Tag: Lifestyle

Make mistakes

On By hannahzgraceIn Motivation, Self-love, Soul followingLeave a comment

Good morning beautiful world, I’m currently at Centre Parcs enjoying a Starbucks whilst everyone else goes swimming. If you’re a girl who fake tans you’ll know that chlorine literally makes you look like a lizard so it’s truly not worth swimming especially since I’ve just re-done my whole body. Anyway…

We all know I went to South Africa recently, nothing new to say about that which I haven’t already said, except that it really did act as a second awakening for me. Sometimes we have to experience things in order to discover if it’s your cup of tea, but not everyone likes tea, some people like coffee. Although I adored South Africa and really appreciated the whole experience it made me realise that I wasn’t overly fussed about studying it in the long-term. 

Arriving back home I had a bit of a breakdown because it felt like I had just taken another 10 steps backwards with how far I had come since February when I stopped my counselling as I felt I had a sense of direction again. Now I was back to square one, what do I want to do with myself? 

And who do I confide in when my mind is troubled? My mum. So we had a long chat about how I felt, because in myself I knew I was unhappy and I had the urge, that gut feeling, that studying animal conservation wasn’t right for me at this moment in time. 

My mum told me something I realised I needed to hear and that was that it’s okay to live with uncertainty and that not everything has to be planned and known for definite. I think because I’m such an organised person 90% of the time this has always been something I’ve struggled with, I’m a bit of a perfectionist I would say and this is because I like winning. I’m a very competitive person you see, which has its pro’s and cons of course. 

Living with uncertainty is kind of a crazy concept for me, but it’s something I’m trying to get better at. I think having anxiety doesn’t help with this, but I don’t think that’s the only reason, as I said I think it’s just my personality to be organised and planned. 

But we don’t always need a freaking plan! Now is the time to make mistakes, to change our minds over and over again until one day we know what we want to do when we’re asked! Who knows what I’m destined to do, I know I’ll be successful at whatever I do but I don’t know what it is yet and that’s okay! Too much pressure is put on the younger generation to know what we want so that we get forced into job roles that don’t suit us or we outgrow. 

It’s never too late to change your mind or change career path. Always trust your gut, follow your soul and find your happiness. One day you’ll know what you want to do, because you’ve made all the mistakes you can, and that’s part of life.

All my love,

HG

(The Broken Pearl)

A more serious blog post

On By hannahzgraceIn Motivation, Soul following, travelling, VolunteeringLeave a comment

Hello beautiful readers, I hope you’ve all had an amazing day or are currently having an amazing day. I am currently in a siesta in South Africa, so most people are napping before we head out this evening for a night drive which should be exciting. On regular monitoring during the day, the majority of the animals here are passed out sleeping or are just very inactive, this is because it’s cooler in the evenings therefore they are more active then, so tonight should be interesting! 

Being here in South Africa has been really fascinating, it wasn’t quite what I expected but then I didn’t really have any expectations anyway! To be honest I thought I’d cope better with travelling alone because I am a confident person but as I mentioned in my previous post I did struggle for a couple of days. Overall the entire experience has been incredible and I would recommend it to anyone, it’s so refreshing to be outside every day, the scenery here has been insane and of course the wildlife is incredible. It’s actually rather surreal to see animals such as giraffes, elephants and lions in the wild rather than behind a fence at a zoo in small enclosures. Being able to help the local communities too has been wonderful, and every day I learn something new about a species of animal here. The best part is everything is a surprise, you may go out planning on tracking rhinos and come across an entire herd of elephants in the process. I’ll be sharing even more photos at the end of next week once I’m home again, since I have too many to share! 

One of the places I visited this week is called Born Free, a place where rescued big cats can find solitude and finds forever home, after being either abused or mistreated by previous owners. One of the lions, King, was particularly friendly, although this was adorable it was pretty evident that he would never be able to get released into the wild because he was too confident around humans which could lead to him being poached. They have Born Free centres worldwide, places like this really deserve recognition, and although I got to visit as a volunteer these places are not zoo’s, and there was only a small number of us visiting the sanctuary on this morning. I really appreciate the work of places like this, to be able to visit here was a really lovely experience, and although it was sad hearing these cats back stories it was also reassuring to know they are in good hands now.

Another memorable experience this week was seeing a black rhino in the wild, for those who don’t know this species of rhino is particularly endangered, rhinos in general are regularly poached for their horns. For anyone who can it would really be amazing if you could sponsor a rhino or help contribute to this species survival, part of this means spreading awareness that rhino horns don’t have any medicinal value which is believed in many cultures but is false. If we get rid of the consumers there is no need for the product therefore rhino horns wouldn’t be in demand and they wouldn’t be getting poached. 

I know this post was a bit more informative than my others, and I still have lots to talk about with South Africa, but I just felt the need to help everyone understand that this trip wasn’t just for fun I’m educating myself in conservation and helping protect species that may not be around in the next 20 years! We should all spread awareness for animal conservation, because are we really happy with our children only being able to see an elephant or rhino through a picture book? I think not. Have a beautiful week.

All my love, 
HG 
(The Broken Pearl) 

P.S: I apologise for this post being delayed, I have just been very busy here and timing has been a struggle, I hope you understand

Make your aura glow!

On By hannahzgraceIn Motivation, Self-love, Soul followingLeave a comment

Good morning beautiful world, how are we all today? You know this morning I realised how important it is to look after our bodies and listen to them when they’re trying to tell us something. So I went to the gym bright and early, was working out pretty hard and I was kinda in a rush because I’m on a timed schedule due to train times, and after doing a set of exercises I had an overwhelming feeling of nausea. It’s rare I ever really get this feeling, I mean I’m a little gym fanatic, my body is used to being pushed to its limits, but today it was telling me- nope I’ve had enough it’s time to stop now. Sometimes this is just the laziness within us telling us this, but I knew that my body really wasn’t up to it, I started to feel faint and dizzy and to stop that getting worse I left. Trust your body, don’t push yourself too hard, do what your body is telling you people.

Anyway, that wasn’t what my blog topic is about today, but if that was enough for you and you’ve learnt something that can benefit you that’s great and my jobs done! wisteria.jpeg

Today I wanted to talk to you all about aura’s. So after reading some Oprah Winfrey this morning (which I had stopped doing recently because I had lots of other things to get me writing in my journal) she talked about a mans near death experience, and how just as he was escaping the scene he described these sort of bright lights or auras leaving the bodies of those who had deceased. It was a sad story, a plane exploding, leading to many deaths and few escaping with their lives.

The whole concept of aura’s really stuck with him, and it has now really intrigued me. He explained how some aura’s shone brighter than others. To me this seemed as though the brightness or the aura is our soul leaving our body, and the brighter it shone the more goodness you have done and the more you have followed your soul in your life.

In pursuing love, and by listening to your soul (the little voice in your head which so many of us disregard), following the right feelings we are being guided to the light and our soul will shine brighter as a consequence. Perhaps our souls shine bright from doing good too? At least that’s what I would like to believe. Being empathetic and promoting positivity in everyday life will only help your soul shine brighter because you’re emitting aura postgood energy out to the Universe and to others. This is part of the reason I have fallen in love with volunteering, the whole concept of giving for nothing in return. It makes me feel good, and when I’m working I don’t complain, I relish in the joy of helping others and doing good.

Close your eyes, and envision this light within you, your soul fluttering beside your heart. How brightly would you say you have allowed your aura to shine? If you feel as though every day is becoming a chore and time seems to disappear with little time for you to do what you truly love, change that. If you feel as though your flame, the spark has gone out within you, RE-IGNITE! Find that energy, that love within you, seek gratitude and go after the right feelings. It’s never too late. I realised this when I began pursuing a career in Law at University, my soul wasn’t being fed what it really wanted, I wasn’t buzzing with energy and life and I certainly wasn’t emitting positive energy I was enveloped in darkness, my flame had certainly gone out. But as I just said, there’s always a way out, although it was challenging I changed my path and decided to change course which meant taking a year out. There’s always a way.

If you take anything from this blog post remember this:

The Universe is on your side, it want’s you to achieve your greatest desires and pursue what you love. Your soul deserves to shine bright within you. If you could see your soul how would it look? Would you be happy with it? 

Carpe diem people, keep your eyes bright and your souls even brighter.

All my love, 

HG

(The Broken Pearl)

Follow and stalk my socials! I want to hear from you!

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@ Hannah Grace      @Hannahzgracee

Healthy, Motivational Morning Routine 2019

On By hannahzgraceIn Motivation, Self-loveLeave a comment

Hello beautiful people, today although the weather is poor in Kent I still made myself go on a morning run since I knew it would make me feel more refreshed and alive… and then it started to rain as soon as I left and I got a little wet.. BUT it was still exhilarating and got me fired up for the day ahead!

Today I wanted to enlighten you all on my morning routine, which I tend to religiously stick to because I know I always feel 100 times better for doing so. So if you want to feel like a badass every day continue reading!

So what’s my secret to feeling motivated 90% of the time? (And I say 90% because I’msuccess not going to be dishonest with you all and say that I’m always happy because I’m not a good liar) I wake up and I don’t allow myself to go on my phone, comparison can quite often be the thief of joy, if you immediately wake up and focus on yourself you are going to feel more inspired and motivated to get shit done and that’s the truth. Always spend time on yourself rather than looking at what other people are doing.

Setting small goals! Next up I open up my little #success planner (because I’m that cool😎) and begin setting myself tasks to do for the day. These things can start off as small as reading your book for 15 minutes before bed, they don’t have to be huge achievements, make the goals realistic otherwise you’ll set yourself up for failure and no one wants that! For me for instance- today one of my goals was to write a new blog post which is exactly what I’m doing now, another was to hit the gym this afternoon. Even setting the goal of maintaining a positive attitude at work is an achievement, practicing mindfulness. These are all easy-going achievements that will help keep you focused and motivated throughout the day.

Get yourself hyped!✨ Next up read something motivational, on days where I’m not feeling up to reading a chapter of a book I read a quote and get inspiration from that. The importance of this is to get someone else’s perspective and guidance, use what they say or the quote that you’ve read as a mantra throughout the day, remember it carry it with you let it inspire you. For me for example, today after reading some of Oprah Winfrey’s book called What I know for Sure I felt inspired to be strong and independent, to step out of my comfort zone in order to keep improving myself!

Let the creative juices flow onto paper!⭐️ I find writing in a journal such a release for any emotional tension I may be holding onto, but also as a little motivational book that I can go back to when I’m not feeling too great in myself. After reading a chapter from my book there’s always something for me to write about, today I wrote about how recently I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone massively by deciding it’s best that I become a single lady! That was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make but I know I’m better for it, I know in losing my safety net I can grow into a better person and become stronger, more sure of myself. More free.

Get going!💫 Sometimes I may meditate as well in the mornings however I often find that mediating in the evening helps more, since it allows me to alleviate myself of any stress or tension that has built up throughout the day. After journalling you can get on with your list, start going after what you love, do things that get you excited and give you energy. Fall in love with becoming the best version of yourself, and know in your heart you’re doing amazing.

All my love,

HG

(The Broken Pearl)

Stalk me and follow my socials!

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@Hannah Grace          @Hannahzgracee

              

Listen to your soul

On By hannahzgraceIn Soul followingLeave a comment

Good morning beautiful world, I hope no matter where you are in the world or what time zone you’re in that you’re having a blessed day and you have found gratitude and love in everything you’ve been through.

So, today I’m talking about soul listening, and tuning into that little voice that nags inside us every now and then in order to get our attention and make us make the right decision. Some people refer to this as their gut, or their instincts, but deep down I believe this is our soul, our inner wisdom trying to guide us to make ourselves happier beings and go after what we truly desire.

Previously I have mentioned how in following what feels right you will naturally find clouds peaxe.jpgsuccess, that’s because in following the rights, not ignoring them or being blind to them and following the wrongs we are doing what our soul wants us to be doing and following that which makes us truly happy within.

What Oprah reminded my today in my daily self-help book was that when we put time and effort into things which we dislike and find no joy in, we find ourselves getting enwrapped in emotions such as anger or depression. I thought this was an interesting way to view things to be honest, and really emphasises the important of acknowledging the guidance from that little voice in our heads.

If you ever find yourself feeling, depressed or angry, maybe that’s an opporunity for you to assess the situation and ask yourself “Am I doing things that truly make me happy? What is my soul trying to tell me right now through conveying these negative emotions to me?”

The voice can often be quieted down and shut off with the more hectic external lives we lead, for me, the past couple of days have been pretty hectic, if you follow my insta you would know this @hannahzgracee (shameless self promo). In being hectic I found that I was doing less of the things that keep me grounded, keep me focused, keep me positive and following my aspirations. These things for me being my meditation, my journalling, self-help reading and planning the day.

These little things create an inner calm for me, and when you’re leading an extra busy journallingand hectic external life it’s super important to ensure you have that internal calm. Because if you’re being busy, you’re constantly in a rush, your mind will be running at 100mph, the same speed which you’ll be sprinting around trying to get everything done! And when your mind is doing this that little voice, the voice of your soul gets cut off, ignored, overlooked, and this is why so many of us fall into the trap of unhappiness. We get locked down into a job that we hate, or hang out with people who give off lower frequencies than you do.

The importance of grounding yourself, and listening to your soul is crucial to your happiness. Once you find your ways of calming your inner self, you can make changes to your outer self and create the life you’ve always dreamed of by going after those right feelings until you find success!

All my love,

HG

(The broken pearl)

THE EASIEST WAY TO RELIEVE STRESS

On By hannahzgraceIn Self-love, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Good afternoon everyone from the UK! I hope you’re all having a beautiful day, I have to say today I was feeling a bit tired and under the weather. It’s Friday, and I’ve been working of course, it’s easy to feel de-motivated and fed up. But I stick to my routines and do the best I can to keep positive and energised, most importantly though I don’t put too much pressure on myself to achieve too much in the day otherwise you’re effectively setting yourself up for failure… and a lot of stress.

Speaking of stress, I was rather stressed last night. My flight got bloody messed up for South Africa which would mean I now have to travel 16 hours in a car to get to the Game Reserve I wanted to volunteer at. Then we had the dilemmas of ringing up the airlines and trying to find a solution, and there wasn’t one, we would simply have to cancel and airplane and beachre-book a £600 flight and f*** that. I went up to get ready to bed all tight chested, confused and anxious that I wouldn’t be able to go to South Africa, and that really scared me.

If you have watched my YouTube video (Hannah Grace: Get to Know me Tag) or read previous blog posts of mine you would know that volunteering on a Game Reserve or with big cats in South Africa has been something I’ve been raving about since forever! It’s something I would potentially like to pursue a career in, to become a manager of a conservation park, restoring biodiversity and treating sick exotic animals would be a dream for me. Therefore you can understand why I was so stressed with the whole flight situation.

Relieving yourself of stress can be easily done, you just have to get yourself in the correct mindset. Sometimes all you have to do is take a step back, breathe and assess the situation. Often when one thing goes wrong we immediately escalate the situation in our heads. For instance, when I realised my flight might have to get cancelled I immediatly started fretting that I wouldn’t be able to go to South Africa, and that my parents (love them to bits) would lose out on £600 for the flight they brought me.

However, it’s not always as easy as that (I know I sound like I’m contradicting what I just said but hear me out people) sometimes we need to just get into our own space, take ourselves away from the situation andddddd…. MEDITATE. WOW what a big scary word and concept for some people!!! But we don’t need to be scared or resent meditation, it’s essentially the art of doing nothing, and tuning into Source Energy which literally means being at an inner peace and finding your calm.

After the whole South Africa mishap I was struggling to distract myself from the never-giraffesending streams of worries in my head, having a very anxious past means I find I can be particularly susceptible to getting anxious easily if I’m in the wrong mind-set. So, I took myself up to my bed, plugged in some earphones (wireless are even better) and with my app Calm I followed a guided meditation practice… and I kid you not I felt like I left my body!!!

The relaxation and meditation were exactly what I needed, I got to the point where I reached the ZONE the ultimate form of peace. All you have to do is follow your breathing and shut down your mind, this isn’t something that comes easily, and I’ve been practicing meditation for months before I reached this point. But even without the ZONE you’ll find yourself a lot more present and grounded than you were before, resulting in a calmer more rational mindset, where endless possibilities arise.

After meditating I convinced myself that I would still go to Africa and have an amazing time, and on the next day, BEHOLD I was offered a place on a different 5* reserve right near the airport I was flying to, at not additional cost!!!

This shit works guys, it’s all about changing your mindset, and mediation is the key to this, it can literally change your life.

All my love,

HG

How Volunteering can boost your CV and your self-love

On By hannahzgraceIn Self-love, VolunteeringLeave a comment

Hello everyone, and a happy Monday to you all! I know Monday’s may seem like a drag, and understandably so, it’s a reality check of going back to work and getting on your grind again. But if you shift your perspective a little, we can all be thankful for Monday’s, since they’re an opportunity for a fresh start. A new week, full of lots of opportunities at the touch of your fingertips, all you have to do is have the confidence to seize them for yourself!

Now, onto the topic of volunteering today. This is something I’ve wanted to talk about since forever, because volunteering has genuinely changed my life, and makes me feel 10000X better about myself. Not only this but it also looks very snazzy to future employers, giving your precious time away out of the good of your heart, now that’s appealing!!!

Why did I volunteer? First of all I just want to start by saying that I understand it may be harder for those of you who work your socks off in full-time jobs to volunteer, and that my circumstances were very different. So, after dropping out of University I undoubtedly had a lot of time on my hands, and for someone who was mentally a bit unstable this was very challenging. Every day seemed to go by soooooo slowly, it was like waiting for paint to dry, even with my hobbies such as reading I still seemed to have too much time on my hands! Understandably, this is one of the big reasons so many people my age become over-educated and stick at University, because they’re so unsure and horseskind of scared of what they’d do if they weren’t in education and actually had to think for themselves (wow, that was a mini rant). But it’s TRUE! So with this endless time I had, I decided I wanted to work with animals in some form, and volunteer doing this.

It took some time, but eventually I found something, and it was local which was even better since I don’t drive! All I had to do was look after some horses at an academy, it was outdoor work of course so sometimes it wasn’t pretty. I was carrying large nets of hay which could break my freaking back, attending to horses which threatened to bite my fingers off from time to time, and poo picked on top of a field on my own for 2 hours… I’m really selling this to you right?!! Although the work was often hard, I still felt a sense of achievement after working, and the fact I got to work outside and enjoy the scenery was even better. As I’ve said before, being out in the fresh air really helps to get into the present moment, you can find gratitude for pretty much anything if you’re living in the present!

It was this sense of achievement that kept me driven, and after working for the academy for a few months I finally built up the courage to ride a horse which I hadn’t done for like 15 years and it was amazing! Volunteering opens the doors to new unexpected things in your life that you may have never gotten the opportunity for before. It opens your eyes and your soul, and makes you realise that giving is better than taking!

You’re opening yourself to receiving gratitude from those you’re working for, and soak that shit up because it’s gold-dust!!!

Gratitude is the secret to happiness, and volunteering can help with unlocking that.

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This was Merlin my favourite owl! Follow my Instagram for future pictures- Hannahzgracee

Since doing the horse academy volunteering, I have gotten a job, yet I still manage to make time to help out, even if it’s not as often as before. I’ve kinda become addicted to it, I currently volunteer at an aviary too, which has led me to learning how to fly hawks and owls, which I would never have had the opportunity to do before if I hadn’t offered my time and help to their cause.

Volunteering shows that you care for greater causes rather than just yourself.

Empathy and time-giving is something we all need to show and give a little more of, which is why employers love it! It shows you’re different and have gone out of your way to do something that benefits other people as well as yourself! AND IT’S FREAKING AWESOME. As I mentioned before I’ll be going to Africa in June to volunteer and help restore biodiversity on a large piece of land out there, monitoring the wildlife resources and tracking animals. I’ll make sure to document the whole experience for you guys and let you know what I think!

Even if you feel as though you don’t have enough time to give to others, just email around or ask your local community if they need a help in hand with anything. Volunteering doesn’t have to be as bizarre as I make it sound! Volunteering can be caring for the elderly, or packing peoples shopping for them at the supermarket. I’m just the sort of person who likes to get out there and do adventurous, exciting things, that involve wildlife. But that’s just me! You do you, do whatever you’ll get the most joy from, otherwise what’s the point? Your happiness should always come first, and I can guarantee you’ll feel even happier after giving your time for a better cause.

All my love,

HG