I was a busy little bee again and whipped up this Tone It Up document with Post-it sized quotes. Cut them out and tape them to your bathroom mirror, fridge, dashboard, computer, or treadmill. The second page contains two inspirational Bible passages for all my Jesus-loving #TIUsisters out there.
A few of the quotes are from Karena and Katrina themselves, like the leading life with your heart quote. They often talk about posture and leading life with your heart has to do with standing tall and literally leading with your heart out and shoulders back. Let this note be your visual reminder to stand up tall.
A few of them motivational quotes would be great to post directly on your workout station. Use them as mantras to get you through tough workouts or reminders about why you’re working so hard. Check out a great post about effective mantras here.
Oh, the power of a mantra! No new DIY mantra ideas have popped into my head lately, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been on my mind–or placed in front of me out of nowhere! Take, for example, my current computer wallpaper. There I was, minding my own business, when a tweet came up on my feed about a free “‘make it happen” wallpaper design. Of course, I immediately clicked.
This beautiful wallpaper is the design of the talented designer, Breanna Rose. Add this wallpaper to your computer background to remind you every day about your goals and that you have the power to make them reality. Go ahead and search your own personal mantra on Pinterest, and you might come across some beautiful prints or backgrounds like this.
Handstamped Jewelry: Stamping a mantra into a bracelet is another fantastic way to keep your mantra within sight at all times. This particular mantra is something I say to my son every night: “Dream Big.” I want him to grow up knowing that he is only restricted by the bounds of his imagination and determination. I never want him to feel that his dreams are only pipe dreams. He can Make Them Happen. Those sweet little nothings we whisper in their ears can mean so much, can’t they?
By the way, you can buy a basic little handstamping kit at the hardware store for less than $10. Harbor Freight carries them for around $7. Handstamping is such an easy little art, once you learn how to do it. All you need to do is hammer the letters into an aluminum disc like this, color in the letters with permanent marker, and sand over the top to give it shine and remove the surface ink. I went to a craft night at a little local handmade shop and learned just how to do it.
If you haven’t checked out my other mantra projects, check them out here:
Since I’ve been delving into the landofmantras, I thought it would be fun to talk about walking mantra meditations. Now, I’m not a huge meditator. I know all about how good it is for you, and I always have good intentions of meditating, but the practice of silent meditation often falls to the wayside.
After reading an article about walking meditation by friend Nancy Monson, I decided I really like the idea of walking and meditating at the same time. After all, I walk to work a lot, and what’s better than multitasking while doing it?
One day, on my way home from work, I selected a word to focus on for the entire trip. The results were actually pretty amazing. Focusing on the word “beauty” made so many lovely and heartwarming things stand out to me. I had covered the non-picturesque territory so many times before, I didn’t think anything would really strike me as particularly beautiful, but I was wrong. Turning a simple walk into an opportunity for awareness, wellness, and gratitude is just genius to me. It makes every walk quite a bit more special.
I noticed a squirrel carrying a whole corn cob (funny!)
A sign for “Pleasant Street”
A family decorating their Christmas tree in front of the window (so special!)
Particularly aesthetically-pleasing arrangements of apartment electricity lines (weird, I know!).
And interesting architectural details
And I really can’t believe I never noticed this adorable bird treehouse display after living in the same neighborhood for over 7 years!!! It’s amazing what you pick up on while you’re being intentionally mindful.
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This type of walk was so energizing, I plan on doing it much more in the future.
I’ve taken walks before where I focused on how fast I was going to the point that my face got really tight. I’ve taken walks where I focused on a recent fight and used the walk to get away from home, process what happened, and prevent welling rage from erupting. This idea of a walking meditation is much more pleasant and productive, don’t you think? And why would you ever take another walk again without focusing on what’s truly beautiful? Just another simple way to turn an ordinary everyday task into something a little more special…
Try it! And then leave a note to tell me what you think.
Now that I’ve declared “Make it Happen” my personalslogan, I am seeing the phrase pop up everywhere. Fate? Or selective attention? I’m not sure, but it sure is cool. Here are just a few of sooo many instances:
1. I keep seeing Mariah Carey’s Make it Happen all over Facebook and in my favorite magazine.
2. I was reading an article the other day about immigrant millionaires, and one of the women gave advice to “Follow your dream and make it happen.” Exactly!
3. In another magazine, a slogan for a personal training certificate program (how perfect!) popped right out at me.
4. At about the same time, I was reading The Art of Nonconformity (great read) and the phrase popped right out at me on many-a-page.
5. In yet another magazine, I was reading a success story, and the woman’s chosen mantra while working out was “make it happen.”
Seeing those words popping up everywhere is pretty nifty. Once you start seeing these words constantly repeating themselves, it’s like perpetual motivation. It keeps me going.
