Project Positivity Week #2 Homework

Hi Everyone!


Thanks for all the great homework submissions so far! I am loving this journey and seeing what you all have created. Your vision boards are especially awesome! I love it!


The homework this week will be due Sunday May 22nd in order to be entered for the giveaway.


If you have any questions please let me know! KaylaProjectPositivity@gmail.com


Here's the homework!


WRITE a love letter to yourself. Yes, this may sound a little weird, but it is super powerful! It doesn't have to be mushy gushy, just write nice things about yourself and things that you love about yourself. This is important because it is extremely important to love yourself without any external people or things. How did it feel to write a love letter to yourself? Weird? Difficult? I know that I found it extremely difficult!


PRACTICE loving self talk. It's proven that we are harsher on ourselves than we are to others. Learn to forgive yourself and love yourself. Even if you make a mistake, tell yourself that it's okay, let it go, remember it for next time and move on. There is no point in calling yourself negative names or harping on things that you cannot change. What's done is done, love yourself and move on!


WRITE at least one thing that you are thankful for every day. This is something that is great to look back on when you are having a bad day.


LIST things that you love about yourself and one thing that you would like to change about yourself. But make it something that you can realistically change and work on. We are not perfect, there are things that we wish we could change, so take charge and change it! There is no reason to be upset about something that we can fix ourselves, even if it takes a long time. Use this flaw to figure out how you can fix it and become a better version of yourself!


EXTRA CREDIT Like you did last week, take time out to yourself. Take at least an hour to do anything you want. It's very important to be alone with ourselves doing what we want to do in order to unwind and decompress. 




There's the homework! I hope you all enjoy this week of positivity. And remember, it's not too late to join in! The application is on the Project Positivity tab on the top! :)


Sending you all positive, loving vibes,


Kay

Project Positivity Week #1 Homework!

Project Positivity

Week #1 homework!

MAKE: a vision board.

A vision board is defined as:

“A vision board is a collage of images of things you want in your life.” .

This can be pictures cut out from magazines and made into a collage, pictures drawn, or just words of what you want your life to be, what you like, who you are, etc.

You can submit this by taking a picture of it and putting it on your blog or an e-mail to me, or showing it in a Youtube video.

TAKE: an hour to yourself.

Do whatever you would like to do. You can watch tv, do yoga, any workouts, journal, go out, drink tea, go on a walk, absolutely whatever you want to do.

The only rules are: No or little communication with others. (Yes, this means no texting!) And afterwards just write a journal entry on how it felt to take time just for you.

You can submit this by submitting your journal entry via blog, e-mail or talking about it in a Youtube video.

MAKE: mantras.

A mantra is a word or phrase that you say to yourself to keep yourself positive in a situation that would normally leave you negative.

For example, my mantra is “let it be”. When something is bothering me or I’m having a hard time, I say this to myself over and over until I am able to regain a positive state of mind.

Some other examples are: “Keep on Keepin’ on” “Breathe” and many others. Write down some mantras and try them out when you’re in any situation. See how it works and pick your favorite.

You can submit this by simply blogging, youtube-ing or e-mailing me what your mantra is!

MAKE: goals.

You will be writing three goals. One will be for this program. What would you like to get out of Project Positivity? And two will be about your life. They can be specific or general, they can be long or short term. They just need to be goals that you will realistically be able to achieve and goals that you can work towards.

You can submit this by simply blogging, youtube-ing or e-mailing me whatever your goals are!

EXTRA CREDIT: try to journal every day.

Even if your journal entry is one word about how your day was, it will help you discover who you are and what you’re able to do to keep more positive in your life. In order to change your way of thinking, you need to find out how you’re currently thinking!

Just a few reminders:

To be entered into the giveaway you must submit your homework before the week is over. Since I have been having technical difficulties, the homework for Project Positivity Week #1 will be due on Tuesday, May 22^nd, 2012. But usually, they will be due on a Sunday.

I will be doing the homeworks along with you. So if you have any problems with them, you may use mine as an example. You can always ask your positivity partner or e-mail me with any questions at kaylaprojectpositivity@gmail.com

I am in the process of matching everyone up (not having internet and having a HUGE response (bigger than I expected) is what is making this take so long so please bare with me). So please do not be worried if you have not been matched yet.

I am also in the process of putting everyone’s blog/youtube on my blog that are participating, so please stay tuned for that!

Have a great week everyone! (I will be uploading the video tonight!)

Are you In? Project Positivity!

What is Project Positivity?

Project Positivity is a free online course or “webinar” created by Kayla (woodwinkedx).

Project Positivity is a 4-week course that focuses on being positive, focusing on yourself, fostering positive relationships and figuring out what you want in life! 

Each week, I will put out a video that talks about the week’s topic, my insight on it and gives you homework for the week. I will also send you a mid-week e-mail of encouragement and more insight on the weekly topic.

The weekly homework will consist of 3 things to “do” and three things to “write” about.

An example of homework would be:

-Make a list of 20 things that you are thankful for

or

-Take 1 hour to do ANYTHING you want to do. Watch TV/Go on a walk/Go to the mall. ANYTHING you want to do. This is your hour. After you’re done, write about it and how it felt to do something just for yourself.

I want Project Positivity to create a community of people helping each other. Because of that, you can submit your homework to me through blog posts, Youtube videos, or simply through an e-mail to me. I want participants to be able to see each others progress and to create a community of love, hope and helpful people! I will put a link to all the blogs and youtube accounts participating in Project Positivity so you can check them out, comment on them and offer words of encouragement!

Also, you have an option of having a “Positivity Pal”. When you e-mail me the application, you will answer whether or not you will want one. If you say yes, you are giving me permission to give your e-mail to another person who I think you would match up well with. This person is your friend for the week. You can offer each other support, encouragement and homework help. Each week you will get a different Positivity Pal, but you can always keep in contact with the ones from weeks prior. I want you to be able to create a network of people who support your positivity!

Each week there will be a giveaway. The giveaway will be given to the person or people who have shown the most effort, reached out the most, or have just shown a lot of improvement. For every 20 people who enter Project Positivity I will do one giveaway. For example, 40 people= 2 giveaways, 100 people= 5 giveaways.

After you apply, that does not automatically mean that you will be submitted into the giveaway. You will only be considered for it after you have completed the homework and e-mailed, blogged or made a video about it. If you choose to write it in a journal, you can take pictures of the journal and e-mail it to me, or just copy it into an e-mail.

I hate to say this, but, I reserve the right to reject someone from the Positivity Project for any kind of negativity or harmfulness to anyone else in the group.

The first day of Project Positivity is May 13^th, 2012, which gives you ample time to sign up!

To sign up, please e-mail me the application below to KaylaProjectPositivity@gmail.com

Please also e-mail me if you have any questions.

Here is a schedule: 

A video on my woodwinkedx account will come out on the first day of each week. An e-mail of encouragement will be sent out every Wednesday of the week.

May 13^th-May 19^th: Project Positivity Week #1: Focusing On Your Dreams

May 20^th- May 26^th: Project Positivity Week #2: Learning to Love Yourself

May 27^th-June 2^nd: Project Positivity Week #3: Taking Time to Breathe

June 3^rd-June 9^th: Project Positivity Week #4: Helping Others to Help Yourself

Application:

Name: (Doesn’t have to be your real name if you are not comfortable disclosing that)

Age: (You can give a range if you are not comfortable disclosing your age)

Gender:

Interests:

Why do you want to do Project Positivity?

How will you be submitting your homework? (Blog, E-mail, Youtube, Etc.)

What do you hope to gain from the Positivity Project?

Would you like to be matched up with a Positivity Pal? (By saying yes, you agree for me to give out your e-mail to another person participating. I will not give your e-mail out without your consent)

Twitter:

Any other Info:

Thank you so much everyone, I really hope you enjoy. I cannot wait to start it! Any questions, please e-mail me at KaylaProjectPositivity@gmail.com

Love Always,

Kay xx

Update

Hey everyone!

I know, I know, long time no talk! I have just been SO exhausted lately. So I just thought I'd give all of you a little update on everything that's going on incase you cared or were somewhat bored and/or interested!

School has been kicking my butt lately! Getting further into the semester and of course things are getting more intense. For me though, it's not that things are getting difficult to learn, it's just SO much stuff that has to be done and deadlines and papers and tests! It's just A LOT of work. I feel like I need time to breathe, but I just don't have that!

And work...ohhhh work. For those of you in the retail world, you know that the holiday season has already begun for us! Which is ridiculous and which means that I have way too much to do at work and way too many hours this week. However, I keep reminding myself that I am very very lucky to even have a job, so that is what I keep saying to myself to get me through. We are hiring seasonal employees at work now which is fun because I'm meeting a bunch of new people. So there are positives, new friends and new, well, money I guess!

I've barely had any time to myself. I've been babysitting a lot and having to do a ton of homework and I've been getting basically NO sleep at all what so ever. Which is not fun at all.

In the internet world, I was able to make a couple of youtube videos yesterday. I'm posting one now on work clothes and I did a review yesterday. I've been working on the beauty newsletter to send out this month. I've basically been working on it alone for the most part thus far because no one has really expressed much interest. But that's not a problem.

And that's basically it I suppose! My head is starting to hurt so I'm going to head to bed. I work 12-8 tomorrow, but then I'm going out with my friend to dinner and to help her get some makeup for a wedding she's going to on Saturday so that should be a lot of fun! I'm really really really looking forward to it!

Thanks for reading and let me know what's going on in your lives! I love you all!

Credit Card Do's and Don'ts.

Credit Cards.

When some see those words, they are probably absolutely terrified, when other's see it, they probably get excited. Either way, credit cards can be daunting, exciting and confusing all at the same time. 

Whether you're a first time user, or a long time lover of credit cards, I'm going to give you my tips to staying debt free and raising that credit score!

I figure that many people might benefit from reading this because most of you readers are makeup and fashion lovers and unfortunately, that usually means it costs money.

I am in no way an expert, however, I do have a great credit score that I am proud of because I've worked hard at it. I am debt free (and not because I'm rich), and I'm able to save and splurge appropriately. And I'm a typical college student, so it's not like I'm going to be giving you unrealistic tips.

Let's start with if you're under 18. If you're under 18, I wouldn't recommend getting a credit card. And for that matter, most credit card companies don't give out cards to people under 18. I had a lot of friends in high school who's parents gave them credit cards, and it always ended badly. I'm not saying that will be the case for you, but it's always more worthwhile to wait and to work for it. Then it'll mean more to you.

If you're under 18, I recommend getting an ATM or a debit card. When I was under 18, that was like my "training card". It gets you used to using a credit card, but it keeps you aware that you only have a certain amount of money that you are able to spend. Even if you have a steady job and you're under 18 (by the way, good for you!!), I would still recommend waiting until you are out of high school before getting a credit card. 

Now for the over 18 group! I would recommend getting your first credit card once you have had a job for 2 months and that job is stable. 

A lot of new credit card users are afraid to even get a card because they're afraid of the repercussions of it. However, if you use it correctly, there are no repercussion!!! I honestly cannot stress that enough. 

Only spend what you can afford.

Just because you have a $5,000.00 credit limit, doesn't mean that you have that money, or that you can afford it. Spend only what you have and never more.

And never, ever just pay the minimum. Pay your card off in full every single month. Then you collect no interest and you only pay what you spent and not a penny more. If you do that, then credit cards are just like cash, except they're more convenient and they can help you get bonuses! (More on that in a minute!) 

People start getting in trouble once their interest starts piling up. If you can't afford that new purse in the first place, you're not going to afford it once all the late fees are tacked on and you're going to be paying for that $500.00 purse for years. 

Now let's talk about types of cards. There are some card companies that do not accept credit newbies and you need to be aware of that. Because, every time you apply for a credit card and you get denied, it goes against your credit score. A lot of people don't know that, but it's true. So don't go around applying for a bunch of cards "just to see" if you get accepted. Chances are, it'll just lower your credit score so you won't be able to get any cards. Not fun.

If it's your first time using a credit card, I recommend looking for ones that have the word student in it. Those cards usually have low interest and are very accommodating to the 18-25 age group. 

I personally highly recommend Discover Card. I know some places do not accept it, but they have an amazing rewards program and a great and easy to use website. 

Any card that gives you cash back, bonus points or any other types of perks is worth you looking into. This is what makes credit cards worthwhile. And as I said, if you just pay everything off in full, then you're getting all these rewards for free! And that's awesome.

Now, when do you use your credit card and when should you use your debit card. Here's what I do, and it's pretty simple, but it's certainly up to your discretion and your spending habits. 

Debit Card:

• Gas
• Starbucks Runs
• Small lunches under 20 dollars
• Any personal purchase under 10 dollars
• Post office
• Public Transportation

I use my credit card for basically everything else in order to get all of my rewards and benefits. I especially use my credit card for all online purchases.

I would also suggest making a PayPal account. PayPal is fantastic and it hides all of your credit information from sellers online. This is really great for people who want to support small businesses online but feel wary about giving out their credit card info. 

Once you have had your credit card for 6 months, it's time to start thinking about applying for more cards. That is, if you still have a stable job, and you have paid off your card in full every one of those 6 months.

I would suggest thinking of the 3 places where you shop most, and look into getting credit cards for those places. That way, you can maximize your rewards at these places. Some great places to think of are:

• Department stores (Macy's, JC Penney, Bloomingdales, Kohl's, Target)
• Specialty stores like Victoria's Secret or The Body Shop.
• Clothing stores like Express or Old Navy.
• Online stores like Amazon.com

And don't be shy! Believe me. As someone who works in retail and has to solicit credit, any store associate would be more than happy to answer any questions about their store card.

But again, don't go around applying to a bunch of places. This still effects your credit score. Instead do some research and figure out which cards are harder to get than others. And which have the best benefits that fit your spending needs. 

And I highly suggest not getting more than 3 of these other cards. Too many cards means too much to keep up with. You do not need a ton of cards. Having too many actually hurts your credit score. 

If you are at any time curious about your credit score, there are many free sites that provide these services. However, make sure that the site is reputable and do a google search on them beforehand because you will have to provide information as personal as your social security number. (And yes, that freecreditreport.com song just got stuck in my head too. However, I've never used them so I can't comment on their site)

And I guess that's it. Phew that was a long post. It basically comes down to: pay off your cards on time so you don't collect interest, be sensible, careful and never spend more than you can afford. As long as you keep those things in mind. You'll do great. 

I know this post was really long, but let me know what you think. And if you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them.