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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!

#to do #tips and tricks

pentydeval

xmas-wonderland

lezly-odair-deactivated20180124

How I feel about religion. God should be presented as what he is, love and kindness. Stop using his name to justify your racism, homophobia and sexism

postalofficepunk-deactivated201

I’m not religious, but this comic is flipping adorable.

mudiknives-deactivated20240615

this is how I wanna think god would actually be.

m-irlanda

This comic is atheist approved in the area of cuteness

PLEASE

This is one of the best things that has EVER HAPPENED ON LIVE TELEVISION. You could not write this. People would say you were being too fanciful or ridiculous. The best things happen in real life. William is forbidden, by tradition, to turn around. Harry is not. SUCH BROTHERS. MY HEART.

#fav

aspoonfuloflissi

My yummy dinner tonight :)

plantifulsoul-blog

firesnaps-deactivated20211102

I had someone tell me that dislike of Umbridge is usually from ingrained sexism toward female villains. I kind of stared in shock — I mean I love my lady villains. I love nasty female villains. I love sneaky and clever female villains. I love female villains that wrap themselves up in what the patriarchy expects of them and uses those expectations to smash someone upside the head.

I tried to explain my hatred of Umbridge isn’t that she’s full of traditionally feminine attributes.

It’s that she’s lawful evil.

If you did an alignment chart, no one would represent lawful evil more than Umbridge. I don’t think there’s ever been a character that better sums up lawful evil.

And, to me, lawful evil is the most terrifying and disturbing evil there is.

To me, lawful evil is the shit that gets thousands of people killed while the person responsible walks away feeling like they did their duty.

Evil forces like Bellatrix and Voldemort are fairy tales. They’re the bad guys a good guy can chase away with a sword or wand.

Umbridge is that evil that really does lurk in the hearts of men (and women). The realness, the plausibility of it, makes her amazingly uncomfortable.

So, yeah, I can’t get as excited about her as a fantasy book creation as easily as some other female villains. Not because she’s a woman, or because of her gender presentation, but because she represents a sort of evil that’s far, far too close to home.

shinraapologist

Voldemort is stereotypically scary, but he’s a very unreal kind of scary. Umbridge is different. Everyone’s had an umbridge.

the-cimmerians

yes because lawful evil wraps itself in righteousness and oppresses you through approved systems and hierarchies that nobody is supposed to question

#fav #hp

spellandthegypsycollective

agirlnamedally

I don't mean to be rude or be a pessimist but honestly, there is no way that the MAJORITY of people in the world are going to go go vegan. At least not until next century (if the world even exists then.) Therefore, what is the point of me being vegan. I know you think that one person can make a difference by influencing and inspiring others but unless the majority of the world does something there will be no change. Sorry but one vegan doesn't equal happy planet. Its never going to happen.

Okay.

Usually I would ignore this kind of thing but I really actually do want to help you (and anyone else who thinks this way) understand how it works because this is really important.

I apologise if I sound or get rude/agitated explaining this, it’s just that I am very passionate about this and find defeatist attitudes quite frustrating.

Alright, first things first, (damn it, Iggy truly has ruined that for me forever) we/you cannot say for sure what will happen in terms of agriculture, animal factory farms, ethical views or environmental and equality laws in the future. We have no way of knowing that. I would agree that it is unlikely, at least in my time, that the entire world will transition to full veganism, for we are sadly either ignorant and unaware, or have been made aware but choose not to change, but I do think more and more will realise how important it is and make the switch. Even if only 90%, or 50%, or 10% of the world come to this realisation and change their ways - this is still far better than none. A small change is still significant, and so much better than no change at all.

What if I said I believed in environmentalism, but felt my actions would be too insignificant or unrewarded so decided to just leave my water running all the time? Or if I thought “well yeah, bigotry, sexism and racism suck, but that’s just the way things have always been, so I’m going to perpetuate and contribute to them because there’s no point trying to make a difference.” Just because social change seems difficult, a long way off perfecting, or even an isolated battle, does not mean you should abandon your beliefs and contribute to the problem.

The main issue with this pattern of thought is that EVERYBODY (or many people) seems to cling to it. They reason “I want the world to be different but I’m just one small person, what impact could I have on my own?” But imagine if everybody who had that thought, stood up or what they believed in. We’d all be standing together. I’m not pointing fingers here, I used to feel the same way - powerless. It wasn’t until doing more research for myself, strengthening my beliefs and understanding how important it is for our whole planet to make a shift to living this way that things really clicked.

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you doare in harmony.

– Mohandas Gandhi

Since I became more educated on matters of animal cruelty, animal products affecting health, the environment and global poverty, I did lots and lots of reading, viewing and seeking out information, and I set about to change my ways. That may be a very small act in the grand scheme of things, but alone I’m already diminishing the greenhouse gas emissions, amount of animals murdered, and most of all greatly reducing my chances of developing diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity and heart disease.

Moreover, since making that change and becoming more outspoken about what I learned, I’ve had over 100 people collectively contact me on here, via Instagram or Facebook to tell me that I influenced them to go plant-based too. So if you think one person can’t make a difference - that’s incorrect. Take this perspective:

“What if you worked at educating others about animal cruelty, pacifism, drugs or whatever your concern is, and each year just one other person accepted your philosophy? What if that person did likewise? And so on. After six years 32 would have adopted your philosophy. Another six years and the number would have passed 2000, or if we halve that to allow for those who lose commitment or die, 1000, all coming from what you started a decade or so earlier. That’s quite a difference!”

Now, for why all of this is so important.

The U.N. urged the world to move towards plant based living over 4 years ago, claiming that “a global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to saving the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change.” The report also points out that as the world’s population approaches over 9 billion people by 2050, it will not be possible to sustain the per capita consumption of meat and dairy products that we are currently eating. We literally cannot go on living this way.

“Impacts from agriculture are expected to increase substantially due to population growth increasing consumption of animal products. Unlike fossil fuels, it is difficult to look for alternatives: people have to eat. A substantial reduction of impacts would only be possible with a substantial worldwide diet change, away from animal products.”

Professor Edgar Hertwich, the lead author of the report, said: “Animal products cause more damage than producing construction minerals such as sand or cement, plastics or metals. Biomass and crops for animals are as damaging as burning fossil fuels.” [x]

To quote this article, the U.N. is not alone in its analysis. A staggering 51 percent or more of global greenhouse-gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture, according to a report published by the Worldwatch Institute. Researchers at the University of Chicago concluded that switching from a standard American diet to a vegan diet is more effective in the fight against climate change than switching from a standard American car to a hybrid. And a German study conducted in 2008 concluded that a meat-eater’s diet is responsible for more than seven times as much greenhouse-gas emissions as a vegan’s diet is. The verdict is in: If you care about the environment, one of the single most effective things that you can do to save it is to adopt a vegan diet.

All it takes is one person.

One spark to ignite the flame.

Sixty years ago, maybe it seemed like not enough people believed in equality for POC for them to ever get the vote or be treated as humans. Then, in ‘55 and ‘63, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. each stood up and fought for what they knew was right. At the time, they would have felt small, part of a minority, and fearful that no change would come, but they spoke up anyway, and inspired others in the process. The same goes for Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Jane Goodall and Malala Yousafzai. Even Adolf Hitler. Though his motives and actions were horrendous, he was one person and he made a huge difference in the face of history, simply by following what he believed to be right and true. If you are strong in your views, have the passion and knowledge to educate others, huge changes can be made. (I think it’s clear that I am not defending or glorifying Hitler, the Nazi party or anything to do with WW2, but simply acknowledging the power one person has to change the world).

“Dietary changes could therefore not only create substantial benefits for human health and global land use, but can also play an important role in future climate change mitigation policies.” [x]

I’m not sure if you’re aware of the process of supply and demand, but it’s a pretty key one in this argument. Animal agribusiness does not exist on its own, it exists because consumers continue to pay for it. In purchasing meat/eggs/dairy/fur etc, you are directly supporting that industry not only morally, but financially. We vote with our dollar, so it either goes in favour of a product or against. Every time you buy a dead animal - be it to eat or to wear - you are letting the world know that you accept and actively support the practice. You are directly paying someone to kill that cow/baby chick/piglet/lamb/etc and helping them continue to do so. I know this may sound like confronting stuff, because we have developed a strong cognitive dissonance to protect our consciences, but it’s important we know and take a stand for what we believe.

The demand (i.e. how many people want to purchase the product) directly influences the supply (i.e. how much of that product is made). On a smaller scale - look at your home life. Were you to stop eating animal products, your family would subsequently buy less. If you went to your auntie’s house, she might prepare one less meat dish. Similarly, visiting vegetarian and vegan eateries financially supports their organisations and allows them to further their ethical business. On a larger scale, look at your weekly shopping. Say your local grocer orders a certain amount of eggs each week. If you and a few other people decide you no longer want to support/purchase them, their demand decreases. There will come a point where the buying and re-selling of those eggs is no longer profitable as they are left with a surplus of unsold eggs, so they will order less in the future. There is then less demand to produce a certain amount (even if only on a small scale), and it works all the way back up to the factory farms and slaughterhouses.

I like this perspective too. “Suppose a particular vegan in no way affects supply, sets an example, or educates others. They are still doing the right thing. Imagine a scenario involving humans: Several thousand people across the world regularly pay to see live internet video of women being raped and tortured. Dave receives an email inviting him to view these events, but he chooses not to participate. You probably agree with me that Dave’s decision is morally obligatory — even though the women will still be exploited and none of the viewers will notice his absence”.

Care about our environment?

On average it takes 11 times more fossil fuel to make one calorie of animal protein as it does to make one calorie of plant protein. (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 78, No. 3, Pimentel & Pimentel, Sept. 2003)

In the U.S., livestock production is responsible for 55% of all soil erosion on cropped land and pastureland, 40% of which ends up in water resources. (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, “Livestock’s Long Shadow”, 2006, p. 73, Box 2.5)

It takes 5 times more water to yield 1000 kcal of meat as it does to yield 1000 kcal of fruits, vegetables or grains. (Malin Falkenmark & Johan Rockstrom, “Balancing Water for Humans and Nature”, 2004, p. 50)

You could save more water by not eating one pound of California beef than you would save by not showering for an entire year. (Based on 1 shower/day, 7 minutes/shower, using 2 gallons water/minute). (John Robbins, The Food Revolution, 2001, p. 237)

Despite currently having the resources to feed every mouth on our planet, billions of people are living in and dying of poverty each day. Rather than using plants from the Earth as our nourishment, we instead waste it by forcing it into the throats of animals to fatten them up, so that we can then kill them and eat them (along with all the other animals, flies, poop, hormones and junk inside their bodies)… rather than just eat the grains and vegetables ourselves. We are choosing to feed the animals rather than ourselves, and its making for a great imbalance worldwide.

“It takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of edible animal flesh. Making meat consumption a very inefficient use of grain and wasteful of our land. Continued growth in meat output is dependent on feeding grain to animals, creating competition for grain between affluent meat-eaters and the world’s poor.” - Worldwatch Institute

What about your health? We all hear those common phrases thrown around - “you need meat for protein” or “dairy for calcium”, but have you ever looked into the truth for yourself? Recent studies have shown meat and cheese may be as bad for you as smoking. Reducing or eliminating animal flesh and by products from your diet can also reduce or eliminate high mortality rate illnesses like diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, some forms of cancer, and heart disease, as a plant based diet contains little to almost non existent bad cholesterol or unhealthy fats. We humans are the only animals that continue to drink milk after weening (kinda creepy if you think about it) and the only ones to drink the milk of another species (almost creepier, picture yourself standing under a big mama cow’s udder to get the milk for your cereal). Because that stuff is created in pregnancy for the sole purpose of feeding her baby calf, it isn’t designed for our consumption. As the cows are pumped full of hormones and chemicals, their milk is too. Despite what our parents and TV commercials have told us over the years, dairy actually depletes our bones of calcium and can result in osteoporosis. Here and here you can read my posts about why dairy is so harmful for us to consume, so if you think going plant-based wont make any difference - consider your own health!

Even if I hadn’t been able to provide any of this information and supporting evidence, would it matter? Surely if you believed animal cruelty or the killing of others was immoral, that should be enough grounds for you to not support it? By paying to have others killed, exploited, raped/artificially inseminated repeatedly without consent and so on, you are directly fuelling this industry - so you better agree with what they’re doing. Things like grinding baby chicks alive in a big blender, suffocating piglets,

There is never a bad time to start doing the right thing. Of course, the best time is now. The days you haven’t been vegan are gone, and you can’t have them back. Forget them. They belong to the past. Make today, tomorrow, and every day after the priority. They are yours”. [x]

Each of your consumer choices is a vote for the kind of world you want to see. Each of your choices in the past helped build the world of today, and each of your choices from this moment forward will help build the world of tomorrow.

The question is not “can you make a difference?” You already do, it’s just a matter of what kind.

More resources:

EarthlingsPeace PowerFarm to FridgeFactory Farming in 60 secondsBest speech you will ever hearMore reasons to go vegan Vegan outreach 101 Reasons to go veganMeat increasing gas pricesVeggie brothers why go veganDoes being vegan make a difference?

agirlnamedally

If you only ever read one of my posts, let it be this one

ittybittynymph-deactivated20221

Honestly the whole joke about vegans talking about them being vegans is so annoying like Christians wear pendants that allow you to see that they are indeed Christian In every bio on every social media site there are people being like “proud Californian” “gamer” “dancer” “artist” like??????? Everyone else can be proud of what they are until you’re a damn vegan Why do vegans have to shut up about what they believe in when everyone else in any other group in the world can just be loud and proud about it and no one even cares? And plus veganism is GOOD for so many reasons. Why make fun of something that is obviously justified even if it may not personally resonate with you? VEGANS DONT HARM PPL GUYS that’s kind of their whole thing

marisatomay

Me, someone who’s definitely past Hogwarts age: I sure am excited for another magical year at Hogwarts happy September 1st everyone see you all on the train