GLOW UP FOR MIND, BODY, AND SOUL EDITION

In this fast paced world, everyone needs to recharge, revitalize, and sometimes just reassess where they are at and where they want to be.

So, to that end, this edition is focused on wellness. Let's begin...

IDEA/ARTICLE #1 FOR YOUR "GLOW UP":

Buzzfeed article "10 Simple Ways to De-Stress Your Work Life". I cut and pasted a few of my favorites from the article. However, if you want to read the article in its entirety, here is the link:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/ariannarebolini/10-simple-ways-to-improve-work-life-balance-lagom?utm_term=.fq3JnKdPxq#.jxP0DOJ9zn

1. Try these 10-minute morning hacks.

It’s amazing how much tidying and decluttering can be done in a few minutes before you begin your working day. These tips are a great way to ease yourself into simplifying your life and getting off to a good start:

● Go through your pile of mail (yes, we all have one) and open everything. Chances are you will be able to discard most of it. If it’s mail that has sensitive information — bank details, for example — either shred it or invest in a garden incinerator. File away things you want to keep in a expanding file folder with labeled compartments, such as house, medical, work, children, pets, etc.

● Book all your appointments in one round of phone calls: dentist, optician, doctor, hairdresser, etc.

● Select three of your favorite songs and tidy your workspace while the songs are playing— it’s so much easier to work in an uncluttered and attractive environment, and listening to great music will set you up for the day.

2. Be mindful of media consumption and what you absorb.

Think about how watching the news before you go to bed might affect you, for example. Limit your worries and allow yourself to enjoy your last hour before bed by reading a good book or having a conversation with your partner, or calling up a friend and having a good gossip session.

3. Get organized.

Being organized involves forward planning, and though it can be hard to get motivated — even to do something simple such as picking out your outfit for the next day when you’d rather go to bed, for example — your future self will thank you for it.

● Pick a quiet time on the weekend to go through your work commitments, family activities, etc., for the week ahead so you know what’s coming up. Don’t get caught unprepared when your child has been invited to a costume party and they’re the only one in plain clothes!

● The night before a work day, get your clothes ready for the next day. Make sure they’re ironed, select accessories and shoes (give these a polish), and you’ll find the morning routine a whole lot easier.

● If you have to share a bathroom with others, arrange a time slot so there’s no hanging around as you wait to use it. It might sound a little militant, but it will reduce your stress levels.

● As soon as an appointment is made, or a meeting is organized, add it to the schedule, be it an old-school notebook or an online calendar system.

6. Simplify your work week.

Does your day start off with good intentions and a list of items to be fulfilled, only for you to get to the end of the day and find barely anything has been done, because other things have gotten in the way?

Ask yourself these questions: ● Am I taking on too much? ● Am I making the best use of my time? ● Am I happy with the way I'm spending my time?

We are all guilty of taking on too much — often because we are encouraged to challenge ourselves, and have a fear of saying “no” to things and missing out on something important. The reality is, if you spread your time too thinly, you won’t be able to do your best job on the things that are most important to you. It’s also likely that you will become stressed and neglect your personal needs.

Take a look at your schedule and highlight the areas that would benefit from more time being spent on them, and look into how you could delegate other tasks or find a more efficient way to get them done.

AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, ANOTHER HELPFUL ARTICLE FROM BUZZFEED...

Buzzfeed article "These Mental Health Glow Ups are proof it gets better".

Once again, I cut and pasted a few of my favorites from the article. However, if you want to read the article in its entirety, here is the link:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/sydrobinson1/mental-health-glow-ups-thatll-give-you-hope?utm_term=.kyD8yDRkWj#.stK53mARaV

1. "I'm mentally and physically stronger than ever."

buzzfeed.com

"In the last year, it became alarmingly apparent that all my "overthinking" has actually been anxiety, and on top of that, I was sexually assaulted on my 20th birthday. Flash forward to summer 2017: I started going to therapy and doing yoga! Now I swear by yoga. It feels so amazing to sweat all my toxins away and come out of a class in a peaceful daze. I'm mentally and physically stronger than ever and I'm so hyped about it!" —haileyw4636b1c54

2. "My therapist recommended using mindfulness."

"I was diagnosed with severe postpartum depression and social anxiety last year when my baby was four months old. At that time, my days consisted of me lying on the floor while my son played because I simply had no energy or desire to do anything other than keep my son alive and happy. My marriage was on the rocks, I had no friends, and I had constant suicidal ideation. Then I took the step to start therapy and my life changed. My therapist recommended using mindfulness and it absolutely changed my life. Today my marriage is stronger than ever and I feel free for the first time in my life. I am actually myself now, and that is amazing to me." —savannahl4fb56b06b

4. "I can work my ass off and at least give myself that."

Anna Kopsky

"I finally recognized my ~glow-up~ after years of feeling like garbage from my anxiety and depression. This is the first winter in my entire life (25 years) that my depression hasn't consumed me, and I can credit that to working out until I am truly exhausted (sounds FAKE but I SWEAR), lots of vitamin D pills, and therapy. I also learned that a lot of the meds I've been taking the last few years have just been fucking with me and personally making me worse. I'm NEVER going to be *healed* and it still comes and goes, but I can work my ass off and at least give myself that." —annakopsky

9. "I found a community through social media."

"I was a frail kid, cognitively disabled, and gay. I became depressed and struggled with anxiety and OCD, and eventually lost an academic scholarship. Thankfully, I discovered Tumblr and VK. It was on these social media platforms that I discovered intersectional feminism and was able to connect with others in the LGBTQ+ community. Now I'm at school again (on a scholarship!), I'm top of my class, and I've made friends that accept me for who I am and support me no matter what." —uhaya

BOOKS TO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD OR CRY, BUT DON'T WORRY THEY WILL BE HAPPY TEARS

1. "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving - I love, love, love this book, a very dear friend introduced me to John Irving stories years ago. I have been hooked ever since.

2. "A Man Called Ove" by Fredrik Beckman

I haven't read this book...YET, but the film it was based on was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Also, the premise of the book sounds absolutely lovely.

See for yourself: Read the New York Times bestseller that has taken the world by storm! Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon—the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell. But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.A feel-good story in the spirit of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, Fredrik Backman’s novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others. “If there was an award for ‘Most Charming Book of the Year,’ this first novel by a Swedish blogger-turned-overnight-sensation would win hands down” (Booklist, starred review).

3. "I'll give you the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

Another new-to-me-book. Google Books said the following: I’ll Give You the Sun is a young adult novel by author Jandy Nelson. Published in September 2014, it is Nelson’s second novel. Nelson won several awards for this novel, including the 2015 Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature.

Here's the premise:

At first, Jude and her twin brother are NoahandJude; inseparable. Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude wears red-red lipstick, cliff-dives, and does all the talking for both of them. Years later, they are barely speaking. Something has happened to change the twins in different yet equally devastating ways . . . but then Jude meets an intriguing, irresistible boy and a mysterious new mentor. The early years are Noah’s to tell; the later years are Jude’s. But they each have only half the story, and if they can only find their way back to one another, they’ll have a chance to remake their world. This radiant, award-winning novel from the acclaimed author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.

4. "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman

Another new-to-me book that is sure to be in my Kindle app very soon.

The Graveyard Book is a children's fantasy novel by the English author Neil Gaiman, simultaneously published in Britain and America during 2008.

Here is the premise: Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place—he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their ghostly teachings—such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him.Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead?

Until next time, my lovelies...