positive thinking – Page 5 – Rachel MacDonald

Making Me Happy

16 May, 2012

Things are happening. Times are changing. Obviously in 3 weeks I’ll no longer be a ‘Magahy’ in the legal sense (something I’m still bewildered about – having an unusual last name your whole life and then replacing it with something as ‘easy’ as MacDonald is a funny concept) but on other levels, I’m itching to dive into new opportunities and chase new adventures. Chase might be the wrong word choice actually – I feel like I’m about to “step into” or “become well acquainted” with a new direction career/ business-wise, and whilst I’m going to take the time to nut out exactly what that will entail, I’m excited. And eager.

The truth is, I’ve really missed writing here. And while I’m being all truthful, there was also a short period there where I didn’t miss writing at all. Mojo – gone. Energy – depleted on wedding must-do’s and work expectations. A constant stream of productive “doing” meant no time for reflection, or creation, or writing articles that came from a deep desire to help, and while I knew in my heart of hearts that I needed to pull back here to let the wedding take centre stage, it wasn’t until I read the below in Danielle LaPorte’s brilliant, bold, bombastic guide to kicking ass The Firestarter Sessions, that I truly believed that that was what I should be doing. That I wasn’t just making an excuse and my Sagittarian passion-for-new-projects had burned out, never to be salvaged.

Danielle says (on crazy ambition):

“It’s the superhero syndrome: I can do it all! I can squeeze in more hours out of the day, keep up my exercise regime, be romantically attentive, well groomed ‘n’ stylin’, AND launch a brilliant, innovative, substantive product in record time. Nothing will change, I’ll just fit MORE in.

Of course you have to do more. You will need to expand in order to reach new heights. But that capacity needs to be poured directly into your new project, not spread thin among pre-existing obligations and habits. Ask yourself what you’re going to have to give up in order to pull it off.”

Gosh I needed to read those words. When I spread myself too thin, my output is rarely at a level I’m really proud of. Once you jump on board the dizzying merry-go-round of obligation, it can be hard to get off but I couldn’t be more grateful that there are (hugely successful) women out there like Danielle lighting the way, dispelling the balance myth, and living that truth themselves.

My synapses are sparking. I’m curious, reading lots, cogitating, looking to grow, plotting. Coming back to me. The soul fire has started to smoulder again.

Autumn Makes Me Happy!

Every year, when Autumn rolls around, I declare my undying love for the perfect days in May and June. It’s all about crisp mornings and evenings, sunshine, blue blue skies, chirping birds and not a drop of rain in sight. Just the way I like it – like a long, slow massage for the soul.

(PS: Mother Nature… ahh… I know you’ve already got the memo, but just a reminder that this weather would be fabulous for our wedding day. Ok, great, yep, I know, just checking.)

Selfish for 27 Days

I’m overjoyed to be a feature contributor to Selfish for 27 days and loved chatting to Susana on Skype last week about overwhelm and the way I go about counteracting that through positive reinforcement, visualisation and a bunch of other tactics.

Unfortunately my video interview is solely for viewing by members of the group so I can’t share it here, but if self-care and learning how to nourish yourself so you can go out and live the life you were born to live sounds like your kinda thing, I highly recommend you check out her next event later in the year. Signing up gives you access to this truly wonderful community that hang in the Facebook Group and I’m loving all the updates on the “selfish acts” people are undertaking. Just reading them fills me up.

Thoughtfulness

I was totally blown away to receive the above wedding gift from Serena from Pretty Fluffy (who I’ve been lucky to meet through this blog) as well as a beautiful card wishing Ramai and I all the best for our life together. So generous, so incredibly thoughtful – and it really made me think about how much a gesture like that means.

While we’re on the topic of thoughtfulness, as always, deep gratitude to you all for your emails, comments and lovely words about our upcoming nuptials. I’ve loved sharing this experience with you all via the blog and I feel like on the day I’ll have not only the people standing in front of me sending their love, but also the support of all of you here, and that is one hell of a special feeling.

New Bits & Bobs

Purchased the cutest new ladder from Reinvented Treasures at The Village Markets last week. Rustic charm for the win!

My affair with neon continues. Loving cute online store BLANK and all their lovely paper goodies.

My other affair – with Glasshouse candles – also continues with Sassafras, which “captures a delicate blend of blackberry and tea rose, with a hint of jasmine.” Yum… and would you look at that gorgeous floral packaging!

Short but equally as special:

+ Being spoilt with a 3 hour pamper package voucher (thank you Ramai!) + finishing up at work this Friday (woot woot!) + finding an awesome (brand new) orange rug at the op shop + Kikki.K + silverbeet + making a mock up of our wedding arch with my family and cracking up laughing the whole time as we marched around the yard with giant sticks (we’re strange!) + my wedding dress – looooooving + excited messages from friends, I have a feeling our wedding is going to get C-C-CRAZE + watermelon + clarity + the beauty of LOVE.

Mantra of the week (inspired by the sensational Gabby Bernstein): “This or something better.”

Righto superstars, since we missed last week I reckon you’ll have LOADS to share this week so tell me: what’s making you happy of late? What are you thankful for? What pleasures/ treats/goodies have you treated yourself to? Share away! x

Image: We are Yawn

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Making Me Happy

25 April, 2012

Hello, hello and to all my Aussie/ Kiwi readers, I hope your ANZAC Day is filled with goodness, whatever it is you’re doing. Lest we forget.

Today’s Making Me Happy is a bit shorter than normal as I’ll be rushing out the door to a birthday party quite soon, and before I start, I must apologise for the photos – I somehow bent the pins in our SD card reader (and by somehow, I mean “by jamming the card in”) so I had to use my iPhone for the pics, and well, if you could see how scratched my camera is, you’d know why these pics are less than desirable.

(ps: I promise I’m not a destructive person normally!)

Anyway, here’s what’s put a smile on my face over the past week:

A Love Story

I think it’s fairly obvious that the thing that’s brought me untold happiness over the past few days is receiving our engagement shots. Somehow I forgot to put this one up, so I thought I’d share it here as it’s actually one of my faves.

Thank you SO much for all your beautiful comments about the pics, I’ve had my head in the clouds since Monday and have butterflies just thinking about our wedding and the photos that will capture all the special moments. Arghh!

Instax Mini 25

Isn’t this thing the cutest? It looks like a kid’s toy, but is actually very cool. Can’t wait to see what photos our lovely wedding guests take with this (hopefully no “down the pants” shots, although now that I’ve said that I bet there will be someone who will think that’s a pic we’d like to cherish ’til the end of time). Eek.

Bringing Nature Home

I’m one floral-arrangement coffee table book away from enrolling in a floristry course at the moment, I swear to god. I just love them and was thrilled when Bringing Nature Home arrived in the mail the other day.

Of course, the peonies had me at hello.

Interview

I was interviewed about all things health and wellness by a lovely soul called Claire and you can read my answers here. Thank you pretty lady! x

Random radness:

Running, running, running – obsessed at the moment + The Voice – yep, card-carrying member of The Voice Fan Club, right here! + getting our wedding rings sorted + The Killing Season 2 (sooo good!) + a mid-week public holiday + lots of socialising (although I do have to rein this in a little soon) + having two running buddies – my lovely friend Sarah and our other “friend”, my Garmin watch (love that guy!) + the fact I use did this whole post minus a mouse, which is something I normally hate doing (and it wasn’t too bad, to be honest) + life in general – this is my favourite time of year (except for my birthday month of November of course) and I’m feelin’ the love in a ginormous way. Sending it out in pretty pink parcels to you all! x

Share your love list in the comments, I dare ya!

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Redefining Selfish

13 April, 2012

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘selfish?’

Self-centredness? Arrogance? Egomania? Narcissism and stinginess, with a big ol’ dollop of rudeness on top?

What about if I told you that ‘selfish’ could also mean shamelessly (boldly – with intention!) putting your health and happiness first? What if I said it could signal the return to your deepest and truest SELF, gifting you with the energy to keep giving to the people you love?

It’s all about perception.

Susana Frioni knows a thing (or 10) about teaching women to honour their unique gifts with enthusiam and a truckload of passion, and I’m so excited to tell you about her online event Selfish for 27 days, which was launched out into the ether with a big kiss yesterday!

Rocking the interwebz twice a year (once in April and once in September), Selfish brings together scores of women from around the world with the purpose of redifining ‘selfish.’ The event has been called “…the catalyst, the motivation and the reason I found myself again” and I am absolutely honoured to be a featured guest contributor, alongside a coterie of inspiring woman including Jess Ainscough, Amanda Rootsey, Kate Northrup, Tali Edut (yep, the same Tali that did my Astro Reading!), Nicola Chatham, Amber Krzys and Bee Bosnak.

Tickets for this awesome event are on sale now and you have until Monday 23 April 12pm (Aust time) or Sunday 22 April 10am (New York time – lucky you!) to secure your place.

The Shiny Stuff (Aka, What You’ll Get)

Lifetime access to THE SELFISH TEMPLE where all the resources live (I might move in too – think they’d mind?)
Lifetime access to a private facebook group for endless support and encouragement.
A quickstart guide to “Making the most of 27 days.”
Raw and honest interviews with amazing featured guests.
Immediate access to bonus resources including: 101+ Selfish Acts. You Choose and The Wellness Warrior Selfish Kit, by the gorgeous Jess Ainscough.
Surprise bonuses at the end of the 27 days.
A community of like-minded women from all around the world.

Who is Selfish for 27 Days For?

Female entrepreneurs, bloggers, humanitarians, healers, career women, students, mothers, lovers… any woman who is craving “me time” because they are:

Living on the edge of exhaustion and overwhelm and know that burnout is just around the corner.
Having an existential crisis and feel like their world is falling apart… because it probably is.
Living in denial about their career/relationships/health and pretending everything is okay when deep down they know something’s got to change.
Frustrated that nothing seems to be going to plan no matter how much they control everything.
This close to giving it all up (the business, the job, the project, the relationship, the dream) because fatigue and frustration have taken over and they’re questioning if it’s really worth it any more.
Paralysed with indecision because they’re afraid of making the wrong decision.
Drenched in guilt whenever they try to do something just for themselves.
Seeking accountability and support while they create some positive and healthy habits.
Craving to connect with women who want to live a kick-ass life and are willing to take responsibility for it.

Sound incredible or what? It couldn’t have come along at a better time for me, that’s for sure, and I can’t wait to do my video interview with Susana.

To book your ticket for 27 delicious days of Selfish, click here. Self-love, clarity and strategies for magical living await – see you there!

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Where the Mind Goes, Energy Flows: 60 Positive Affirmations To Light Up Your Life!

12 March, 2012

Today’s post is a follow up to my post In Honour of Love, Truth and Beauty: 56 Rare Quotes That Will Change the Way You Live Your Life because if you’re anything like me, you love a stack of handy resources that you can refer back to when you need them most.

In the same way I’m drawn to inspiring quotes, I’m always on the lookout for positive affirmations – powerful words that help us manifest what we want in our lives, renew our passion, fuel our success and ultimately, guide us as we transform and transcend – so I’ve pulled together a list of positive statements that will help you lift the lid on self-sabotaging beliefs and replace them with supercharged thoughts as you discover the best, most vibrant version of ‘you.’

How does that sound? Good? Great!

Pick and choose from the below when an area of your life is called into focus – you’ll know which ones you need to hone in on depending on what’s going on in your world at any given time. Adjust, tweak, add, subtract, save the pics for later – make these babies all yours!

Life + Goals + Purpose

Today I choose to own my power .

Every experience in my life has shaped me to be where I am at this very moment. I am exactly who I am supposed to be.

I discover the meaning and purpose of life in the process of overcoming difficulties with dignity, courage, and faith. I am on purpose.

I have all the resources I need to achieve my goals easily and effortlessly, and I make amazing progress every day.

I now see and feel my goals as already accomplished.

I receive wisdom and knowledge every moment of my life.

I am guided and excited. All I need is within me now.

I have the ability to change anything in my life that I choose to change. I take complete responsibility for my life.

Relationships + Love

I accept myself completely as I am.

I am grateful to be alive today. It is my joy and pleasure to live another wonderful day.

I surround myself with authentic and loving people who share my journey of personal growth and awakening.

I cannot change another person. I let others be who they are, and I simply love who I am.

Amazing people gravitate towards me every day.

I surround myself with positive, proactive people.

I actively listen to what others say without interrupting them.

I treat every person I meet with respect, tolerance, and understanding.

I look for the good in every person I meet and I find it.

I inspire and empower others to greatness.

I am worthy of love.

I forgive and release and know that when I love myself, I allow others to love me too.

Manifesting + Living Your Dream Life

I consciously choose the emotional state that I am in at all times.

I spend my time, energy, and emotion on the goals that are most important to me rather than responding to the demands of other people. I am in control of my life.

Incredible ideas flow to me easily and consistently.

I have completely discarded any thoughts of failure. I have no anxiety about things I want to do in my life.

I am a naturally successful person and I have created the life I desire.

My unique creative talents and abilities are flowing through me and are being expressed in deeply satisfying ways. My creativity is always in demand.

Confidence + Courage

I am an outstanding leader and I radiate confidence and certainty in the presence of other people.

I am powerful and charismatic and I attract opportunities to me like a magnet.

I am fearless, courageous and bold.

Every time I close my eyes and breathe deeply, my confidence expands and fills my whole being.

I now see myself as exactly the person I want to be: confident, self-assured, healthy, and prosperous.

My confident energy, enthusiasm, and passion are increasing massively everyday.

I step up with total power and passion to take whatever positive action is necessary to achieve my desired results.

Health

I now resolve to listen closely to that still, wise, strong voice within me that always guides me toward health and joy.

My health, energy, and vitality are increasing everyday.

I sleep peacefully and I wake feeling full of joy. Through peaceful sleep, my body and mind are renewed and restored to perfect health.

My positive thoughts are now creating the body that I desire.

Divine life flows through every cell in my body.

I am totally energised. My body is now exploding with massive amounts of energy and enthusiasm.

I feed my body nutritious foods for optimum health, energy, and peak performance.

The more energy I use, the more energy I have.

I fill my body with life giving oxygen through deep breathing everyday.

I create good health habits quickly and easily.

I am relaxed, calm and peaceful. Everything is perfect in my world.

Wealth

I am now effortlessly attracting all the wealth I need and desire, doing what I love to do.

I am a money magnet.

I deserve to be wealthy.

Money comes to me in expected and unexpected ways.

My outstanding ideas, energy, and passion are creating new avenues of income.

All the investments I own are profitable.

I manage my money effectively with precision.

I have all the money that I want and need.

I now give away large amounts of wealth wisely and intelligently.

I am the the luckiest person in the Universe. Good fortune flows to me constantly.

+ What are your thoughts on affirmations? Do you ever use them? I’d love you to share your experiences with using affirmations in the comments below.

For those that haven’t harnessed the power of positive statements like these before, why not make this week the week you give it a go for a bit of fun? Take notice of how they make you feel – I always notice a wave of calmness wash over me when I flip a negative thought on its head by visualising and repeating an affirmation.

Finally, a hot tip:

I like to write my affirmations on index cards and stick them on the mirror in my bathroom so I can see them when I’m getting ready for work, and I also carry one around in my purse (actually, I’m currently using the last one on the list above). Phone reminders are also a winner – type some sparkly words in and prepare to be delighted at random times throughout the week!

Images: Nanamee, with edits by me.

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Change Your Stories

29 January, 2012

Have you noticed how people who say “I always lose my keys” always lose their keys?

Or how people who complain about never having any money, never have any money?

What about the girl that says she’s a magnet for bad guys, and winds up with the same type of (bad) guy, time and time again?

Where the mind goes, energy flows. The stories you tell yourself become your life.

Change Your Stories, Change Your Life

WHAT IF: Instead of being late for everything, you became the girl that showed up ten minutes early – composed, centred, confident and ready to blow people’s minds with your inherent wisdom and infectious energy?

WHAT IF: Instead of moaning “Knowing my luck, {insert sucky thing} will happen,” you started the day with a heartfelt thanks for the dazzling miracles in your life – and watched on in awe as they began to multiply/ quadruple/ explode in every direction?

WHAT IF: Instead of letting insecurity dictate your life, you put a stop to the madness today and started living the big, bold, beautiful life you’ve always dreamed of?

WHAT IF: You celebrated your magnificence, honoured your wildest desires, took the leap, forged ahead, trusted, expected the best possible result – and suddenly, the fear that was holding you back and sabotaging your attempts to shine completely dissipated?

We are all creators. We create our lives every day. Accepting that you are the author of your own stories brings with it the understanding that you have the power to write yourself the life of your dreams.

As you go about your business, think about whether your stories need a bit of editing.

What new stories can you tell yourself today that will shape your thoughts, dreams and way you live your life in the future?

+ If you liked this post, I’d be forever grateful if you could share on Facebook or Twitter using the social sharing buttons below!

Image: The Wheatfield on Etsy

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Dreaming & Scheming: My 2012 Vision Board

5 January, 2012

I’d planned to publish my goalsetting post today but due to a few technical glitches (ahem, web host problems), I was unable to access my blog and finish it off – so tomorrow it is! Never fear, it’ll be worth the wait!

Everyone I’ve spoken to in the past week has been full of enthusiasm for 2012 which thrills me to bits, and I’ve had quite a few people ask me about vision boards and how to create one for the shiny New Year.

If you’re anything like me, you love a visual example, so I thought I’d share my newest one with you so that you have something to work off when you’re dreaming up your own board. If you’d like a step-by-step, I wrote a pretty comprehensive article on how to construct a vision board a little while back.

For even more juicy inspiration for dreamsetting, the gorgeous Jess from The Wellness Warrior has pulled together a stellar post, which I’m honoured to be a part of (I should note that my career/ blog goals are on a separate board because I ran out of room!) Head on over and check out Jess’ post and her board to get the creativity flowing. Oh and Universe? Count me in for Rich, Happy, Hot in NYC!

+ Do you have any questions about vision boards I can help you with? A friend asked me the difference between my vision board and my goals/ intentions list, and I explained that the way I do it – and feel free to do it your own way – is that I use my vision board as a visual representation of my aspirations, and it’s generally the bigger stuff I’d like to manifest (you’ll see I have a dream to own an amazing property in Byron Bay, and I’d love to write books that make the New York Times Best-Seller list – of course!), whereas my goals are more achieveable things I’d like to have crossed off within a specific timeframe.

There’s an element of impossibility with my vision board stuff but it represents where I dream of being in my life. There’s an energy attached to it, and to pull everything together, I include my words to live by for the year and hang my board and my goals/ intentions list beside each other. I find this is a really powerful way to manifest my desires -and it’s worked for me many times in the past.

+ What about you, do you have a vision board? Have you ever manifested anything on your board? Tell me all about it!

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Let Go Of: Forcing It

16 September, 2011

I love the Taoist principle of Wu-wei.

By definition, Wu-wei is effortless action that simply flows through us because it’s right, appropriate to its time and place, and serving the purpose of greater harmony and balance. It’s not to be confused with giving up, laziness or passivity – rather Wu-wei is about accepting what is and taking action based on what can be done, rather than resisting the unchangeable stuff. Faith not force.

A Personal Lesson: Accepting, Letting Go, Moving On

We’ve had our wedding venue booked for about 10 months now. We only viewed two venues when we started the planning process and when we found (what we thought was) The One, we basically booked it on the spot with no hesitation, despite the fact it’s definitely right up there cost-wise. We didn’t care (probably because we hadn’t done the budget at that stage and didn’t really think of, oh, the 150 million other things that make up a wedding day!) The place was beautiful and we had our hearts set on the thought of our perfect wedding unfolding right there on those spectacular grounds.

The property “came with” a planner (not optional) who is an amazing person, but for whatever reason, hasn’t been able to give us the service we were promised – at a premium price – and essentially, 10 months later we haven’t progressed our plans to the point we’d like to because she’s been largely uncontactable.

Red flag alert.

And so we ummed.
And we ahhed – for several months.

We made excuses, brushed our concerns aside and we persisted… until we realised that those gut feelings weren’t going away and and as hooked as we were on this beautiful venue, our instincts were telling us we needed to surrender to the fact that things weren’t playing out how they should have been. We needed to let go.

Taking Action

This week, we decided that instead of barreling forward, head-first into the resistance and causing ourselves unnecessary stress, we’d go back to the drawing board. Yep, 8 months out from Our Big Day, we’ve decided to start from scratch and find a venue that feels right for us, which of course is more work initially as we retrace old ground but means that we’ll be a lot happier in the long run. We had to step outside the story a bit to evaluate it from all angles, but the message we were getting loud and clear was that if it didn’t feel right now, it certainly wouldn’t in the weeks before the wedding. Intuition never lies, after all.

I’m going to leave you hanging here and not divulge too many more details (!!), but I can tell you that in the space of 24 hours, several serendipitous things happened and we’re feeling super excited and mega-motivated about the new direction we’re going. The moment we allowed the possibility of change in, it was as if all the energy that had been taken up worrying instantly disappeared, unblocking the dazzling enthusiasm we needed to find a creative solution and forge ahead.

So, What Did We Learn?

Losing Control Can Be a Good Thing

Quite simply, you can’t force things that aren’t meant to be. Control is rooted in fear and I’ve noticed that when we cling to and control things, it’s because we’re afraid of what might happen if we don’t. Control means we’ve attached ourselves to a specific outcome—an outcome we’re sure is right for us, as if we always know best, which unsurprisingly, we don’t. When we step back and let things flow, they do. But better. Way better. Have you ever pushed and pushed and pushed with something, then hit that point where you find yourself saying “Ok, whatever will be, will be” and with a change in course, the result has far exceeded your expectations? I know I have – many times.

To Receive You Need to Release

Sometimes, we become so single-minded in our purpose or so stuck on something we think is The Right Thing For Us that we lose sight of the other doors that are open all around us. To receive, all you have to do is dream up your desired result, visualise it, bless it and believe that it will be yours. Release that thing you’re holding onto. Everything that feels missing is just waiting for a place to go, a space to occupy, a home to hold it. Open up and let it in. Above all else, have faith that what is for you won’t pass you by. The greatest gifts are the ones we least expect.

+ Have you ever let go of forcing something or changed paths in your career/ relationship/ life and it’s worked out for the best? I’d love to hear your story in the comments!

Image: This isn’t happiness

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