How I Got Over Chronic Stress And Made Myself Happier In The Process

If you've been reading for a while, you'll know that I have just returned after some time away from blogging as I was feeling incredibly stressed, and it was starting to affect how I lived my daily life. Some of you will be sat reading this thinking that I'm a drama queen, but when you've had a constant eye twitch for the best part of 6 months, higher than normal anxiety, and difficulty concentrating on anything for longer than 5 minutes - you know you need to get your stress under control. Over the last few months I've been trying different ways to help manage stress, and I've found a few fun and easy things that have really helped to drastically reduce my stress levels and make me happier. 

Exercise // It's a well known fact that exercise is an excellent stress-management technique, and it can do wonders for your health. Over the last 6 months I've been exercising regularly, and besides actually enjoying it (surprisingly), I've found myself feeling a lot happier and more relaxed. A quick 15 minute workout in the morning leaves me feeling energetic and focused throughout the day. It has helped me set better goals and has left me feeling more productive. 

Reading // I loooooove reading. I always have a massive stack of books on my bedside table for me to read through. Infact I have just placed a little book order on Amazon this afternoon. I know it sounds cliché but reading can transport you to another world. You don't have to read fiction books, an autobiography or even a cookery book could help distract you for your everyday worries. 

Art // I've always been creative. I took creative GCSE subjects, creative A-Levels, and since then I've just abandoned my creative roots. Taking an academic degree I simply haven't had the time, but the other week I found one of my old sketchbooks and since then I have been doing a lot of quick (and some not so quick) drawings. Even if you aren't so good at drawing, with all these adult colouring books on the market there is something for everyone!

Putting the phone down // For the last few months I have been locking my phone away in a drawer for entire weekends. 48 hours without a phone glued to my hand. You'll be surprised at how relaxed you feel by Monday morning. I know some people think 2 days a week without your phone is a little drastic, but I really enjoy those 2 days. I'm not strict with myself, so if I'm going out somewhere I make sure I take my phone with me in case of an emergency, but I make a conscious effort not to sit and scroll through my social media. Try putting your phone away from a couple of hours in the weekend and see how you feel afterwards. I guarantee you'll feel better. 

Scheduling some 'me time' // I made it my New Year's Resolution to set aside 15 minutes of each day to spend some time with myself without any technology. I'll sit with a few candles lit, read a book, draw, flick through a magazine, or even write all my thoughts down on a piece of paper. Every Sunday night I set myself up for the week ahead by running a hot bath, lighting a bucket load of candles, grabbing a Lush bath bomb and relaxing in the bath with a good book. Spending a bit of time doing something I enjoy makes my day 110% better and I look forward to that moment in my day. 

Listening to music // Music can be exceptionally relaxing. It doesn't have to be whale music or anything ridiculous, just the sound of a band you love is enough to calm you down in the most stressful of moments. I love to pop my headphones in on the train or blast my radio whilst cruising down the motorway. 

Being around water // This one may sound a little stupid, but there is a reason many people like to relax by going on beach holidays, or taking a hot bath at the end of the day. Water has a very calming effect, and research has shown that it induces a meditative state. Being around water gives our brains a rest from overstimulation. Besides having a looooong relaxing bath filled with every Lush product imaginable, I've recently got back into going swimming regularly and I love how relaxed it makes me feel. I used to go swimming 3/4 times a week until I was about 14, and used to compete for a while when I was in school. I get excited when I smell the chlorine just walking towards the building from the carpark, and I look forward to it every week. I take one of my sisters with me, and we even get a cheeky donut or croissant to eat on the way home. 

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Happy New Year and Blog Goals For 2016

Happy New Year!

I wanted to do a post like this last year, but I had no idea what to say, where I wanted by blog to go, or even if I would continue running a blog! My only goal was to reach 100 followers by the end of the year and I soon managed and surpassed that!  I didn't really expect to carry on with my blog, with university getting in the way, but I'm still here over 18 months later! The last year has been so amazing. My blog has blossomed and improved in so many ways. Some of the biggest highlights of my year have been blog related. Reaching 1500 followers on my blog, getting shortlisted for an award, and getting shortlisted for a bloody award!!!  I've loved getting to talk to like-minded people, being asked to attend events (if only for the free cocktails!), and being offered some incredible opportunities! As my blog is starting to get off the ground, I thought I'd start off the year with some simple business cards and a custom domain. I finally bitten the bullet and purchased myself a domain name as I'd been toying with the idea of a custom domain name for well over a year and it became set in stone around October?

With this air of change, the blogging community has become such a big part of my life, and I've found myself making little goals and targets over the last couple of weeks or so. So of course I had to share them on my little corner of the internet - and here is what I want to do and achieve with my blog over the next 12 months…

Engage more: Engagement is extremely important to me. I've always made sure I engage with my readers by replying to my comments and tweets, checking out any links left behind, and just generally trying my best to engage with you all. Tacking into account how much my own comments mean to me, I want to do the same for others and show my support. I've been pretty rubbish at letting other bloggers know that I bloody adore them so hopefully I'm going to up my game this year!

Be more creative: Although I'm generally pretty happy with my blog images, from time to time I get a bit bored. Back in August I started to really push myself, and for a while I was really happy, buttttt as always - I'm starting to get a little bored. I want to try and mix up my backgrounds and fall in love with photography again! Over the last month of so you may have noticed a couple of portrait shots, which I haven't really included in blog since I first started over a year and half ago. I would love to invest in some new camera equipment - maybe a new lens and a fancy af studio light, but they are on the expensive side, so I'll try and see what my budget is. 

Go out of my comfort zone: I hate meeting new people. Hate. It. It's just something I've always tried to avoid. I dread to think how many blogging events I turned down because I was terrified of meeting people I didn't know! But from this moment on, I want to try and make more of an effort with meeting up with my blogger friends! I was so proud of myself for turning up to the Bloggers Blog Awards and Rhianna's Xmas Meet, when I felt so anxious (and actually physically sick). I mean even my best friends started out as a stranger to me in the first place!

Find new blogs to read: Even though I'm constantly on the hunt for new blogs to follow, I find it pretty difficult to find ones that I've not heard about before. Even when Bloglovin tried (and kinda failed) to promote 'undiscovered' bloggers. This is why 'share the love' style posts are so important as it can give some undiscovered little gems the chance to be 'found'. So if you've got any blogs you love then please share them in the comments below!

Gain more followers: Cliché I know, but I'd really like to get up to 2000 followers this year. Although that sounds like a huge target (to me it does anyway), it is less than a third of what I gained over the last year - and hopefully my blog will continue to grow it's following this coming year.

Build up a backlog of posts: Over the last months my backlog of backup posts has completely diminished. I had all my posts planned, but I kept finding myself writing them the night before they were due to go up - in some cases even mere hours before they should have been published. This totally isn't like me and I have been finding it hard to just sit down and write. Occasionally, the planned posts have been written but there have been no photos to go up alongside them (due to bad lighting), so I've had to use a backup. Meaning I need to get myself sorted at plan ahead again!

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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Choose Happy

Happiness is a choice. You have to choose to be happy. For every minute you are sad or upset,  you lose a minute of being happy.  Be happy.  Be yourself.  If others don’t like it, then let them be.  Life isn’t about pleasing everybody.

If you have the courage to admit when you’re scared, the ability to laugh even as you cry, the nerve to speak up, even if your voice is shaking, the confidence to ask for help when you need it, and the wisdom to take it when it’s offered, then you have everything you need to get yourself to a happier state of mind.

Begin today by taking responsibility for your own contentment.  Here are ten ways to choose happiness:

Choose to be the best you can be. – When I was in college, this was sort of a motto for my head of year. He'd say it at the start of every day, put it on all his power points and just tell us that this is what we should aim for in life. Give everything to whatever you do, commit to your goals, and don’t compare yourself to anyone else.  "Success and happiness is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”  Never try to be better than anyone else, but never stop trying to be the best you can be. 

Choose to be around the right people. – Spend time with nice people who are smart, driven and likeminded.  Relationships should help you, not hurt you.  Surround yourself with people who reflect the person you want to be.  Choose friends who you are proud to know, people you admire, who love and respect you – people who make your day a little brighter simply by being in it.  Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you.  Say goodbye and move on. Believe me, I've done my fair share of this. 

Choose to focus on what you have, not on what you want. – When you appreciate what you have, what you have appreciates in value.  Being grateful for the good that is already  in your life will bring you a deeper sense of happiness.  And that’s without having to go out and buy or acquire anything new (says the girl who wants to own everything).  It makes sense.  You will have a hard time ever being happy if you aren’t thankful for what you already have

Choose a good attitude. – What often screws us up the most in life is the picture in our head of how it’s supposed to be.  And the reason so many of us give up is because we tend to look at how far we still have to go, instead of how far we have come.  Remember, life is a journey, not a destination.  This moment, like every moment, is a priceless gift and an opportunity.  Be positive, smile, and make it count.  Pretend today is going to be great.  Do so, and it will be.  Research shows that although we think that we act because of the way we feel, in fact, we often feel because of the way we act.  A great attitude always leads to great experiences

Choose to smile more often. – A smile is a choice, not a miracle.  Don’t wait for people to smile. Show them how.  A genuine smile makes you and everyone around you feel better.  The simple act of smiling sends a message to your brain that you’re happy.  And when you’re happy, your body pumps out all kinds of feel-good hormones.  Every year I make a new years resolution to smile more. Every year I work towards by resolution. So by the time I'm 30 I should be a walking, talking happy emoji. 

Choose honesty. – Start being honest with yourself and everyone else.  Don’t cheat.  Be faithful.  Be kind.  Do the right thing!  It is a less complicated way to live. Don’t get involved with drama that doesn’t affect you and your way of life.

Choose to help others when you’re able. – Care about people.  In life, you get what you put in.  When you make a positive impact in someone else’s life, you also make a positive impact in your own life.  Do something that’s greater than you – something that helps someone else to be happy or to suffer less. KARMA.

Choose to embrace the next step in your life. – You can hold on to the past, or you can create your own happiness in the present.  Never let success get to your head and never let failure get to your heart.  Every day is a new beginning and a new ending. A new story.  Make the best of it, smile, and keep looking straight ahead with your head held high.  And don’t forget, a smile doesn’t always mean a person is happy right now; sometimes it simply means they are strong enough to face their problems going forward. 

And remember, your mind is your private sanctuary; do not allow the negative beliefs of others to occupy it.  Your skin is your barrier; do not allow others to get under it.  Take control of your boundaries and what you allow yourself to absorb from others.

You are the only one who can create your happiness. The choice is yours.  Choose to be happy.

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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Fragrance Favourites

At the start of the year I had a little clear out of my perfume collection as I had no real reason to justify keeping hundreds (not really) of empty or near empty bottles other than because they "look pretty". 

Since clearing out my collection, I have been able to buy more or repurchase ones that I simply haven't had room for (as the empty bottle collection was getting rather out of hand). 

Now as well as buying a few others, I have also 'shopped my stash' - rediscovering perfumes that I haven't used in a long time. As I store my perfumes properly (in the dark = sunlight ruins them), they are able to last for quite some time, which means I can get the most money out of them. 

On a day to day basis, I tend to wear Daisy by Marc Jacobs, buy have been loving wearing Candy by Prada as it is so light and fresh - trying to mix up what I wear as we begin to transition into spring!

What scents have you been wearing recently?

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x