how to keep on keepin’ on

Happy (belated) Autumn, Lipsters!

I’ve been off the Lip radar for a few weeks, and I can’t even pin point the reason why. A combination of shitty writing (or no writing at all) and going crazy in my mind to justify myself and everything I try to achieve. Luckily I’ve had a bit of inspiration and would like to share that with you all. Here are my tips to keep on keepin’ on.

Love your body and soul.

If you’re not doing what your heart wants, make a change. Too often we get caught up in the struggles of our body and only consider our mind when the emotional stress overwhelms us, but they definitely go hand in hand. Discover what inspires your mind and your body will be inclined to follow!

Celebrate the little steps you’re taking towards your goals.

I’ve recently gone back to uni and I’m finding myself getting better and better at it every day. So, to keep up my motivation, I celebrate each passed essay and productive class. Why not? They’re all the little steps I need to take to get to my goal of finally graduating (only 3 years to go!). Creator of Hey Ellie, Hayley says that ‘we were designed for more then just surviving’ and it’s something that I find so true. There’s more to life then just getting by, and it’s time that we started enjoying the small things and not just sharing inspirational posts on facebook.

It’s good, however, not to beat yourself up about the things that you haven’t yet done. If your life isn’t how you want it yet, there isn’t anything worse then stressing yourself out about it. Little steps still count and it’s important not to give up. I was meant to graduate last year and I was fine with not graduating until I saw everyone else I started with floating off to greater opportunities while I was still struggling to write an essay that was of a passing standard. Instead, I’ve chosen to look at where my path has lead and the experiences that I have had in place. They might be better or worse then they could have been, but they were still the experiences that I had and that’s something you can’t change, just embrace. Don’t compare your journey to that of someone else, because your life is your very own and it’s up to you to nurture it until it blossoms into what you dream it to be.

It might even help to look at your life and bask in the glory of all that you have achieved in the days gone by. We’re always looking to the future to what we will be doing, so take a bit of time to make a list of the things you’ve done that make you proud and enjoy it.

Accept the shitty days.

The other week, the bus driver closed the doors on me as I was trying to get off. This was then followed by a very awkward 30 seconds of him not acknowledging what he’d done and me just wanting to get off the bus and away from all the awkward stares. A few weeks before that, I got the earring that I was still wearing caught in my ukulele (please don’t ask, I’m not really sure how it happened) and had to drag myself out of my room being careful not to twist and turn it around so that I could embarrassingly ask my husband to untangle me.

Even though these days are shitty (or embarrassing), they’re still days you won’t get back. It’s okay not to be okay, and when we can understand and most importantly acknowledge that our negative thoughts and feelings are still part of what we’re going through, we can learn to deal with them better and make the changes that need to be made.

Get inspired.

Don’t be ashamed to take advantage of all the inspiration in the world. Even the most admirable people have down days, and the way to keep on keepin’ on is to really push through those bad things. Best remedy? A cup of tea and youtube. Jetta Vegas hosts a delicious little youtube channel where she speaks about Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) and ‘7 ways to kick this weeks ass‘ that I simply adore.

If you’re not much of an internet person (lucky you, this shit is addictive!) then try an inspiration board or diary. I have many little notepads filled with clippings and sayings that I love to look through to help keep my chin up and keep me going.

Don’t forget to smile.

I can’t imagine what my life would be if I didn’t take the time to smile and laugh each day, even at the most inappropriate of things. I often find my self giggling away at comedian Louis CK, or this video clip about a British TV host trying to contain his laughter at an athlete named ‘Fanny Chmelar’.

Lip would love to hear the things that inspire you too! What do you do to help yourself to keep on keepin’ on?

Image Credit (1)