Newfound

We're often told that the emotions we experience during times of change — emotions like fear, anxiety, frustration, sadness and anger — are "bad" or "negative." The problem with these emotions, however, isn't that they exist; it's that we were never taught how to release them.

Since it's only by experiencing the full force of your emotions that you'll be able to let them go, at those moments when they're swelling up inside you, it's crucial that you let yourself feel them fully. Whether you do this through journaling, yoga, meditation, running, hiking, howling at the moon, or a mix of these and more — figure out what works for you and use it. Constantly.

If you have 1 second: SIT UP STRAIGHT

If you have 2 seconds: SPRITZ ON SCENT

If you have 3 seconds: SMILE

If you have 5 seconds: GIVE THE NOD

If you have 10 seconds: TALK WITH YOUR HANDS

If you have 15 seconds: GET FLIRTY

If you have 1 minute: DO SOMETHING THAT SCARES YOU

If you have 3 minutes: HAVE A GREEN SNACK

If you have 4 minutes: BE A COPYCAT

If you have 5 minutes: DO SOMEONE A FAVOUR

If you have 6 minutes: CLEAN OUT YOUR WALLET

If you have 7 minutes: ORDER A COFFEE

If you have 8 minutes: SAY THANK YOU

If you have 20 minutes: START SWEATING

If you have 30 minutes: TAKE STOCK OF YOUR FRIENDSHIPS

“Doesn’t matter where I’m at, which home I’m in, or what hotel room I’m visiting. The very second I wake up, I stay in bed for about five minutes and just be.

I don’t think about my schedule, agendas, or phone calls I need to make. I simply open my eyes and let myself be completely and truly present.

I try not to think of all the outside noise, the thoughts in my head, or the time I don’t have to do many other things.

I do, at times, reflect on what I have in life and for what I am grateful. I also take the time to think of my family’s wellbeing.

Once I take these five minutes of just being present, then I enjoy making a cup of coffee or a cappuccino. That’s how I like to start my day.”

“Doesn’t matter where I’m at, which home I’m in, or what hotel room I’m visiting. The very second I wake up, I stay in bed for about five minutes and just be.

I don’t think about my schedule, agendas, or phone calls I need to make. I simply open my eyes and let myself be completely and truly present.

I try not to think of all the outside noise, the thoughts in my head, or the time I don’t have to do many other things.

I do, at times, reflect on what I have in life and for what I am grateful. I also take the time to think of my family’s wellbeing.

Once I take these five minutes of just being present, then I enjoy making a cup of coffee or a cappuccino. That’s how I like to start my day.”

If you want to be responsible for making music, make music. If you want to be responsible for writing, speaking, making change happen, go do that. Waiting to get picked is a form of hiding, not realism.

No, it’s not always possible for everyone to succeed by being the most popular, the most clicked on, the most liked. In fact, it will never happen. No one is promising that, I hope. What pick yourself means is that it’s never been easier to decide to be responsible for your own work, for your own agenda, for the change you make in the world. To have a chance to matter. Not to be finished right now, but starting now.

It's a cultural instinct to wait to get picked. To seek out the permission and authority that comes from a publisher or talk show host or even a blogger saying, "I pick you." Once you reject that impulse and realize that no one is going to select you--that Prince Charming has chosen another house--then you can actually get to work.

If you're hoping that the HR people you sent your resume to are about to pick you, it's going to be a long wait. Once you understand that there are problems just waiting to be solved, once you realize that you have all the tools and all the permission you need, then opportunities to contribute abound.

No one is going to pick you. Pick yourself.