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Blue Monday: Reasons to Hope
Tomorrow is the third Monday in January, also known as Blue Monday. This is considered one of the most depressing days of the year. How do we find reasons to hope and have joy on one of the most depressing days of the calendar? What about the other times that we feel depressed or sadness especially during the winter months? What is Blue Monday? Blue Monday was originally created by a public relations company. Using a rather unscientific formula, they determined why Blue Monday is one of the most depressing days of the year. The formula brings in factors of debt, weather, time since Christmas, time since failing New Year’s…
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Goal Setting: Creativity as a Prompt
A few weeks have gone by since most of us were setting goals or New Year’s Resolutions for 2020. Has it been a struggle to stay on target with your goal? Or are you still feeling really motivated and passionate about your resolutions? Personally, I’m finding some of my goals and habits easy to manage and others more difficult. I tend to procrastinate so it’s taking extra effort to ensure that I stay on track. So the question I have for you today is how do we keep moving forward to stick to our goals for this year? A Creative Way of Keeping Goals Visible An important part of trying…
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12 Books to Read in 2020
January has come very quickly and many of us have set New Years Resolutions for the coming year. One of my personal goals was to create a book list of 12 books to read in 2020. I love to read but I don’t always make time for it. My goal was to read books that would help me with my mental health and challenge me in the area of personal growth. As a way to help me with accountability, I will be sharing my impressions of each book with you. My hope is that these books can help you in your journey towards self-care this year. Choosing Books for Personal…
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Realistic Goal Setting and New Year’s Resolutions
As 2020 is just around the corner, the topic of realistic goal setting and New Year’s Resolutions comes up in conversation. Goal setting can be a struggle for me, but not because I’m unmotivated. On the contrary, one of my strengths is achieving. I tend to set impossible goals or have too many goals. For goal setting to be effective we must set realistic goals in a way that does not bring stress or guilt. Instead it should bring inspiration and motivation. Goal setting does not have to cause anxiety or be discouraging. It can be a powerful tool to help you meet your goals without punishing yourself. Hop-A-Long Studio…
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Coping with Anxiety during the Holidays
As Christmas Day draws near, there are so many things to do and so many places to be. This can bring with it feelings of being overwhelmed and anxious. Sometimes coping with anxiety during the holidays can be difficult. How do we find ways to lower our anxiety and find peace and meaning during this busy time? Having Anxiety is not Abnormal We all deal with anxiety at one time or another. It can feel like having anxiety is abnormal, but that is truly not the case. Considering the pace of our lives and the acceptance of busyness as a lifestyle, anxiety is an epidemic in our society. According to…
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Practicing Self-Care during the Holiday Season
Practicing self-care during the holiday season can be a bit of a challenge. It is a season filled with additional commitments. This can mean finding moments to relax and be mindful can be rare. It made me think of the self-care habits that I have in place over the holiday season that bring rest and restoration. Self-Care through Handmade Holiday Cards One of my self-care practices over the holiday season is making holiday cards. Not only do people love handmade cards, it can be an outlet for slowing things down and finding mindfulness. I find using a loose medium like watercolor is very relaxing. Working with my hands and concentrating…
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Dealing with Loss During the Holiday Season
The holiday season is upon us! This season can bring with it many positive emotions, joy, peace, and special moments with family and friends. It’s a great time to create some cherished memories. But for many of us, Christmas can be a very bitter sweet experience. It can be a time of revisiting loss in our lives. From broken relationships, the death of loved ones or just wishing that situations in our lives were different than what they are can bring some unsettling feelings. Today I would like to talk about dealing with loss during the holiday season. Finding Acceptance So how do we navigate our way through some really…
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Why I Killed my Ego
This week my thoughts have turned to the concept of ego and moving past fear based living to acceptance. Have you had moments where you have said things you didn’t mean and felt instant regret? Have you had moments of wanting to hide something that you’ve done because you were too ashamed to tell the truth? All of us in some point in our lives look at our actions and ask “What in the world was I thinking?” This is why I killed my ego. What is Ego? Ego can be defined as your personal identity or sense of self-worth. In Latin, ego translates as “I.” By nature, our ego is…
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Finding Creativity Through Art Journaling
Earlier this week I wrote about the Importance of Creativity and the need for creativity in our daily lives and the lessons it teaches. I created a video to provide a synopsis of the article. As I was thinking about the Importance of Creativity and how it affects my artistic process, I wanted to share some of my creative art journaling ideas with you. My hope is that you will see the possibilities that come with the medium. Why Art Journaling? Art journaling is very freeing as you don’t have to stick to a particular medium or style. It can be a place for personal meditation and expression. I…
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The Importance of Creativity
In a world where creativity is somewhat embraced, but isn’t seen as nearly as important as money, power, or status, how do we respond to this? Is creativity just an emotional whim that is meant as part of our private lives, or is it something more? I would like to delve into the importance of creativity to the spirit, how it’s critical to our lives and should be part of our self-care habit and not an afterthought. Why is Creative Expression Important? A few days ago I saw a Ted Talk about art, it was called “Stop Making Art and You Die” by Rich Theroux. I found it very inspiring,…
The Art of Self-Care
