can sum all of these into really honouring the time I spend with those that I care about. Being truly present with them, instead of being distracted by the next thing I need to do.

Friends: Make an effort to see how people are doing, being more supportive of people’s dreams and aspirations.
Family: Being present with my family, recognizing they won’t be around forever, spending more time with them.
Partner: Also being more present, giving my full attention, appreciating how much I love this man and how amazing he is.

Career/Personal:

Grow my Virtual Assistant business here at Less of the Excess, the ultimate goal for me is to become location independent and self sufficient. Through living a minimalist lifestyle and not buying into consumerism, we need much less money to survive on!
Less time surfing the internet, more time on goals…this one is difficult. Less distractions!

Phew! That was a long one…

I’d love to hear some of things you guys are all doing in order to live more intentionally.

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Mad for Matcha!

Published 06/02/2015

Mmm…there’s something so calming about a warm cup of Matcha Tea. The rich and creamy flavour paired with its relaxing properties is perfect for any morning wake-up or afternoon pick-me-up. I’ve always had Matcha Lattes from a coffee shop, but making it at home is a ritual in and of itself.

I will try to keep this post short as there is endless information on Matcha Tea so I will focus on what Matcha Tea is, the benefits, supplies you need and how to prepare it.

What is Matcha Tea?

Drinking Matcha Tea is part of a Japanese tradition and has been consumed for thousands of years. It is made from high quality green tea powder which is rich in nutrients and made from the tips of shade-grown Camellia sinensis plants. There are so many health benefits of Matcha Tea that it is known as one of the world’s most powerful super foods.

What are the benefits?

There are too many to list, but below is a quick run down. Source

High in Antioxidants – 5x the amount of as any other food
Loaded with Catechin, EGCg – it fights cancer
Has Calming Effects – Amino Acid L-Theanine promotes relaxation, without drowsiness
Increases Energy Levels and Endurance – Contains caffeine, but doesn’t give you the jitters
Burns Calories – increases metabolism
Detoxifies the Body
Fortifies the Immune System
Improves Cholesterol
Delicious Flavor!

Matcha Tea Supplies!

The essentials to a Matcha Tea making kit are:

1. Bamboo Whisk (Chasen) which creates a frothy beverage and is gentle on your tea and bowl.
2. Bamboo Tea Scoop (Chashaku) for scooping and measuring out the your powder.
3. Matcha Bowl (Chawan), an artisan style bowl for drinking your tea.

How to Prepare Matcha Tea

Ah the wonders of the internet, here is a diagram below. Source
Drinking Matcha tea is not just about pouring it into a bowl/cup and drinking it, it’s ritual as well. For a more detailed ceremonial way of drinking matcha tea, check out this video.

Don’t like matcha as a tea? Add it to any smoothie, make a latte, or even make a Matcha Tea shot!

Let me know if you drink Matcha Tea at all, or if you want to give it a try!

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It’s not about Work/Life Balance, it’s about Personal Alignment

Published 10/22/2014

Hi! It’s been a little while but I’m back! 🙂

I’m currently taking a course on Social Media and Content Marketing to learn a bit more about the online world and I’m lucky enough to have an instructor who shares the view of living her life according to her values, and not giving into the pressures of what society teaches us. She left the corporate world to follow her inner compass and tells her story in below’s Ted Talk. Check it out!

On another note, I want to share YOUR stories as well!

I always find hearing other people’s stories so inspiring and motivating especially if I’m in a funk, so I want to have a space where I can do that and bring everyone together because I’m sure they will inspire other people also.

If you have any personal stories about a change in your life perspective that you are open to sharing, PLEASE send them my way and I will feature them on my blog. These can be stories of spiritual awakenings, life changing events, realizing you don’t want to follow society’s rules, taking the big step to finally following your dreams, or even a book/person/film/etc that motivated you to change your life for the better.

Basically, if you have experienced an ‘AHA’ moment and realized you want to align your life with who you really are, I want to hear about it and share!

All I need from you is:

1) A written 300-700 word personal story
2) A photo of yourself, or something that represents your story (this is optional)
3) A link to your blog/website (if you have one)
4) Email the info to lessoftheexcess at gmail dot com

Yay, I can’t wait to share!

Take care and see you soon!

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Deliberately Creating Memories

Published 09/18/2014

Leave the memories as they are, you just can’t duplicate something like that. ~ an old friend

Something’s been on my mind. On the one hand I love the internet and technology because it allows us to communicate across distances and accomplish our dreams in a way we would not have done before. But on the other hand, as the meme says, I miss my pre-internet brain.

I miss those days when we would wait forever for our favourite musician to release their new album, and line up at the store just to purchase it. Then we’d go home and listen to it on repeat for hours, probably with some good friends.

I also miss feeling like I could actually be OFF THE GRID when I traveled, or like I was escaping somewhere where nobody could find me. Now I don’t feel like I’ve gone very far because everyone is just a click away, or I could easily be tracked down because my flight and bank details are probably online somewhere, if anyone had to really go searching for me.

On the flip side, music is at our fingertips. Anything we want to listen to, we can get, how cool is that? Anything we want to learn, is right there. Now when we travel, we can update our friends and family in real-time and show them what we are experiencing. We can look up our childhood friend and reconnect with them.

But here’s a question –

When is the last time you looked back and thought, wow, that was such a great time when I watched that YouTube video on cats, I’ll remember that forever…

That was so much fun scrolling through Facebook for hours on end. I’ll remember it until the day I die.

Yeah…not quite the same as real life is it?

The difference is we created a lot more MEMORIES. And we valued things that took more effort to do as opposed to the instant gratification of today.

My fear is that I, and anyone else who is guilty of too many hours being distracted by Facebook/YouTube/Reddit/video games/name your vice here, (and I know there are many of us) will one day look back and realize all this time has passed us by and we don’t have any wonderful memories to look back on. At least not to the degree of what it used to be. I mean, aren’t memories part of what makes life so amazing?

I worry about our children who will grow up with their faces glued to an iPad or computer screen, and sure they will probably learn a lot, but I wonder if their childhoods will be as magical and full of memories as the pre-internet world.

I don’t know…just some thoughts. What do you think?

Other than that, my point is I think it’s important to be mindful of deliberately creating memories. Take that time to disconnect ourselves from the digital world, and live in the real world. Have a little picnic in the park with an old friend, or meet a new friend while hiking up a mountain. Because it would be so sad to look back and realize we could have had a richer experience.

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Turn Your Current Job Into Your Dream Job

Published 08/26/2014

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. – Confucius

Sometimes I look back to where I used to be and where I am now, and while I still have a long way to go and many many more dreams to pursue, I have carved out my work situation in a way that I get to do what I specifically love doing for a living and I want to share with you how I’ve done that. Aside from entrepreneurship where we can start our own business doing what we love, there are some tips and tricks on how you can turn your current job, into one you will at least enjoy a lot more (that’s if you’re currently in a job you don’t necessarily like, or would prefer to be in a different job). Which will eventually lead to new opportunities.

I’m really only speaking from my own experience, but I’ve witnessed other people do the same, so I will share this anyway. And I’m fully aware that some work environments may not allow for any of these techniques, but if it helps one person, I am happy 🙂

Five Steps To Guide You Toward Your Dream Job

1. The number one rule you first need to adopt is to make decisions that are in line with your dreams and values, and do not compromise that. Check out this post on how to make difficult choices and this post on living according to our values. That means knowing what those values are and doing a little soul searching. Take some time to write out a list of what you value the most, what your strengths are and what fires you up.

2. Look at your current job situation and see how you can use those values and skills to enhance the current working environment or job role. For example, my value of connecting and developing people was important to me in a workplace. My first ‘job’ out of university was in Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS). This is a quite technical, data oriented part of HR. Definitely not my interest or strong suit. But I had a passion for people and making them happy in the workplace. A few things I did to incorporate those skills were:

Get my entire team to do an “About Me” powerpoint presentation over a conference call to get to know one another (most of us were remote workers and we didn’t know each other at all). This brought us closer together as a team.

I joined the Events Committee and took part in creating fun company events or lunch and learns.

I became the Diversity Champion Lead of our Vancouver Location to help promote and celebrate the diverse cultures of our company and set up related events.

I had/have a huge love of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), so I set up a team building event to discover my team’s working styles so we could communicate and work better together

None of these were related to my actual job role. And I made sure they didn’t take time and work away from what I actually had to get done. Most of it was done on my spare time.

Another example is from a friend of mine who worked in the IT department, but had a huge passion for health and exercise. He created a company exercise team/program where employees could participate in various sports or exercises during lunch hour, or various monthly challenges like the Monthly Ab Challenge. This would build upon his passion of helping people live a healthy lifestyle even though it isn’t directly related to his current job. Check out his blog here.

The main point is to keep building on your skills by adding new things.

3. Add these new special skills to your Resume. Now that you’ve got some experience under your belt related to what you love to do, add them to your Resume.

4. Connect with people who have similar interests and values. Through the power of filtering, when we obsess over certain things, we start to open doors that lead us in that direction. Someone, somewhere, will be looking for someone with your skill set. Meet lots of people. Join meetup.com and attend events and meet like-minded people. Keep your eyes open for job opportunities that allow you to grow your skills and apply for them. That’s where finding a good mentor can help you get there.

One note about rejection and failure. Try not to worry about it. As much as we hate it, it will happen at one point or another. But the opposite of happiness or success is not failure, it’s boredom. Just keep sticking to your guns, because the people who reject us aren’t a good match for us anyway. We want to be in a situation where our passion is appreciated.

5. Repeat steps 1 through 4. Eventually you will keep building and building to the point that you’ve flipped your working situation around. You’ll either end up in a new job that allows you to build upon your strengths and passions, or if you’re lucky enough your current job will build a space for you to flourish. This might even lead you to starting your own side business because now you have actual ‘work experience’ to back you up. The road can go in several directions from this point, but that’s what makes life so exciting!

That’s it! I just want to mention again that Step number one is the most important, and you have to be really strict on choosing things that line up with where and who you want to be. Sometimes you’ll be presented with a shiny opportunity, but it won’t be related to where you want to go. Don’t get side tracked. Stay on course and you’ll eventually end up where you need to be.

Please share your thoughts in the comments below! I’d love to hear them. If you liked what you read, please subscribe!

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