Loving Your Body: Tips for the Ongoing Process of Body Positivity - The Pulp Zine My whole life I have been fat. I remember realizing it in 4th grade (or around age 10) when I looked at my best friend at the time and at my fellow classmates. My cheeks were big, I had a little belly and I just felt different. As a teenager, not only did I struggle with mental health issues, but also with self-hatred. I had bad eating habits and was in a bad mental state about my body, doing things like popping diet pills and other forms of self harm. I’m older now and I’d like to think I’m somewhat wiser. On Tumblr, a lot of people come to me to ask about how I learned to love my body and how I seem so confident. For me, reclaiming the word fat has been immensely helpful. Spend time with yourself naked just around the house or in your room. When it all really comes down to it, after years of hating myself, I realized it’s not worth my time to spend it being negative. To end it all, this is a video I found really important and helpful and inspiring:
36 questions to get to know yourself better - imperfections and all. 36 questions to get to know yourself better Earlier this year The New York Times published a list of 36 questions written by psychologist Arthur Aron that new couples or acquaintances can ask each other if they want to fast-track their relationship (or break up, depending on what’s revealed). We wanted to create a similar questionnaire but have the focus be on self-discovery, so we turned to two psychologists who specialize in studying the self: Gary Lewandowski, Ph.D., a professor at Monmouth University in New Jersey, and Brent Mattingly, Ph.D., an assistant professor at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. They created the questions based on psychological theories and research. READ MORE: How to fall in love with anyone (in 36 questions) Part 1: Your essentials Part 1: Your essentials: Who are you today? READ MORE: Why motherhood finally made me embrace the selfie Part 1: Your essentials #1 #1: List five adjectives or traits that describe you. READ MORE: How one woman proposed to herself
23 Ways To Treat Yo' Self Without Buying Or Eating Anything - Yes and Yes Here are some ‘treats’ that I regularly give myself because I ‘deserve’ them: * An entire block of Parmesan. Not on something, mind you. Just the cheese. Just the brick. I just hold it in my hand and take bites of it like an apple. * Piles of $5 lady magazines * Not brushing my teeth before bed (??!!??) In case you’re keeping track, exactly zero of those things are good for me. But here I sit, ‘rewarding’ myself with things that – if I’m not careful – will give me a stomachache, make me feel less-than, and give me cavities. Ridiculous, right? I am literally engaging in ‘reward’ behavior that will make me feel worse in the long run! Stop it, self. I want better for myself. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. A few of my favorite people-watching places: the airport, any public transportation hub, any downtown area during lunch hour or after work, flea markets, farmers’ markets, anywhere near a stadium on a big game day. 20. 21. 22. 23. P.S.
Imagining your future projects is holding you back. Do you have a big creative project in store? Do you lie awake sometimes, thinking about what might go into it, what the characters or environment might look like, how it will touch the audience in a whole new way? Do you imagine what it will feel like to have this project under your belt, and what kind of effect it will have on your life? Let me tell you about Forest Lords. Forest Lords is a series of ten fantasy novels, each a 1000-page brick, about the epic adventures of Greenleaf Barksley, elf proletarian, and his journeys to attain the Golden Leaf and save his homeland from the scourge of the Curse of the Titaness Denox. The thing is, none of this series exists—not even Forest Lords Volume One: The Elven Soul. But there is no book. *(As a matter of actual fact, there are no binders either. I got this term from Kazu Kibuishi when I interviewed him for Out on the Wire episode 7: Dark Forest. I try not to to look at what I’m going to do as this amazing great grand thing. If… Success!
The Creative Force Behind the Land of Nod Photo by Christopher Sturman A 17-year veteran of the retail world, Michelle Kohanzo started at the Land of Nod as a customer-service representative. She now heads the children’s-decor company, overseeing operations, product development, and partnerships with other retailers and more than 200 independent artists. Q. Where did your artsiness come from?A. Q. Q. Q. Q. Q. Q. to-anyone-who-thinks-theyre-falling-behind_b_9190758 You don’t need more motivation. You don’t need to be inspired to action. You don’t need to read any more lists and posts about how you’re not doing enough. We act as if we can read enough articles and enough little Pinterest quotes and suddenly the little switch in our brain will put us into action. And what I think we all need more than anything is this: permission to be wherever the fuck we are when we’re there. You’re not a robot. You don’t get to control everything. “If it’s not the time, it’s just not the fucking time. Sometimes the novel is not ready to be written because you haven’t met the inspiration for your main character yet. We all know this: Our experience cannot always be manipulated. You don’t get to game the system of your life. Yet, we don’t act in a way that supports this lifestyle. Timing is the one thing that we often forget to surrender to. Things are dark until they’re not. You don’t need more motivation or inspiration to create the life you want.
fastcompany I recently got to work an hour early. I had one goal in mind: world-domination, early-morning productivity. I made coffee, opened my email inbox, and the next thing I knew . . . it was noon. Where did the day go? After my lackluster morning, I decided to do some research and really figure out the right way to spend the first hour of my workday. [Related: 6 Successful Women Share Their Morning Routine] 1. Mark Twain once said that if the first thing you do in the morning is eat a live frog, you can go through the rest of the day knowing it can’t get any worse. [Related: 8 Things That May Be Decreasing Your Productivity At Work] 2. Productivity experts recommend that you not spend your morning reading and answering emails (as I learned firsthand, it can totally derail your good a.m. intentions). [Related: 22 Morning Routines That Will Inspire You To Get Out Of Bed] 3. 4. It’s small but mighty: Say hello to your colleagues in the morning.
Perhaps You Should Just Stay Fat | Body for Wife Is it possible to un-masturbate? There was no such thing as the internet when I was a teen, and spank material was hard to come by. That might have been a good thing, because losing one’s virginity was a spastic and confusing and amazing world of discovering what the other person likes rather than having preconceived (and probably erroneous) notions. I was in my 40s before I learned ATM could mean something other than automated teller machine. Anyway, when you couldn’t get your hands on your friend’s older brother’s Playboy stash, there was the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. Specifically, there was that time Cheryl Tiegs was in it and HOLY SHIT YOU CAN SEE HER NIPPLES! Good times. This has nothing to do with the reality of Cheryl’s aging, but the fact that she’s revealed herself as ugly (and ignorant) on the inside. That’s a whole lotta stupid in one short statement. In my writing I don’t usually refer to people as fat. Are high levels of body fat dangerous? Should you lose weight?
The Quickest Way to Eliminate Tension Photo by JGI/Jamie Grill/Getty Images Massage doesn't just feel ahh-mazing. It boosts circulation, improves immunity, and reduces stress hormones, like cortisol, too. Massage therapy isn't exactly cheap, but fortunately you don't have to see a professional to reap the benefits. Several of the areas that tend to get the sorest also happen to be the easiest to massage on your own. Here, Denise Delise of New York City's Exhale Spa, a licensed massage therapist with about two decades of experience, shares the best ways to show four of your knottiest spots a little TLC. Neck Sit comfortably on a chair. Shoulders Shoulder tension often surfaces in the muscles around the scapulas (the chicken wing–like bones protruding from your back). Feet Sit in a chair or on a bed and put your right foot on top of your left thigh; hold the front of your right ankle with your right hand. Hands Pro Tip Use a little lotion or oil (try coconut or olive) to keep your fingers from tugging at your skin.
How to be brave I would suggest four pieces of advice for people who want to enhance their bravery. The first is to break the challenge into steps, so each step gets easier as you’ve had an initial success. Most of us would feel overwhelmed thinking about doing something gigantic, but it becomes easier if you break it down. My second piece of advice would be to make sure people give themselves credit. So often, when people make a positive step, they in some way negate it. My third piece of advice is to encourage people to think about role models they can relate to. Bethany Teachman, PhD, is a professor of clinical psychology and director of clinical training at the University of Virginia.
9 Things You Don't Have To Tell Your Parents About As A Grown-Ass Woman Some of us grow up with our parents as confidantes, taking part in every small struggle, Gilmore Girls-style; others have parental relationships involving more structured disclosure, where nobody knows everybody's business. But either way, chances are that, as you grow up, you'll have occasions where you feel you have to tell your parents something because, well, they're your parents, and don't they have a right to know? Well, it depends. The interesting bit about adulthood and parents is that their parental status no longer becomes as valid a reason for them to know your business; it becomes much more about healthy responses, helpful boundaries, and what will be best for you and them in the long run. Try: The Need to Say No: The Importance of Setting Boundaries in Love, Life, and Your World, $12, Amazon Note that on no condition am I suggesting that these are things you shouldn't tell your parents. 1. 2. Parents can worry about your financial stability. 3. They may want grandkids. 4.