My Favourite Mantras

Abundance Quote via Life In Limbo

Over on the podcast today, Laura and I are discussing our favourite mantras, perspectives and life philosophies. We shared them with each other for the first time while recording, but it was awesome to see that we had so many similar ideas that went hand-in-hand. I definitely came away with some awesome new perspectives and a bit more peace.

There’s a little bit of overlap with my post about my favourite quotes, but surprisingly most of the ones I shared with Laura on the podcast are never-bef0re-shared on the blog (but shared about a million times with myself in my own brain). Here are a few of them:

Sit with it: I read a Tony Robbins quote a while ago that said “The quality of your life is in direct proportion with the amount of uncertainty you can comfortably live with.” It reminds me of doing cross country running in high school when my coach told me that it’s normal to be a little uncomfortable, that you shouldn’t be running in a way that gets rid of every ounce of discomfort. I think in every situation, we rail against uncertainty and annoyance and pain, but this mantra reminds me that we don’t have to believe everything we think and feel. We don’t have to try to change and control every little thing that happens to us. We can try and sit with it, accept that it’s not ideal, and breathe through it.

Big deal or little deal?: This has always been a favourite of my mother’s and it always instantly puts things in perspective for me. It reminds me that a good 95% of the things I get stressed out about aren’t very big deals – they might be stressful, but not much is at stake. I often think to myself, in a year’s time, will I remember being stressed about this? Usually the answer is that I probably won’t even remember it in a month’s time, and sometimes even less time than that.

Abundance: My wonderful word of the year has served me well so far. It’s amazing how many times it’s come up for me, and how many times it’s been helpful when things have been stressful or confusing. Sometimes I’m just repeating the word itself over and over in my head to remind me to think big and not scarce and small. Again, instant perspective shift.

Nobody cares about almost: I recently read this idea on Elise’s blog and it just kind of stuck with me. It reminds me that in the end, you can’t tell stories about the things you considered doing but decided not to. People want to know what decisions you made, what things you actually did. You can make your decisions based on who you are as a person and what you need – and then own those decisions – but you have to decide. You can’t just let life happen to you. Elise also shared this awesome quote from Amy Poehler: “Great people do things before they’re ready. They do things before they know they can do it. Doing what you’re afraid of, getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks like that – that is what life is. You might be really good. You might find out something about yourself that’s really special and if you’re not good, who cares? You tried something. Now you know something about yourself.” – Amy Poehler

Those are most of mine, but there are some real gems in what Laura shares as well. We also talk a lot more about what these mantras mean to us and how they’ve shaped our decisions and lives so far.

You can listen to the episode right here or by subscribing on iTunes. Happy Tuesday!

Inspiration | May 23

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Instant perspective when you’re having a bad day.

My new favourite Instagram account, if only because it’s trying to expose all the fake, perfectly curated lives that we see on social media. I’ve personally been thinking about this a lot lately and it’s been bothering me more and more. “People buy a box of macarons, or doughnuts, or an ice cream. They photograph it in front of some big landmark, like the Eiffel Tower and it’s like, Boom, I’ve got a successful Instagram post!”

A few years ago, one of our favourite restaurants in Montreal, Nantha’s, closed down. Happily, the chef Nantha Kumar is back! My friend Jake wrote a great profile of him and what he’s been up to, and it made me want to be back in Montreal again, pronto. Summers in Montreal are magic on another level and the article gave me big pangs of nostalgia. This will be the first summer in 3 years that I won’t spend in that beautiful place.

Dylan wrote about our beautiful sunset cruise last Sunday and simultaneously coined the term “sunset gratitude” which I couldn’t love more if I tried.

I don’t think I’ll ever need to stop reminding myself of this sentiment. “Let’s all say, “way to go” more often. Let’s be proud of each other, proud of ourselves and most importantly, content with the gift of our lives, right now and in this moment. It’s all too short and too fleeting to spend one more moment thinking you’re anything less than amazing.”

I’m sorry, but Joy the Baker made fancy jello shots. (I’m not sorry.)

Automating your life + batch processing = more time for the things you really care about. Awesome advice for mastering your mornings and your life.

“Don’t be cool. Ask stupid questions. Stay up late.” Yes and yes.

Two Instagram accounts I’ve been loving lately: @lerause is a friend of mine from when I lived in Montreal, and he takes such stunning photos of the city. @bakersroyale_naomi posts photos of food that make me feel like the cookie monster.

Some oldies-but-goodies: heart-shaped nail art (for your wall, not your fingers), today be gentle.

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This weekend is shaping up to be a quiet one. I’ll be starting it off with some beach yoga (I’m so glad it’s becoming a routine for Saturday mornings), and maybe trying to learn how to surf! You can see what I get up to as always by following me on Instagram @lifeinlimboblog. Have an awesome weekend!

PS. I’m re-starting my monthly newsletter! It’ll go out by email on the last Friday of every month with the highlights from that month on the blog. If you’re not usually a frequent blog reader, this might be a good option for you if you want to see what I’m up to. You can join the newsletter here and when you do I’ll send you a copy of my Happy Life Manifesto! Thanks for reading.

Food For Thought: Killing Us Softly

Photo thanks to syafira2191

Hey y’all! I am currently 4 days into NaNoWriMo, and it’s really challenging! Last night, making myself write 1,600 words was like forcing a three year old to eat their vegetables. But to have 11 pages of a novel written? What a great feeling. I’m going to keep pushing through, and report back soon. Anyone who is participating, best of luck! I hope you’re doing well. Please chime in a comment about what gets you through! :)

As I’m heading toward the weekend, I wanted to stop in and share some “food for thought”. I’m taking a sociology of gender class this semester, and it has really opened my eyes to the world. A few weeks ago, our teacher shared a film with us: “Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising’s Image of Women”. The filmmaker, Jean Kilbourne, has been making these films for several years. In them, she explores the way that the media portrays women, and investigates how these images affect the treatment of women in our society.

I truly believe these films should be “required watching” for everyone. Even if you’re not compelled to take action after watching, at least you’ll be examining advertising with a more critical lens.

I couldn’t find a copy of Killing Us Softly 4 online, but Documentary Heaven hosts Killing Us Softly 3, a version (still relevant!) made in the early 90’s. I watched about half of this one, and much of the material was identical to that in #4. I would encourage you to watch this version in the absence of a copy of #4 because it explores the same issues!

And here is the trailer for #4:

I hope you find these perspectives interesting, and thought-provoking. I certainly did. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Have a very happy weekend everyone!

xoxo,