Feel good Friday – by knowing who you are, because you understand your background – making matariki marvoulus with 9 things to do in welcoming the day

by | Jul 14, 2023 | Fashion

It is all about understanding, your understanding, of all things maori,  especially if you have maori blood. Why? I have always believed that when you know where and what you have decended from, you have the ability to navigate your life a bit easier.

The reason, when you know and understand the behaviours that exist within your familiy background, you then have the ability to decide and navigate how you want your own life to be, going forward. This helps you to feel good, even on a Friday!

But first, you have to know and be able, to go back. Which brings me to this next bit, my own knowing and ability to speak in te reo maori – are you ready?

Ko tenei toku awa ( this is is the river that I am affiliated to, (the Whanganui river), in Whanganui, New Zealand)

As your can see, it was a nice day, to take a photograph – in the maori world, this is the starting point of my families turangawaiwai (the place you decend from). I now believe, that at the basic level of identity, we all have one. And when you decide to start immesing yourself in your culture, you will care more about your life, and the marvoulus moments that you create. Today is matariki day in Aotearoa, meaning New Zealand is having a public holiday from the normalities of life.

Here are 9 ways you can feel good about getting involved in matariki: It is all about maori kupu (words) korero (talk), waiata (song and dance), karakia (prayer) and kai (food), oh and tangata (people) and turanga wai wai (the place where you have decended from.

The day started at 4.30 am. This is what my ancestors would have done, not only to pretect themselves, but to know that they were going to be able to progress with the day. Engaging with life like this, is always about your mindset, which if not mindful how you feel, can affect mental health, and your ability to get involved, as it did mine.  You see, as I went to finish dressing myself my shoes, I realised that I would wear the wrong shoes, jacket and hat. So for next time, I need to learn to do differently.

Over the last couple of years, I have learned alot about myself, and my background. It is all about knowing and then ability. I encourage everyone to learn things about their background. Life will not be so challenging.

1: We left the whare (house), kei roto i te waka (in the car). We headed to see whanaungatanga (extended family).

2: The first thing we did was greet each person (kia ora, or tenakoe)

3: As the morning got underway, I was keen to read to everyone on the cluster of stars, in te reo (the maori language). I did. This is panui.

4: After this, (i muri nei) I got talking to someone who worked in radio, as I had an interest in this. This is korero or talking.

5: We all then headed for the food (kai) but before that, the food had to be blessed with a karakia (prayer).

6: We all, the family (whanau) got food to eat, and then sat down ( kei te noho ki te kai).

7:  Some of us discussed the cold (makariri) and how we were keeping warm. With a hat (potai) on our head, a jacket (kakahu) on our bodies (tinana), and shoes (hu) on our feet, to protect us from the elements.

8: Connecting the dots on how we are related, ancestors (tipuna).

9: And then finishing the day departing, (ka ki te ano)

I have always believed that when each one of us is in true connection to our core, because we know ourselves, this leads us to having the ability of wearing our pride on our sleeves and when speaking to others about who we are. This allows us to easily be able to also celebrate the cultures of others, because we find how we are the same.

Mental health Monday- Monitor your movements, so that managing your mental health isn’t hard.

by | Jun 14, 2023 | Fashion

It is all about your WOF- I am not just referring to your car’s roadworthiness, but your warrant of fitness also.

But my interpretation of a wof is not the same as getting a wof for your car. My warrant talks about you being able to have a clear direction of where it is that you need and want to go so that you can carry on.
The reason that I write about getting and keeping your car warranted and therefore roadworthy, is because, for me and my car, it is that time of year. Time to get a wof. And I kinda felt that this could relate to how we run our lives day to day, and the things that we need to think about, such as monitoring our movements so that we can achieve.

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Mental health Monday is about monitoring your movements so that managing your mental health is not hard.

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Focus your mind, by knowing how in steps and learning to do, with a strategy

by | Apr 9, 2023 | Fashion

 

Today’s talking and teaching points are these:

1 –  Focus your mind on what matters, moment by moment – this will give you the ability to accelerate when you need to because you will know how.

2-Flow your steps, with a strategy, as this will bring you success, by staying mindful. 

   Focus your mind on what matters, moment by moment – this will give you the ability to accelerate when you need to because you will know how.

When you have a learning disability, getting an education is not straightforward, nor does it flow freely the way it would for someone who does not have this issue. It is because of this, you have to focus your mind through coaching yourself on what matters at the time and tackle tasks in an order of what is of priority for you.  

Such as eating something in the morning, to get your day started right – you know brain and body. This is where the focusing your mind starts and finishes. After I have sat down for a good length of time (I have not rushed through my food – I suggest you do the same – don’t rush through eating your food, or drink for that matter – take your time and focus) I then move back into the kitchen area to start the cleaning, starting with the dishes, before moving on to the next thing. I need you to understand that these are movements, for your brain and body (you are thinking and doing). This is a good thing. 

The next thing to focus on is to feel good, with exercise, but this needs to be done with two factors in mind – 1 – the weather so that you can take a walk, and 2 – what comfortable clothes you will wear that also help you to feel good. So in short your knowing and ability to look at yourself in the mirror and feel good, and keep fit to look and feel fantastic. This focusing, again starts with your knowing and ability to think about what fashion feels good on your body, and what looks good on you. This is not decided by others (just remember if you ask for an opinion, you may get it), it is decided by you. So this exercise is another focusing your mind and doing exercise. 

After that, stay energized by looking after your brain and your body. This is about a few things for me. A road trip, good company, food, a bit of music, conversation, and a good laugh.

All of the above compel you to then, make time, to rest, reflect and relax, your mind, so as to keep focus.

If there were things that I learned while being not only a Teachers aide but also running my own business, clean&gleam, it was that knowing self-care is a must to have the ability to keep moving.

Flow your steps, with a strategy, as this will bring you success, by staying mindful. 

Each one of the steps above, was and still is, a careful focus, so that I can keep moving, doing, learning and flowing. All with the intention of feeling fantastic. I am constantly moving between different areas that need my attention so that I can accelerate when I need to.  When you create a list, as I have, for all of the areas of your life that need to be maintained, you find that you are not so overcome with overwhelm.
As you can see, from the list above, that I had a set of actions that I would flow through each day that I cleaned, whether it be at my home, or somebody elses home. It was this strategy that bought me success. The reason is, once I learned what worked for me, that helped me to overcome my overwhelm, and feel okay, getting out the door, became a dream to do.
But within those steps, I learned that I had more actions to take that would help me to stay okay, every day. These other actions would help me to save time and money. Each one of those items on the list above became an area in which I felt I needed to work on a bit more, such as the eating – what did I enjoy eating, that was also healthy and did not cost a lot.
How best was I going to achieve my goal: (you can read about that here, in my journal entry, learn by getting support or get coaching so that you too can carry on) with keeping fit and staying fit –  it is by wearing the right clothes, that are also comfortable and feel cool on.

Why it is important to have some kind of savings plan

by | Mar 21, 2023 | Fashion

 

Today’s talking and teaching points are these:

1 – Go through your bank account and see what you spend weekly, on groceries and eating out, or ordering in. 

2- At the end of each session of spending (meaning every time you spend, whether online or offline) look at what is left there (in your bank account) and send the change elsewhere.

Go through your bank account and see what you spend weekly, on groceries and eating out, or ordering in. 

In order for you to go through your bank account to see what you spend weekly, on groceries and eating out, or ordering in, you first need to establish, how much is coming in, and then how much you are allocating to go out, and on what? Tough questions to ask yourself I know, but you also have to ask yourself  – do you want to be able? Long story short, you are here because you want to know and be able, right? 

Over the years of constant failure, simply because I did not know any other way, something clicked for me that there was a way I could save. But this also meant two things, and they are: opening a bank account specifically for this money, that I would look at once in a while, (remember you are saving for something), but also I would have to be disciplined in sending money electronically, from one bank account I would use every day, to another bank account, that I would rarely look at. 

These are the keys to your success – send it (the money, and save it – somewhere else that you also have access to).

What is also happening is your bank balance is being reset for another day, that day is tomorrow, and so is your budget. As boring as having a budget is, it is actually necessary for knowing and being able to live a nice life – right? Yes, you with me? 

At the end of each session of spending (meaning every time you spend, whether online or offline) look at what is left there (in your bank account) and send the change elsewhere.

Because your spending is about how much money you actually have to spend, what I am advocating here is to create bank accounts specifically for spending and saving, and making sure that you can access both from your computer and mobile phone. By knowing and being able to take this kind of action, you remain in control of your cash.

So what you do, is have one main bank account. This is where your income goes. From here, the money, that you need to get you through until the next payday, you send electronically – meaning no bank card, you do this at home, when the day starts, and you complete transactions between 9 am and 5 pm, and Monday to Friday.

By doing this, you get your money when you need it most. I have developed a plan for spending and then saving. Learning to know and working out when it will be best for you to be able to execute these steps and strategies, from what I have shared with you, will help you to overcome overwhelm because you will now know what to save, without the worry of where the money will come from, and you also have the ability to better manage money – your wallet will thank you, so will your bank account. And your well-being will be wonderful.

   

 

 

Why adopting the mindset of Therapy on a Thursday, when you can get it, will improve your life

by | Mar 15, 2023 | Fashion

Engage and be entertained

 

Today’s talking and teaching points are these: 1 – When you get the opportunity to engage in conversation, with others, do it. 2- While engaging with others, be kind and friendly, and if you feel compelled, laugh. By doing these things, you lower your risk of experiencing a heart, panic attack or experiencing any negative emotions.

 

 

Blog post One – Why adopting the mindset of Therapy on a Thursday, when you can can get it, will help improve your life.

 

 

 

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About Yanna Kostidis

Yanna is the creator of poetry for people, where she has written and reads to you, her poetry, which she started as a child and has continued on with. Along with the poetry, Yanna has written a free guide, that you can access by subscribing to see the journal entries. Poetry for people is all about learning to laugh through difficult times. You might also want to check out her video series of 6 for $26 where she talks about having to learn to acknowledge how she feels so that she could manage her mental health. You can get in touch with Yanna here.  Follow her on Facebook here. And you can read more on Linkedin and medium.