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[shrinkingblonde]

The Full Potential Challenge

Ever wonder what your life would be like if you lived up to your full potential? Would your body be healthier? Your skin clearer? Bank account bigger? I think about these things all the time, and, judging my a previous post, you guys do to. Below is a chart designed to help all of us live up to our full potential. I’ve broken it down into time frames to help keep you from getting overwhelmed. Write the chart down and hang it someplace where you can see it all the time. I will be starting this challenge tomorrow, 9/8. I’ll check in with you guys every Sunday to track my progress. I have specific goals in mind for myself, and you guys should make some too! I really want to know how you guys are doing. Tag your progress posts with #sbfpc so I can track it and take a look. Let’s get to it!

EVERY MORNING

Stretch. First thing. Really give your body enough time to wake up. Touch your toes. Roll out your shoulders. Do not hit snooze!

Do your full skincare routine. I have mine detailed here, but do whatever works for you and your complexion. Be gentle and consistent. 

Brush your teeth and floss. I used to be a big floss-skipper too, but you’d be amazed at how dig of a difference it makes. Rinse with a whitening mouthwash. I use one by Crest, and I notice a major difference in my teeth’s overall whiteness in just a few days.

Give yourself enough time to get ready. Whether you’re a wash-and-go kind of girl, or someone who spends an hour doing a full contouring routine before class (and either one is fine!), make sure you aren’t rushing. If you need to wake up a few minutes earlier than normal, so be it. Rushing sets an awful, stressed-out tone for the rest of the day. Allow yourself to be relaxed before taking on the day.

Eat something. I’m not going to say eat a big breakfast, because some people (myself included) just can’t eat in the morning. But you should eat, or at least bring a little something with you to work or school. If you can’t eat a full breakfast, grab a fruit! You won’t be as hungry come lunch time, making you less likely to gorge yourself.

Shower. You can do this at night, in the morning, whatever. Again, this is something you should allow some time for. I don’t wash my hair every day, but I do condition it every day (from the ears down). Scrub yourself with a delicious-smelling body wash. If you shave, make yourself as smooth as a dolphin, dude. If you don’t, then don’t and don’t ever ever ever let anyone make you feel bad or weird about it. When you get out of the shower, wrap yourself in a fluffy towel and totally slather your sexy self with lotion. Top to bottom. Do it as soon as you can post-shower so it can really sink in. 

Put leave-in condition throughout your damp hair and comb it through.

Put on an outfit that makes you feel good! So important!

Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water!!!!!

Take a look at your daily to-do list. Knock out the most pressing stuff first. Take pride when you cross things off your list.

Make your bed! Oh my god, make your bed. Do it. Do it. Do it. 

EVERY AFTERNOON 

Follow the “touch it once” approach. This is a truly life-changing thing. When a task is in front of you, no matter how big or small, just do it right then and there. How many times have you gotten a work email or homework assignment and thought, “Eh, I’ll do it later”? And then later never comes? Once something pops up, do it once. Squash it and be done. Cross things off your list and feel like a badass.

Try to go for a walk at lunch. Even one little lap around the block or campus will reenergize you like nobody’s business. 

Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water!!!!!

Be present. This is so hard for me too, but you have to make a major effort to be present in whatever you’re doing. Be engaged and plugged-in and just exist in the moment. Give 100 percent.

Be friendly to friends and strangers. A smile goes a long way.

Eat something. Eat what you packed for lunch (see below) and take a break from working while you do it. You need “you time”!

EVERY EVENING

Take your makeup off as soon as you’re in for the night. Wash your face with your full routine and let your skin have a break. 

Workout. You can also do this in the morning. Whatever works for you. Make a great playlist and go hard af. Get your cardio in. Get your strength training in. Earn every freaking sweat bead forming on your forehead. Earn your shower!

Knock out your homework. Life is infinitely better you don’t have anything hanging over your head. Half the time, the energy and emotion you spent dreading/putting off your work is ten times worse than the work itself.

Make a list of what needs to be done tomorrow. It’ll set you up for success the next day, and you won’t forget anything!

Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water!!!!!

Lay out your clothes for tomorrow. This will save you SO MUCH TIME in the morning omg I can’t even tell you how important this is.

Eat something great. And once you’ve decided to be done eating for the night, be done. Brush your teeth so you can’t eat again.

After brushing, do a whitening treatment. Whether it’s classic baking soda, a Crest white strip, or a laser. Do something. And floss! Retainers in too, ladies 0:)

Relax! Take a few hours to do what YOU want to do. Scroll through Tumblr, binge on some Netflix, FaceTime gossip with your friends, anything. Do whatever makes you happiest. 

Shut the electronics off an hour before you want to go to bed. Put your phone on sleep mode. If you stare at the screen, it will keep you awake and alert and you won’t be able to fall asleep. A good night’s sleep is crucial for weightless and general happiness lol

Do a quick sweep of your room and see if there’s anything you can put away real quick. A clean space is a happy space.

Crawl into your bed (aren’t you happy you took the time to make it?!) and read a book by lamplight for a while. When you start to feel sleepy, go to sleep. Don’t push it. You kicked ass today and you deserve rest. 

EVERY WEEKEND

Do something with your friends. It just has to be one thing. Even if you’re just hanging out at the coffee shop, spending time with your squad will make you a better, happier person.

Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Drink water!!!!!

Do something just for you. Set your laptop up in the bathroom and watch a Netflix marathon while you take a bubble bath. Buy an old school bottle of Mr. Bubbles ($3 at Target!) and really just soak. Relax. Light a candle.

Do something creative. You can read a book, write, blog, draw, code, anything. It just has to be something that speaks to your passion.

Track your progress. Just do this once a week so it doesn’t become all-consuming. And remember that non-scale victories are just as important as shedding pounds.

Take the time to be grateful. Tell your friend how much you admire her taste in music. Mention to your mom how much you love her cooking and how happy you are that she takes care of you. Thank your teaching after an especially interesting lecture. When you do something awesome, take a moment to admire yourself. Be grateful for even the little things.

Anything I missed? Reblog + add yours! Don’t forget to tag your progress!

[mermaidstripperhoe]

starting this Monday!

[sugarluxuriabr-blog]

I’ll just reblog and fav cause I need to read this in the morning!

[sparklyproductivity]

I’m gonna give it a try this Monday 😍

[devanshim]

Writer’s block solution

Go crazy. Don’t overthink it. Read the last page/idea you wrote. If you haven’t written anything yet, just read a few writing prompts. Let them all ruminate in your head. Ask yourself, “What’s the craziest thing that can happen by combining some or all of these elements?” Free-write the sh*t out of this. Just grab a paper and go crazy. May not help you write something worth publishing but it will help. Trust me. Call it your “Warming up” session, if you will.

[devanshim]

Finally instilled a writing habit

It took me years to try and start writing. Another few years to keep writing and believing that I could write. I have been dealing with doubts of being an uninteresting writer with unoriginal ideas for a decade now. But this year, I have managed to work on my writing, believe in myself, and going pretty strong, even on days where I don’t feel like I have any motivation to write.

[devanshim]

To be "normal" is the ideal aim for the unsuccessful, for all those who are still below the general level of adaptation. But for people of more than average ability, people who never found it difficult to gain successes and to accomplish their share of world's work - for them, the moral compulsion to be nothing but normal, signifies the bed of Procrustes - deadly and insupportable boredom, a hell of sterility and hopelessness

Carl Jung

[devanshim]

As a writer, if someone falls in love with my work, I know they have fallen in love with my mind. Having no idea what my face looks like, they chose my mind. Art may be the only place a woman can be whole without being seen.

Nayyirah Waheed

[devanshim]

Never underestimate the power of insecurity. A damaged soul will always love you more than life itself.

Mitch Nihilist

[devanshim]

I am simply thankful of your existence, whether I am meant to be a part of it or not

- Beau Taplin

[devanshim]

I should have kissed you a little bit longer

[devanshim]

Normality is a paved road: It's comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow

Vincent Van Gogh

[devanshim]

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, and don't put up with people that are reckless with yours

Kurt Vonnegut

[devanshim]

I'm not really sure why. But... do you stop loving someone just because they betray you? I don't think so. That's what makes the betrayal hurt so much - pain, frustration, anger... and I still loved her. I still do.

“The Final Empire” by Brandon Sanderson

[adrasteiax]

The feeling that she had never really lived in this world caught her by surprise. It was a fact. She had never lived. Even as a child, as far back as she could remember, she had done nothing but endure.

Han Kang, from The Vegetarian [translated by Deborah Smith] (via adrasteiax)

[devanshim]

You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.

Saul Bellow

[devanshim]

I show up in my writing room at approximately 10 a.m. everyday without fail. Sometimes my muse sees fit to join me there and sometimes she doesn't, but she always knows where I will be

Tom Robbins

[hurglewurm]

make! your! art! release your VIBES 

and yes it’s those random boys again so click here for their full cinematic universe

[deactivatedsadface]

you have no idea who you may touch with your creations, what people may be changed after they finish your short novel, listen to your music, look at your art, close out of your fanfiction, so never feel discouraged from it.

what you make is one of a kind, no one can do it exactly like you do.

[serialephemera]

I present some mid-tier English language tips that may make your writing clearer.

1.       Beware dangling modifiers. A dangling modifier is one separated from the thing it is modifying. “She split that hair, laughing viciously” might on some planet be interpreted as “she split that hair while the hair laughed viciously.” Sometimes, as here, the true meaning is obvious; sometimes it is subtle and can warp your intention. Maybe “He rushed into the nightclub where she danced, panting” is a better example. Who is panting? “She” might seem more obvious than “He.” And if it’s supposed to be she, that sentence is 100% correct. If it’s supposed to be he, rephrasing to put the modifier closer to the object might be wise.

2.       Stay aware of simultaneous vs. sequential action. When you say “X played a contemptuous note, chucking the tuba,” you are saying that X played a note and chucked the tuba at the same time. If X played the note and then chucked you can simply say “X played a contemptuous note and chucked the tuba.” An exception can be made if X is playing the note on a different instrument, perhaps kicking a marimba, while chucking the tuba, but let’s not go overboard here.

3.       Remember possessive pronouns. All possessive pronouns (my/mine, your/yours, his, hers, its, our/ours, and their/theirs) are spelled without an apostrophe. All possessive nouns (prognosticators’, fire’s, insurance fraud’s) are spelled with an apostrophe.

[writeness]

hyphen vs. en dash vs. em dash

quick editing tip for you all! 

there are three dashes used in writing: the hyphen (-), the en dash (–), and the em dash (—). i see them misused all the time, so here’s a tiny crash course!

hyphen: simple. tiny. used to join two words together. examples: non-removable, middle-aged, absent-minded

en dash: width of the letter n. used to show a range between things. probably won’t be used much in your prose. examples: 1985–1990, Thursday–Saturday, A–Z

em dash: width of the letter m. generally used to break up clauses or show interruption. i like to use these when im not sure if a semi-colon is appropriate. examples: “Wait—” // I couldn’t see—it was far too dark. // I was cold—freezing, actually.

–

mac shortcuts: en dash (alt+hyphen) // em dash (alt+shift+hyphen)