Another random update

Hi friends.

I have recently come to the realization that I've only written two posts this month, and the month is almost over. I'm a failure as a blogger. (Just kidding. But seriously though.)

I feel like sometimes I put too much pressure on myself to provide quality, heartfelt content for you guys on a consistent basis. Putting this pressure on myself usually causes me to dwell, overthink and ultimately fail to write anything at all. This blog is one of my favorite things ever, so I can be really hard on myself when I can't seem to find the time and/or inspiration to write.

So to wrap up this year (which has gone by ridiculously fast), I have some goals in mind for myself.

I want to....

1) Start accomplishing some goals that I've been putting off for far too long.

2) Give a majority of my attention to the things that really matter to me and say goodbye to the things that no longer do.

3) Stop putting pressure on myself to write super inspiring posts and start accepting the fact that I won't always feel inspired.

4) Figure out a way to set myself apart.

5) Spend more time with my loved ones and less time sitting on my bum whilst aimlessly browsing the Internet and waiting for answers, work and motivation to fall into my lap.

6) Work hard and play harder.

7) Come up with my own authentic ideas and visions.

8) Stop squelching my drive and passion for the sake of trying to please others.

9) Stop mentally beating myself senseless every time I fail, make a mistake, or feel clueless, lost and confused.  

10) Start engaging more with my readers/friends.

To fulfill that last one, I want to top off this post with a few questions for YOU.

What would you like to see on my blog? Sometimes I get tired of writing about my own life. I want to know what is going on in YOUR life that you wish someone would write a post about or publicly ponder over. What inspires and speaks to you?

Would you be interested in potentially reading an e-book written by yours truly, or are you getting sick of e-books in general?

What are some of the biggest lessons you've learned this year? What are some of your goals for next year?

I look forward to hearing from each of you. Xx

<3 Madison

20 things I'm grateful for

I feel so inspired by all the posts on thankfulness I've been seeing this week. I try to count and appreciate my blessings on a daily basis, and what better day to share them than on Thanksgiving? 

2012 has been a wonderful year so far. It's had its ups and downs, as every year does, but I really feel like I've grown as a person and learned how to be more appreciative of everything that I used to take for granted. 

Here are 20 random things I'm grateful for:

1. The above photo. It's adorable.
2. All the people I love and all the people who love me back
3. My wonderful doggies
4. Autumn weather
5. Uncontrollable laughter
6. Work I enjoy
7. My health
8. Barnes & Noble
9. Happiness
10. Inspiration
11. Pita chips
12. Fearless love
13. Music
14. Ice cream
15. The roof over my head
16. Clean water
17. Food
18. New beginnings
19. Nice people
20. YOU

And many, many more! :-)

What are you thankful for this year?

<3 Madison     

Lovestrong.

If you know me at all, you know that I'm a huge Christina Perri fan. I have a wristband with the title of her debut album on it, and I wear it (almost) every single day. 

It says "lovestrong." 

The other day I was getting hopelessly distracted and letting my mind wander to what that word personally means to me. I think it can have different meanings for different people. And once I started thinking about what lovestrong means to ME, I thought it was really profound, so I decided to share it on here. 

I like to wear the wristband every day for three reasons.

1. It reminds me to love and be nice to myself. 

The whole concept of self-love and self-respect is something I didn't fully grasp until I was about 19. Before then, I had never truly loved or respected myself. I was different. I was strange. I didn't have many friends. I got rejected left and right. For as long as I can remember, I carried around a belief that I was unlovable and unworthy because nobody seemed to like me. And I sure as hell didn't like myself. 

It took me a really long time to get out of that mindset, and it's still something I struggle with to this day. I'm trying to not be so hard on myself anymore. Being lovestrong means having the strength and ability to love and respect myself even when it's hard.     

2. It reminds me to openly give and receive love despite the vulnerability or fear that comes with that.

As a result of not liking myself very much and believing that nobody else did either, I became very emotionally closed off. As far as I was concerned, everyone wanted to hurt me. I was better off being completely on my own and never needing another human to love or support me. 

I built walls around my heart, and it was hard to let people love me. But I feel like I'm finally starting to chip away at those walls now. I'm trying to love and let myself be loved. It's scary and vulnerable, but it's worth it. There's nothing quite like loving openly and without fear. My best moments in life have come from letting go and letting love. The best feeling in the world is knowing and trusting that you're loved by others. Being lovestrong means having the strength and courage to let my walls down.     

3. I wear it to show my support for Christina Perri.  

And of course, I wear it simply because I love CP. :-)

What does being lovestrong mean to you? I would love to hear your thoughts if you have any to share. xo

<3 Madison 

http://www.christinaperri.com/

http://christinaperriblogs.tumblr.com/