Tag: Encouragement

10 things I learned in Tuscany

On By Emily WIn Motivation, Travels, WritingLeave a comment

Traveling is always an adventure, literally and figuratively. There is self discovery that always happens, and usually enlightenment to follow. Growing up a motto stuck with me which was ‘Knowledge is Power’ and this is pure truth. As I’m growing and experiencing(and gaining knowledge) it’s very apparent that it’s always better to talk about things you know, and listen to those who talk about things you don’t.

On that note, here are 10 things I learned on my trip to Italy in 2018(no order in specific)!

1. How to live out of my suitcase when going to a different hotel every day – it can be easy, but make sure you have plenty of space for dirty laundry!

2. ‘Legs’ in a wine glass demonstrate the amount of alcohol content in the wine(difference between a 12% wine and a 14% wine) amongst other things, but we’ll get into wine posts on CaptivEATing

3. You can drive 140km/h safely on the autostrada – there are auto ticketing radars but, everyone’s going faster than you at 130kmph so more than likely you’ll be fine

4. Italians think I look like J.Lo

5. Make sure that no matter what, you ask if your living quarters have AC (!!!!!) – I can’t stress this enough, make sure you know exactly what kind of living situation you’ll be in before you get to your destination. Do you have AC? Do you have a kitchen? Do you have a shower? It may seem like all of these things would be listed but, sometimes they’re not! Just ask and there won’t be any surprises.

6. You can easily get lost driving 2 miles through the hills of Tuscany

7. Burrata is still my favorite of all time

8. The Alps are one of the most magnificent sights, even from the road

9. Traveling with strangers (in this case, being in a new place with new people for a solid 9 days) will open your heart and bring you to a new place, internally – one of the best things in life is sharing and learning from those around you. My dad used to say if you learn ONE thing a day, you’ve had a good day. I spent 9 days listening and partaking in French, Italian and German languages which all come kind of easily to me because of Spanish, however, languages require brain power, mine was tired after every day but it was beautiful being in touch with that part of my senses/brainwaves!

10. You can make progress with whatever you want if you really want to (speaking languages, for instance) – put your mind to it, you can do it.

Listen, absorb, learn, take it all in, be in the moment, be grateful, and live it up my friends!!!

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Listen To The Wind Blow..

On By Emily WIn Inspiration, Motivation, WritingLeave a comment

In the last year or so I have become aware of the following inspirational pages.

There are two sets of emails that I receive for daily encouragement:
1) Notes from the Universe, by Mike Dooley (www.tut.com)
and
2) The Daily Positive (www.thedailypositive.com)

This past December, my father passed away and I was having a difficult time processing the loss. I was unmotivated, sad.. Truthfully I was feeling totally lost. After having taken care of him for 4 years(seeing him practically every day, taking him for shaves, bringing him ice cream, helping him with his clothes, taking him dinner when the food wasn’t so good at the facility, helping him with whatever he needed) it became a way of life for me.

Throughout the process there were days that were more difficult than others, however, I realized how much I was helping him. Mentally, physically, all of it. It was so rewarding. So, so rewarding.
I wouldn’t change any of it for the world. After all, he did all of those things for me when I was a kid. Fed me, changed diapers, took me on trips, drove me to school, gave me advice, gave me hugs!!.. It was time for him to ask for help now though(which is so difficult for any prideful man to do), and he did.
I did the best I could, and I know he was thankful.

The following weeks and months after losing him, after not having this way of life anymore(college graduation also finally occurred right before dad passed, so between not having school and not having my dad to give my time to, I was in total float mode) it made me want to read some more motivational things to maintain my own positivity active, keep it vivid and push myself forward, instead of getting stuck. As much positivity as I put out there myself, I need some encouragement too every now and then.

Here is an email I received a few months ago from The Daily Positive Team that warmed my heart a bit. Because sometimes, you just need to hear stuff like this, although you already know it.

“We’re all in this together.
We can’t do it on our own.

We’re bombarded from all angles with people telling us we can do it, there’s no one fighting the battle but ourselves, and to just go it alone. There’s a myth that if we ask for help, we’re not strong enough. It’s like it’s not okay to admit that to climb a mountain we need a guide.

Asking for help is what makes us strong. Telling someone else what you’re going through takes more strength than enduring the struggle on your own. The leap of courage it takes to share your story with someone is a victory in itself.

There is no one in the world that’s lived a perfect, care-free existence. Life has thrown challenges at every single person. The president has all of congress behind him. Michael Phelps has a trainer. Mark Zuckerberg has an entire network with him. Nobody does everything by themselves, even though it might seem like it.

Learning that someone else has been through the same trial begins the mending process.

Take a step of faith. Share something with someone that outside of your comfort zone.

– The Daily Positive Team”

It’s just something to think about.
🙂