 Hi everyone! Let me start by saying (wait I forgot what i was going to say...) I have really bad ADD.  Ok, so let me start off by saying that in 2007 I filmed my first video in Santa Barbara California with the hopes and dreams of starting a youtube channel. Unfortunately, the video was never uploaded, my life took a big turn and the video was lost through files, ended up in a Zune device (anyone remember those?) that a cousin of mine ended up finding, watching and told me it.was.stupid. So there's that. When I filmed that first video back in 2007, I also started a website to post recipes and things on, you know, like a blog! on what was called Windows Live Spaces. I was starting to blog back before I even knew what blogging really meant! I always filmed around me but with no purpose to upload. I don't know why for the life of me a decade went by and I never attempted to get back to starting my channel again. But you know what, we'll go back to that story later. Lets just fast forward to the part where I uploaded my first YouTube video on my channel, December 4th, 2016. And guess what? It wasn't me in front of the camera. It was my 4-year-old daughter. Ellie's First Lookbook 2016 Music for Youtube Shooting it wasn't as hard as it was editing because you see, I did not want to cut out any footage of my adorable daughter... I used about 3 songs and it only came out to around 4 minutes. I started by getting my music from NCS. You find great music and follow their rules. Youtubers I Watch I went on to filming everything and anything else but ME. Amy Schmittauer's VEDA definitely got me a lot of practice editing and uploading even though I did not once finish a whole month. I started to think about what I wanted to be a part of, what I wanted to support. I also watched A LOT of Amy Schmittauer, Peter McKinnon, Casey Neistat and Nick Nimmin to name a few. Books I've Read I started to work on my personal growth reading and listening to various books because I was battling something that had kept me from doing anything I had ever wanted to do for the better part of 2005 - 2016. Crippling Anxiety. It wasn't anxiety towards youtube but rather everything in life. And that has been the biggest process trying to survive. Looking back I think you really have to have a deep yearning and the will to allow yourself to dream and dream big, to give yourself permission to live. I kept pushing to find resources to help me focus, to help me dream, to help me take action, to get myself excited and pumped to execute my dreams. So in the process of working on my personal growth I read books like The list goes on. These are a few of the books that meant something to me, significantly impacting me, getting me excited, pumping me up and more importantly, stories and people I could relate to. Podcasts I listen to In my personal growth, I continue to keep things positive and productive in my life on a daily basis and there are podcasts that help me do just that. Just to name a few. Gratitude When things still attempt to overwhelm me there's been one thing that has helped me overcome. Gratitude. Being grateful is immensly powerful. It releases me to be at peace once again. But let me mention the different ways gratitude can change everything. As written in Psychology Today Gratitude effectively increases happiness and reduces depression. Gratitude enhances empathy and reduces aggression. Grateful people are more likely to behave in a prosocial manner, even when others behave less kindly, according to a 2012 study by the University of Kentucky. Study participants who ranked higher on gratitude scales were less likely to retaliate against others, even when given negative feedback. They experienced more sensitivity and empathy toward other people and a decreased desire to seek revenge. Other studies have shown that gratitude reduces social comparisons. Rather than becoming resentful toward people who have more money or better jobs—a major factor in reduced self-esteem—grateful people are able to appreciate other people’s accomplishments. For years, research has shown gratitude not only reduces stress, but it may also play a major role in overcoming trauma. We all have the ability and opportunity to cultivate gratitude. Rather than complain about the things you think you deserve, take a few moments to focus on all that you have. Developing an “attitude of gratitude” is one of the simplest ways to improve your life. So in my life gratitude definitely has it's place. Especially when thoughts and emotions try to overwhelm me. I am grateful for my life. I am grateful for my daughters' lives. I am grateful for my family. I am grateful for our home, food to eat, the car .. I mean everything. There is so many tools and ways to be more consciously grateful and I encourage you to find the tools that will help you personally.  This is The Five Minute Journal, in case you haven't heard of it. If you know me, you won't be surprised to know I have this journal both in a physical book and in the app. It's a quick, easy and fun way to prompt gratefulness at the beginning of my day and to consciously take note of how I'm doing at the end of my day. I love this concept and the way it was made and I certainly love the authors. And they made one for kids too!! Exercise and Nutrition My last tip because I didn't mean to write a novel... I don't believe there's anything that can replace what exercising does for me. If nothing else I would start here. Work out. An article from Frontiers in Psychiatry in The National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine states that: The beneficial effects of regular physical activity on health are indisputable in the field of modern medicine. Exercise is often the first step in lifestyle modifications... Numerous epidemiological studies have shown that exercise improves one’s self-esteem, and a sense of wellbeing... Adults who engage in regular physical activity experience fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms, thus supporting the notion that exercise offers a protective effect against the development of mental disorders... There is strong evidence that exercise and regular activity positively impacts the pathophysiological processes of anxiety. Numerous studies and meta-analyses show that exercise is also associated with reduced anxiety in clinical settings. Physical activity positively impacts a number of biological, as well as psychological, mechanisms. But do we really need an article from the National Library of Medicine to tell us that exercise is good for us? Although it can be daunting and regrettably skipped every single day as a perfectly good treadmill, reasonably priced group workouts or literally the sidewalk staring at you in the face, knowing it could possibly change everything for you... Isn't worth your best effort? I personally weight train in a group workout twice a week. And I belly dance on the weekends... I plan to increase this because I have loved what this alone has done for me mentally, emotionally and physically. Find what works for you. Nutrition will follow. Just Start Let's be clear that I am NOT an expert in any of this. I am an expert opinionater... (Thank you, Gary Vaynerchuk) And I'm sharing my story and what has been working for me. Never really saw myself talking about this but here I am and if my words and these resources that have helped me, can help you and push you to pick up that camera and just START, then everything is 1000000 % worth it. I currently have 25 videos uploaded now. It hasn't been easy or consistent or niched down. But I'm doing it. Putting myself in front of the camera more everytime. Now, it's a matter of organizing all the amazing things I get to do. Everything comes with practice. We all have our own journey but the key is to keep pushing for what you want even when everything goes wrong, keep pushing. Now, my heart is exploding with the urgency to create. Exploding.
ps Look out for my coming more light hearted, get to know me posts from 360 Blog Topic Ideas! Consider joining me ? *We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
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