This blog post has been my way to share with you guys some things that i consider important in relation to happiness and self improvement. I have enjoyed sharing with you all and i could not even begin to tell you how much blogging has helped me. I have found that blogging and sharing some of my deepest thoughts with you all has de-stressed me in ways i couldn’t even begin to explain. The more i talk about self improvement, the more real it becomes in my life. I have made so many steps in these short months that are leading me to a better mindset.

Taking my own advice is something i have always struggled with, but i decided to make the journey with all of my followers and i couldn’t be happier. This experience will help me in the future to understand that not all things in life are positive, but it is how we handle situations that define us. I believe i can use my advice in professional situations by becoming more patient and having a healthier mindset when it comes to stressful situations. If i could include/improve anything within this site i would love to be able to chat one on one with each of my followers. I am very interested to know your stories and i would love to watch you all grow.

I think the promotion of my blogs on twitter has been extremely effective on getting the  word out about my blogs through social media. My most popular week was the week of September 17th when i posted about mindfulness. The post received 17 views and 20 visitors.  Mindfulness was my first post about self improvement and i think the content was extremely important. You cannot want to get better if you don’t have the mind for it, So i think it is truly the first step towards self improvement.

Always choose to see the beauty in the world.

For this blog post I want to share with you guys some things i consider to be extremely important in the journey towards self improvement. I will be talking about the work enviroment and how it can affect your overall happiness in life. Now, i know we don’t go to work everyday because we want to (well at least most of us don’t) but that shouldn’t stop us from being happy. Our jobs are a HUGE part of our lives. For most of us we spend at least 5 days, roughly 40 hrs a week there. Thats a huge chunk of our time.

For all of us college kids i know our jobs probably aren’t our permanent goals for life and we go to work everyday just to afford bills, but that doesn’t mean we have to hate every second of it. For most of my college career i was extremely unhappy at a job i worked at. It was a very high-paced, hectic enviroment that caused me an intense amount of stress. I  made the decision to push through and continue working at this place for years until i realized how much tension and anxiety it gave me. I didn’t value my job and i didn’t take pride in it. I dreaded going to work everyday and it took a toll on my overall happiness.

So my advice to you all is to find joy in your everyday encounters. Work is not always going to be a fun place to be, but it doesn’t have to be a place that sucks the positivity out of you. Use the glass door  app to see what real life people have to say about local jobs before you pledge yourself to one. Surround yourself around people you enjoy and clientele that will teach you things. Value what you do for a living and you will find more value in yourself. Put yourself first in life and focus on what makes you happy.

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All over the news and social media we see negative things happening all around us. We are surround by dark, ugly settings which can change our outlook on life. The media chooses to portray all of the messed up things happening in this the world. What we don’t see, is all of the beauties this life has to offer us. If we simply open our eyes and choose to see the positives of this life we can create our own happiness.

I, too have been at fault of only seeing the negatives. I get so wrapped up in the news and drama that I forget there’s so much pure beauty I have been ignoring. We need to stop focusing on the craziness in the world (I promise you it will still be there when you decide to go back to it) and focus more on the things that make us happy. For me, nature is my safe place. I absolutely l love all of the natural hiking trails and hidden water holes Mother Nature has to offer. Being outside in a beautiful atmosphere brings me and intense amount of joy that I can’t get anywhere else.

When I was a little girl I used to have this beautiful cave behind my house. When your little everything just seems so big, so I would go out there with my brothers and just be in awe at how magical this cave was. I think back to how simple my life was then and how much I just enjoyed staring at that beautiful cave. Life doesn’t always have to be consumed with the news and the craziness of the world, sometimes you can just take a trip by yourself and enjoy the beauties of life. Soak in it and let it change the way you view the world.

For this blog I want to share with you guys some ways to stay physically fit in your journey towards self improvement. This topic is something I want to explain to you guys a little first. I truly believe beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I want you to know every shape, size -and color is beautiful. Self improvement doesn’t always have to mean changing the way you look. However, exercise is good not only for the body but also for the soul.

I have always been involved in sports and outdoor activities ever since I can remember. For the most part I have stayed pretty fit throughout my life, that is until I got to college. Once I started my adult life I realized it is hard to find time to workout and eat right. I would try to diet and I would immediately get frustrated when I could not see results. I kept trying and trying until I realized I needed to stop focusing on my outer appearance and realize how working out/eating right made me FEEL. Once I began working out I could not stop. This isn’t because of the way I looked, but because I felt unstoppable. I had more energy, more focus, and just all around a much happier outlook on life.

Exercise. I promise you, you will begin to feel so much more confident and you will learn that your body is capable of so much. You will begin to feel the way you were meant to feel. This buzzfeed has some workout tips for beginners that I think could really help us all (I am not expert). Working out doesn’t have to mean body building and all those crazy workouts people do, it can be simple and much less stressful than you think. You may even find working out is a stress reliever (it is for me). Just remember your body is a temple and you only get one, so take care of it. You deserve it.

Sleep is one of the most important things you can give your body. Without a set sleeping schedule you can become anxious and moody. Now, I understand how difficult this can be to try and go to sleep at the same time every night especially for us college kids. A statistic from the American Sleep Association says that 50-70 million Americans struggle with sleep disorders. I know if I don’t get my eight hours of sleep I am no fun to be around, so for this blog I will be talking about some healthy ways to get your sleep under control. Trust me, you will see such a change in your mindset and energy.

First, try to limit your social media use as much as you can at least 30 minutes before bed. This is proven to help your mind wind down at night. Try to avoid going to the gym or using any caffeine past 9pm. It will keep you up all night ! Set an alarm each day to train your mind and body to stop oversleeping. One of the biggest issues I have with sleep is oversleeping on the weekends, and it only makes me feel groggy for the rest of the day. Too much sleep IS a thing guys. I’ve also been focusing on meditating before bed with my calmness app. I know meditating isn’t for everyone, but personally I see a huge difference in my sleeping pattern.

By changing your sleep patterns to a more healthy routine you will feel better and be all around more positive. This is something I struggle with working late night bartending shifts, but I have set goals that are attainable and I am determined to get my sleeping pattern under control. Sleep, in my opinion, is the true core of feeling good. So guys, wind down at night, take a relaxing bath. Ease your mind and forget all about the stresses in life that you cannot change in that moment. Focus on yourself and your well being.

After searching for more tips for success I stumbled upon a blog that I really want you guys to check out. Duncan Muguku who is the founder of thriveyard.com is a one man army. He is in charge of writing in-depth blog articles, designing website framework, preparing slides, infographics drafts, video concepts, working with freelance graphic designers and website developer, maintaining website, writing eBooks, social media management, marketing, sales, accounting, developing training courses etc. I came across his blogs about self improvement and I found it to be really helpful to me during this journey. What first was appealing to me is that he has a whole page dedicated to letting his readers know who he really is as a person and blogger. He builds credibility this way and gives his reader a face to put to his work. I felt much more comfortable reading his posts knowing exactly who was posting the content.

The second thing that really stood out to me while reading his blogs is that he is very organized. His posts are very easy to follow and he uses a lot of tables/ bullet points, which makes it easy for readers to keep up. He has a table of contents that guides readers to certain focus points of self improvement. Another thing that stood out to me was his use of lists. Instead of writing in depth sentences to appeal to his audience he simply just lists what it is that you can do to better yourself on your journey towards self improvement. He is quick and to the point. I truly feel like I learned a lot from the posts. He also highlights key words that he believes to be important or that needs to be focused on. Some of the content in his lists seemed a little vague to me but when i clicked on the highlighted word it took me to a full description of what he meant.

Duncan Muguku, in my opinion, is a credible blogger about self improvement and has help guide me towards the path of growth. I really hope you guys check him out as well as continue practicing the things we have been covering. I really think it could help. Thank you guys for participating and joining me on my journey.

For today’s blog I want to talk about self love. Self love is a crucial part of the journey towards self improvement. It is the core of happiness and confidence. Without self love there really is no motivation for improvement. Self love is not something that happens over night, you have to train your mind and body to truly appreciate who you are as a person. Without it, you will struggle in relationships and find it is hard to give away love to others. If you are anything like me you will find yourself at times thinking negative thoughts about yourself and only causing harm to your outlook on life. This has to stop. We owe it to ourselves to be our own biggest fan.

There are plenty of ways we can train ourselves to think more positively so we can start appreciating the small things. First, anytime a negative thought comes to mind, make a conscious effort to stop it. We should replace our negativity with motivation. Instead of dwelling on things we wish were different, we should embrace change and focus on improvement. Make a list of things that bother you, realize what you can change and what you can’t. The things you can’t change are things you need to accept and learn to embrace. Make goals that you can reach, don’t make goals that are too far from your reach. If you do, you will get discouraged and want to quit. Don’t quit. Self love is a journey, but with time you will learn it can bring you so much happiness.

Steps towards self-love:

1. Prioritize self-care

2. Make more time for yourself “me time”

3. Surround yourself with positive people

4. Eliminate stressors

5. Practice positive affirmation

6. Set goals

7. Learn to love the skin your in

8. Stop comparing yourself to others

9. Be patient

10. Be mindful

We need to understand how important we are, and how we treat ourselves is how others will treat us. We tend to be hard on ourselves and focus on the bad but we have to realize how much good comes from each individual and make that the center of our focus. Once you begin the journey towards self love I promise you will feel so confident and just all around more positive. We are all important. We are all beautiful. We all deserve to be happy. Center yourself around others who support your journey. Be around people who want to increase your confidence. We have to want to improve, want to be happy and want to be confident. Stop comparing yourself to others who have more than you, I promise they have so many flaws that you don’t even know about. Avoid negative thoughts, if social media is contributing to your negativity, temporarily delete it and focus on yourself for a while(it will still be there when you come back). It will be a process but each day you will begin to feel full of love. If you want more information on self love research and read more about steps you can take on your journey. Remember, make yourself your biggest priority, you can’t help others if you do not feel satisfied within yourself.

Hey guys! Today I’m going to be sharing with you some of the steps I’ve taken toward self improvement. Before we begin, let me give you an inside look on what’s been going on since we last talked. This month I have struggled quite a bit with anxiety and the pressures of life. I look on social media and I see all of my friends thriving and moving on with their lives. I compare myself to people I don’t even know and base what I have on what other people have. I’ve been having this feeling lately like I’ve been stuck with the decisions I’ve already made in life. I will be graduating soon and moving on to a different chapter and it’s been causing me an intense amount of anxiety. I feel like it’s time for some change. I need to grow with my wants and needs and I need to acknowledge that change is OKAY, even though it can be terrifying. I need to focus on my own life and stop comparing it to others.

I recently have made some decisions to cut out as many stressors as possible. I cut out a toxic relationship, I decided to stop constantly comparing myself to others on social media and I made the decision to live a more positive lifestyle. Now, I understand change is a process. It doesn’t happen overnight but the first step is allowing change to come into your life for a more positive outcome. I promise you, your going to look back months from now and thank yourself. I plan to improve my lifestyle by making little changes to my everyday decisions that will give me a “glass half full” mindset.

Statistics show that it only takes 21 days to break a habit. That’s it! It can be small habits such as, not eating out every day, calling your mom more, blocking out negative thoughts, putting aside more time for yourself , being nicer to co-workers, going to bed at a more consistent hour, or going to the gym more throughout the week. These are things we have control over and we need to understand that it IS possible to change. We have to WANT to change. Now, I’m not saying you have to change who you are to be happy, I’m simply saying make a decision to improve your everyday life, to give you more energy so you can feel stronger (mentally/physically). There’s nothing wrong with changing it up and giving yourself a new purpose. I know how exhausting it can be to give all your energy and still not feel satisfied. I challenge you to make a list of all the things you want to change. Write down what you hope to gain from change, whether it’s weight loss, self confidence, happiness, etc. Put the list somewhere you can see it everyday. Make a plan on how your going to implement change and mark each day off on your calendar until you reach 21 days. Once you’ve reached your 21 day goals, notice how you feel and decide to make it your everyday life. You owe it to yourself to at least try. Remember, out with the old, in with the new!

For my first post I want to share with you guys a little information about mindfulness. Now some of you would already consider yourself to be pretty mindful and aware of your surroundings, but did you know that by meditating each day, even for a few minutes, you can lower your heart rate and blood pressure dramatically? Yea, mediation isn’t just about a positive mind. It can help you reach a more healthy body, too. Now I know what your thinking, “how am I going to find the time to meditate each day if I already have so many things going on?” Well the answer is simple. Meditation doesn’t have to be anywhere specific or in any specific outfit, you can practice meditation in the car on the way to your job, at home while your winding down for bed, or even in the middle of work with lots of things going on. Mindfulness is something you can control and by training yourself a little bit everyday, soon it will just come naturally.

I personally have the mindfulness app on my phone. The app sends me notifications throughout the day reminding me to stay focused and to catch my breath. Sometimes when I’m extremely stressed and anxious I get a reminder on my phone to take a deep breath and I remember that only I can allow my stress to take over me. I am in charge. Mindfulness isn’t something that can be conquered in a day, but trust me you owe to yourself to begin learning. Even if you are a pretty calm person ( I am not), mindfulness can help you understand yourself more and make you a more positive person.

How do you become mindful you ask? There’s no correct answer. Mindfulness can be different for everyone. For me, when I catch myself stressing out or panicking I have to close my eyes, be aware of my surroundings, and find my breath. Breathing is everything. This is a just a little something I practice everyday on my journey to becoming the best me that I can be. Before I finish my post my challenge for you all this week is to wake up and take a deep breath before you do anything else. Instead of listening to your music on the way to work, try having a silent car ride. In this time I want you to really try to be aware of your surroundings and your breathing. Focus on your mindset and bring your attention to the present moment. Take a mental note of how you feel when your doing this.This is an exercise that will only take a few minutes so no excuses! It is the best way to start your day and it could make a huge difference in your attitude! This will increase your self awareness and begin your journey to self improvement. Try downloading the mindfulness app and doing some of the exercises for the best results. I hope you guys enjoyed!

Have you ever wondered why even though you wake up every morning, go to class, go to work, stay out of trouble and give it your all, you don’t feel like your being the best YOU? Well if you’ve ever wondered that, your reading the right blog post. My name is Amanda Stewart and my blog is going to be about self improvement. On this page I hope to  share small little secrets that can help someone reach their full potential. Now I am no expert, believe me. The reason I decided to blog about this is because I, too would love to feel like I am being the best ME that I can be.

To start off let me tell you a little about myself. I am a full time college student with a full time job. I usually work 5-6 days a week in order to be able to pay all of my bills (there’s a lot). I have a dog who takes up almost all of my free time (he requires a lot of attention) and I usually don’t have a lot of me time with homework and everything else in life. I do my best everyday and I do it without complaining. I am a pretty confident person but I have those days (we all do) where I just want to be better.

Im going to be sharing with you guys some ideas on how to have a clear mind and a more positive outlook on yourself. I hope all of you college students who are going through the same things as me can read these posts and relate the struggles. This blog is my stress reliever and my guide to living the best life possible. Remember, motivation comes from working on things we care about. I hope you all enjoy!