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Kids

21 Sleepover Activities for Kids | Slumber parties are the best when you're a kid! If your child is having one or several friends spend the night - or having a sleepover with their favorite cousin or other family members - we've curated tons of easy and fun things to do for girls and for boys. Whether you're celebrating a birthday, or just trying to make your little girl's next sleepover extra special, these ideas are awesome. We've even included virtual sleepover activities to inspire you!

Slumber Party on a Budget! 21 Fun and Easy Sleepover Activities for Kids

Yoga for Kids | Whether you're looking for yoga poses you can do in the classroom, or kids yoga videos you can stream from home, we're sharing 12 kids yoga poses and videos designed to help little ones stretch and strengthen their bodies, while also allowing them to calm down, relax, focus, and concentrate. You can do these in the garden or at the beach in the summer, as part of your morning and/or bedtime routine to promote sleep, and they make great brain breaks for virtual learning too!

Yoga for Kids: 12 Poses and Videos to Help Kids Calm Down

9 Dry Ice Experiments for Kids | If you're looking for cool science experiments and projects you can do with your children and students at home or in the classroom, these dry ice activities are easy to setup, and oh so cool! From how to make dry ice bubbles to simple and fun dry ice rockets, these activities make great party ideas for the Mad Scientists in your life! We've also included a few Halloween activities, which offer the perfect way to get kids excited about chemistry!

Educational and Fun: 9 Dry Ice Experiments To Do with Kids

14 Ice Breaker Games for Kids | If you're looking for fun getting to know you activities for kids to do with your students on the first day of school, we've got tons of ideas that are easy to setup and perfect for kids in kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school. Whether your school is opting for in-person instruction, virtual online learning, or a combo of the 2, these group games make the perfect team building activities for youth groups and group therapy sessions too!

Getting to Know You: 14 Ice Breaker Games for Kids

How to Make Tie Dye Shirts with Kids | If your little ones are obsessed with all things tie dye like my daughter, and you're looking for easy DIY tips, tutorials, and videos to teach you how to make your own tie dyed tees at home, we've curated tons of ideas you can try using ingredients you probably already have on hand. Learn how to tie dye with food coloring, with bleach, with Kool Aid, with sharpies and more with this collection of tie dye techniques!

How to Make Tie Dye Shirts: 8 Patterns & Tutorials to Try with Kids

33 Best Budget-Friendly Hobby Ideas for Kids | If you're looking for a list of hobbies for kids to encourage your little one to get off their electronics and pursue a new interest, we've got tons of fun and creative boys ideas and girls ideas to choose from! With a mix of cool indoor and outdoor activities your child can enjoy at home, these ideas are cheap, easy, and a great way to reduce stress and anxiety, develop problem-solving skills, encourage self-expression, and boost self-esteem!

Fun At Home: 33 Budget-Friendly Hobby Ideas for Kids

11 Campfire Games for Kids of All Ages | If you're looking for activities for families to enjoy around the campfire, we've got 11 ideas you'll love! Perfect for toddlers, for kids, for tweens, for teens, for a small group, and for a crowd, these ideas are easy to set-up and so much fun. Whether you're going on a family road trip, camping with a youth group, Girl Scout or Boy Scout troop, or organizing an outdoor campout in your backyard, these ideas work as great drinking games for adults too!

Family Road Trip: 11 Campfire Games for Kids of All Ages

11 Pool Activities for Kids | Whether you have a small inflatable kiddie or paddling pool for toddlers, a big outdoor swimming pool in your backyard, or you spend as many summer days as possible at your local pool, there are TONS of fun games your little ones can enjoy while cooling off and soaking up some vitamin D! From sensory play to building a DIY obstacle course out of inflatable toys - and everything in between - these ideas are equal parts easy and fun!

Get Outside! 11 Fun and Easy Pool Activities for Kids

14 Outdoor Science Experiments for Kids | Looking for ideas to keep your kids learning while outside? We've curated the best STEM inspired experiments for kids of all ages. Using simple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry, like baking soda, vinegar, yeast, sugar, and food coloring, these ideas are easy to setup and can be enjoyed year-round - summer, fall, winter, and spring! Whether you have toddlers, kindergarteners, tweens, or teens, these ideas are fun and easy!

Fun Outside! 14 Outdoor Science Experiments for Kids

18 Indoor Activities for 2 Year Olds Who Are Stuck At Home | If you're looking for simple toddler activities for rainy days, snow days, sick days, or any other time you're stuck inside, we're sharing 18 fun and easy ideas for boys and girls! We've included a mix of learning toys, sensory activities, family activities, busy bags, independent play ideas, and activities that burn energy to keep your little one entertained when you can't go outside.

Fun and Easy: 18 Indoor Activities for 2 Year Olds Who Are Stuck At Home

7 Interoception Activities for Kids | What is interoception? If you've ever wondered about the 8th sense and how it impacts kids with autism and sensory processing challenges, this post is a great place to start. With sensory activities and occupational therapy resources for teaching kids internal body awareness both in the classroom and at home, the ideas in this post will help you develop a sensory diet for increased self-regulation, problem-solving, flexibility, and social thinking skills!

The 8th Sense Explained: 7 Interoception Activities for Kids

16 Things to Do At Home with Kids | If you're looking for ways to keep kids busy at home, we've got 16 easy ideas to help get your creative juices flowing! Whether you're looking for DIY indoor crafts for rainy days, outdoor activities that burn energy on hot summer days, or games to play as a family, these ideas are easy to setup and perfect for families to enjoy together when social distancing prevents you from organizing playdates and backyard barbeques with family and friends.

Summer Camp Cancelled? 16 Things to Do At Home with Kids

12 Zoom Games for Kids | If you're looking for easy games and activities your kids can play online with their friends, we've got 12 ideas to inspire you! These ideas are perfect for virtual kids birthday parties, playdates, and classroom group Zoom calls. From interactive scavenger hunts, to silly 'would you rather' games, and so much more, these online games for kids are easy to setup, free, and fun!

Zoom Games for Kids: 12 Online Activity Ideas to Keep Kids Connected

16 Sidewalk Chalk Art Activities | If you're looking for simple ways to keep your kids entertained outside, sidewalk chalk is where it's at! From decorating driveways, to creating sidewalk birthday messages, to making mosaic designs on a fence, we've curated cute and easy ideas for toddlers, creative drawings for kids, and cool ideas for teens! Perfect for spring, summer, and fall, these sidewalk chalk art projects are the perfect way to add a little positive energy to your home!

16 Sidewalk Chalk Activities and Obstacle Courses for Kids

11 Nature Activities for Kids | If you'e looking for fun indoor and outdoor nature activities you can enjoy with your little ones year-round, we've got 11 ideas to inspire you! Whether you're going on a nature walk or spending time in the backyard, we've included ideas for spring, summer, fall, and winter. Perfect for teaching STEM and science lessons while also getting some vitamin D and burning energy, these activities compliment classroom lesson plans and make great family activities too!

Nature Activities for Kids: 11 Ways to Have Fun Outside All Year

14 Indoor Activities for Kids that Burn Energy | If you're stuck at home and need fun and easy games and activities to reduce boredom, keep your kids entertained, and help them burn off steam, these ideas are easy to setup, and you probably already have a lot of the materials you need to recreate them on hand. Perfect for toddlers, kids in elementary school, and older kids, these simple and creative ideas develop gross motor, balance, coordination, proprioception, and problem solving skills!

Stuck Inside? 14 Indoor Activities for Kids that Burn Energy

10 Educational Apps for Kids in Elementary School | If you're looking for the best educational websites you can access on your tablet to keep your little ones engaged and learning outside of the classroom, there are tons of great ones available for free (or for a small fee). From math and literacy games, to puzzles and brain teasers, to science, coding, and STEM learning, we've curated the best free learning apps for kids, with paid options for teachers and for parents who want more.

Learning Made Fun: 10 Educational Apps for Kids in Elementary School

19 Backyard Activities for Kids | If you're looking for fun DIY yard games you can enjoy outdoors with your kids year-round, we've got 19 ideas to inspire you! Whether you have toddlers or kids in kindergarten or elementary school, we've got easy (and cheap!) ideas you can enjoy in spring, summer, fall, and winter. From obstacle courses, to water games, to old school birthday party games, to outdoor scavenger hunt ideas, there are so many things to do to burn energy when cabin fever sets in!

19 Backyard Activities for Kids to Help Burn Energy

17 Independent Activities for Kids Who Are Stuck at Home | If you're looking for fun and engaging quiet activities your children can do by themselves on sick days, school holidays, and/or during an extended school closure, we're sharing 17 ideas that require little to no prep! Most of these are indoor activities for kids, but we've included some outdoor options for spring, summer, and fall! If you're trying to figure out how to work from home with kids, these ideas are perfect!

17 Independent Activities for Kids Who Are Stuck at Home

24 Easter Crafts for Kids of All Ages and Stages | Whether you're looking for simple Easter crafts for toddles and preschoolers, or easy fun projects for kids in elementary school that require a little more planning and creativity, this post will inspire you. From handprint chick crafts, to upcycled bunny crafts, to DIY Easter baskets and more, we've even included our favorite Easter traditions for kids to make the holiday extra special this year!

Easter Crafts for Kids: 24 Fun Ideas For All Ages and Stages

13 Autism Awareness Crafts for Kids | April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day, and if you're looking for crafts, projects, and activities you can use in your classroom to teach your students about autism, this post is a great place to start. From door signs, to puzzle piece crafts and jigsaw jewelry, to art projects that can be used as bulletin boards throughout the month of April, these ideas will inspire you to find unique ways to celebrate neurodiversity and promote inclusion!

Different, Not Less: 13 Meaningful Autism Awareness Crafts for Kids

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‘A NEGATIVE MIND WILL NEVER GIVE YOU A POSITIVE ‘A NEGATIVE MIND WILL NEVER GIVE YOU A POSITIVE LIFE.’ —Unknown
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As I was flipping through a magazine a few years ago, I read a study that has been a real game-changer for me.
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It went a little something like this:
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A research group studied feelings of tiredness in 2 groups of people. Both groups got the same amount of sleep and exerted the same amount of energy throughout the study, but the Test Group was led to believe they were more well-rested than they really were.
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The result?
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[Nearly] everyone in the Test Group reported lower levels of fatigue and higher levels of alertness compared to the Control Group, which led the researchers to believe our PERCEPTION of how tired we are plays a huge role in how we actually feel on a daily basis.
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I admit I was skeptical, but I’ve always found that when I stop focusing on the negative and concentrate on the positive instead, I can almost always talk myself out of feeling tired, moody, irritable, impatient, or whatever other negative emotion that’s plaguing me.
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I really believe there is something in the notion that we can change the way we feel simply by changing our perception, and that is more important now than ever.
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So the next time you wake up feeling exhausted and cranky, try changing your mindset. Put the negativity down, choose happiness, and see where it takes you.
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I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
‘DEAL WITH YOUR FEELINGS.’ —Tanisha Herrin . ‘DEAL WITH YOUR FEELINGS.’ —Tanisha Herrin
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I started drafting a post with tips for staying positive when you’re struggling with motivation this morning, but I couldn’t bring myself to finish the post because I have been the exact opposite of positive and motivated the last few days.
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Ontario announced a 3rd stay-at-home order this week, and my sweet girl was a puddle of tears when I picked her up on Tuesday. Teachers were given a 10-minute warning to tell students to pack up their belongings, and while I held my daughter in the school yard as she cried, my heart broke for her.
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This has been hard on all of us, but it’s been especially difficult for kids. I can’t imagine how it must feel to have school, extracurricular activities, playdates, sleepovers, family trips, and holiday celebrations taken away as a child. I feel like all I’ve done over the last year is dish out one disappointment after another, and with no end in sight, it’s hard not to feel the weight of it all. 
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If you know me IRL, you know I’m all about finding light in times of darkness. I believe every situation is design to teach us something, and try not to stay stuck in the suck for too long, but this week was different.
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I felt really sad, and for the first time in a long time I realized that what I needed more than anything was to just feel all the feels. So I emailed my daughter’s teacher to let her know we were taking the night off from homework, shut my computer down, left the laundry in the dryer, ate peanut butter out of the jar (highly recommend btw), and polished off a bottle of wine with my husband, and it felt so good.
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We all woke up with renewed positivity on Wednesday, yesterday I wrote out a list of goals I want to tackle over the next 4 weeks, and today I feel more motivated and excited than I have in a long time. I feel blessed, grateful, and ready to handle this lockdown like a boss.
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So instead of writing down all of those tips I planned on sharing with you today, I wanted to remind you that sitting in discomfort and allowing yourself to feel sad isn’t always a bad thing. Just make sure you don’t get stuck there for too long. 😘
‘FILTERS ARE GREAT, BUT GREAT SKIN CARE IS BETTE ‘FILTERS ARE GREAT, BUT GREAT SKIN CARE IS BETTER.’ —Unknown 
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#ad
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Do your hands crack in the cold weather?
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Mine do. ⠀
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And this year has been particularly bad. Between my regular cooking and cleaning routine, buying and renovating a new home, and all of the required pandemic-related hand washing and sanitizing, my hands physically hurt at the end of each day. I’ve lost count of how many cracks I’ve dealt with so far this season, and right now I have a doozy on my right thumb that makes simple tasks like buttoning buttons, texting, and typing feel impossible and painful.
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I once read that beautiful skin takes a commitment and not a miracle, and this couldn’t be more true. I have battled with my skin for as long as I can remember, and I know exactly what I need to do to prevent - and treat - dry, cracked hands. But when life gets busy, I simply get lazy, and it doesn’t take long for it show on my skin.
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The good news is that it typically only takes me a few days to get things back under control thanks to my friends at @yoronaturals 🙌🏻
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Their Organic Manuka Skin Soothing Cream does wonders when it comes to healing cracked hands, and their Remedy Wear gloves are my secret to overnight healing! Instead of strategically covering every crack with cream and a bandaid, I just apply a generous amount of Manuka Cream to my hands and pop on a set of gloves  before crawling into bed. Works like a dream!
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(And YES, the gloves stay put alllllll night long!)
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If pandemic protocols are leaving your hands dry and cracked, click the link in my bio and use code GWEN for 10% off my favorite YoRo Natural products!
‘A woman with a voice is by definition a strong ‘A woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult.’ –Melinda Gates

Wishing all the strong, bold, loud, messy, and amazing women in my life a Happy International Women’s Day! 
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When we found out we were having a girl, I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to share my love for fashion and beauty with a smaller version of myself, and had such a strong vision of the kind of mom I wanted to be.
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I promised myself I would be present, involved, loving, and empathetic, and that my sweet girl would wake up and go to sleep each night knowing there was at least one person in this world who believed in her 1000%.
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I thought I had everything mapped out, but failed to realize that being a ‘girl mom’ would require so much more from me. It’s not enough that I listen to her, support her, and encourage her to be assertive and to own her truth.  I have to model that behavior, too.
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And that’s not easy.
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I was raised at a time when women were encouraged to make themselves as small as possible - both literally and figuratively. 
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No one ever encouraged me to speak up when someone did wrong by me or someone else, and when I did start to find my voice as I got older, I was told I was ‘too much’.
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Raising a girl has forced me to challenge everything that was taught to me about being a woman. I want my daughter to grow up believing she can achieve anything and everything she wants in life, and that she never has to make herself small to make others feel more comfortable. She’s bold, brave, assertive, and loud, and she’s doesn’t apologize for ANY of it.
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And I hope she never does.
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My girl keeps me on my toes, but being her mom has already been the ride of a lifetime. I’m so incredibly proud of her and can’t wait to see the mark she makes on the world. 
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‘Here’s to strong women: May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.’ –Unknown
‘HOW YOU DO ANYTHING IS HOW YOU DO EVERYTHING.’ —Jess Sims
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While some people love reading self-help books or listening to inspiring podcasts, quotes, mantras, and song lyrics are my jam. I spend hours upon hours scrolling through my social media feeds each week searching for motivational quotes and sayings, and I copy the ones I love most to the notes app on my phone so I never forget them. 
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I have a quote and lyric for pretty much every feeling and occasion, and if you follow me on stories, you know that I try to share something motivating and inspiring every morning. 
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I’ve recently been using short quotes/mantras to help me stay focused. Mantras are typically used in meditation, but they are also a fabulous tool to help you stay grounded. The idea is to pick a word or phrase with meaning to you, and each time your mind starts to wander, you repeat the mantra over and over to bring yourself back to the present moment.
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I use mantras to help me stay productive with work, to keep me motivated when I want to push myself during my workouts, to stay present when I’m overwhelmed and trying to do too many things at once, and to stop me from ruminating about the things that make me stressed and anxious. 
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If you’re looking for inspiring quotes and mantras to help you stay focused, present, and calm, here are some of my favorites!
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‘Be present where your feet are.’
—Unknown
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You don’t have to. You get to.
—Jess Sims
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Easy is bullshit.
—Christine D’Ercole
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Feel the burn, step closer to the fire.
—Emma Lovewell
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A setback is an avenue for a comeback.
—Alex Toussaint 
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Hold the vision, trust the process.
—Unknown
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No challenge, no change.
—Robin Arzon
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Acknowledge the fear and do it anyway.
—Emma Lovewell
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Impossible is just an opinion.
—Paulo Coelho
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Treat your body like it belongs to someone you love. 
—Hannah Marie Corbin
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Fix your ponytail and try again.
—Unknown
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👇🏻 What quotes and mantras keep you focused and present when you’re overwhelmed or anxious?
‘ALL GREAT CHANGES ARE PRECEDED BY CHAOS.’ — ‘ALL GREAT CHANGES ARE PRECEDED BY CHAOS.’ —Unknown
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f you’ve been following me on stories, you know we moved to a new house a couple of weeks ago. I was going to document the whole thing, but moving during a global pandemic in a city that is completely locked down with a child in virtual school is… 🤪
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This was the biggest move I’ve ever undertaken, and my Type A personality really struggled with how little control I had over everything. Lists and schedules are my jam, but it seemed the harder I tried to keep things on track, the quicker they fell apart.
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I eventually decided to just embrace the chaos. I allowed myself to let go and just enjoy the excitement of it all and it ended up being the smoothest, most enjoyable move I’ve ever experienced. We’re still waiting on furniture deliveries and have lots of painting to do, but since no one will be visiting us for months (years?!) on end given the state of the world right now, there is absolutely no pressure.
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And that feels great.
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If you’re struggling, here are 4 things that helped me find order in the chaos that has been our lives for the last several weeks:
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✔️ EXERCISE. I start every single day with a hard workout to get those feel-good endorphins flowing. It makes me feel accomplished, helps me work through whatever is on my mind, and sets the tone for the rest of my day.
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✔️ ENERGY MANAGEMENT. I do all of my most pressing tasks when my energy is high and my mind is clear, and save all of the monotonous, mindless stuff (think: responding to emails, meal prep, folding laundry) for the evening.
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✔️ NEVER TOUCH SOMETHING TWICE. Once I ‘touch’ a task, I deal with it then and there so it’s taken off of my plate, rather than ’touching’ it multiple times and allowing it to take up extra energy and mental space. This is one of the best productivity tips I’ve ever read and it’s been a life-saver for me lately! 
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✔️ DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT. I struggle the most with this, but the last few weeks have been a great exercise in challenging a lot of my Type A tendencies.
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👇🏻 How do YOU stay on track when you feel overwhelmed?
‘SELF-CARE ISN’T SELFISH.’ . If you met me I ‘SELF-CARE ISN’T SELFISH.’
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If you met me IRL, you’d probably [hopefully?] never know I suffer from anxiety, and would likely assume I’m just a high maintenance, high strung, Type A personality. All of those things are in fact true, LOL, but what you may not realize is that each of those traits of mine are the result of years of feeling anxious and worried and stressed.
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I grew up at a time when we were taught to keep our struggles to ourselves, and when I think back to grades 3 and 4 when my anxiety was at it’s absolute worst, it pains me to remember how much I suffered in silence. I feel proud that I was able to overcome some pretty tough stuff on my own, but I refuse to let history repeat itself.
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I will not raise my daughter in a world that stigmatizes mental illness.
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According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, 38% of Canadians say their mental health has declined since the start of the pandemic, and people already struggling with their mental health were 2 times more likely to say their mental health has declined further. 
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One of the biggest hurdles for anyone suffering from mental illness is overcoming the stigma. It is the number one reason why people living with mental illness do not seek help.
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Today is #BellLetsTalk day and Bell will donate 5 cents to Canadian mental health programs for every applicable text, local or long distance call, tweet or TikTok video using #BellLetsTalk - all at no cost to participants beyond what they would normally pay their service provider for online or phone access. 
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MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS.
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Let’s end the stigma.
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