www.polish-my-crown.com

xoxo

I see skies of blue, and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces, of people going by
I see friends shaking hands, sayin’, “How do you do?”
They’re really sayin’, “I love you”

I hear babies cryin’, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more, than I’ll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Oh yeah

It’s been a wild and fun ride here on my Polish My Crown blog, but it’s time some change around these parts, queens!

Lets officially head over to www.polish-my-crown.com!!!!!

Bookmark it, sign up for a new email subscription, memorize it! Don’t forget the two hypens as well – and get ready for a brand spankin’ new Words for Wednesday post tomorrow morning. Thanks again for reading and see you in a few on my new blog!

Lots and lots of love,
Andi

>>>Unpleasant emotions are not monsters to run from. Rather they are entities of darkness, which lead us to light and clarity.

Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back.

They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we’d rather collapse and back away.

They’re like messengers that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck.

This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are.”

~Pema Chödrön

We just have to open our eyes, and our hearts to the knowledge which the darkness provides us with.

We have to remind ourselves that the darkness doesn’t last forever.

That it doesn’t define who we are.

And that we have within us, a sleeping power, waiting to be awakened.

The power to embrace the darkness.

And the strength to move beyond it.

{via Internal Acceptance Movement}

2. Be present: I’ve been catching myself thinking about the future WAY too much and really need to slow down. When will I be at a certain spot in my career? When will I meet the man of my dreams? How many kids do I want? Where do I want to live next? What is going to happen if this happens? In the opposite direction, I’ve also noticed that I’ve been thinking about the past a lot lately and been too overly concerned about past mistakes and regrets. Nope, not in October! A favorite quote of mine is this: “Being present is imperative to not overlook the opportunities that lie in front of you and the inspiration that could potentially be the catalyst of a new adventure.”  This month, I really want to focus on appreciating, enjoying and simply BEING in the exact moment I’m in – and being absolutely, wonderfully okay with it!

3. Stop complaining: If you really want to, you can always find something to complain about. For me, it’s usually the weather, public transportation system, that I’m tired or upset with someone. Yikes! Not okay. This month, that is going to end. When a negative thought comes into my head and I feel the need to say something out loud (and therefore, complain), I’m going to combat that with an affirmative statement. An example complaint: “Public transportation in SF is so slow! It takes 30 minutes to get from Point A to Point B.” An example affirmative, positive statement to prevent me from complaining aloud: “AT LEAST I have the opportunity to live in a city where I don’t need a car. I’m saving money by taking public transit.” 

4. Send handwritten notes:

I’m the queen of emailing/tweeting/texting/Facebooking my friends to catch up but this month, I’m taking it offline (somewhat). I want to make sure to send more handwritten notes to friends. I absolutely LOVE receiving old-fashioned mail and want to surprise friends randomly with little love notes this month!

5. Treat everyone equally: It’s easy to be nice to people who are nice to you back, duh! It’s also nice to treat people well that you are trying to impress. But why? What difference does it make who someone is, how they treat me, what their job or economic status is, etc. etc. etc. I’m sick our culture looking down on people who are less fortunate than we are – and I don’t want to fall in the trap. This blog post was a refreshing reminder to me that we are all the same – all equals. The homeless man on the street, my roommate, my coworkers, the random stranger on the bus, EVERY SINGLE PERSON deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. And I want to live out that action this month.

6. Stretch! Morning and night. Every day. Done.

7. The never-ending resolutions: As you may know, the nine tasks in the image below are what I challenged myself to do at the start of 2011. Below are details on what a few mean to me specifically, but I highly recommend reading the full list here. 

• SEEK WISDOM:I highly value the influence and impact of mentors and those who have already been in the situations I’m in. I want to be constantly challenging myself, enlightening myself and filling myself with knowledge. Wisdom goes deeper than knowledge-Wisdom is a deep understanding and realizing of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to choose or act to consistently produce the optimum results. Seeking wisdom means constantly striving to grow and learn daily.
• BELIEVE IN POSSIBILITY: Anything is possible and this year I want to make the conscious decision to remember this. I shouldn’t rule anything out. Instead, I’m choosing to believe that absolutely anything can happen and reminding myself I am capable. I have potential. I have possibilities.
  

>>> Thanks for reading! I decided to write out my monthly resolutions once again (remember my September resolutions?) Sharing my goals for the month in a blog post is just another way for me to challenge myself to live them out daily. Please, remind me to do them! What are your monthly resolutions? Do share! xo

1. DON’T BELIEVE WHAT YOU THINK: We are naturally wired to believe that the thoughts in our heads are true. But sometimes we cling to beliefs about ourselves that simply don’t match reality. Change your attitude, and stop believing the thoughts in your head that are simply not true. Allow yourself the mental freedom and space you need to breathe and figure stuff out simply by challenging your thought patterns.

2. KNOW THYSELF: Most people who escape a quarter-life crisis do so for one reason: they know who they are and what they want. If you don’t know who you are and what you value in life, you’re going to have a hard time figuring out what is a good fit for you. Don’t sweat the details, though—this isn’t about having all the specifics of your life mapped out or a particular job title to aim for. It’s about knowing, generally, what kinds of things you want your life to be about, and then exploring the possibilities.

3. IGNORE OTHER PEOPLE: Not literally — healthy relationships are quite important. What isn’t healthy is comparison. A lot of people start to slip into crisis mode when they look around and start comparing themselves to their peers. Your college roommate is making bank, your cousin is traveling the world, your best friend just got engaged, your co-workers are all buying homes and having babies, and pretty much everyone has it all together — except you. Suddenly, you feel inadequate. Get over it. What other people are doing with their lives doesn’t matter, no matter how fun or glamorous it might seem. You have one life to live and, surprise, it’s yours — not theirs. Life isn’t a competition or a race. If you act like it is, odds are you’ll start to feel like you’re losing. Skip the drama and learn to be content. It you’re happy with yourself, that’s what matters.

4. FIND MEANINGFUL WORK: At least half of your waking life will be spent working. If you’re not doing something that matters to you, you’re going to be miserable, trapped, and you’re going to have a quarter-life crisis. The important thing is that your work matters to you — not other people. Your friends might think your job is boring, but the reality is that you don’t need to change the world to be doing something that matters. If it matters to you, then it matters.

5. DON’T TAKE EVERYTHING SO SERIOUSLY: Sure, one of the keys to success is hard work. But hard work without rest is also the key to burnout. Have fun once in awhile, and don’t feel guilty about it. It’s during times of rest that our bodies reenergize and our brains are free to dream and imagine new possibilities. Many times the first step to solving your problems is to take a step back from them. Rest, laughter, and creativity help to put things into perspective.

6. ASSESS YOUR FRIENDS: Satisfying relationships are exceptionally good at preventing quarter-life crises. The relationships you’re really going to want to pay attention to are the people you surround yourself with every day. Avoid people that attract drama and chaos, or those who are cynical, jaded, pessimistic, and unhappy. If your friends have abandoned their dreams and self-medicate with alcohol to take the edge off, you’re in serious danger of winding up just like them. If the people you hang out with are dragging you down, it’s time to part ways.

7. HAVE FAITH IN YOURSELF: A surefire way to wind up in a quarter or mid-life crisis is to follow someone else’s program for your life. So don’t do that. You’re not always going to know the next step, what you’re doing, or how everything is going to work out. But if you know the direction you should be going and you’re not heading that way because you’re scared, you’re off track. If you have a vision and a passion, you should follow it. If you don’t, expect a crisis on your hands in a few years when regret sets in. Sometimes you have to take a big, scary leap into the unknown and trust your heart. If you know who you are, and you have good friends to support you along the way, you’re going to be OK.

>>>The seven tips of advice come from the fantastic Josh Shipp, a motivational speaker and bestselling author – he coaches teens through his site: www.heyjosh.com.  Along with being named a CNN Young Person Who Rocks and to INC. Magazine’s 30 under 30 list, he is launching a TV show appropriately titled JUMP SHIPP. The basis of this reality show is  Josh provides one person each week a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live out their dreams – illustrating that the only way to experience the life you want is to make the leap. Pretty cool, right? I’m excited to check out the show and totally appreciate and admire the work Josh is doing. Enjoy your weekend! xoxo

I’m a wannabe photographer. Seriously, I used to bring my point-and-shoot camera in my bag every day just in case I found something fun or interesting to document. Lately, my purse has been feeling a little lighter. Enter Instagram and other mobile photo apps, enabling me to shoot, edit and share photos directly from my mobile. They also allow casual shooters like me to edit or enhance an image. (Instagram, for example, offers fifteen different filters with names like “Hefe,” “Toaster” and my personal favorite, “X-Pro II.”

Here are a few brands utilizing Instagram:

Fashion/Retail: Burberry, Oscar de la Renta, Kate Spade, Bergdorf Goodman, Marc Jacobs

Food/Drink: PepsiMax*, Pizza Hut, Ben & Jerry’s*, Charity Water

Tech/Media: Cool Hunting, Foodspotting, PopEater, Yelp

Sports: NY Knicks, Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings, Pittsburgh Steelers

Last week, I wrote a post for my company’s website titled “Friday Five: Ways for Brands to Best Utilize Mobile Photo” – and the above text can be found within the article. You can access the full Edelman Digital Friday Five post here. and make sure to connect with me on Instagram (andi91210) as well! I’d love to see your Instagram photos too! Do you use mobile photo apps? What do you like or dislike about sites like Instagram, Camera+, PicPlz, etc.? Enjoy your Friday – thanks for reading! xo

Staying positive
Quilts
Surrounding myself with friends who immediately change my mood from bad to good
Fur scarves
Replaying this song all week:

Turning off my cell phone
The people I work with
Giants games!
Healing
The way hair looks underwater

Reassurance
Constant support
Having such inspiring friends
The smell of cupcake-flavored candles
Bracelets

Singing during cab rides (more like screaming)
Wearing skirts and sundresses in September
Getting in a bed that’s already made
Bellini brunch dates
Unexpected ferry rides

“Just winging it”
Stretching
Uplifting words
Milan Fashion Week – specifically the Marni collection
Being home:

The not-so-great days
Going to bed before 10 pm
How much I learn from my little sisters
Meeting people that care about the same things you do
Promises:

>>Above you’ll find a few things I’m thankful for this week - from small to big and everything in between. I’d love to hear what you’re thankful for today -please share in the comments below or send me a tweet and let me know! Also, this is the 25th weekly  ”Thursday Thankful List” on my blog – woo woo! YOU are one thing I am thankful for this week – for keeping up with my blog and reminding how intricately tied to other people I am. Thanks for reading – xoxo.

>>>Today’s Words for Wednesday is all about positivity! Ah, such a lovely concept and idea – but much harder to practice in our day-to-day life than we often think! Did you know it’s proven that positive people live longer? It’s also a fact that positive people who regularly express positive emotions are more resilient when facing stress, challenges and adversity. Staying positive and having joy is all about remembering mind over matter. We might be annoyed or upset about our relationships, location,  job status, education level, what we had for dinner, un-inspirational closets, what someone said to us, WHATEVER. These things fall into one of two categories: A. earthly – what we have physically, tangibly or B. Things outside of us – other people, situations we can’t control.

Staying positive has nothing to do with these things. Being positive means you are ruled by what you know, rather than what you have. I catch myself being too caught up and dependent on other people to control my outlook on life. I create high expectations of how I think things and situations and people should be and end up being disappointed. Today, I’m vowing to remember good things WILL come my way – but I don’t need to be looking for other people or my job or my weight on the scale to feel a certain way. 

I love the Albert Camus quote above: Once in the midst of a seemingly endless winter, I discovered within myself an invincible spring. What does this mean to me? It reminds me that I might feel like I’m in a terrible, long, cold, dark season of life (or just a given day) but it’s vital to find that “invincible spring” despite the situation. The absolute worst days make me appreciate the great ones. Staying positive allows us to remember that not every day is amazing at face value, but keeping our mind focused on the absolute best is vital. Live to pursue that invincible spring queens. Mind over matter. Thanks for reading, xoxo!