Thursday, February 26, 2015

HOW TO ACTIVELY PURSUE YOUR PASSIONS

The other day I heard someone talking about how they don't like calling pursuing your passions "dreaming", because dreaming is for sleeping, and you should be active in going after what you want. You have to chase after what you want and put in a lot of hard work.

I agree with that to a point. I believe that reaching your goals involves actively making decisions that will get your closer to what you are working towards. However, I think the concept of dreaming is beautiful. Everyone should have something that gets them so excited that it keeps them up at night thinking about sometimes. Everyone should have that one thing that makes them excited for the rest of their life, because they cannot wait for what the world has in store for them.

I have no idea what I will actually end up doing in the future. I don't know where I am going to live after college or what my first job will be--or what the one after that will be. Yet, I feel something burning inside of me every day that knows I should be excited for whatever my future turns out to be. I am certainly not wishing away the present, because I am thrilled to be where I am in my life right now, but I am not afraid of the future either.

How to Actively Pursue Your Passions

 

1. Establish your goals.

Having a dream is one thing, but if you want your dream to become a reality, you need tangible goals that will help you get there.

2. Envision the steps to achieving your goals.

Take some time to think about steps that you can take right now to achieve your final goals. Are there skills that you can be refining? Are there people you can talk to that can give you advice? It is never too early to start working towards your dreams.

3. Set deadlines.

I don't know about you, but if I don't have a deadline I tend to put things off. There needs to be something to keep you in line and make sure that you are actually putting the work in. When you have deadlines, you are more likely to keep yourself on track and actually accomplish something. For instance, maybe you want to improve your Photoshop skills. Make a goal of how often you want to have projects done by or a number of tutorials you want to have completed by a certain date. 

4. Take time to refocus.

Sometimes you need to step back and look at the reasons you chose to go after whatever it is you are passionate about. Why do you have these dreams? What is pushing you further? What is it that fire burning within you that tells you this is all worth it? You need to remind yourself of why you have those dreams.

5. Don't let yourself get stuck.

This one kind of relates to number 4. If you took the time to refocus and you realized that you couldn't figure out why you had these dreams, maybe you need to reconsider what you are working towards. For years I wanted to be a doctor. I tried to teach myself medical terms in my spare time. I narrowed down my specialty by the time I was 12 and stuck with it for years. But then one day, I realized that it wasn't actually my dream. Maybe it had been at one point, or maybe it was just easy to stick with it because I had been saying it was my dream for so many years. Either way, I realized it's okay to change your mind. Don't feel anchored down by one idea. Be open to other possibilities, because there are so many things you can do with your life that you might not even know about now.

6. Accept failures, and move on.

One of the best talks that I have ever attended taught me that you should move onto the next thing before you find out how the last thing turned out. So maybe you're a writer, and you want to be published. Part of the gig is facing rejection letters sometimes. Instead of getting stuck on whether or not your work will get accepted, start working on your next project. That way you are not letting your successes or failures dictate your path. You are moving forward, regardless of how one thing turns out. There will always be other opportunities, so make sure you are open to finding them.

7. Finally, invest in yourself.

You have to your biggest fan. If you want other people to believe in you, you have to believe in yourself first. Your confidence and your passion will be your greatest assets, and they will be invaluable in achieving your goals. Treat yourself well. Don't push yourself too hard, and always remember that your dreams matter.

Dreaming might be something that we do when we're sleeping, but I think it's one of the most amazing things that our mind can do. When I am daydreaming, I don't scold myself, because I know how important it is to my creativity. My imagination is one of my greatest strengths, and I don't ever want to deny it. If you take anything away from this, please remember: never stop dreaming.



You may say I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one. -John Lennon


Monday, February 9, 2015

THERE'S NO TIME LIKE NOW TO FLOURISH

As a blogger, I am constantly pushing myself to be creative and encourage creativity in others. Some of my biggest inspirations are the wonderful women I have met through blogging. Today, I am excited to linkup with Brittany, from The Kardia for the first Flourish Linkup! This linkup is all about learning to be successful and thriving with your own passions, and there is no time like now to start. I'm so lucky to have come across Brittany's blog, because she has such a wonderful spirit and energy. Her posts have inspired me to think and design more creatively, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to spread creative energy with her linkup.

There's no time like now to flourish

10 Things I'm Grateful for:

  1. Friends and family that support my dreams and creative endeavors
  2. Late night talks about life
  3. The opportunity to attend a university where I can study what I am passionate about
  4. Breathtaking views
  5. Good books with refreshing tea
  6. The unique bond I have with my 4-year-old sister
  7. Warm chocolate chip cookies
  8. The close relationships I have with my parents 
  9. Videos, movies or songs that inspire me to think about life
  10. Writers, bloggers, and teachers that have inspired me to choose the life of writing and everything that comes with it

I will flourish creatively this year by:

Not making excuses. Life is always busy. Netflix is always tempting. There is always some excuse. My biggest goal this year is to stop making excuses of why I don't have time to write or work on my design skills. No one was every successful in what they didn't do, so this is the year that I take some advice from Nike and "just do it."

Taking my time. I always say that all I want is another day in the week, but I know that in reality if there were another day I would find more to keep busy with. Sometimes I rush through things, because I don't feel like I have enough time to get everything done. And there is nothing I want to cut out of my schedule. It might seem like there is too little time in the day sometimes, but I want to spend more time with my creative outlets. I do not want to feel rushed through posts or designed projects. So my goal is to set tentative deadlines but to be flexible so that I can do my best work.

Listening. Music has always been one of my biggest inspirations. When I was younger I used to write fiction with chapters named after songs that had similar themes to what I was writing about. I think it's amazing the way that a song can tell a story or evoke emotion. Music has even inspired some of my blog posts, and it has often help me better articulate my thoughts. This year I will spend more time paying attention to the lyrics that help me think creatively.

What the word "Flourish" means to me: 

The way I see it, to "flourish" is to succeed by putting in everything that you have and not holding back. To flourish creatively is to immerse yourself in your work and produce something that has never been done before. One of the things I liked that Brittany said was that she has a goal to work on creating her own style, because it is so easy to use ideas from other people, even by accident. It's difficult to push boundaries and create from a blank slate, because we have so many influences all around us. So many strive to be unique, but being original is difficult in a world coated in creativity. I think the best way to flourish creatively is to be authentic and push past your own limitations until you uncover the beauty that no one else could see.

What do you think it means to "flourish"? Join the linkup on The Kardia to share how you plan to flourish this year.





The Kardia

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

13 STAGES OF GETTING OVER A BREAKUP AS TOLD BY JESSICA DAY

The beginning of the relationship is always the best part. It's fun and new, and you still butterflies every time you see each other. The end is a different story. Endings are usually messy and hard, and someone ends up getting hurt. No matter who initiated the break up, it's an uncomfortable time and it's normal to have emotions about it.

When you're going through a break up, you are on an emotional roller coaster.

Stage 1: You're confused. You feel hurt and sad, and you keep replaying it over and over again in your head.


Stage 2: You have processed what has happened. You need ice cream and break up music. Stat!


Stage 3: You are pretty sure you will never meet anyone again, and you are destined to be single forever.


Stage 4: You are over it. You think.


Stage 5: It's time to move on and go out with your girls.


Stage 6: You realize you can finally appreciate all the cute guys around. Plus, going out with your friends is so much more fun when you are single.


Stage 7: You run into your Ex, and all of the feelings resurface.


Stage 8: Maybe you're not over it yet.


Stage 9: You blast music and rant about relationships with your friends.


Stage 10: You return to stage 2 for a little while.


Stage 11: You realize you are better off without him, and that everything is going to be okay.


Stage 12: You decided to take some time to be by yourself and not focus on guys for a while.


Stage 13: But then you get a new match on Tinder. Maybe guys aren't too bad, after all? I mean look at that smile.


In the end, you are single now. If you were dating for a while, it might take some getting used to. You go from being with someone who knows all your little quirks and likes/dislikes to having to start all over again. There's no rush to get back out there. That's something that comes with time, and there's something really gratifying about being on your own. In college, especially, you want the space to try to things and meet new people.

I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and if you broke up, it means that your SO wasn't the one. Plus, if you were still trying to make that relationship work, you wouldn't be available to meet the one. Have you ever heard the song "Closing Time"? The best part is: Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end.

Just remember, you are amazing, don't let the end of a relationship make you think anything different. And someday you will meet someone that realizes that and makes you wonder why you ever spent time being sad about this one.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

SUPERBOWL XLIX: KATY PERRY HALFTIME SHOW

Prior to the Super Bowl, I heard a few people with mixed feelings about Katy Perry performing in Halftime show. Looking at the Twitter feeds, it looks like people weren't that impressed by the Halftime talent. As much as I love Katy, I can't say that it was the best Halftime show I've seen. Here's what people are saying about the show.




Some were a little thrown off with the Missy Elliot appearance. 
Others were more excited for Missy than Katy. 
Some found the Halftime show childish.



Others clearly thought the show was over the top. 

And then there were the people who were more impressed by the set than the singer. 
In her defense, who wouldn't want to be Katniss?

Many people were just not impressed. 

But others were more in love with the California Girl than ever.

In the end, no one matter who it is, can anyone really compare to the Queen B?
What do you think? Did Katy rock the stage? Or were you unimpressed by the "Teenage Dream" star?
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...