ALL about the Goal-Getter Guide!

If you follow along on Instagram, then you know that I talk about having a positive mindset, setting goals, and chasing your dream on the daily! I can't help it. I LOVE seeing you gals WIN in every area of your life! I believe that YOU were created for incredible things and I am determined to help women discover their unique talents and worth and turn that into a beautiful life well-lived. 

One of the biggest areas I see women struggle is when it comes to diligence and consistency in completing goals. It's very easy to have dreams for your life, but turning those dreams into actual goals takes courage, hard work, and a whole lot of consistency! This is where The Goal-Getter Guide comes in. 

The Goal-Getter Guide will help you take your dreams and turn them into reality! This guide shares my personal goal-setting plan, productivity guide, and monthly and weekly planning system! I talk about EVERYTHING from developing a positive mindset, how to set goals, and the steps you need to take to make those goals come to fruition!

I am SO excited for you to all get your hands on this guide!! The guide is officially available starting September 4th!!! Grab your guide HERE !!

XO,
Lo

Five ways to naturally lower stress in your life

DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical professional. The information in this post isn’t meant to treat or cure anxiety or depression. I am simply sharing my story and what has worked for me. If you are struggling with your mental health, please go see a professional! Take care of yourself, babe. <3

Recently on Instagram I shared that over the last few months, i’ve intentionally focused on lowering the stress in my life. I got so many questions on what i’ve done to lower the stress in my life so I thought I would write about it here!

Let’s face it, life is unpredictable and can often be stressful. In today’s society the “busy badge” is worn as a badge of honor, but even though we’re all busy, why are we dealing with chronic stress and anxiety? Being “busy” and “stressed” often go hand in hand. But why? That’s what i’ve been trying to figure out.

I think everyone deals with stress/anxiety in different ways but I do think it impacts us all and so it’s important to discuss. Unresolved stress over time can turn into debilitating anxiety and/or depression. I’ve been there. There was once a time in my life where I was having multiple panic attacks a day. If you haven’t read my story of working through anxiety, you can read it here.

Over the last few months i’ve really been studying the specific stress response in my body. When I start to feel tense, nervous, and anxiety begins to cripple in, I stop myself and reflect on WHY i’m feeling this way. I’ve realized that most of the stress I deal with in my daily life is self-inflicted. I’ve learned that there are certain things/events/people that trigger the stress response in my body. By figuring out what these are, i’ve been able to greatly reduce the daily stress in my life. My life isn’t any less “busy” but i’m able to manage it better because i’m self-aware enough to know when i’m pushing myself too far or entering into the “red zone”.

Here are five tangible and practical changed I’ve made in my life to greatly reduce my stress. Through the realization that most of the stress I feel is self-inflicted, i’ve been able to figure out exactly how I let myself get into a stressful situation. From there, I create boundaries in my life so that those situations don’t come up as often and i’m able to experience more peace. My hope is that you will make your OWN mental health a priority and identify ways you can lower stress in your own life! If you would like to hear more on this topic or my personal story to wellness, I would highly recommend my book, Live Well & Love Yourself. You can get it here.

1. Identify your triggers-

   Like I previously mentioned, knowing what triggers the stress response in your body is so crucial when aiming to lower the stress in your life. What makes you stressed to begin with?

   -Is it your job? Get specific. What specifically in your workplace brings you stress? Do you procrastinate or fail to effectively communicate which could contribute to the stress you feel? Do you lack organization or time management which could contribute?

   -Is there a specific person in your life that makes you stressed? Do you LET someone else make you stressed? If so, maybe it’s time to put in some healthy boundaries in place to protect yourself.

   -Are you a people pleaser? Does the stress of what others may think make you stressed? Are you constantly measuring and comparing yourself to others? If so, it’s time to stop consuming content that makes you feel like you aren’t measuring up. It’s time to get laser-focsed on your own life and create boundaries for yourself.

   -There could be SO MANY other triggers. These are just some examples to get you thinking of the personal stress-triggers you have in your own life! Whatever your triggers are, take the necessary steps to eliminate them or limit them from your life!

2. Develop morning and evening rituals-

   Our bodies work on best routines and rhythms. For someone who is NOT naturally organized or routine-driven, i’ve had to really grow in this area. That being said, I think creating morning and evening rituals is so crucial to giving yourself time to rest, recharge, and reset for the next day. I’ve learned to be really intentional about my evenings. I don’t make plans that I know will end late, because I know that sleep needs to be a priority for me. I start winding down around 7pm most evenings and aim to put my phone away around that time too. Evenings are for reading, journaling, drinking tea (chamomile is my favorite), and unwinding in every way. These evening rituals ensure that i’m ready to face the next day! As far as mornings go, I drink a ton of water, do a short stretching/yoga practice, and read or do a devotional every single morning. I also don’t sleep in very often because I know that if I start off my day early, I have time to do my morning ritual and really set the stage for the day. Your morning and evening rituals may look different than mine, but I think that being intentional during these two specific times in your day will help you gain better balance in your life which will greatly contribute in lowering your stress levels!

3. Practice stillness-

   There is so much clarity we can find when we STOP to gain clarity and perspective. I think a lot of us believe the lie that we have to busy ALL THE TIME in order to be productive. Or maybe you have a crazy schedule that doesn't allow for much stillness. Either way, I think its important to make stillness apart of your daily routine. For me, I practice stillness during my morning yoga practice. For you, it may look like evening meditation or simply, taking five minutes of deep breathing in your car before heading into work. When we allow our minds to be still, we are able to better process our emotions. This will lead to less emotional build-up and “clutter” In our brains, which ultimately leads to less stress that we experience.

4. Express how you feel-

   This goes along with practicing stillness. It’s imperative that you find away to express your emotions. Stuffing or ignoring emotions will only add stress to your life in the long run. For me, whenever I feel stress from “emotional build-up” I know its time to take out my journal and let it all out on the paper. Maybe for you, it’s talking your emotions through with a trusted confidant. Maybe it’s going on a long run. However you best express yourself, make sure you make time to do that on the weekly basis. This is one of the best preventative measures i’ve been able to take to keep stress from building up in my life.

5. Prioritize your well-being-

   Your health is sacred. Truly. If you aren’t taking care of your body, mind, and soul, you are letting unnecessary stress build up in your body. If you aren’t eating nourishing health-filled food or moving your body to release endorphins (hello NATURAL stress inhibitor), you aren’t prioritizing your well-being. YOU ARE WORTH IT! You get ONE body and ONE life. Treat yourself with LOVE! You can’t truly succeed in other areas of your life if you aren’t succeeding at taking care of yourself. Prioritize your well-being. Do what it takes to create healthy habits and boundaries in your life. If you need more help in this area, I would HIGHLY recommend picking up a copy of my book as it goes over all of this in-depth.

I really hope that these tips motivate and inspire you to take action on some areas in your life that are causing you stress. I know what it’s like to be spread thin, unable to cope with massive amounts of anxiety, and paralyzed in the expectations you put on yourself. I want to encourage you that whatever stress you are coming across in your life right now, there IS hope! You WILL get through it! You are STRONG!!! Let me know if you have any other questions on this topic because it is something I am super passionate about and I would love to help in any way I can!

xo, Lo

I wrote a book?!

You may have noticed that things have been a bit quiet on the blog over the last few months. There has been A LOT going on behind the scenes and keeping up with blogging just got a little too overwhelming, You see, I have been writing, a ton! I have been writing a book!!

Giving up blogging over the last few months was a really hard decision. Sometimes following your dreams take sacrifices and I knew that I needed to give this book my full attention. I knew that in the long-run it would be worth it. Now that the book is about ready to launch, I am so thankful I listened to my heart and made writing this book a priority.

What started out as the idea for a small e-book on self-care has turned into a 75 page self-love guide on how to unpack your deepest desires, release your greatest fears, and propel you into living your most fulfilled life. This book shares my health journey, my story to finding self-love, and how to take tangible steps to build your confidence, face your fears, and live a life of passion and purpose.

I am so proud of these words. This is everything I have ever wanted to say to women and I can’t wait to share it with the world!

The book officially releases January 14th (next Monday!!!) but if you pre-order the e-book version, you will be sent the book a day early!! You can now pre-order the e-book version of the book which will be emailed to you on the 13th! If you have the $11, it would mean the world to me for you to pre-order the book. Pre-orders are so important for writers because it shows them what to expect as far as the success of their book! As I have been diving into the writing world, i’ve learned that pre-orders are EVERYTHING!

You can pre-order the book HERE

The paperback version of the book will be available on Amazon on the release date!

I want to just take a moment and say THANK YOU to all of you who have supported me on this wellness journey. I am so thankful to have the most kind and supportive online community. This book is truly a love letter from me to YOU! I hope it blesses you and encourages you to pursue a life with big dreams, passion, and purpose!!

xo, Lo

A Note on Thankfulness

I’ve got to be honest. I haven’t been very thankful recently. I’ve been tired. I’ve been stressed. I’ve been feeling burned out. I have a bad habit of putting too much on my plate and just like Thanksgiving dinner can bring on a food coma, i’ve been feeling that exhaustion quite a bit recently.

How did it happen? I love to talk about self-love and self-care and how it is so important that we take care of ourselves so that we are better able to love and serve others better. I even wrote a book on it that will be releasing in January! Yet, here I am. Totally pooped.

Maybe you are like me. Maybe this has been a season of go-go-go & hustle-hustle-husltle and it’s all starting to catch up to you. Maybe you are like me and you are so passionate about your work that you lose yourself in it.

I want to tell you, like I'm telling myself, it’s okay to take a breather. It’s okay to pull the plug for a minute to gain composure. You are no good for anyone if you don’t take care of yourself.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been focusing on intentional rest. It has been amazingly freeing to set aside all distractions, to-do lists, and expectations, and just be. I am no expert at resting, but i’m learning and I want to share my journey.

Maybe the holidays have you stressing out. Maybe you are stressing out about a lack of time, finances, or peace of mind, but I want to encourage you to intentionally find some peace in your everyday. Maybe it looks like 10 minutes of meditation or simply sipping a cup of tea while reading a good book. Whatever rest looks like to you, I hope that you can indulge in some true rest and rejuvenation in this season.

What I've found is that when we allow ourselves to rest, we begin to see the little blessings all around us. When we focus on the present, our mind goes to a more peaceful state. This sparks gratitude & thankfulness.

We all have so much to be thankful for. We just need to slow down a bit to see it sometimes.

I’m wishing you all an amazing & restful Thanksgiving!

Thank you for allowing me to be honest and vulnerable. I am so thankful for all of you, my internet friends & readers!

xo, lo

Five Fall Favorites

It’s officially Fall! As i’m writing this, I’m working with the sound of rain on my windows, my calming fall playlist, and my favorite fall candle! I was putting together tomorrow’s e-mail that i’m sending out and I got inspired to share a few of my favorite things for Fall! I’m a sucker for pumpkin spice EVERYTHING and I love nothing more than cozy rainy days in my favorite sweater & a good book! Even though it’s not technically cold here in Hawaii, we have had a few rainy days and so i’ll take all the fall vibes I can get!

Here’s some of my current faves…

1. Fall Candle: i’m just going to go ahead and toot my own horn here, i’m pretty much a fall candle connoisseur. I've tried allllll the candles. I’ve tried the target Fall candles, super expensive fall candles, and everything in between and I think I have finally found the perfect fall scent! Pumpkin Clove from Cabri Blue! I picked this candle up on my trip in CA and from the moment I first smelled it, I just knew. It was love at first site. What I love most about it is that its the only good quality, amazing smelling candle i’ve gotten that doesn’t break the bank! It’s only $14! I’m probably going to go through five of these before the season is up but I don’t mind. It instantly makes my home feel cozy & warm! (PS- I added the two other scents i’ve been burning recently too!)

2. Book for rainy days: When I was thinking of the perfect Fall read, I instantly thought of this book that I read a few months back when we were in Alaska. Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah is one of my all-time favorite novels i’ve ever read. It takes place in the Pacific Northwest in one of the rainiest climates in the world and its a beautiful story about family, love, and redemption with also a little piece of mystery. It’s the ultimate book I think of when I think of cozy rainy days reading on the couch. Enjoy it!

3. Cozy Sweater: Even though I haven’t been able to wear very many cozy sweaters this season, i’m still dreaming of them! I have a few waiting in my closet for the perfect chilly day here in Hawaii. Here’s a few sweaters i’ve been crushing on recently!

4. Fall Playlist: I’ve shared my fall playlist before but I’ve added a few songs to it since last time I shared! Here’s the new version. :)

5. Face Mask: I have been crushing on this mask since it launched about a month ago! I hadn’t purchased it yet because I was traveling for the past month and knew that I wouldn’t be having any spa nights while in CA. I just placed my order for this, though, and I CANNOT WAIT to get it! I am a fan of everything Summer Friday’s has ever put out and I know I will love this mask too!

What are some of your favorite products for Fall?!

xo, Lo