All The Passion, No Motivation

19:59


I constantly find myself reading and researching about staying healthy, being organised, and getting into a routine more than I actually work on doing it all. With regards to even working my makeup business, I've read a ridiculous amount of personal development books, that my mind knows exactly what to do, but my body doesn't quite want to reciprocate. There are so many blog posts covering these subjects, what to do, and how to achieve the results you want to achieve - but what happens if your mind is more than willing to do it, but your body doesn't quite follow in the same direction, what are you supposed to do then? There is no reset to factory settings with your body. 

I have this issue whereupon I know what I want, and I want it with so much passion and soul, but I can't quite muster the energy to make it happen. It's got absolutely nothing to do with not wanting it or believing that I can do it; more so the fact that I never seem to have the motivation or the determination to follow things through. I get distracted ridiculously easily - even when writing this blog post, my phone went off, I replied to a text, and then proceeded to play a phone game for the next 20 minutes. 

It frustrates me to no end, and I've absolutely no idea how to get out of this rut. I think I've mentioned this before, but I read that it takes 21 days to form a habit and I really really really (can I put anymore really's in that sentence) need to start forming new ones to actually get things done. I know this is sounding super depressing, but it's something that is truly REAL to me, and it's one of the main reasons why I've been trying to blog every other day. I've actually missed 2 days now, but have managed to catch up, so in actual fact this is the first thing in a long time that I've actually been sticking to. YES! A POSITIVE!

On another good note, I've been making small positive steps in other areas of my life too. I recently asked for a promotion in my current job, and I've just decided that I really wanna kickstart my health regime, so have ordered some healthy bits and bobs and even bought a blender to encourage me. I'm sure I will keep you up to date on that journey, and my stuff should be arriving tomorrow, so a haul of sorts in the near future will probably happen! 

Anyways, I just wanted to write this post to show that not every blogger has the perfect morning or exercise routine etc, and that some of us do actually struggle to get motivated sometimes, as nobody's perfect. I'm interested to hear, do you have struggles with motivation?

Weekly Playlist #1

17:43

I've decided to create a mini segment where I list some songs that I've found or had on repeat the previous week. It definitely won't always be new music that I've found but I do want to use it as an excuse to actually actively start looking for new music.

 When I was younger, I always used to be on the constant search for new (to me) bands/artists to add to my iPod. I found so much of my music from "related artist" pages, and now that I've got Spotify it's even easier to find new music.

 Recently I've been listening to a lot of house/electro style music - getting in the mood for Summer obviously - and it's really been putting me in such a good mood as I'm dancing around my bedroom. My favourite on this playlist has to be "Heatstroke" though as it's a mixture; it's chill, dance-y, and such a tune all in one 4 minute song. I've no idea whether it's being released in the charts (it does involve Calvin Harrise, Pharrell Williams and Ariana Grande. so probably) but I just know if it is it'll be an absolute BANGER!

Eating Out Habits

15:29


♪ Little L - Jamiroquai
If there's such a thing as eating out too often then I'm not sorry to be guilty of it. Yes, I may not be on the most high end budget, but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't treat myself to a meal with friends every now and then, right? It's not like I'm spending £100 on baked beans on toast courtesy of a really famous chef is it?

What can I say, I absolutely love food! I love trying things I've never tried before and go to restaurants I've never been. I'm not fussy at all, and will eat almost anything...except offal, ew! But even when I don't like something, I do actually like to try it again just to make sure that I still don't like it, because I've had it plenty of times where my tastebuds will change. I used to hate sweetcorn, then love it, then hate it, and now I can't get enough of a good corn on the cob! 

I was lucky enough to grow up in a family that frequently went on holiday to some unusual places, and with unusual places comes unusual food the majority of the time. I was never afraid to try something different, let's put it this way. I remember once in Vietnam I saw seahorses in a shop's freezer section, and cat on the menu of a restaurant - I don't think I would ever try cat but seahorses I could probably deal with, haha! 

Whenever I go to restaurants,  I like to try something that I've never had before, rather than stick to what I know. It's not the safest option, as you may not like what you've been given, but I'd rather live my food life on the edge than stick to the same boring meals each time. I do sometimes have meals that I lean towards, but the same meal in different restaurants can be completely different. For example, whenever I go on holiday I always love to have a seafood pasta of some description and it is always on point - it's kind of turned into a little personal holiday tradition for me. I also have a tendency to order anything with coleslaw, or add coleslaw onto my order as a side dish - coleslaw is life and I love to try different home made ones.

What things do you do when eating out?

Being Positive

18:20


♪ Smells Like Summer - Early Hours

Due to one reason or another, I didn't do a blog post as promised yesterday, but I will be making up for it by posting today and tomorrow!

Part of the reason that I want to focus on something this month has been my recent lack of positivity, which to be completely honest, isn't like me at all. I'm not saying that you need to be positive 24/7, but I like to think that the majority of the time I can see the good in every situation. So to get myself back into the mindset, I've compiled a few things which have helped me in the past, and I hope you can get something out of too, to lead a positive life for yourself:

☽ Positive thinking creates positive results
I believe I read somewhere that there was a study on this; you are what you think. If you keep thinking to yourself that you're never going to get that job, then the chances are you won't. The more positive you are with your thoughts, the more that positivity is attracted to you! I know that sounds really new-age-bohemian bullshit, but I've seen it happen both ways.

☽ See the silver lining
Instead of looking at the bad side of a situation you need to openly look for a good side. This one is by far the most difficult thing to be able to do, but once you get the hang of it, it'll come naturally to you. Let's just say that you lose your job; instead of moping around and feeling sorry for yourself, you should think that maybe it wasn't what you were meant for, maybe life is leading you to something better. As I mentioned before it isn't easy by any means but I do feel it makes for a more positive life.

☽ Learn that you can't please everyone
I'm a people pleaser - I don't like to upset anyone or make them feel annoyed. On the flipside, if I felt someone was annoyed with or disliked me, I would try everything in my power to be extra nice to them to make them change their minds. Life doesn't work this way, sometimes people just don't like you, and you've got to accept that and move on. Obviously, don't turn around and be a complete bitch to them, still treat them with respect, but don't go out of your way to make them like you as this only makes you feel worse about yourself. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, it's just the fact that some people just aren't going to like you for one reason or another, it doesn't make you a bad person it just makes you human. You just need to accept it!

☽ Fake it til you make it
Now this one sounds a little odd I'll admit, but it does work - the brain works in mysterious ways! Not feeling too confident? Pretend that you're confident and walk with your head held high with a beat in your step. Feeling a bit down? Tell yourself that you're gonna have a good day, smile like it's the best day of your life and act happy. Little things like this trick your brain into thinking that you're feeling that way, and it will soon become natural for you to actually feel this way.

I can honestly say that I've used each of these in the past and they have worked wonders for my mindset and positivity. Obviously, these changes don't happen overnight and you need to keep at it for a while, but trust me when I say that they will come! What do you do to stay positive?

It begins in May...

11:43


♪ Billie Jean - The Civil Wars

Can this year just stop and chill for a bit, please? I just want to know how we're already on the fifth month of 2017 and I honestly feel as though I haven't even started yet. I need to get my butt into gear and pronto!


May is going to be the month where I get into a routine, I stop procrastinating and I stop getting distracted by such futile things. This month I want to fully immerse myself in the things that I enjoy doing and focus on being where I want to be in life.

On a blogging side of things, I've set myself the challenge of blogging every other day to get me back into the swing of things. Blogging is something that I do for fun, but I also see it as a way of really focussing on something - when I blog, all I see is the text box and all other distractions go out of the window, so I'm hoping that'll reinforce other aspects of my life as well.

I don't have many other goals for May really other than getting into a consistent routine of sorts. This is something that I've been needing to do for a while so I feel that I need the whole month to get acquainted with the idea - I read somewhere that it takes 21 days to form a habit, so we better get started right?

Here's to May, and the joys it will bring. I hope you have a good one, have you got any goals?

I Miss Musical Theatre

14:49


♪ Wonderful - Wicked Soundtrack

In my previous post, I eluded to the fact that I was listening to the Hamilton soundtrack - since then, my love for musicals has absolutely EXPLODED. It's crazy!

When I was younger I was massively into drama and acting - now it's turned into more of a love of the theatre, although I wouldn't be averse to doing a bit of acting too. But anyways, I digress, I used to go to drama groups, take part in all the school productions and even performed in a county-wide group that I auditioned for. I originally wanted to become an actor when I grew up, but for one reason or another that left me, but I still had an absolute adoration for the theatre.

I used to go to the theatre a lot when I was at school, especially in sixth form, when I used to go to at least one show a month. When I left school, however, I just stopped going, simply because I didn't have to, not because I didn't want to. It was never something that was at the forefront of my brain when I left school but it was still something that I really longed for.

Back in June I decided to change that and went with a friend to see "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" on the Westend in London, and was absolutely blown away! There's always been some show that I want or have been wanting to see and I really just need to book these tickets and go as I hardly ever regret it.

Recently I was on Spotify browsing for some new music to listen to, and in the playlist section, I found one on musicals. PERFECT! I started listening to even more than just Hamilton and got going with all the Disney classics (which are still musicals in my books), and a load of other musicals like Wicked, The Sound of Music and Les Misérables. Hooked does not even come close to how much I've been listening to this, haha, I'm completely and utterly obsessed and I've been listening to this one playlist for ages now.

I've been making a mental note of every show I NEED to see:
⬗ Wicked
⬗ The Sound of Music
⬗ Avenue Q
⬗ The Lion King
⬗ Chicago

...and that's only a small selection of the shows on my list, and whether they're out or not is a completely different story.

What theatre shows have you seen and loved? What do you want to see?

La La LOVE

00:07


♪ Someone In The Crowd - La La Land

I didn't think a soundtrack could tear me away from my beloved "Hamilton" - the musical I am yet to see, isn't out in the UK until November, but am still utterly obsessed with. However, saying that, I'm not sure I will be able to listen to this soundtrack without bursting into an abundance of tears at the very first note. La La Land shook me like no other film has ever done.

I went into La La Land being slightly pessimistic with a general understanding that it was perhaps slightly overhyped. This just proves that you need to watch things yourself and form an opinion, because to me I found it simply stunning in every single way. The acting, cinematography, symbolism, music, the feels, the chemistry, I could go on. I don't want to talk about how visually stunning the scenes were, or how the musical themes were cleverly intertwined into the storyline - what I do want to talk about is what it meant to ME.

I've never felt so personally affected by a film in my life, it just hit me like a ton of bricks. I've made a MASSIVE decision in my life recently, to follow a goal that I believe to be something I have been waiting for my entire life without knowing. Although this isn't a "dream" like Mia and Sebastian had since they were young, it's a dream that has just begun. I haven't been going long, but I've already doubted myself, put myself down, and made myself out to be "not good enough". However, at the same time I'm still driven to achieving this goal no matter what it will take.

I related to Mia so much in this film; she was a budding actress putting her all into auditions and coming up with nothing, pushing and pushing, and seemingly getting nowhere. At one point in the movie, Sebastian tells her (and don't quote me on this, haha) that she CAN do it, and she WILL get the part because she is AMAZING. I teared up through a lot of the film, but I most definitely teared up the most at that part (and thinking about it now) because it's just something I've been trying to tell myself recently with my endeavours.

The themes and morals that this film portrayed were just perfect for me to relate to with what I'm pushing for at the moment, and I'll admit that I cried after the film was finished because of the impact it really had on me. Anyone can do anything that they put their mind to if they put in the hard work and effort that is needed to achieve that goal. I can honestly say I wholeheartedly believe that, and La La Land captured that message perfectly.