5 tips to help put KNOWLEDGE INTO ACTION

"It is necessary to combine knowledge born from study with sincere practice in our daily lives.  These two must go together.” ~ Dalai Lama

To make learning easier and help absorb what is required - is to gather information and put into action what you are required to learn. Without reading you would not be able to keep up with the latest information and you would not be able to consider practising most things as you would not be aware of them. 

Ideas to incorporate knowledge into our daily lives from positively present.

Tell someone else what you learned. When you spread the word about what you have learned, you are not only introducing others to a new topic, but you are also reminding yourself what you have learned. Every time you repeat it you are ingraining the knowledge more and ore into your mind. The more you tell others the more you will remember it. The more you remember it the more you will put those ideas into action.

The same also goes into study technique if you ask someone to listen to what you have learned not only have you learnt it yourself but the student is embedding what they need to know for the exam into their own mind as well.

Take notes on what you are learning. Just like I have told my daughter's ~ to write down what you have learned  is to help your  memory absorb and gain more understanding to what may be required in the exam. After you learn something, write it down somewhere. Make a list of what you want to do, add the action you want to take to your To Do list, or schedule time on your calendar to focus on your new course of action. Putting it in writing will make it more concrete and make it more likely that you’ll actually follow through.

Incorporate ideas into your routine. If you want to practice something or explore new knowledge in an action-oriented way, find a way to incorporate it into your daily (or, at the very least, weekly) routine. Take action first thing in the morning if you can to make sure that you don’t end up putting it off later in the day. If you need a little motivation, ask a friend or partner to take action with you. If you make your action part of your routine, you’ll be a lot more likely to stick with it. 

Post reminders everywhere.  Write a phrase (or a few phrases) that will remind you to take action and post it everywhere. Post it in your car, on your mirror, in your office, on your fridge—anywhere you’ll be likely to look and be reminded of the action you want to take.

Keep learning about the topic. The more you learn about a subject, the more space it takes up in your mind. The more space something takes up in your mind, the harder it is to forget about it. Therefore, it’s best to keep learning more about what you want to be knowledgeable about. The more you learn, the more you’ll think, and the more likely you’ll put these thoughts into action.

pinterest / we heart it / 

5 Tips for Successful Study

At this very moment my daughter is sitting her first preliminary Year 11 exams. I have to admire her attitude this morning and commend her highly for how she conducted herself after dropping her laptop on the hard kitchen tiled floor. The laptop will need to go in for repair and I was worried that this would stress her out but surprisingly she overcame the bad situation and just said she would hand it in for repair and the school issue a replacement while hers in in getting fixed. Thank goodness for this system as she has 2 assessments due and to study for exams. Next week she will have at least one everyday. 

I worry about how she will cope as tests have never been her forte although she has improved over the years. Here are some study tips from positively present

Gauge your success by your own potential. Success isn't about whether or not you do better than others. It's about being better than yourself, being better every single day. The more you try to compare yourself to others, the further away you'll get from understanding true success -- a word that should be defined by you and you alone. Your success should be unique to you. Don't let anyone else determine what your success should be. 

Begin with the end in mind. What is it that you really want? Too often the goals we set for ourselves are arbitrary, based only on what we think we should be achieving, not what we actually want to achieve. If you want straight A's or to write a flawless thesis, go for it. But make sure you're doing it for you, not just because you think that's what you're supposed to do. Knowing what your end goal is -- a degree, becoming a subject expert -- will motivate you during the tough times. 

Figure out your values -- and live accordingly. To experience long-term fulfillment, you have to look at the big picture. Learning isn't just about grades or obtaining a degree; it's about taking your knowledge and doing something awesome with it. In order to do that, it's important to know what you stand for and what matters to you. Having values (and living by them) gives purpose to your education -- and your life. 

Change what's not working. If your current study habits (or any habits, for that matter) aren't working for you, change them. Don't keep doing what you've been doing unless you want to keep getting what you've always gotten. If you don't know what to change or how to change, seek advice from people in similar situations. Find a study partner or someone who can help you find more successful habits. 

Stop complaining. One of the easiest things to do when things are tough is complain. It feels good to wallow in what's not working -- but all that wallowing gets you nowhere. Resolve to stop complaining about all the work you have to get done and start doing it. Learning isn't about being comfortable -- it's about pushing yourself. Complaints get in the way of your success and it's up to you to stop them from doing so. 

Good luck to all those students studying now and for the upcoming HSC next month.

parisian chic ~ CHANGE YOUR STYLE

'An ill-advised print dress can age a woman 10 years! Always go for rejuvenating looks.  

Tips to give your style a facelift a la Parisienne. Parisian Chic by Ines de la Fressange is my go to bible for style and fashion. 

Never allow yourself to get stuck in a style adopted at a particular age: it will age you instantly. 

Especially when you are over 40. Oops that is me (over 40). I asked myself a few weeks ago 'Can I still get away with this', in regards to the floral jeans. I was so worried that I may be trending something that I am too old for. I am so happy I took the plunge and at the moment they are my favourite spring piece to wear. 'By all means carry on expressing your personal style, but never let that translate into boredom'. The Parisian knows how to evolve her style as she gets older.

I have to say since reaching my forties I tend to have more class and style more than ever. Maybe because I am choosing more classic pieces adding a few on trend pieces into my mix. Yes I have got it wrong and have worn the piece one or two times and realised that I should not be wearing this and end up selling the item on eBay or passing onto some other person.

      

Golden Rules from Parisian Chic. 

Never follow convention.

Never be bland.

Never neglect yourself.

Always choose the right accessory to transform your look ~ if you often dress in navy or black with a white shirt, but sometimes surprise with a fuchsia blouse. Result is that no one will try to work out how old you are.

Stay interested ~ Look out for new designers, try new shapes, get some platform shoes. Be bold - even if it results in the occasional faux pas.

Never follow fashion blindly ~ embrace current trends in subtle forms like the colour grey, wide leg pants.....

Always mix chic and cheap ~ a pile up of luxury labels can be fatal after 45.

Do not dress like a teenager ~ Trying to look young is the quickest way to look old.

Be bold ~ Wear a bomber jacket in place of a blazer, ballet flats instead of heels with a chiffon dress. 

Change your jewellery regularly.

Do not feel obliged to buy 'fun' clothes ~ A good quality round neck sweater is a must when you are over 50. Mix it with jeans and a rope necklace for a chic look.

Loafers + ballet flats suit everybody ~ as do tennis shoes (converse are a religion for the Parisian)

Emmanuelle Alt / Ines de la Fressange / Hedvig Opshaug 

parenting MONDAYS ~ advice overload

I was reading this article 'Parents on guilt trip from advice overload' from The Telegraph last week. I would love to know your thoughts. The article states that parents are being bombarded with conflicting information about 'the correct' way to raise children and that they are losing confidence in their parenting skills. I have to say that I agree there is so much information out there and a lot of the information contradicts what has previously been said. No wonder parents are confused and losing confidence in how they parent. There is so much information out there to help guide us as parents, from breastfeeding to eating healthy, how to toilet train, when should your child be ready for school or when they should be walking to when they are old enough to be left at home alone. 

I believe that each child should be treated as an individual as everyone is different and unique. You cannot expect the same for each child. Everyone learns differently and every parent 'parents' differently. As long as your child is loved and has some boundaries set this is when children benefit the most. Time for parents to use information as a guide and parent the way they parent and to take on board only what they choose too. 

What do you think? Are you bombarded by too much conflicting advice and does it affect your parenting or make you feel guilty?

pic India Hicks

4 steps to turning FEAR INTO POWER

We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Indulge in self-reflection and positive self-talk.

Next time you feel nervous, anxious, afraid, or uncertain, I challenge you to dig deep and look what’s underneath those feelings.

Are you nervous to apply for that job because you’re afraid of rejection? What if you don’t get the job? Does that mean you’re not good enough and that you’ll never experience the career success you long for?

Of course this isn’t true, but it’s far too common to indulge in harmful self-talk. In most cases, it comes down to thinking that you’re not worthy to experience happiness or success.

Be honest with yourself and identify what’s at the root of your fear.

Now take that negative statement and write an empowering statement that’s the opposite of your limiting belief.

For example, if your limiting belief is “I don’t deserve to experience true success because I haven’t worked hard enough,” flip it and write the reverse:

“I deserve to experience success on my own terms, all while having fun and living in abundance along the way!”

Say this affirmation out loud every morning when you’re getting ready to start your day.

Better yet, look yourself in the mirror and repeat it proudly, 10 times!

Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free. ~ Jim Morrison


Weigh your options. 

Make a pros and cons list of what would happen if:

• You pursued your passions and vision, despite your fear
• You choose to maintain status quo

I’m guessing you’ll realise that there are actually more pros to acting in the face of fear vs. maintaining status quo.

Act.

The arrows are pointing in the right direction. Yes, you can act in the face of fear without the whole world crashing down on you.

The next step is to actually do it.

Take that very first step in the positive direction. Yes, the first step is often the hardest. Remember to take one step at a time.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. ~ Nelson Mandela


Celebrate

Give yourself a pat on the back for facing your fears and celebrate your successes (no matter how big or small) along the way.

This will feed your positive momentum and will keep the good stuff coming your way!

Tiny Buddha

Happy Tuesday xx

how to UP YOUR ENTHUSIASM

“Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” ~ Douglas MacArthur

Enthusiasm is wonderful ~ 

It makes life a lot more fun. Feeling unenthusiastic, bored and apathetic isn’t pleasurable or fun. It makes life dreary, slow and painful. Enthusiasm on the other hand is like an inner sun that makes life easier, shinier and more enjoyable.

It’s attractive to people. Enthusiasm is probably one of the most attractive qualities a person can have. It’s a quality that makes you attractive in all kinds of relationship – personal or professional – and it’s a wonderful quality to find in other people. It tends to make all kinds of interactions and relationships whole lot more fun and 

with enthusiasm you can fulfil more of the potential of any situation or experience.

Powerful communication. Hail the almighty body language and voice tonality when you want to communicate something. If you are enthusiastic it not only makes you more attractive, it also makes your words and message so much more powerful since when you are feeling enthusiastic then that feeling comes through in your body language and voice tonality. And those two parts of make up over 90 percent of communication.

It gets things done. Enthusiasm is the switch. With enthusiasm things get done and they often get done better and more easily than if you were to muster up the will to do them in an unenthusiastic way.

the positivity blog / images pinterest

10 habits you must quit TO BE HAPPY

When you quit doing the wrong things, you make more room for the things that make you happy.  So starting today…

1.  Quit procrastinating on your goals.

Some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it.  Action and change are often resisted when they’re needed most.  Get a hold of yourself and have discipline.  Putting something off instantly makes it harder and scarier.  What we don’t start today won’t be finished by tomorrow.  And there’s nothing more stressful than the perpetual lingering of an unfinished task.

The secret to getting ahead is simply getting started.  Starting, all by itself, is usually sufficient to build enough momentum to keep the ball rolling.  So forget about the finish line and just concentrate on taking your first step.  Say to yourself, “I choose to start this task with a small, imperfect step.”  All those small steps will add up and you’ll actually get to see changes fairly quickly. 

2.  Quit blaming others and making excuses.

Stop blaming others for what you have or don’t have, or for what you feel or don’t feel.  When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility and perpetuate the problem.  Stop giving your power away andstart taking responsibility for your life.  Blaming is just another sorry excuse, and making excuses is the first step towards failure; you and only you are responsible for your life choices and decisions.

3.  Quit trying to avoid change.

If nothing ever changed there would be no sunrise the next morning.  Most of us are comfortable where we are even though the whole universe is constantly changing around us.  Learning to accept this is vital to our happiness and general success.  Because only when we change, do we grow, and begin to see a world we never knew was possible.

And don’t forget, however good or bad a situation is now, it will change.  That’s the one thing you can count on.  So embrace it, and realise that change happens for a reason.  It won’t always be easy or obvious at first, but in the end it will be worth it.

4.  Quit trying to control the uncontrollable.

If you try to control everything, and then worry about the things you can’t control, you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of frustration and misery.

Some forces are out of your control, but you can control how you react to things.  Everyone’s life has positive and negative aspects – whether you’re happy or not depends greatly on which aspects you focus on.  The best thing you can do is to let go of what you can’t control, and invest your energy in the things you can – like your attitude.

5.  Quit talking down to yourself.

Nothing will bring you down quicker than berating yourself.  The mind is a superb instrument if used right, but when used incorrectly, it becomes very destructive.  Be aware of your mental self-talk.  We all talk silently to ourselves in our heads, but we aren’t always conscious of what we’re saying or how it’s affecting us.

As Henry Ford once stated, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”  One of the major causes of why we fail is due to self-doubt and negative self-talk.  The way to overcome negative thoughts and destructive emotions is to develop opposing, positive emotions that are stronger and more powerful.  Listen to your self-talk and replace negative thoughts with positive ones, over time you will change the trajectory of your life.  

6.  Quit criticising others.

The negativity you bleed out toward others will gradually cripple your own happiness.  When you truly feel comfortable with your own imperfections, you won’t feel threatened or offended by the imperfections you see in other people.

So stop worrying about the flaws you see in everyone else, and focus on yourself.  Let the constant growth and improvement in your own life keep you so busy that you have no time left to criticize others.

7.  Quit running from your problems and fears.

Trust me, if everyone threw their problems in a pile for you to see, you would grab yours back.  Tackle your problems and fears swiftly, don’t run away from them.  The best solution is to face them head on no matter how powerful they may seem.

Fears, in particularly, stop you from taking chances and making decisions.  They keep you confined to just the small space where you feel completely comfortable.  But your life’s story is simply the culmination of many small, unique experiences, many of which require you to stretch your comfort zone.  Letting your fears and worries control you is not ‘living,’ it’s merely existing.

Either you own your problems and fears, or they will ultimately own you.

8.  Quit living in another time and place.

Some people spend their entire lives trying to live in another time and place.  They lament about what has been, what they could have done, or what might become.  However, the past is gone, and the future doesn’t exist.  No matter how much time we spend thinking and lamenting about either, it doesn’t change anything.

One of life’s sharpest paradoxes is that our brightest future hinges on our ability to pay attention to what we’re doing right now, today.

We need to live more in the moment.  Living in the moment requires active, open, intentional awareness on the present.  Don’t fantasize about being on vacation while at work, and don’t worry about the work piling up on your desk when you’re on vacation.  Live for now.  Notice the beauty unfolding around you.

9.  Quit trying to be someone you’re not.

One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else.  Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you.  Don’t change so people will like you.  Be yourself and the right people will love you, and you’ll love yourself more too.  The Road Less Travelled.

10.  Quit being ungrateful.

Not all the puzzle pieces of life will seem to fit together at first, but in time you’ll realize they do, perfectly.  So thank the things that didn’t work out, because they just made room for the things that will.  And thank the ones who walked away from you, because they just made room for the ones who won’t.

No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life.  Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs.  Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.

source Marc and Angel 
pics from shoppestylevogue

LET GO + elevate your life.

"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the life that is waiting for us."
~Joseph Campbell

How can we learn to let go of the need to always be in control? 

Become Aware

With any situation that isn’t working, we must first be honest with ourselves and properly access the situation.  In what areas is our need to be controlling damaging our lives? In certain arenas – finances, professional responsibilities, many aspects of parenting, just to name a few, it is expected that we take responsibility and be in control; however, in relationships, dinner parties, travel or others’ behaviors, it could very likely be detrimental for an enjoyable experience, sense of respect or happiness.  Once we are honest about what we want to change, we must focus your energy on the process of letting go in these areas.

FInd People You Trust

With nearly anything in life, we can’t do it alone.  For someone who is controlling, it is hard to ask for help or reach out for a boost because we don’t want to appear needy or we may not trust the people we ask assistance from.  In the case of not trusting those who surround, trust that instinct.  I would never suggest that you force yourself to trust someone who you for whatever reason don’t. What this does mean is that you need to find people you do trust – a good friend, a partner, or someone who has your best interest at heart.  Someone who you can allow yourself to let your hair down around and not worry about a backlash.

Let Go of Specific Expectations

Having a plan or setting goals for yourself is always something I will champion and highly recommend for reaching the success and happiness you desire.  With that being said however, we need to let go of the outcome.  In other words, put the necessary work in, have your eye on the prize, but be open throughout your journey.  You never know when an opportunity will pop up as you are focused on your path that you didn’t expect.  Take the time to consider other outcomes that are just as, and possibly even more, fulfilling than what you had imagined.

Be Willing To Surrender

Once you learn to surrender, knowing you have created a foundation in your own life that is stable and clear, surrounded yourself with people who genuinely love you and don’t wish to control you, then learn to let go.  Surrender to the possibilities of what might be, what could be if we just become less rigid, uptight and demanding. Admittedly, there will be times when we are disappointed, but keep in mind we only have control over how we respond and behave in any given situation with any given person.  Become a person that is secure in themselves, knows they can handle any situation they place themselves in and trust that positive energy begets more positive energy. 

The Simply Luxurious life / pinterest / magnoliapearl

words to LIVE BY

words from Marc and Angel pic from pinterest