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[Persephone Magazine] Positivity Challenge Week 22: High Stress Rising

From the article: 

These few weeks of hiatus have turned into an exercise of dealing with High Stress in short periods of time and they’ve definitely been a test to my positivity levels at times. What’s been going on? Well, shortly before my husband and I had a vacation planned, we got some great news: he’d be getting a job offer for a company he interviewed with. The job would require a cross-country move, though. While we were out of town, details were getting worked out, and the week we came back, we could celebrate with his family about our impending move. When we got home, it was feet on the ground as we needed to find a place, figure out how to get our stuff there, and our cars, and our puppy, and try to do it all in the least stressful but most affordable way possible. Oh, and did I mention, my thirtieth birthday was smack dab in the middle of all this?

Read More at Persephone Magazine.

[Persephone Magazine] Positivity Challenge Week 21: Try Yoga

From the article: 

People who practice yoga have become one of those groups of people, along with marathon runners, Diva Cup users, and vegans, who can be so evangelical about their passion that they shoehorn it into every conversation. As a result, many people who don’t practice yoga are sick of hearing about it. I get it, I really do… when someone tells me that such and such is the best thing that ever happened to them, over and over again, and talks about it non-stop, it only serves to push me away from it, too. I’m contrary like that. So I understand if, the instant you saw this week’s topic, you were like, “No way, no how, I can’t believe it’s yet another person telling me to do yoga. I hate it.”

And if you’ve tried it and it’s not for you, then fair point, thanks for reading this far, and I’ll see you next week. If, however, you’ve never tried it before, or you have and you’re willing to give it another shot, then let’s get to it!

Read More at Persephone Magazine.

[Persephone Magazine] Positivity Challenge Week 19: Checking In

From the article: 

It’s been a while since I did my last check-in post, and what better time than the unofficial change of season? “April showers bring May flowers.” the old rhyme says, but what does May bring? For many people, it brings a time of change and transition. From graduations, new jobs, pending summer plans, family events…even if you work a normal 9-to-5, the pace seems to slow down during the summer. The longer days might be helping you kick your SADs, but it’s hard to focus on work when it’s so darn gorgeous outside. Now is the perfect time to check in with how you’re doing in the Positivity Challenge 2012, and re-energize yourself for this especially positive time of year.

For me, as much as I’m thinking and writing about positivity, there are some challenges are are especially hard for me. Stop Apologizing is one in particular. My husband points out the irony of me writing about thinking positive and not apologizing for things that I didn’t do every single time a “sorry” slips out of my mouth. So that’s one challenge I possibly need to revisit and make a bigger effort on.

Read More at Persephone Magazine.

[Persephone Magazine] Positivity Challenge Week 18: Look at the Big Picture

Last week, we talked about taking some time to appreciate the little things in your life (or even creating happy little things as lachaise suggested). This week, we’re exploring the opposite and seeing the positivity in looking at the big picture. Read the rest of this entry on Persephone Magazine→

[Persephone Magazine] Positivity Challenge Week 17: Appreciate the Little Things

I came out with my love for The Happiness Project last week, which was perfect timing since this week’s topic was inspired by one of the days on my Happiness Project Page-A-Day Calendar. Read the rest of this entry on Persephone Magazine→

[Persephone Magazine] Positivity Challenge Week 16: Finding Your Positivity Mentors

Can you believe we’re a third of the way through the year already? I hope everyone who’s been following this challenge has seen some changes in the way they think about and react to things so far. As I say at the end of every post, I don’t expect that every post will be super-relevant to every reader, but I hope you’ve been able to take what’s been useful to you and benefit from it. Finding the kind of positivity that works for you isn’t a path that one writer can lead you down, though, so this week, we’ll tackle how to find your Positivity Mentors. Read the rest of this entry at Persephone Magazine→

[Persephone Magazine] Positivity Challenge Week 15: Embracing Silliness

One of my fictional Positivity Mentors (that’ll be next week’s topic) is Phoebe from Friends. While her character may have been conceived and initially portrayed as the dumb blonde, the writers clearly saw that Lisa Kudrow could give them so much more than that and created one of the most interesting characters in television history. Read the rest of this entry at Persephone Magazine→

[Persephone Magazine] Positivity Challenge Week 14: Putting Yourself Out There

We’re going to put all our hard work on positivity into action this week with a challenge that might push many of you outside of your comfort zones. This week, I want you to put yourself out there and try something new. Read the rest of this entry at Persephone Magazine→

[Persephone Magazine] Positivity Challenge Week 13: Body Positivity

In becoming more positive about ourselves, we’ve tackled hearing nice things about ourselves and getting ourselves moving. This week, we’re going to tackle the hardest type of positivity to master for many people: Body Positivity. TRIGGER WARNING for discussion of body image, body dysmorphic disorder, and eating disorders. Read the rest of this entry at Persephone Magazine→

[Persephone Magazine] Positivity Challenge Week 12: Get Out and Move!

Continuing in our effort to internalize positivity, this week I’m going to tackle a somewhat contentious topic: Exercise. In fact, I’m going to try and use the word exercise as little as possible. How about we call it “Movement”? Getting up and moving can be one of the hardest things to actually start doing, but the rewards can boost your positivity and mood in general more than anything other than pharmaceuticals practically.
You’re heard it before and you’ll hear it again after this: Exercise releases endorphins. Beyond the effects that physical fitness has on your body, the effects it has on your mood and mental health can be even more powerful. Some studies have shown that it can even make your brain process information more effectively. From personal experience, I can vouch for the boost in energy and mood that comes along with an increase in my level of activity.

Read more at the article.