Stop beating yourself up. You are a work in progress, which means you’ll get there a little at a time, not all at once. ✨

— Carly Rowena (@CarlyRowena) January 9, 2019

Sex is great but have u ever said yes to a last minute plan and it turned out to be the best time of your life

— H u s s a i n (@KingHussain_7) January 13, 2019

I found this on my Twitter timeline. If you need to take time for yourself to breathe and reenergise, that’s perfectly fine. But in the “just say no” culture we’re becoming in response to overworking ourselves by saying yes, it’s important to remember that you can say yes to experiences and fun because it may end up being a fantastic memory.

Be spontaneous, make last minute plans and enjoy January. Don’t get trapped indoors because that’s how feeling claustrophobic by your own four walls begins.

Whenever you think you can or think you can’t, either way you are right. -Henry Ford

(I’ve found this to be amazingly and sometimes annoyingly accurate. There’s power in your thoughts, they dictate your actions and how you feel, so choose good thoughts as often as you can, K?)

— Melanie Murphy (@melaniietweets) January 8, 2019

Focus on what you can do. If you consistently tell yourself that you can’t do something, a good chunk of the time you will fail. Self motivation is key and telling yourself you can will give you the confidence to do it. 

I’ve often found myself clamming up at the thought of doing something, but I tell myself that I’m professional, I’m an adult, and adults can do it. And guess what? I usually ace it. Even if you don’t, at least you will have learnt more about your strengths and weaknesses which you can work on for future moments like this.

We need to take the time to note down what things make us truly happy and do things that we’re passionate about more. Life is all about balance.

— Jo (@Lespoirdemavie) January, 2019

I asked on Twitter for some input on what people use to motivate themselves, and Jo gave this fantastic piece of advice. Once you start paying more attention to what makes you happy, you will find that you’re less affected by what makes you sad.

Finding balance between humbling yourself and becoming involved in your passions is difficult, but important.

For more motivation on crushing your goals, self care and wellness, or even general happiness, I was recommended the site The Happiness Agreement. You can find blog posts, playlists and e-guides which can help you. 

Personally, I’m a big believer in finding something to look forward to. January is a ridiculously long month, so use your New Years Resolutions (if you set them!) to motivate you through. If you want to lose weight, weigh weekly and this gives you something to look forward to. If you want to grow your blog, make time to write and share your posts. Book tickets to a play. Schedule time to see mates.

I hope the rest of January treats you well and you find something that drags you through this seemingly endless month.