I've always been very prone to overthinking. A blessing, and a curse, I suppose, but mostly it can just get annoying. Learning to deal with it and finding ways to get out of my head for awhile and just chill has been a long process, but it gets a little easier all the time, and these are some things I try to make myself do on the regular that seem to help.

WASH IT OFF —

Take a shower or bath, whatever you're into, and get all nice and clean. Pull out all the stops + really take the time to pamper yourself, whatever that means for you. Shave, do a face mask, apply copious amounts of moisturizer on your body, go wild!


DO THINGS YOU ENJOY —

Whatever that is for you! Cooking, baking, lounging with your favorite show, reading a book, browsing tumblr, anything! Set aside time to just do what you love.


SET THE AMBIANCE —

Clean up a little bit if your space is messy. It really improves your mood! Light a candle, turn on some fairy lights, turn on some of your favorite music and some rainy noises and let the chill seep in.


And if you aren't sure where to start, here's a list of things that I find soothing that maybe you would, too!

• Cooking/baking
• Candles
• Curling up with a blanket and movie/tv show
• ASMR videos (!!!! and if you don't know what ASMR is, click here!)
• Guided meditation
• Snuggling with a pet 
• Playing an instrument
• Doodling
• Writing (your thoughts, emotions, poetry, songs, stories, anything!)
• Tidying up
• Browsing the tumblr tag of something you love (my current fave: the autumn tag!)
• Listening to music
• Playing dress up/playing with makeup (sounds silly but it works!)
• Reading a book
• I don't usually take naps, but I do hear that they make some people feel better!
• Dance around to your favorite song 

I hope you find the time for yourself to unwind and that maybe some of these tips helped you a little!!

I think it's something that every creative person thinks about a lot, whether all of their ideas will one day just... Dry up. Stop flowing. Gone forever.

Which, y'know, sucks, because it kind of just stifles you more. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I've been going through a lot of ups and downs lately in the creative venue of things, and these are some things that have helped me pull myself out of that rut.

SEEK INSPIRATION //

Accept that there will be times when things aren't flowing as naturally and you may feel "blocked" creatively. It's going to happen. It's just how the creative process works, and you're just adding extra pressure on yourself when you worry about whether you'll never feel inspired again. Take a break, do some things you enjoy. Let it come.

LET GO //

Stop hoarding your ideas for the fear that you will run out. I don't know if anyone else does this, but I am so guilty of it, and I'm steadily realizing that it doesn't help you at all. You get sort of afraid that if you start making or putting out all of this content, all these ideas you've stored up, that the well will dry up and you'll have nothing left, but I'm starting to think maybe it's the opposite. I think when you stop worrying so much about whether that will happen—not even entertaining the idea—they start flowing much more easily.



RUN WITH WHAT YOU HAVE //

Sometimes, you just don't feel inspired and nothing is coming to you, and in that case, take even the smallest grain of an idea you can muster, and engage it. It will probably suck for awhile, but just push through it, and maybe it'll knock some other ideas loose. Even something as simple as writing down your thoughts, or a stream of consciousness, can help get the ideas flowing!

How do you keep the creative waters flowing? Feel free to share in the comments! :)

I think a lot about certain feelings that I like. Namely, whenever I'm not feeling those feelings.

There's this particular kind of contentedness that I've been chasing for as long as I can remember, and I see it so clearly in my head, and I can almost feel it lingering on the edges of my fingertips, but it just isn't there most of the time.

It's that feeling you get when you think about your favorite memories—childhood moments, that fleeting Christmas magic, time spent with the people you love—when you think about feeling happy and free in this way that permeates your entire being and makes your chest feel simultaneously warm and fluttery.

It seems harder to feel that way as you get older. It comes occasionally, springing up out of nowhere and leaving with quickness that almost gives you whiplash, and then you're grey again.

It got me thinking about whether there was a word for the feeling, and luck of all lucks, I stumbled on the closest thing I could hope to find. But, then I started thinking about all of the other wonderful things I love, and whether they had been encapsulated into a word.

(Hello, and thank you, Google.)

These are twelve of my favorite things & feelings, in a word.


1.) PETRICHOR - a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather.

2.) SONDER - the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.

3.) ETHEREAL - extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world.

4.) ARTICULATE - having or showing the ability to speak fluently and coherently.

5.) AMELIORATE - to improve upon.

6.) CATHARTIC - providing psychological relief through the open expression of strong emotions.

7.) LILT - a characteristic rising and falling of the voice when speaking; a pleasant gentle accent.

8.) ZEPHYR - a soft, gentle breeze.

9.) SERENDIPITY - fortunate happenstance.

10.) HALCYON - happy, sunny, carefree.

11.) HIRAETH - homesickness for a home you can't return to, or a home that never was.

12.) INEFFABLE - too great to be expressed in words.

What are some of your favorite feelings, or words? Or both? Another fun word: Logophile - a lover of words. So let's get sharing some neat feelings and words!

I'm a firm believer in the idea that how you start your morning will set the mood for your whole day.


That's not to say that things can't change after that, of course, but I think that if you set aside time in the morning to let yourself breathe and relax, you'll be more relaxed throughout the course of the day.

One of my favorite things to do is learn from other people's actions; their actions towards others, their actions concerning themselves, their actions towards me. I observe everything, and try to mold myself according to what traits I admire and what traits I dislike. I think that being aware of and observing other people's behavior—and your own—is one of the most important things you can do.

I'm always learning and reminding myself of new things, and these are a few that seem to come to mind pretty often.


I. There are many different walks of life; remember that, and be tolerant of it.

II. Take the time to really know people. Remember things about them, and always be kind. It matters.

III. Remember that people are different. People show love and affection differently, people grieve differently, people handle things differently. Don't hold that against someone.

IV. Things that shouldn't be considered “small talk” with people you don’t really know: “What are you doing with your life?”; school; employment; money; religion; politics. Just, don’t. It's called small talk for a reason.

V. You are responsible for making yourself be the kind of person you want to be and creating the feelings you want to have. Don’t lay that responsibility on other people.

What are some of your little reminders; things you've learned or like to keep in mind? Share them with me in the comments!