Need some advice?

"I feel like it's hard to tap into my creativity unless prompted. How can I just 'be creative'?"

12/11/2023

Well first of all, thank you for being the first “Ask Mia” participant! I truly appreciate the trust you’ve placed in me for advice. 🥺 💘

I find that often times, we all struggle to tap into our creative side. After work and school and other general responsibilities, sometimes, it’s hard to get into that artistic, creative side of yourself.

I think to be able to tap into your creative side without being prompted to, you’'ll need to put yourself in a creative mindset. You can do this by exposing yourself to new things, people, and experiences. When we expose ourselves to things we’re unfamiliar with, sometimes it helps us think differently. Maybe one day, take a class outside of your norm. Walk a different route home. Go to a grocery store or a park across town. Change your scenery, your view, and your perspective. It may help you see things in a new light and inspire you to be more creative in your work!

I might also suggest finding a way to tap into your mindfulness. Being mindful and relaxed often makes our bodies more receptive to creative thoughts. Try yoga, or journaling your thoughts. Maybe get a massage. Do something you find peaceful to help get those thoughts flowing. Once, I went to a local park, brought my favorite snacks, laptop, and a journal and just let my brain do what it wanted to. I must say, it really helped.

I think the most important piece of advice I have for you today is to expand your network of peers or friends. While I know it may be easier, try not to only befriend those with similar interests as you. Talking to my friends that have different opinions than I do has helped me see the world in such new ways. I feel like it’s helped me become more creative, and dare I say has even contributed to me creating this blog! People inspire people. So, get out there and be inspired!

Hope this helps!

Love,

Mia, the twenty something ♡

How did u discover that you wanted to start this blog? I’m having a hard time discovering what I want to do exactly. Not career-wise, but hobby-wise. I want to do something more but I can’t figure out how. Any tips on discovering a fun hobby/ur passion?

1/21/2024

Thanks for asking me for my advice!

I decided to start this blog because I was actually inspired by my boyfriend! My boyfriend is very passionate about his hobbies, and hearing how much excitement and enjoyment he got out of just working on things he liked to do made me finally decide to start the blog. I’ve always thought about finding a hobby for myself, and since I work from home, I needed a way to escape from my “work,” which is actually just my bedroom with a desk. I needed something that would make my unofficial office feel like home again.

During the pandemic, I started a YouTube channel, as well as an airbrushing business. But those didn’t feel like me. It felt like what it was—me experimenting with different things. But they started feeling more like a job than a hobby, which was the opposite of what I wanted. So I looked into other things. I recognized that I was good at writing, and I like to write, so I found the idea of starting a blog exciting. Then, I researched how I could get into it.

To find a hobby, I recommend either thinking about things you’re good at or even things you AREN’T good at but that you enjoy doing. Maybe you enjoy cooking, but you’re not the best cook. Anything you enjoy doing that doesn’t feel like an extra job to you, dive deeper into it.

Maybe you’re like me, and you don’t know exactly what you want to do. Do what I did and experiment! If you’re artsy, look up “artsy hobbies” or “creative/artsy things to do” on Google. If you’re athletic, do the same thing. I’d start by finding different ideas of things to do.

Most of the time, we limit ourselves to what we know, instead of what’s actually out there. That’s why it’s important to see all options of things you can do. Once you’ve found that list, choose ten things you’re interested in and try them out. You might be surprised to find out you enjoy them!

I hope this helped! I added some ideas for you to check out, below!

Hobby ideas

Love,

Mia, the twenty something ♡

12/12/2023

Thanks so much for reaching out to me! 💖

As a forewarning, I can only give you advice based on the information I know, and since I don’t know the full agreement, I am going to try my best to help you in a broader sense!

Entering an agreement with a close friend, whether business, casual or another professional setting can be risky business. You know the saying, “never mix friends with business!” But, we know that risk going into the agreement. It’s like when people tell us, “Don’t become roommates with your friends!” You know the risk, but excitement always overclouds risk, at least for me, anyway.

So, I’m guessing something must have went down that has you second guessing the agreement, or maybe you just no longer wanna be in the situation for your own sanity. Been there before, and I’ll tell you how NOT to handle it. Don’t hold your feelings in. Don’t keep your thoughts inside and just hope that your friend will read your mind and understand your situation. I’ve learned that’s never the way to go about things, and it almost never works.

Instead, I recommend telling your friend that you want to have a serious conversation about whatever agreement it is that you have, and just being honest with them. Too much on your mental? Let them know. Have your mind set on other ventures? Let them know. Real friends should understand your issues, and if they don’t immediately understand them, they should try their best to understand.

As far as your friendship goes, a disagreement should never end a friendship. If it does, there may have been an underlying issue in the first place. Bottom line, I think it all comes down to the way you address the situation. Respectfully, honestly, and considerately is the best way to go. Keep their feelings in mind just as you want them to do yours.

Hope this helps!

Love,

Mia, the twenty something ♡

“If I entered an agreement with longtime friends and no longer wish to be in the situation anymore, how do I remove myself while maintaining the friendships and my peace of mind and hopefully still having their full support?”

I want to get in the habit of journaling and meditating, but it’s been hard. Do you have any advice on how to incorporate these activities into my day-to-day and stay consistent?

1/24/2024

Hi there! Thanks for asking me for my advice!

So happy to hear that you want to get into journaling and meditation. They both have really great benefits, including soothing nerves, improving focus, and balancing your mental/emotional health!

If your schedule is too busy right now to incorporate these habits daily, I say start slow. Find one or two days a week, whether it’s morning or night time, where you have 10 minutes of free time. Set your alarm for these times, for both days, and focus on meditating/journaling. Turn off your distractions, like your phone, your TV, computer, whatever it may be. And just focus on whichever one you choose.

Consistency is key, so make sure you set a recurring alarm, and force yourself to do it. It’s basically like if you don’t want to go to the gym, but you know you need to, so you force yourself to go anyway. Mental health is just as important as physical health! Prioritize time when you can to focus on bettering your mental.

10 minutes is all it takes. If you can find 10 minutes everyday, that’s even better! In fact, research shows that meditating for just 10 minutes a day, seven days a week is more beneficial than 70 minutes one day a week.

Journaling is a bit easier, as we now have the Journal app on our iPhone! It’s right at your fingertips, so once again, if you have 10 minutes of time to yourself, take it to try using the journal app (it may be easier than physically journaling!)

Test it out for yourself! I challenge you to set your alarm twice this week just to meditate or journal.

Hope this helps!

Love,
Mia, the twenty something ♡

“I currently have a really bad habit. I am trying to limit my screen time on my phone and do more things like reading, for example. But I just can’t seem to stay focused. My brain just jumps right back to Hulu or Instagram. Got any advice? 🙃

1/21/2024

Thanks for reaching out to me! ❤️

I first want to say, I have been through this as well. Our generation is the phone generation, and I don’t mean to sound old when I say that, but we are. We have access to everything via phone/internet, so we constantly sit on our phones, even when we know we should be doing other things! First, don’t be too hard on yourself about it. Let’s make a plan.

As I’ve mentioned in my previous blog posts, planners are a great way to efficiently manage your time, whether it’s a digital planner, or a physical planner (though, since you want less screen time, I recommend a paper planner). Plan out your day, and include the things you want to start incorporating in place of your phone time. For example, if you want to draw, or read, pick 30 minutes to an hour of free time on your calendar, then mark it down on your planner. STICK TO THAT TIME!

Once you approach that time, set your timer, and put your phone far away from you, like on the other side of the room or something. Limit all distractions, somehow!

There are also apps that help you focus on one task, like these. I’ve also seen some people say that changing your phone to greyscale will help minimize distraction.

Another method, if you’re interested, are taking focus supplements. Olly has some, or if you visit Whole Foods, there are other natural options there, and don’t worry, they’re not prescribed—all natural.

I hope these helped!

Love,

Mia, the twenty something ♡