LIFESTYLE | GUEST POST BY NATE ANTHONY THINK IT, LIVE IT, MANIFEST IT AND SUCCEED

Every now and again, I like to collaborate with other influencers online and offline. More so offline tbh. Now I am going back to my blogger roots and collaborating with Nate, who is starting his Instagram vlogging on his page, check it out it is hella interesting and funny. Despite, the inspiration vids, Nate has interesting stories to tell, which are pretty inspiring. In this latest post, Nate talks about thinking positively, acting positively and ultimately succeeding in anything you put your mind to. Enjoy, and I promise I will be back! 

What do you want from your life? Ask yourself this question honestly and make it 100% clear in your mind.

There are no shortcuts, no cutting corners, no quick fixes. The key to your success is through hard work, persistence, commitment, determination and a positive mentality. This is the mantra of some of the most successful people on the planet. 

Sounds clichéd doesn't it? You're probably thinking, "I've read this so many times. Don't make excuses. Don't say you don't have enough time. Blah, blah, blah". You're left wondering how could you possibly have enough time. You've got a girl/man, a job, bills to pay, friends to keep in touch with, TV to watch, Xbox to play. You ponder to yourself... "It's just not possible. It's easy for these celebrities - they're loaded!".

The reality couldn't be further from the truth. It is undeniably possible. In fact it is probable - with the right attitude. Make no mistake, your mind is the most powerful asset you possess. As you start to focus your thoughts on your future you begin to realise that you have the power to will things into existence. You realise that there is time for all the things you'd like to do. It has nothing to do with creating time, Einstein, because that would be impossible! The time is already there, it is just limited. As your goals take centre stage in your life you will begin to appreciate the less productive activities even more, this is because you have less time available to spend on them. They almost start to feel like a reward - and who doesn't like rewarding themselves?! 

When you wake up in the morning and express gratitude for all the blessings in your life you will catapult your feelings forwards. You will feel joy and happiness and you will continue to produce feelings and thoughts of this throughout the day. Even if you are down and out and these blessings don't exist in your life. Knowing that you will have them and believing that you already do will create the same effect. If you have money problems, tell yourself and act as though you're loaded (obviously put in place plans for debt repayment first - then put it out of your mind and never think about it again). If you have a crush on someone, envision yourself with them, tell yourself you're in a relationship with them. If you're unwell, tell yourself you're fit and healthy every single day. Believe you have achieved your goals, know that you already have them. Think about what you can do and what you do have, not about what you can't or do not. Remove these words from your vocabulary.

As you start to create this buzz, this energy through your thoughts, you will notice more positive occurrences appearing in your life. People on the same wavelength will flock to you, opportunities will open up. As you start to distance yourself from negative people and surround yourself with this new collective you will feel as though you are surrounded by the right circle. If you're having a bad day, these are the people that will put you back on track.

Whatever your goals may be. Keep going. Never stop. Let's not fall back into old habits. If you feel yourself fall down, pick yourself up as quickly as possible. Look back at that obstacle and make a note of where it is so that you are unable to trip over it again. The vision always has to be to on the final outcome. How much do you want it? How much do you want that six-pack and how much do you want the 5 seconds enjoyment of that Snickers bar? How much do you want that Range Rover and how much do you want those overpriced shoes that will shortly go out of fashion? How much do you want that new job and how much do you want to spend that precious time playing Call of Duty? Enjoy what you do. I never think, "Oh I've got to go to the gym today, I can't be bothered, I just want to go home and watch Netflix" because going to the gym is what I love doing. Instead I have a conversation with myself and let myself know that I'm going to go in there and have the best workout I've had to date and lift as heavy as I can.

Let's start from the top. 

Hard work - no one said it was going to be easy, you have to put in the work. 

Persistence - keep knocking on that door, never stop for anything or anyone. 

Commitment - your goals need to be at the forefront of everything you do. It is your husband, your wife, your kids, your life. In place of sacrificing your goals to commit to other activities, make sacrifices in order to commit to your goals. 

Determination - you will get there and you will make sure of it no matter what. 

Positive mentality - you have all the things you desire in abundance, you are grateful for all these things, you know and believe that the universe will provide for you. Tell yourself this every single day. 

Think it. Live it. Manifest it. Succeed.

By Nate Anthony

BEAUTY | THE WELLINGTON CLINIC THE BEST DENTAL CLINIC IN LONDON

I think I have been obsessed with teeth, for as long as I can remember. At the age of 10, I would always whiten my teeth with whitening strips, floss and have those pearly whites sparkle. However, my sweet tooth addiction, meant that I have about 4/5 fillings between the ages of 17-22. 

It has always been difficult for me, to find a great dental practice in London, that would really teach me about my teeth, and give me amazing quality of care. But that all changed, when I got invited to The Wellington Dental Clinic in Chelsea, for a free dental examination and hygiene treatment (ultrasonic scale and polish). If you follow me on Snapchat, you would've seen my review live, if you don't or missed it, this will be in a vlog.. very soon.

My visit to the clinc happened in two stages. First, I was greeted by the friendly staff and my dentist and dental hygienist. I had a quick consultation with what the review would include, then onto the X-rays to really see how well I'd treated my teeth. They were ok, but needed some TLC. Next, was the check up and clean and my teeth were cleaned so well! The experience was made so much better as I watched Luke Cage on Netflix. On my first visit, I had molds created on my teeth for my whitening guards shown above. I was given a pack of whitening gel for 2 weeks to use to make my  teeth extra bright! 

All in all, my experience was lovely and I want to say a massive thank you to the team at Wellington Dental Clinic. 

LIFESTYLE | ACCEPTING MY ANXIETY

So after much speculation from my family and going to the doctors and getting a confirmation. I've been told that I have anxiety, and if I'm really honest with you, I'm embarrassed to have it.

In no way am I bashing other people with it, But I just want to communicate my feelings around it. I've always been a strong person, I'm from a family of fighters. I'm African, Ghanaian to be exact. If something knocks us down, we dust ourselves off and deal with it head on. We don't dwell, we don't worry, we're the back bone for people. We are not the type of people that need to be saved we do the saving.

I can't be the back bone for others if inside, I constantly feel like I'm crumbling.  Sometimes, I feel like I'm going to explode with so many emotions, that it's hard for me to articulate what I am feeling. I've always found it difficult to express when I'm feeling vulnerable, I cannot speak up until it gets too much. As a result, there are a multitude of things which have led to this point, where I'm anxious all the time.  Inside, I feel I'm suffering, tight chest, worrying thoughts about who I am, what people perceive me to be. That I'm not good enough. That'll never be successful in anything professionally and personally. It's a toxic cycle. I have to push myself to not think of these negative thoughts, and it's so tiring, my God.

That's why I always have quotes on my Instagram, as a reminder of how I'm feeling and to be strong. Luckily, I have very supportive family and friends, who love me. It's just I don't trust myself or I am afraid to feel weak to them, by expressing who I am. Being seen as "weak" and not the "I have my shit together Jess".

I haven't always been like this. If you know me, you'll know I'm a confident person with my shit together. I think as people, we have so many layers and partly that is true. I have a great poker face and on the surface you'd never know how I was feeling.

But as I wrote in my previous post, I've been in need of a break, which I actively do to make my mind and soul breathe and take head of my life. This anxiety, I have, will not always be here. But it is a big indication, that something needs to change in my life. There are several things, I am now confident to say, have broken me down... And I was to scared to say it. Which is why, I personally asked my doctor to refer me to a counselor rather than medication. As I wanted to understand why I'm feeling this and make positive choices, to rectify my life to make me, well me again. I don't feel like Jess, I feel like Jess on autopilot..just going with the flow.

Anxiety itself is tricky to understand. But I found this nifty diagram on Pinterest to explain how I feel. Boy was it helpful.If you're feeling down, please talk to someone. Someone you trust and don't be embarrassed.. I know I am at the moment. Only because of the perception I have of myself. However, what I've realised, now by writing this post is that it's something a lot of people go through. Alot.. and my older sister said something quite insightful..this world is so stressful, I am surprised a lot of other people don't have anxiety.


Phew..so glad that's off my chest!

PHOTOGRAPHER- VICKI WU

DRESS-EBAY

JACKET-EBAY

SHOES-PRIMARK

LIFESTYLE| IT'S OK TO TAKE A BREAK FEATURING SUNGLASSES SHOP

“Every person needs to take one day away.  A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future.  Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence.  Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.  Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.”

― Maya Angelou, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now

 

*Sunglasses were gifted to me by the Sunglasses shop. They are prescription lenses and can be bought here.

I learnt a valuable lesson last year, and that was that it is ok to take a break. You may be thinking really, ain't that pretty standard? Yeah maybe? But do you ever feel like you have to keep going? Or have a massive sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) if you stop doing everything. Like what would your purpose be?

I was never the one to not do anything.. to just sit still. I had to do anything I could to feel fulfilled. At school, I did after school activities, had a job when I was 18. Started a blog, had a placement, went to dance classes, was into more activities at Uni. I'm a go getter and I have no doubt these qualities, will take me to where I will go. However, my desire to push and be the best. kinda took its toll and I became incredibly tired this year. I was crying a lot, and just felt like I was going through the motions. What I realised that what I thought I wanted, maybe wasn't what I wanted... so in order to find myself I decided to do something I hadn't done a take a break, because I couldn't think.

You see, the idea of being busy is no longer appealing. If you know me well enough you'll know that busy is strongly associated with who Jess is now. I also keep busy as a coping mechanism. I've gone through a lot of changes in the last few years, more so last year and this year. I don't know if I can categorise them as good or bad..It's just different and to be honest I don't think I'm adjusting to the more life changing situations in my life. I don't want to be weak or seem like I can't cope, so I switch off... And refocus on other things.

Mum always said I had a unique way of dealing with things, and I am the expert of emotionally removing myself from sensitive situations, and analysing them with facts and rationalising them. I'm sensible Jess. But sensible Jess needs to feel. I'm afraid of my feelings at times, as I feel everything. I wear my heart on my sleeve. And that's ok.

Soon being busy = Jess has a purpose. A lot of people are surprised when I told them what I do. Monday to Friday, I head up social media and digital content for a Global travel tech company. Then in between that, I freelance for FBL Bloggers & this blog, whilst maintaining a very healthy social life. It's long fam. For a while, this worked, and I was fuelled by admiration. But the admiration no longer fuelled me and I just crashed. I remember a particular moment this happened a few months ago, where I just shut myself off and did nothing. It was the best thing I ever did.

I never had a holiday in 2016, I was a robot. I had become a machine who silenced their deepest desires and fears, due to being scared of realising what was wrong. Now I'm ready and I don't want to be a robot anymore. I want to feel, I want to be me. Which is why I was happily quite on the place, that was my sanctuary for years, My websites! My IG was lit, because I just focused on being me and not this super amazing superwoman, who was on 100. I am learning to take care of me. Learning to slow down, albeit difficult!  I  am allowing myself to feel and adjust to the changes in my life.

You see, whatever you do, you have a purpose. You wouldn't be on this Earth if you didn't have a part to play in this bit wild universe. I am learning to stop searching for who I am, to force this purpose and go with the flow. Take a break and breathe if you need to, because you matter. You know? Have you needed to take a break recently?

PHOTOGRAPHER- VICKI WU

JACKET-EBAY

DRESS,CHOCKER, SHOES AND BAG-PRIMARK

SUNGLASSES- C/O SUNGLASSES SHOP