7 Super Sweet Things to Do for Yourself and Others

This post is part of my 30 Ways weekly update. I’ve decided to try something new for the next 30 days. Learn more about the challenge here. Here’s what I’ve been up to.

1. If you are sick, take a bath with a couple drops of tea tree oil.

Tea tree oil contains natural antiseptic properties, perfect for treating the common cold. Only use a COUPLE drops – otherwise it burns.

BONUS: Here are some more natural cures from Rowdy Kittens.

2. Try some ballet basics.

My ballerina friend taught me a few basic ballet moves at our last girl’s night. I had so much fun! Learn the 5 basic ballet positions for the feet and arms now.

BONUS: Check out the ultra cool photos from the Ballerina Project on Facebook.

3.Turn your bedroom into a massage room.

Use a small space heater (vital in Wisconsin) and candlelight to transform your bedroom into a massage room. Now, who wants to go first?

4. Say I Love You in 52 languages.

Use Google translate to learn how.

Dear Mr. Right: Wǒ ài nǐ

5. Learn how to grow simple sprouts anywhere, anytime.

Get all the goodness, including simple recipes, in Alison’s free ebook.

6. Spread the love. Repeat.

I’m in love with the women of Billy & Co. and Portal Elements on etsy. They make the world more beautiful!

Is there an artist you can support today?

7. Work really hard.

When a project feels too overwhelming, the only cure is hard work. There’s no way around it. Take the novel I just wrote. This week I’ve felt completely overwhelmed at the thought of editing it. All the joy I felt at the accomplishment has faded among the glaring plot holes.

Instead of tackling the mess, I kept putting it off.

Maybe you’ve made excuses to put off hard work, too. Yesterday I decided – enough. I took my outline – plot holes and all – and worked really hard. I did it in a completely new environment – a local Italian restaurant – to give my muse a breath of fresh air.

I sighed and flopped pages around and wrote random notes. Self doubt didn’t stand a chance – I was too busy filling in crazy ideas and notions for characters. (Not going to lie – the glass of red wine helped.)

If you want to create something you can be proud of, work hard. Again, there’s no way around it. Like Jonathan Fields said: That’s what pros do.

Are you putting off hard work? You can change that today. Work hard and furious. Turn overwhelm into strength.

What are you proud of this week? Please let me know in the comments below.

Photo by Gabriela Camerotti

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MINXY LINKS | February 18 | No. 1 « renegade princess: February 17, 2011 at 11:42 pm

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1 Living the Balanced Life February 17, 2011 at 5:01 pm

I have been putting off getting my e-book organized. I need to have it ready for launch next month! I am going to get with it, I promise!
Bernice
The world really IS at our fingertips!

2 Melissa February 21, 2011 at 8:12 pm: Good luck to you, Bernice! If you have any questions, just drop me a line. I am literally hours away from launching my first ebook – so please tap my shoulder if you need any advice and I’ll do my best to help.

3 Marnie - The UnBlogger February 18, 2011 at 12:58 pm

I conquered one of my biggest fears – and I feel like a giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders!

4 Melissa February 21, 2011 at 8:12 pm: Good for you! Cheers! YAY

5 Marci | Liberating Choices February 19, 2011 at 8:33 am

I relate most to your last point – “turn overwhelm into strength”. I think changing your environment for creativity sounds like a great muse – help relax into something not looking forward to. For me, I’m usually overwhelmed when I’m focusing more on the speed, then the task. When I can turn down my urgency, then I can get in the groove, work hard, but take my time.