MY FIRST WEEK OF 2019 AND WHY I DECIDED TO START MEDITATING

We all know that life is full of ups and downs, but it’s the way we look at situations that really matters, because even in a negative situation, we can try to see it from a perspective of learning and growth.

Long story short, I didn’t have the best New Years Eve and consequently, my 1st of January really sucked. I guess you can say that I am a little superstitious, in a very harmless way. It’s kind of a thing in my Mexican Culture; for example, we have this thing in my family where we run around the house with a suitcase when the clock hits midnight on New Years Eve to attract traveling. In Mexico -perhaps also in your country-, we eat 12 grapes and make 12 wishes at midnight, wear red underwear, we never cheer with water because (well, google that one hahaha!) and so on. All very harmless superstitions (we have SO MANY) and it’s just a fun cultural gimmick (perhaps you can relate?).

When my New Years Eve sucked hard, I started to get really worried and when my first of January sucked even harder, I started to become quite depressed. Man, I had a really rough week last week and it took me a few days to shake off that feeling. I know that instagram tends to portrait everyone as having “The Perfect Life”, that it’s an aspirational platform, but that sometimes can harm more than benefit the viewers and that is why it’s so important for me to show a human side. Flat out, last week SUCKED for me.

The reason why I am sharing this is not to justify my apparent absence from social media last week, because I did show some signs of life throughout -even though I really didn’t feel like it-, but to share what lifted me up.

I am a firm believer in positivity and that the energy we put out, comes back to us, although I am human and we all have those days where our brains won’t cooperate and our thoughts are so negative, that our day just seems to be getting worse. Luckily I have read a lot on this subject and I tend to be quite good at shifting my focus and my energy towards a positive mindset but Jezz, last week was a challenge.

Little did I know and despite last week being such a hurdle for me, something REALLY great and positive came out this; I got the opportunity to hermit myself from the world and read, study, make lists and focus (plus escaped to pilates and the gym a few times). I mean that after the 3rd shitty consecutive day, I thought: Enough is Enough!.
I got all my favourite books out, those that really make me feel empowered, that trigger my creative process, I played Bach, Mozart, Wagner and Tchaikovsky while I sat on my favourite spot and made lists. Yeah, lists.

Firstly; I started writing a list of ALL THE THINGS I am grateful for because throughout my research and experience on this planet, thinking of the things I am grateful for always lifts me up. You know, when you compare a bad day to for instance; being grateful for your family, or your partner, or the amazing holiday you are about to book, the beautiful present you got for Christmas or simply, being grateful for having the chance to live another day, well, that really puts things into perspective doesn’t it?.

Secondly; I made a list of all my hopes and dreams, the small ones AND the big ones, no matter how big they are, because the only way we can actually get what we want, is if we know what we want. This exercise is SO POWERFUL for me because I am able to put in writing concrete goals to work towards and visualisation or “Day Dreaming”, is so key in this whole process.

Lastly -and you probably already saw on instagram-; I started meditating, or getting acquainted with it at least. I already attempted this a couple of years ago when my Dad passed away, but I wasn’t disciplined enough to keep going. This year however, I am DETERMINED to turn it into a habit. I can be quite disciplined if I want to and this is so high on my list of priorities this year because I want to learn how to quiet my mind and become better at dealing with anxiety and stress.

Again, long story short, my first week of the year was a learning curve for me and what started in a very negative way, turned out to be the kick in the butt I needed to start over in the best way possible. The beauty of it all is that humans have an incredible ability to adapt, to create and to start over. We get a new chance every single day, so wake up with the mindset that today will be your best day to date and really try to hold on to that, do everything you can to keep yourself on that vibration and if shit happens during the day, think of what good outcome you can take from it, what did you learn from it and move on.

The reason why I share all of this is because its so important for me to share a real side of myself. I have been fortunate enough to live my dream life so far but I am human, I also have bad days/weeks and this is how I tackle them.

I already left you a list of Guided Meditation apps a lot of you suggested me on instagram, but here it is again in case you want to start too:

And here are a couple of books I have been reading since last month, that can also help you get towards your goals;

Hope this helps and lets make this our best year yet!!!