Your inner driving force

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going" - Jim Rohn

With motivation come happiness :)

Motivation guides you through everything in your life! But it is not easy to always motivate yourself! Let go of your past, even if you made some negative experiences don’t let them influence your future actions.

Make your own choices & decisions! If you don’t want to do something, don’t do it!

Don’t try to be a perfectionist; this often leads to disappointments and unrealistic ideas. Give your “alter-ego” more importance, in other words don’t waste your time on complicated things or situations.

Try to get to the point where you want yourself to be, without envying other people for their success. Try to make yourself proud, because success does not come over night. A lot of people experienced failure before they have known success as for example J.K. Rowling (rejected by 12 publishers – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) or Walt Disney (could not find a funding to create Disneyland), and today these are 2 of the most exciting things I have ever known. So motivation and continuation is everything!

Motivation at work or school is build on 3 Levels:

Inspiration is the key to motivation!

LEVEL 1: inspiration

- Know that you can’t feel inspired all the time, but try to keep your inspiration for a short time, otherwise it will be difficult to achieve your goals. Everyone needs inspiration, without inspiration there won’t be any success.

- Stay healthy: drink enough water, move (sitting for too long is poison for your physical and mental health! Sitting for a long period of time without moving can cause similar symptoms to depression), sleep well (without sleep there is no energy, and without energy there is no inspiration).

- Make plans for today: make 2-3 small plans of what you want to accomplish today, make a 5-minute break after 50 minutes of intensive work, take your time alone and challenge yourself. A short moment of brainstorming helps your brain to stay productive.

- Concentrate on what makes you happy: be thankful for the small things in life, don’t expect too much from yourself neither from others! Have a clean desk; a messy desk causes a lot of mental and physical confusion.

LEVEL 2: productivity

After inspiration comes productivity! Let me tell you what I do when I need to be productive:

• take 10 minutes for yourself and make a checklist of everything that needs to be done for today! I write down every little mediocre thing, because it helps me to stay organized without forgetting anything.

even if I should'nt do it, i do multitask...always xD

• I always try to split my checklist into 2 categories: “Yay” and “Nay”! “Yay” for the things I like to do or who can be done really fast, and “ney” for everything I hate to do or which takes me a huge amount of time. After splitting, I proceed in a zigzag mode: 2 “Yay’s” and 1 “ney” and so on. It’s a good way to overcome exhaustion and boredom. Don’t forget to make a break after every single “Yay” and “Ney”, your brain and body will thank you.

• when you have to do something very important where a lot of concentration is needed, close your doors and take your time off. I always work with some good music in the background, not too loud but neither too quiet because if the music is too quiet your brain tries to concentrate on the music to find the words or to recognize the song!

• DON’T DO MULTITASKING!! I know, I know “women can do several things at the same time”! That is true, but if you really want to be productive then pleeeease do only one thing at the time. Multitasking causes distraction, and besides that, regularly switching between 2 things and never finishing one of them can be really discouraging and unsatisfying, and this feeling has a negative impact on your self-esteem, and a low self-esteem means a low level of productivity and inspiration. And by the way, “only 2% of people are able to successfully multitask, AND your level of productivity decreases by 40% when multitasking”!!

• And the last thing you need to do to become more productive is to re-list your duties: sometimes you won’t be able to finish all the things you listed up but then you need to pick them out and put it into the new checklist of tomorrow!

When these 5 elements become a routine, you will see that your level of productivity will dolphinatly be higher that usually.

frustration and feeling unmotivated can lead to
depression symptoms!

LEVEL 3: creativity

Productivity is always connected with creativity!

If you’re in need of creativity, go outside. Take fresh air and don’t stay at your office, walk your dog or go buy a croissant! Fresh air helps your brain to relax and to upload more energy.

Don’t drink to much coffee. Too much caffeine will make you nervous and flabby and you’re brain is not able to work efficiently in those situations.

Collaborate with your workmates! Collaboration leads to more productivity and more creativity.

Don’t try to force your imagination or creativity to do better! You’re not a machine!

Care a dairy with you, your smartphone or simply some paper and a pencil. Write down every single creative idea, no matter where you are! Sometimes the best ideas come when you don’t think about them, and if you don’t write them down you will probably forget them till the next day!

Which means: 

1. Inspiration 
2. Productivity 
3. Creativity 
4. Motivation to continue and repeat!

Even animals need motivation to stay healthy!

After we talked about your business-motivation, I will scroll down in time for those who are still at school or university. In some situations, a fast thinking is needed (a.f.e. in your exams when time is running out or when your teacher asks you a question right in front of all your schoolmates and you don’t want to make a fool out of yourself by not knowing the answer).

It might sound weird (believe me, sometimes psychology isn't as logical as it should be) but you have to relax your jaw, let your mouth take control. You don’t have to say the words out loud but only the movement of your mouth makes it easier to remember things.

If you don’t know the answer, repeat the question several times in your head or out loud. After a short time, your brain should be so into this question that answers will come automatically (I don’t say that every answer will be correct but at least your brain did his best).

Work with your first thought! The first thought that comes to your mind is quite often the best one. Because of overthinking your mind loses his concentration. Sometimes the most effortless thought is the best one, because it’s spontaneous and spontaneity is connected with inspiration, motivation and intelligence.

I wish you a very happy weekend! xoxo

Loyalty & Devotion

“Be loyal to the royal within you” – Elaine S.Dalton

may I introduce you to the most loyal Dog in the world: my fluffyball ROCCO :) 

In your life, there will always be someone who expects too much from you and because you want to be loyal to your “friends” you try to satisfy them. But be careful, not everyone deserves your loyalty. Trust those who care about you even in times you think you don’t deserve it. Be strong and learn how to say NO to people who don’t deserve your devotion.

Can you see the bond between those 2? That makes me so happy :)

Loyalty is highly correlated with honesty and it needs to be appreciated. Once you’ve pushed a loyal person to the point where he no longer cares you will probably lose this person forever. Notice the people who are happy for your happiness, and sad for your sadness.

my best one's <3

So here is my advice for you: always be loyal to those who are loyal to you! It’s just as simple as that! Don’t waste your time on people who are abusing your kindness or betraying your loyalty.

So to undergo this situation, be loyal (to those who deserve it). Loyalty does not mean that you have to stick together like glue every single day, but about being real and faithful to each other even when you’re not together (counts for friendships and relationships). Relationships and friendships require loyalty, not as an option but as a priority.

my best friend <3

There is one thing you should never feel sorry for: your trust issues! There is a reason why they are present! You are not responsible for the fact that people disappointed you and hurt you. The worst thing is that the person who complains the most about your issues becomes the person who boosts them. Do yourself a favor, and never let your loyalty make a fool of you! At the end of the day, real situations expose fake people! You need to accept that you can’t force loyalty.

love you <3

It’s all about choices! It’s not about perfection or making mistakes. It’s about an everlasting dishonest character and abandons! Friendship and loyalty are the opposite of dishonesty and abandons! Don’t trust those people when you already have doubts about their sincerity.

By the way, here is a note for all those who feel distracted or irritated when it comes to sarcasm: There is a straight relation between sarcasm and honesty in every relationship! Sarcastic people have the tendency to be more honest, loyal and straightforward with their friends. It sound kind of weird, but using sarcasm is a manner to show your love!

thank you for always being my anker, the one who is always loyal to me!

I wish you a nice weekend my lovely ones!

I’m going to enjoy a good cup of tea because I need to get rid of my bronchitis and pneumonia… Take care of you! Bye-bye 

xoxo 
your Urban ValYOU 

Mental Health Drill (Part 2)

Hello VAL-mily <3

Mental Health Drill, second Part

This is for everyone who is struggling with self-issues: you are GREAT! Perhaps for someone you might not be his first choice, but for somebody else you are worth every minute of the day! Please do not pretend being somebody else when you have the illusion that somebody does not like you, because you are a 100% perfect at being yourself!

Sometimes you are ashamed of some things you did, like your reactions or actions, but you have to be proud of the person you have become today!

You don’t need to be picture-perfect, nobody does! You are amazing just the way you are and you don’t deserve to be punished for that! Do your best every day; be loyal, true and honest to your entourage AND to yourself. Be there for your friends and family! Prove them that compassion still exists! Don’t give too much power to your negative thoughts!

Find a way to become proud and happy again!

This is how you can improve your feeling of mental strength:

• Move on! Stop wasting time on feeling sorry for yourself! Keep control over your life; don’t give others the right to judge over you! Welcome changes because they can be beautiful! Sometimes you need to take some risks to get what you want, but don’t do it out of nothing. Equalize your risks and gains.
• Take responsibility for your behavior : Don’t be silly enough to repeat your mistakes. Concentrate on your present, it is NOW that counts. Don’t worry about how other people see you, because it is your life, not theirs and you have to live it!
• Take your time alone: Sometimes you need to be ready to fail! Yes I know, after all this positive pushes that might sound a little weird but hey… life is complicated and it is full of ups and down. Instead of panicking, take your failure as a lesson or a chance to improve yourself!

With a strong mind, you can achieve everything! 

• Don’t complain too much: it’s unnecessary to waste energy on things you cannot control. It’s a waste of time.
• Don’t expect instant results: sometimes it takes a little time for something good to happen! Don’t lose hope! You need to learn how to deal with discomfort! Accept the situation as it comes.
• Be happy for other people’s success: don’t be selfish or jealous because it’s not good for your self-esteem. Flourish your own values and don’t envy people too much. Don’t be persuaded that the world owes you anything.

Have a look on everything you have achieved so far! Are you proud of yourself? 
Because YOU HAVE TO BE!! Alter you depressive mode and replace every negative thoughts by a productive and positive one! You are worth it. So stop punishing yourself!

Don’t give a damn what people say about you (Yes I know how difficult this is, and my boyfriend would say: you wrote it in your blog so why don’t you do it for yourself? I personally know how hard it is to NOT listen to all those idiots around you, but… I’ll try my best to improve that)! People will always talk, but don’t let them manipulate your thoughts and actions…

Limited minds and liars don’t define your personality. Only your beliefs, opinions, thoughts and actions do! Know who you are and accept that you don’t have to prove anything to anyone except yourself. Be proud of what you have accomplished this year and what you are going to do in the future.

Be proud of yourself!

Look at me: Because of YOU, your support and your motivation, I find my inspiration for my posts and my enthusiasm to write!

THANK YOU FOR THAT my beautiful and awesome VAL-MILY!

Muscles, Shape & Fairydust

Hello my lovely ones!

Patience, mental and physical endurance, self-control and an unbreakable will to conquer: the most important properties an athlete needs.

the trophies & J-M.B Poster

This post will be all about the awesome work of our lovely fit-spiration LIFTING FAIRY! I wanted to support her and so I promised her to come to see her on stage during the international west-German competition in Rheinbach. As I always keep my promises, I joined the competition as a visitor with my lovely boyfriend. As my boyfriend and I will be part of the POWER FOOD’s J-M.B Team from next year on (not for competition but only for our own fitness and health), we wanted to join them and to support the athletes on stage.

Miss Shape Competitors!

Beast Mode ON :D

Even if I am not the person who would participate in such a competition, I wanted to visit it because of three reasons:

• Because I promised it
• To motivate myself and my boyfriend to push harder
• To see what a fitness and bodybuilding competition really looks like, because nowadays people have many prejudices and mental etiquettes that need to be changed.

Lifting Fairy and her boyfriend Ken did so well on stage! They were really good prepared and they showed us a high level of endurance! Their posing was super great and they looked absolutely fabulous! They were both in a great shape! Unfortunately they couldn’t qualify for Mr. and Mrs. Universe but I think this was just the beginning... I am really proud that I had the opportunity to be a part of “the rise” of two great athletes. This experience will always be a part of you. You can be really proud of yourself! if you want to see more pictures or if you want to read how Lifting Fairy experienced her first competition, visit her blog (www.lifting-fairy.blogspot.com).

I am so overwhelmed of their persistence and their will to succeed. Both of them are a great inspiration and motivation for every one of us.

For me, personally, you are both winners! You gave your very best and you really smashed us with your posing! It was your moment to shine, and you really did! Keep going, and never lose your will!

Jeff and I are honored that, from January on, we will be a part of this awesome team!

So here are my best pictures:

“Lifting Fairy”: Look at you!! You’re not that little fairy anymore. You’ve become a grown up sparkling fitness lady! You can definitely be proud of you girl :)

"Ken from Dumbbell": I think that a lot of Men will envy you for your hard work, endurance and your muscular body! You and Jenny are a good example that hard work pays off! Keep going! You did just great!

There were so many good-looking athletes. Women and men who worked their butt off to be in a shape they have never been before. Every one of them owns my deepest respect, because I don’t think that someone who has never participated in a competition like this knows what it’s like to accomplish such a hard work.

Be proud of yourself!!

Power Food's J-M.B Team! Ken, Yannick (1st place Body III) & Jenny

XOXO