First rule on how to make your life better

... is ... it's something short
and a well hidden secret...
(joke) I mean..
something you already know...
deep inside you... so
one thing you have to do.. to live happily ever after is:

love yourself

voila! that's right. you are unique and special to this world and if you don't love yourself than no one will be able to love you right back as you deserve.

It's first thing you have to accomplish if you want a better life in general.. and tell me, who doesn't want to be happy? Who doesn't want to be a better mom, son, sister, grandson, niece... For that, you should take care of yourself so you'll be able to live long, be a good friend, colleague, spouse etc.

Image source

I've learned this by reading a book from mrs. Louise Hay, The power is within you. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it yet.

So she also says you have to adress this ''self love'' through appropriate manners, ten of them actually. Those are:

1. stop criticizing yourself

(we all have this evil voice inside who says we're not good enough, make it shut up)

2. do not scare yourself 

(with negative thoughts, what ifs, should haves...)

3. be nice, gentle and patient with yourself

(be your own teddy bear)

4. be nice to your mind

 (don't think you're stupid)

5. compliment yourself 

(tell to yourself ''you go girl/boy!'' even when accomplishing little things
or just making them better than the last time, every progress is worth it,
you will come far by just putting one feet in front of another)

loving yourself means also to 

6. stand by yourself no matter what 

(even when you did something ''stupid'' - hey! nothing is stupid)

7. love also negative things on you 

(so until you don't get enough control to start thinking positively
almost every day, you'll still have a lot of negative thoughts,
learn to love them, embrace them as they are and let them go
because remember - be gentle)

8. take care of your body 

(healthy body = healthy mind, do some meditations, visualisations)

9. work with the mirror 

(start to love your body, talk to yourself in the mirror, about good and bad things, that's how you'll heal) and last but not least

10. love yourself as you are in this moment

 (past is gone, don't dwell on it and don't worry about future, just love yourself now even with flaws - even thought they're not! ;) )

Once again I really recommend this book to everyone... if you're going through hard time, through illness, if something doesn't feel right or just so ... knowledge about how to live better, healthy and positive life is always welcome.

And most of all stay fearless.

Depression striked

She thought, with every good there must be the bad..

Jin and Jang and all that world balance,

it all made sense

so one day, she woke up sad,

with sick feeling in her stomach and

before she even realised.. she's already battling her demons.

She walked through the city, like nothing happened,

even looking like everyone else, but none of them knew

that their presence is making her even worse.

Every night while trying to fall asleep in tears

and not being able to breathe, her thoughts got darker

persisting until at once her eyes got too heavy.

As morning came she felt better again,

in sheaf of the light she discovered that it's all in her head

and she was just obsessing about every little trouble of hers.

As it is the personal story of everyone, at least once in a lifetime,

you should just be thankful about your blessings in life and just...

stop thinking so much...

and if the D. comes for you with

the question: how long can I feel like this until I fall into pieces?

remember this - you'll be fine and you're not alone!

5 tips for being healthy

Everyone has had a moment in our lifes when we didn't like ourselfes in the mirror. We were uncomfortable in our clothes. They we're just too tight and you just had to get bigger size of those good looking jeans :/ That was my case and I also started to get some health issues even thought I was "just" 20 pounds overweight. In one way I was happy I could see what's going on while things could get further and worse. 

Anyway I learned what I have to do to be healthy. I know we can get a lot of tips on the internet but I would like to start from scratch here. So if you're trying to lose weight or just want to be a healthy, active and fit version of yourself

here are 5 basic rules:

1. Drink water

we all know we have to watch what we put in our mouths and it all starts with water. So at least 8 glasses a day (no soda)! But also tea or coffee counts. Tea on one side makes us thirsty, it actually dehidrates us, so I rather not count it in.

But hey, no sugar in tea or coffee ;) which brings us to another rule...

Image source

2. Eat right food

after years of trying different foods, I felt best when I

- ate no white sugar (stevia or coconut, palm sugar it's ok, of course there's a lot of other sweetners, you can use. Good ones don't play and raise your blood sugar level). Another thing are

- carbs - white pasta, rice and bread has to go out, there's a lot of other healthy possibilities. Last but not least,

- fat - we find our biggest enemy in vegetable oils and margarine (good fat is in olives, olive oil, coconut oil, butter etc.)

You will indeed slip and make ''wrong'' decisions, you're just a human being. So if you want to eat something, do it.. but portion control is important.. If you don't eat what you crave, you'll crave it even more.

3. Exercise

yeah, I know.. I also wish it was different. But after a while you feel so energized, so good. I practise 30 minute high interval 5 days a week (that's how I got my results). Ideal would be at least 45 minutes, 5 days per week.

I decided to try an hour a day (free on weekends). To shock my body and lose those last 5 pounds, which are on my body for a while now. I'll let you know how that goes if you want to :)

So try different exercises, do what you like.. swimming, spinning classes or maybe you're a runner? Through winter I just exercised in my small room, with only my mat and weights made by myself (plastic containers filled with sand) - so no excuses!

4. Reduce stress

Even when you do all of the above, if you encounter stress at work or at home or if it's only in your head, it will be seen on your growing tummy anyway. So try to reduce it, do things that make you happy. Start a hobby, you never know how much pleasure (or money) could that bring you.

Last but not least

5. Love yourself

and your body, it's only one you'll live in. You can't replace it and get another one. But you can make it better. And if you think you're not a good person, start doing something good, something you enjoy, you'll get your self-confidence. But I'm pretty much sure, you're already awesome.

So stay like that and start loving what you see ;) be proud of yourself, you're one and only!

If you'd like to hear more about each one of the topic, please let me know...

Note: I'm not a doctor or have any medical school education, these are just tips that helped me and many others.