You Can Increase Your Mental Well Being

Hello !

Some days life feels great, like sunshine and smiles and kittens. But other days it's just a bit rubbish and that's okay too. But today I wanted to share some ways of you to increase your general well being in little ways that could really benefit your mental health!

• Hydration - We all heard it over and over again, all the way through school " Drink more water, it's good for you " and I don't know about you but my usual response was " yeah ... that's great, but have you tried chocolate milkshake recently ? " . But over the last few months I've realized just how much upping my water intake does for me ! Not only is my skin clearer, but I'm way more focused and I feel better in myself :) 
• Smile at EVERYONE - Seriously, I mean EVERYONE ! Channel sunshine, there's plenty of misery in the world, bring something new :) Just telling the person how serves you on the check out to " Have a lovely day " and giving that stranger you met eyes with in the street a smile, you'd be amazed at the lovely responses you get  !
• Stretch in the morning - When you get up, stretch out like you would when warming up to do exercise, I've found this really helps me feel less sluggish through the mornings and much more ready to go so I'm more productive which is always a good thing. 
• Accept and move on - This is something I've been using a lot lately , sometimes I get stressed or someone does something and it's really ( I mean REALLY ) not good , but at that time I react so badly you might as well of just killed off the whole human race. In these moments I'm trying to take a deep breath and say " Okay, that has just happened, I'm really sorry . Now it's over now so what can I do to improve the situation ." and I've found it really helps leave me in a much calmer and more reasonable mind frame . 
• Give your body the nutrients it needs - If you feed your body on rubbish, what is it going to use to make you feel good ? You're not going to have energy if you don't give your body food with lots of vitamins that you need to make energy,are you ? So try taking vitamins regularly and eating lots of fresh fruit and protein :) 
• Self date - Taking your self on a date and treating yourself like the brilliant person you are is a wonderful way to practice self love, if you want some more ideas for this then I wrote a post ideas that you can find here . 
• Do what you love - Find something you're good at and love and find something you're bad at and love , do both <3  

If you want to increase your well being but doing it all at once is too difficult then every month in my 'What's Been Wonderful' post I let you know one simple thing that I'm going to change over the coming month to improve my life ! If you'd like to join me in that challenge then you're very welcome :) 

Let me know in the comments what you do to improve your wellbeing :) 

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

Self-Date Ideas

Hey !

Self-love has become a massive part of my life and is one of the best things I've ever practiced ! One of my favorite ways of practicing self love is to self date. All you have to do is take yourself out some place nice and spend some time treating yourself .  A lot of people find themselves really stuck for ideas for self dates because people are often too self - conscious to take themselves for dinner or to the cinema. So here are some ideas to get you going !

Coffee and Cake - One of my favorite self dates is one of the simplest. I buy myself a magazine or a new book that I've fancied for a while and then go to a cafe and get myself a hot chocolate and a slice of chocolate cake and take my time to enjoy my drink while I read my magazine. It's so refreshing to start spending some time with yourself, you'd be amazed at how good it feels :) This is a great way to self date if you're really busy and can only spare an hour.

Go Some Place Pretty - Sometimes what you need is to be in the great outdoors and there are many beautiful places that you can go and explore for free and if you live in the UK there are lots of gorgeous grounds and stately homes that are owned by the national trust that you can visit for fairly low prices !

Shopping - When I buy clothes I always ask myself , " Do I feel like I could take on the world in this ?" so how about going out and treating yourself to make you feel like you could take on the world ! . Or like a princess, I also like to feel like a princess... or both ! Yeah definitely go for a mix of both hehe ! It doesn't have to be clothes, just go out and treat yourself to a few bits and bobs that make you feel happy :)

Spa Day - Why not go and relax with a pamper session? There are always loads of great deals for money off spa treatments if you look online and it's so nice to spend a day refreshing yourself so you feel amazing when you leave !

Swimming - Even just going for a swim and spending some time with yourself can be a great way to feel good , plus the exercise means your body will release feel good endorphin's so you'll be in a great mood after wards .

Movie Night - For me, being cuddled up on the sofa in fresh pyjamas with chocolate ice cream and a comedy on sounds like a great night . You watch your favorite movie or box set and just enjoy nobody talking over the tv ;)

What are your ideas for self dates ? Share them in the comments so that we can build up a big bank of them for people to refer to :) For more ideas, watch Rainbow Rose Blossoms videos , they're filled with inspiration <3

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

lots of love, Marianne xxx

Self Love and Eclairs | The Positivity Diaries

Hello ! 

This weeks been good but I've been snowed under with college work but I'm getting through it and between french grammar sheets and psychology text books I still found something good in everyday . I can't wait to hear three good things from your week in the comments , here's my positivity diary :)

Monday : I really liked the poem we studied in English

Tuesday : I learnt a pretty piece at my Piano lesson

Wednesday : I started making myself a revision plan

Thursday : My girlfriend bought me a super cute knew planner <3

Friday : I had a chocolate eclair ( My favorite ) :)

Saturday : I watched an AMAZING Tedx Talk, seriously you have got to watch this it was one of the most powerful and interesting talks on self love that I've watched.

Sunday : My mum liked the cake I made her for mothers day . Happy mothers day !

Let me know in the comments three good things that happened in your week so we can make our communal positivity  diary together :)

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

lots of love, Marianne xxx

Hopeful Notes | Random Acts Of Kindness

The idea of hopeful notes started with Carrie Hope Fletcher and her followers 'The Hopefuls' who decided to leave post it notes everywhere and anywhere with positive quotes and messages for strangers to find that will hopefully make them smile. All you really need for this is a pad of post it notes ( .... well that's £1 if that ... ) and a pen ( ... you can steal that from work , you know, in the name of kindness and all that ;) . I wrote a post a few months ago with detailed instructions and lots of ideas for hopeful notes which you can find here. And if you're stuck for positive quotes to write on them then check out my post, Positive Quotes For Hopeful Notes!  I often write about 50-100 of them and  go out for a whole days to cover a town in them. It gives you so much positive energy to commit a random act of kindness and you can leave them anywhere at anytime ! If you're bored on the bus, find a piece of scrap paper in your bag, write a sweet message and leave it on your seat and who knows whos day you might make !

So this week go out and leave at least one nice note for a stranger , if you write @thehopefulnotes on the top of the note the recipient might even share it onto the hopeful notes twitter page !

Let me know in the comments what positive quote you'd want to share with a stranger or what message you'd write on a hopeful note :)

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

Lots of love, Marianne xxx