WHY YOU SHOULD WAKE UP AT 6AM EVERY DAY

December 18, 2018



A couple days ago, I felt incredibly inspired to get my life back together and become the productive being I used to be a few years back. It was a cozy Sunday evening, I'd eaten too much chocolate, not exercised for weeks and I felt low. I suppose we all know this feeling too well. Whilst scrolling through YouTube, huddled up in the corner of the sofa underneath a warm fleece blanket, I came across a TedTalk on waking up early and being productive. Long story short, I listened to the talk, watched more videos on the subject and decided it was time to get my shi*t back together. It's okay to let yourself go once in a while, but it gets boring after some time. 



So, feeling utterly inspired to get started on Monday, new week new me?, I grabbed my trusty notebook filled with scribbles that used to make me feel good about myself but had now turned meaningless, I jotted down my schedule for the next week. I'd wake up at 6 every day, either go for a run, stretch out with a short yet sweet yoga session, or get started on some uni work. I went to bed early, but couldn't fall asleep. But I wasn't about to give up without even trying. The next morning, I woke up, pulled on the clothes I'd put next to my bed right away and went on a 20-minute run (though I walked quite a fair bit, if I'm being honest). I meditated for 10 minutes straight after, showered, had my breakfast whilst listening to a podcast and by 7.30 am I was ready to face the day. 



My morning routine looks different every day, but it always starts at 6. I noticed I'm making much healthier choices food-wise, I feel more content, I'm working out more often and I'm wasting less time doing useless crap like watching 10 vlogs in a row. So why should you wake up that early every day? You'll find yourself being more productive, feeling better about yourself and generally doing life better. Now I'd love to know what you think about a 6am morning routine and if you're already implementing some of the measures I took?

my morning routine

July 9, 2018


When I shared a few photos from my morning routine on Instagram I received a couple messages regarding my actual morning routine and whether or not I could film a video about it. And so I did. My mornings aren't very spectacular as they're mostly focused on waking up slowly, setting positive intentions for the day and having a lovely breakfast to make me feel even more energized. 

wake up and meditate
I've been meditating every morning since June 1st and it has made such an enormous difference in my overall mood and perspective on life. I go through my day much more smoothly and accept things as they are. I used to feel so annoyed with myself and if things didn't work out the way I expected them to, I'd feel sad and let my whole day revolve around the silly little thing. Meditation has caused this negativity to flip around. 



 journaling
After my 10- to 20-minute meditation session I usually reach for my notebook and jot down whatever it is I'm feeling or thinking. These are mostly uplifting, positive messages to myself and others. I've not yet re-read any of my journal entries, however, but I try to remember my own mantras throughout the day.

breakfast
I either have a short yoga/stretching session before breakfast, or I head straight from my bed to the kitchen to fuel up on porridge to face the rest of the day. Watch the video below for an overview of my morning routine and more porridge-shots. Nom!

the strangest secret to success

June 28, 2018


I stumbled upon a podcast by Earl Nightingale a while ago and I think it's safe to say my life has changed, for the better. My eyes have been opened to something I should've seen or realized a long time ago, something so simple and straightforward it surprises me how I continue to be baffled. Nightingale spoke about the secret to success, and how only 5% of our population manages to live a content life while succeeding in all he does. Why is it that such a low number turns his dreams into reality?

First we need to define what success is, since it's a rather vague topic and very subjective. Success, according to Earl, is the realizing of a worthy ideal, of reaching the goal you have worked toward for a long period of time. This can be having a happy family, being the CEO of a certain company, etc. To me this is traveling the world and making enough money off my creative projects to afford food and transport. Write down on a piece of paper what your goal is, do this now.

Secondly, we have to realize that every one of us is the sum total of his thoughts. We become what we think about. Our thoughts are the seeds we plant for the future, and the human mind doesn't care what you plant, though it will return what you planted. It is up to us to either plant success or failure, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety, but what we plant it must return to us. It's self-explanatory, but easy to forget when we get lost in the daily routine of life.

So, to realize our goals we have to act as though it is impossible to fail. Our limitations, like the seeds, are self-imposed and they are the only thing holding us back from realizing our dreams. Again, we become what we think about. So, if we think of ourselves as already being successful, which we already are from the moment we take a single step in the right direction, we are working towards our goals. Little steps, daily progress and hope is how we will get what we want most in life. "The architect of our universe did not build a stairway leading nowhere."

I hope this has somehow left an impression on you and made you realize that no dream is too big and no stairway too high. Just consistently keep working towards your goal, write these sentences down on the scrap piece of paper and read them to yourself each morning: ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened onto you. Happy dreaming, gals.

ways in which I try to better myself

March 6, 2018


Can we just start off by saying 'oh my goodness, how time has flown by'? Only a month ago I was still on my way back from the UK and I had yet to settle into my new life back in Belgium. Lots of things have happened in the meantime, which I won't be fully explaining due to personal reasons, and even now, a month into uni life, I still feel a tad bit out of place. I'm working on ideas to send my blog into a different direction, where fashion and beauty will play an important role again, which is why I've been so quiet on here. Enough excuses, these are five ways in which I try to better myself (every day).

OPT FOR ZERO/LOW-WASTE

Everybody knows living a completely zero-waste life is pretty much impossible, yet we do have the possibility to live a lower waste lifestyle. Choose paper packaging over plastic, recyclable packaging over non-recyclable and reuse what you already have. Instead of buying multiple plastic water bottles, I bring my own everywhere. Along with bamboo cutlery these are the basics in my backpack. You don't just save the planet by doing this, but you've also got the picnic basics with you - everywhere! 

Once a week I try to visit my local bulk store to stock up on some basics and I try to experiment with new products as well. My cupboards are stocked with polenta, rice, flour, nuts and seeds, different nut butters and coconut flour. I like how pretty it looks and how easy it is to reuse my old glass jars. It's a win-win for everbody!

HOMEMADE BEFORE INDUSTRIALLY PRODUCED

I'm guessing this one is also a no-brainer. When you've got the time and means to cook your own meals and prep delicious snacks from scrap, always choose this over prepared meals, even if they look somewhat healthy. When you know what goes into your food and you realise how much better eating homemade meals will make you feel, it's, as I've said before, a no-brainer. I make my own cookies, granola, all of my main meals and anything in between. Yes, it takes a bit longer, but the satisfaction I get in return is worth all of that extra time. If you're unsure as to where to start, check out my recipe blog!

PLANTBASED DINING

I chose the word 'plantbased' over 'vegan', as it seems to scare people when they see VEGAN anywhere. Let's keep it simple and peaceful here. I have been *whispers* vegan *pulls hood higher* for nearly three years and, my goodness, how it has changed my life! The energy I have is nothing like I've ever experienced before. I make my own, plant-y meals and eat until I'm satisfied. I don't just save the lives of cute little animals, I also take care of my personal health and I take responsibility in slowing down climate change. 'Nuf said, let's get to the next thing!


PUBLIC TRANSPORT

I use public transport and my little bike to get me pretty much anywhere. Perhaps not having a driver's licence also aids in not using the car to get me from A to B (I'll get it some day, promise mum!). More people should use public transport on a daily basis. Driving to work every day isn't that ecological and it causes heaps of stress, so opt for train or bus when you've got the possibility! 

REUSE - BUY SECONDHAND

I am not going to sugarcoat the real truth here. I love buying clothes every once in a while and wear schnazzy new things - yes, that is a word I tend to use too often, but this is not what we're talking about. However, instead of running toward the nearest H&M or Zara, which does not produce ethical clothing, I get my 'new' clothes from thrift stores. Instead of buying a 30 euro sweater, I pay less than ten for a perfectly fine, yet worn one in the thrift store. Easy peasy! 

In which ways do you try to better yourself? I'd love to know!

dreaming at twenty-one

January 30, 2018


I've mentioned this a couple of times already, perhaps one too many, but I don't have any resolutions for the new year. Whatever happens, happens, and I will accept anything new and different into my life. I do, however, have some goals I would like to accomplish. But again, if these don't go the way I've planned them out in my head, I'll gladly accept whatever happens to them. If you're curious to find out what I've planned for this year, please continue reading!

FINISH MY NOVEL (FOR REAL)

I've been working on a fantasy book for nearly two years now and, as I'm busy writing the final chapters, I'm already wishfully thinking about completing this work. Although this is only the first draft, and many frustrating days filled with editing the drafts are yet to come, I'm excited to have a final product of this novel in my hands. It's a long way, but I'm ready for it.

PROVIDE MORE QUALITY POSTS ON THIS BLOG

The feeling of blogging is indescribable, though I'm aware that this may sound odd to some people. But, whenever I write my thoughts onto the little blogger page, publish these writings, and hear what you think of them, it makes my heart flutter. For many years now I have been scribbling down words alongside photos on this blog and quitting is most definitely not in my dictionary!

READ 20 BOOKS 

If a writer wishes to better his writing, he has to read. I want to read more to both improve my English, my writing and my general knowledge. Nothing can make you travel more than books do and I love getting lost in the creative space of a writer's hand. Last year I wasn't in the right space of mind to read often, but this year I'll be making a conscious effort to read more.

PRACTICE MORE RAD SELF-LOVE

I am worthy of love and respect, from both others and myself. It's so easy to lose yourself in daily routines and worries. People struggle with burn-outs, stress and self-hate so often it's truly saddening. If we all spent a little more time on being aware of ourselves and our limits, how much of a better place would the world be?


TRAVEL TO 5 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

Although I have been living in a different country for nearly six months now, my heart is aching to discover more beautiful places in the world. Ever since I was a little kid my parents took me to the most wonderful places and the wanderlust has never quite disappeared. 

LIVE A MORE ZERO-WASTE LIFESTYLE

Plastic makes me feel rather anxious, and so should you. It either takes centuries to break down or worse, it never does. I'm already making sure I buy and use less plastic, but this year I'd like to make a conscious effort to reduce my waste and reuse whatever I can.

These were my goals for the year and I'm honestly super curious to get to know yours! What's something you'd love to achieve in 2018? 

memories aren't made in the gym

January 11, 2018


Some days I have to get something off my chest, something that's been bugging me for quite some time and somehow has to put into words. Some kind of speech waterfall, where words pour out of my mind onto paper, or in this case, a blogpost. I don't think I'm talking nonsense when I say you have been somehow influenced to change your body this year. But it's for a good cause, right? Be that fit version of yourself you've always dreamed of? That abs-flashing creature who makes everyone's bottom jaw hit the floor upon entering the room. 

New Year's resolutions, commercials on television or on social media around the 1st of January often involve new ways to diet, restrict your calories until you end up binging on the first bag of crisps and sweets your hands can reach, or getting a gym membership. You've heard of the masses, overflowing the gym during that first month of the year, to then start slacking in their workouts, drooping out with their tails between their legs to never return to that dark place. Until the first of January exactly one year later, of course. 

I guess you can see what I'm getting at by now. My endless frustration of people trying to change their bodies to fit into the ideal image of beauty, produced and reproduced by society and our actions. Then follows the frustration and realization that ends up in tears and anger, towards yourself and others. You may never become that person with the abs, the slim waist and that muscular upper body defined like Zac Efron's in Baywatch. Why, for heaven's sake, are new years resolutions about changing ourselves, as if we weren't good enough before? As if, for some reason, we wouldn't be accepted by society because we aren't slim or fit enough? An inch more or less won't make people love you that inch less. In fact, when you start to realize what a wonderful human being you are, you will attract more love and happiness into your life than you could have ever dreamed of.

Dreams shouldn't involve scales or measure tapes, they should be about making unforgettable memories and living your best life. Memories aren't made in the gym and calorie-less salads don't bring a smile to your face. Maybe, for instance, our resolutions should involve loving ourselves a little more and caring a little less. Weight shouldn't define our happiness, and it has never been a reason for joy. By projecting ideal body images media only create an environment where eating disorders can thrive. Oh, how overjoyed you would be if you would fit into that one size smaller, how you would love your life if the scales noted another weightloss victory. I'm not saying media are the sole reason for the development of eating disorders as it is a mental disorder created by both the person, the possible traumatic experiences in their past, and their environment. But ideal body images are one of the leading causes for body dissatisfaction, and we cannot let this influence us without showing that there is another way. 

If your resolution was to lose weight, train more, become leaner or anything that involves changing your body in some way or another, scratch it. You won't become more you by having the perfect body, you are already that one, special human with wonderful qualities that show through when you accept who, how and where you are. You are a miracle.

did that little kid have resolutions for the new year?

December 31, 2017


It's the last day of what has been a very eventful and strange year, yet I feel both sad and relieved to leave everything behind. The love, the hate, the good and the bad, it's officially captured in that number, 2017. My intention was to get to know myself and my boundaries better. But if I'm completely honest with you, there is still so much about me I have yet to learn and, as a 21-year old woman, I'm still leaning more towards the little girl in me than the woman I am supposed to grow into. And all of this got me thinking, why don't we see the world through a child's eyes anymore? Why don't we take things as they come and accept whatever we cannot change? 

Wonder is the salt of the earth. - M.C. Escher

They say a child's words are often words of truth. Are we then, as adults, telling lies to conceal what is not beautiful or worthy of telling? And just this question is exactly what I intend to do next year. I wish to learn to accept everything and anything that comes into my life, whether beautiful or ugly. I want to see the world through the eyes of the little girl inside of me. That little kid is also alive within you. Don't push him or her away, but awaken your curiosity and naïvety because it is the most wonderful thing. Don't be afraid to show people you're not perfect - neither are they - and go on silly adventures. 

It is a happiness to wonder; it is a happiness to dream. - Edgar Allen Poe

I need you to do a couple of things as you're reading this post. Take a piece of paper and something to jot a couple of words down with. Write down what it is you loved to do as a kid, what you were dreaming of, what you're still wishfully thinking about, or where you would like to take that kid to. I have always loved to write and I used to be rather silent about this hobby of mine. I wasn't particularly good at it and I was told to study instead of to dream. Society held me in its grip, and I blindly followed its paved road. I studied, became aware of the limits only I was accountable for, started worrying about eating too much or eating too little, the imperfections of my body, the dreams I would never fulfill, etcetera. 

How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you. - Rupi Kaur

To be that child again is to study because I am curious, not because I have to, to eat because I need fuel for my endlessly hyperactive brain, to not care about what I look like or what other people think of me, and to dream bravely. I want to travel, discover, do crazy things and write fantastical novels. To accept yourself is to be free, and to be free is to live. A child doesn't worry about the future, and neither should you. With this being said, I hope to have awoken that sleeping kid within you and I would love to know how you see the new year. Do wild things and live your wildest dreams. Happy new year, friends! Nausikaä xxx

AN AUTHENTIC AFTERNOON IN BAKEWELL, UK

December 15, 2017


Having been stuck on my rather isolated campus, traveling with my family for a couple of days felt like such a relief and I really wanted to post the prettiest village I have thus far visited in England on my blog. Bakewell is exactly the town you'd imagine when thinking of Christmas and cozy film sceneries. It has the cutest little shops, cheerful people and lots of amazing photo opportunities. Here's a little photo diary of our day in Bakewell. 

How can you get to Bakewell? Take the 218 Peak Line from Sheffield station and get off at the end! Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy!




WHAT I EAT IN A DAY AT UNIVERSITY (UK EDITION)

December 11, 2017


It has been a while since I last posted a what-I-eat-in-a-day something, whether it be a blog post or a short video on YouTube. The change of scenery - better known as my Erasmus exchange - might make for an interesting comparison to my life back home, where everything I could ever need is ready for me to use. In the UK, I've had to find new products, new recipes and, although I usually cook for myself back home as well, having to plan out my meals every day of the week was an interesting challenge. Looking back at the previous weeks here - I'm writing this on my last Monday before I head back to Belgium for a couple of weeks - I think I've done a pretty good job at staying healthy and creative with my meals!

breakfast

For breakfast, I usually have a variation on overnight oats or a warm version if it's really cold outside. I prepare them the night before with boiling water, flaxseeds, some sort of nut butter and plant milk. In the mornings I mix it up with soy yogurt, either the plain Alpro one or a blueberry version. When my stomach is rumbling in the morning, I can just grab my breakfast right there and then.


lunch

For lunch, one of my uni roommates and I decided to be a little more creative and make a Mexican feast. We heated up a couple corn tortillas, we filled them with chili sin carne, soy mince, guacamole and other veggies like corn, tomatoes etc. Super tasty, filling and actually, incredibly easy. If you're wondering, the cheese in the pictures isn't actually cheese, it's a 'fake' coconut and soy-based one.




dinner

My dinner is a very lazy combination of either bagels or bread with jam and some sort of nut butter. If I'm having a more productive (or just less lazy) evening, I even dare to spice it up with a banana-chocolate spread bagel. I didn't think of taking a picture of the bagel (it wasn't very exciting either, don't you worry), but you can see the meal in the YouTube video.


youtube video

I filmed a video as well this day, so be sure to check it out below and let me know if you like this type of post or if there's something else you'd love to read on my blog!


A CALMING NIGHT ROUTINE FOR PEACEFUL DREAMS

December 7, 2017



Living on my own has taught me a lot, not only about myself but also about my routines and how I like to have a set list of bedtime habits. As adults, we often forget to care about the child inside of us. A calming bedtime story to soothe our minds, a minute to meditate and a moment to take care of our skin. By writing this post I want you to think about your nighttime rituals and how you can adapt them to suit your needs. Let's get pampered!

A cup of camomile tea

Everyone has a kettle in their kitchen and a couple of tea bags lying around. I like to have a cup of hot tea to warm myself up and wind down after an eventful day. My tea-time is usually accompanied by a chunk of dark chocolate or some sneaky biscoff. If you don't happen to have any chamomile tea in stock, decaffeinated tea is also an option, but add chamomile to your shopping list so you're well ahead of yourself.

 Your favorite book

I am a self-confessed bookworm and I love to dive into an imaginary world or learn new things about our own planet, so you'll often find me with a book in my hands. Reading doesn't only take your mind off of the endless to-do list, it also teaches you to look at the world differently. 

 Gentle products to pamper your skin

I have a set skincare routine which I like to follow step by step every evening. My skin has been experiencing some trouble adapting to the new climate in the UK and the rainy, windy weather has not been ideal. I treat the breakouts on my chin with tea tree oil, which I dab onto the redness, after a gentle cleanse (I use a Sukin cleanser) in the shower. Lastly, I moisturize with my trusty Weleda cream.

Try meditation or yoga

I try to practice yoga every morning when the world is still asleep and the sun is about to rise, but lately, I have implemented a short and sweet bedtime yoga session and five minutes of meditation. As someone who struggles with anxiety, I really need time to clear my mind and focus on my breathing. But, even if you're not prone to anxiety, a gently flow or meditation guarantees a better sleep. The last thing I do before getting into bed is dabbing some lavender essential oil on my pillow.

Sleep tight!

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