Tag: motivation

Practice, Perseverance and Pursuing Your Art

Inspiration can come in many forms; It can come in words we hear or read, music we listen to, imagery we see or even people we meet. I feel lucky to have friends who regularly inspire new thoughts and ideas in me but I also love meeting new people who I can share different creative ideas with and feel newly inspired by.

Onyi is someone I met recently at a blogger event and after hearing about her photography, I was instantly inspired by her passion to work hard at improving her skill in something she loves. We instantly got on and on Sunday after meeting for the third time, Onyi took some snaps of me in what I was wearing and effortlessly captured the vibe of how I was feeling that day; Relaxed and happy.

We chatted a lot about our creative goals on Sunday and one thing I think that we both agreed on is that whichever creative outlet you decide to pursue, it takes time, effort, patience and persistence in order to improve at it and get to where you want to be… I think Onyi’s work (just check out her Instagram, her self portraits are amazing!) is a great example of how time spent working on something your passionate about can pay off.

All too often we can envision the end result of where we want to be but forget about the hard work and practice it takes in between, in order to get there. If you feel like you’ve hit a brick wall or a creative slump, keep going. Create anything until you start create something. Often we are our own worst critics and if you don’t continue to try and work at it, you’ll never know what could come of your hard work and effort…and remember what they say, “practice makes perfect”.

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Check out Onyi’s blog here and Youtube here.

Samio x

July 27, 2016
Five Tips To Help You Stay On Track With Fitness

I used to make such a big deal out of exercising. By that I mean that when I would be in ‘fitness mode’ I’d go all out and make sure that each and every workout I pushed myself to the limit. So much so that when I slipped out of my routine, it was so very hard to get back into it again because I knew it would be so hard when I did. I’ve often been an ‘all or nothing’ type of person and the same has always gone for my fitness. Towards the end of last year I had well and truly slipped out of any sort of fitness routine and I began to feel sluggish and disappointed with my then current fitness levels.

This year I decided to change my approach to fitness and make it something that I could maintain and continue to enjoy. I think that staying on track is often the hardest part when it comes to keeping fit and here are my five tips for doing just that…

BE REALISTIC AND DON’T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF

First of all it’s important to remind yourself why you’re choosing to keep fit. Whether it’s for health purposes, to feel better about yourself, or even to look good on that summer holiday you have lined up, make sure that you’re setting yourself realistic goals and not being too hard on yourself when it comes to achieving them. It’s good to think of your long term fitness goals but then break them down into smaller goals to help you get there. You can’t expect to run before you can walk, so as long as you keep moving, it’s fine to take baby steps.

CEATE A WORKOUT SCHEDULE

I never realised how much a workout schedule would help me to stay on track with my fitness. Previously I used to workout when I felt like it but now that I have a routine, I know that on those designated days, I get up and I workout. By marking out my workout days in my diary and planning what exercises I’ll do before hand, it make sure I get them done and it leaves me feeling good when I’ve done them and ticked them off.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHANGE IT UP AND MAKE IT FUN

I’ve more or less scrapped the gym so far this year, in fact, I’ve actually been contemplating cancelling my membership. As it currently stands, I am still a gym member, however over the last several months, I’ve seen myself massively fall out of love with the gym. You could be feeling the same (I know many people dread the gym to start with), or maybe you’re the opposite and joining a gym would be just the thing to motivate you but whatever it is, make sure you enjoy it. I was only able to maintain my gym routine when I enjoyed it, now that I’ve grown bored of it (for the time being at least), I’ve found other ways to enjoy working out. Recently I’ve been enjoying workout out at home first thing in the morning and getting out doors and going for long walks in the countryside is something I enjoy to do on weekends.

REMEMBER THAT DOING SOMETHING IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN DOING NOTHING

Everyone has days that they lack motivation, I’ve certainly had my fair share of them. What I’ve found when it comes to keeping up with a fitness routine is that doing something is always better than doing nothing. On those days when I don’t feel quite as energetic but know I’ve marked it on my schedule to workout, I’ll make sure I at least do the bare minimum and do the exercises I most want to focus on. Then on my next designated workout day, I’ll make up for it by doing extra. When I don’t do anything at all (on the days I had planned to workout), I find it all too easy to quickly slip out of my routine and it really demotivates me. By getting at least some form of exercise done on the days I had planned to, it keeps me in the routine and I always feel better for it afterwards – Plus it makes me want to work harder next time.

MONITOR YOUR PROGRESS

Nothing Spurs me on more than seeing results. I’m currently focusing on toning up and building strength in my core and arms. One of the things I’m currently doing is the One Hundred Pushups training program. I mark it out in my diary and each day that I complete another step of the program, I tick it off and am able to monitor my progress by doing so. Although it gets harder, the more pushups I’m able to do, the further I want to go and so seeing myself progress really is great motivation.

Another great way to monitor your progress can be to simply take pictures. Often when you look at yourself everyday in the mirror, it’s hard to notice any difference but by taking pictures every so often you can eventually start to look back and actually see the progress, which can be one of the biggest motivations of all.

What I Wore:
Nike Pro Training Top – John Lewis (here)
Nike Pro Sports Bra – John Lewis (here)
Nike Training Tights – John Lewis (similar here)
Nike Geo Print Trainers – Asos (here)

Do you have any tips that help you to stay on track with fitness?

Samio x

Some of the items may have been sent to me for review purposes, however this does not affect my opinions – check out my disclaimer for further information.

February 8, 2016
5 Tips To Help You Keep Inspired & Motivated

It’s only a couple of weeks into January but this year I’m feeling super motivated and positive about the months ahead. I was just talking to my boyfriend, Damien the other day about how different things were this time last year and how so much can change. Although many things can often be out of our control, I do believe that our attitude and staying motivated when it comes to the goals that we want to achieve, plays a big part in how certain aspects of our life turn out.

I’m naturally quite a positive person but like most people I do have days where I lack motivation and feel uninspired. However this year I hope to keep on top of those all important things I want to keep on top of (vague but like many people I have a list)… The things that inspire me are what help to really motivate me to work harder, keep at things and achieve goals. So here are five things that help me do just that and maybe they can be of some use to you too…

Give Yourself Daily Reminders Of Your Goals

This sounds silly but in our everyday lives, it’s easy to forget about goals that we may have set for ourselves, or at least turn a blind eye to them. Days quickly become weeks and weeks quickly become months and before we know it, we’ve forgot to do that little thing we said we’d start doing several months ago. Daily reminders, be it a desk top picture of your dream holiday that you’re saving up for, setting a reminder on your phone to go to the gym each day or leaving yourself little motivational Post-it notes around the house to do those things you want to get done, it’s good to reminder ourselves each day of the things we really want to achieve and keep working at it to make them happen.

Hang Around With The Right People

It’s important to surround yourself with positive people. Other people’s attitude can have a big impact on your own. If you have friends who are positive and supportive, then you’re more likely to help spur each other on and help to motivate one another. Not everyone can go around feeling super positive and motivated all of the time but if you have good people around you then you can always be there to help pick each other up when you’re down and keep that motivation going. Often for me when I’m feeling down or lacking motivation, all it takes is a catch up or a phone chat with one of my closest friends and I feel my mood is quickly lifted and my motivation is back on track.

Seek Out Like Minded People

As well as the important people in your life, it can really help to find like minded people who have similar goals to you. Be it in real life or online, it’s great to join a little community of relatable people who can really help to inspire you to achieve what you want in life. It could be that you want to gain more confidence and so decided to join a local theatre group, or that you want to get fit and you find out that a few work colleges go to the gym on their lunch each day and you decided to join them. Even online you can find many like minded people, be it in forums or social media groups. Join in discussions, find like minded people and get yourself inspired.

Set Yourself Achievable Goals

If you set yourself up for a fall too early on, chances are that you’ll fail and then be left feeling demotivated. Giving yourself regular achievable goals that you can stick to will really help you to feel good about yourself when you reach each little mile stone and that can help you to push yourself to go even further.

Create Your Vision

Inspiration in photo form can be really helpful. I find Pinterest a great way to get inspired when it comes to designing the interior for our new house. Doing up the house is a long and at times tedious process but by constantly gathering different interior design ideas, it keeps us inspired and motivated to get it finished and decorated just the way we want it, as we envisage our end goal. Of course this can be done in many other forms, as you could even create an actual scrap book of the things that inspire you, or create a collage on a pin board. I also like to take down notes each time I read or hear something that I feel inspired or motivated by and read over them on days when I need to go back to those sources of inspiration.

Those are my five tips for staying inspired and motivated. Do you have any particular things that inspire you and help you to stay motivated?

P.s, if you were wondering where the 2016 dairy is from, you can find it here.

Samio x

January 17, 2016
5 Small Yet Important Goals For August

I’ve said it several times already but this year feels like it’s flying by. There are so many big things I’ve done and others I’m still wanting to do this year but often I find myself forgetting to do the little things. So as a little reminder to myself and maybe a little nudge for some of you too, here’s a list of things I’d like to do/get done during this month – and hopefully create good habits to continue throughout the rest of the year, because it’s never too late to set new goals…

1. Drink at least 2 litres (around 3.5 pints) of water per day.

A few months ago I did a 5 day detox with the Engine Plan, with which it was advised to drink 2-3 litres of water per day. I managed to get used to drinking around four pints of water per day and continued to do it for some time after I’d completed my detox. I saw a massive improvement in my concentration and energy levels, plus it kept my skin looking good but after a while I slipped back into my old ways. One of the reasons I stopped drinking so much water was because (and without sounding crude) it meant that I needed to keep going to the toilet, which when you’re out can be quite inconvenient. Also, when I am out and about, I often don’t find the time (or I forget) to stop and grab water. It’s something that I definitely need to work on as the health benefits really outweigh the negatives, so going back to starting each day with a pint of water is a good start.

2. Limit takeout to once a week and eat out less

If you follow me on either Twitter or Instagram , you may have noticed that I do really like my food and I do like to indulge in take aways and meals out quite often.

Since my boyfriend and I bought our house not long ago, my fast food habit has been made worse. We aren’t living in our house yet as a lot of work needs to be done and it often means that we are at the house until late many evenings getting jobs done. Usually the most convenient option is to grab take out food afterwards, which means I’ve been eating a lot of junk food recently (more so than usual)… We’ve finally put a microwave in the house (for the time being) so that we can make food to take with us and heat up for when we get hungry. I’m hoping this will help us cut down on the junk somewhat and stop me from constantly pigging out.

3. Stop using a hairdryer (or minimize use at least)

I go through stages of being extra good with my hair and unfortunately this has not been one of them. Although I do regularly do braid outs, I find myself using my hair dryer to blow my hair out slightly from the roots in order to add volume. This (in my opinion) makes my hair look great but it is super damaging for it. I definitely need to cool off with trying to combat shrinkage with heat and instead just get over having a smaller fro for a while until it grows naturally and healthily to my desired length/size. I must remember that it will be worth it in the long run -stay away from the heat!

4. Make a Schedule and plan blog posts

My posting used to be so sporadic, however over these past seven or eight months, since really getting into blogging I have become a lot better at keeping my blog posts regular. I still have a bad habit of leaving all my blogging to last minute though, which means when I get too busy I’m simply left with no time to write up the posts I’d planned and I get so frustrated with myself. I know it’s not super important, but for me it’s something I want to do so that I can maintain a level of routine with my blog.

5. Have a major clear out and keep everything tidy

This is probably the biggest thing on my list of ‘small’ things but I seriously need a major clear out… I can keep tidy when I have a space for everything but at the moment as I’m in a sort of transition process ready to begin moving into our new house, things have become somewhat cluttered and chaotic. There’s definitely a large chunk of stuff that needs clearing out and moving into a new home that we’ve worked so hard on will definitely help me determine what stuff I really want to keep and what needs to go in the bin. It’s a task that needs doing sooner rather than later, as moving is imminent, so it’s something I plan on tackling in stages throughout this month. – Wish me luck with that one.

Do you ever set yourself small goals? What do you want to get done in August?

Samio x

August 3, 2015
Morning Motivation – Embracing Your Uniqueness

So last nigh I was doing some late night internet browsing (like you do), when I came across one article that I was particularly drawn to. I opened up the link to find it was actually a video. Still intrigued by the title, I decided to watch it. Here’s where I should point out that the video in question was Meet Casey Legler – the world’s first female male model. Intriguing no? I urge you to watch the short video. So anyway, after watching it, I wasn’t just amazed but also inspired.

I often speak of accepting what you have and embracing who you are and this woman seems to epitomise that. It’s not just about what she does or how she is but about how she has accepted her differences and utilised her strengths (those of which I think are pretty awesome by the way). Anyway the point I am getting at is that we are all different, we are all unique and we should embrace that. We should embrace what makes us different, dare to stand out and learn to love our unique features and qualities. I shan’t waffle on too much, in fear of sounding all preachy preachy but I think it’s important to remember that what makes us different is also what can make us great. So go out there, be fabulous and do your thing!

Samio x

March 12, 2015
Motivation Monday – You Can Only Be You

One of the most pointless things you can do with your time is sit and compare yourself to someone else. Most of us have done it and most of us have felt like crap after it, so why do we do it and what’s the point? At the end of the day you’re never going to be whoever you’re comparing yourself to (I’m afraid those life transplant machines haven’t been invented yet), so you may as well get over it and get on with being you!

The day I decided to stop trying to compare myself to other people was the day I had one less thing to put myself under pressure with and worry about. I was also able to notice and really appreciate all the good things I had going for myself and work on what I wanted to achieve instead of worrying about what anyone else was doing…

The reason I wanted to write a few words of motivation on this topic was because I often still hear so many people putting themselves down whilst comparing themselves to someone else that they are putting on a pedestal. More often than not the people they are comparing themselves to are those they know rather little or nothing about in reality and are going off what they read and see on social media or on TV (if it’s someone famous), which most often only shows a part of a full picture. It’s that case of ‘the grass is always greener’ well let me tell you, whilst you’re busy looking at someone else’s green grass yours is drying out and dying… Hmm, not the best metaphor but you get my gist.

The best thing you can do for yourself if focus on yourself. Don’t get me wrong, it can often help to look to certain people or public figures (whoever floats your boat) for inspiration and motivation but don’t let what someone else has done set a precedent for everything you will do. There are a whole lot of humans on this planet (7.125 billion to be more accurate – yes I just googled that), we’re each on our own path doing our own thing. Many paths are similar but no two paths are exactly the same and so it’s important to focus on your own goals and reward yourself for your own achievements. You don’t need to be anyone else, you just need to be you because let’s face it, you’re unique, you’re one in over 7 billion and you can only be you, so be the best you that you can be!

Happy Monday!

Samio x

November 10, 2014