The Real Christina Lee

Organization, Sleep

How To Get The Best Night’s Sleep Possible

July 24, 2018 by admin No Comments

Sleep is so important.

I know, because I’m not the best at it. I have one of those minds that’s constantly going, and if I didn’t meditate every night, I’d never be able to turn it off.

What I’ve found as I get older is that there are several things you have to master in order to get a better night’s sleep:

Comfort
Productivity
De-Cluttering
Routine

Top Tips for Getting a Better Night’s Sleep

Comfort is #1! If you’re not comfortable – whether in your dress or your choice of bed – you’re bound to get a crappy night sleep. People always thought it was strange that I’d spend just as long picking out pajamas (you can shop some of my favorites here) as I would my day-to-day or going out outfits. The same goes for my mattress (see my favorite one ever, below.) To me, it’s totally normal because I want to feel good when I go to bed just like I want to feel good when I go to work, so I can be the most productive, which leads me to number two…

Nectar’s Queen Bed Frame With Headboard

Productivity is key! If you haven’t had a productive day, you likely won’t get a good sleep. Think about it – if you don’t exercise your body or your brain, you’ll have all this pent up energy when you hit the sheets. Make to-do lists and do your best to conquer them. I like to leave a little journal next to my bed like this one or the pretty Parisian one below so I can jot down anything I forgot throughout the day; I’m literally de-cluttering my mind, which brings me to number three….

De-clutter! Both your space and your head. I don’t know about you but I cannot go to sleep in a messy room. I’m the queen of organization and I love anything that helps me achieve it. After dinner, I spend about 20-30 minutes tidying up my room, watering my plants and putting things away that I couldn’t get to during the busy day. You’ll feel so much better going to sleep in a clean environment, and of course, with clean sheets! By the way, comfy sheets are so important too, and I absolutely love these sheets. Plus, they’re cheap and organic! But like anything, you have to find the ones that work best for you.

Routine! If you want to get the best night’s sleep possible, you need to establish and maintain a routine. This means you should do your best to go to sleep at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning. This will balance your circadian rhythm. If you need help, there are supplements, like those shown below, for that. This is my ultimate favorite.

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Reading time: 2 min

Appreciation, Confidence, Development, Editor's choice, Faith, Front Page Slideshow, Gratitude, Power, Power of Positive Thinking, Spirituality, Success, Writing

Thank The Ones That Doubted You

June 29, 2018 by admin 1 Comment

On TheRealChristinaLee.com, we talk a lot about self-limiting beliefs and how they can hold us back from our God-given destiny.

But what we have not yet truly touched on is the concept that self-limiting beliefs often come from outside of ourselves. Often, beliefs that we are not good enough or capable of achieving our potential, come from other people and over time. With enough internal repetition, these negative, self-limiting beliefs become ingrained in our minds and eventually, drain our spirits.

How do we avoid believing anything negative or self-limiting?

By remembering that God, He who possesses a power greater than the opinion of anyone else, placed a specific dream in our heart. Maybe it was to sing, or write, or teach or practice law or become a doctor or raise a family. Whatever it might be, that dream is specific to each of us. It cannot be tainted by what anyone else says, unless we allow it.

How do we identify our destiny?

We likely don’t have to, because it’s always been with us. We probably loved as a child, and if we’re in tune with our souls and aligned with Spirit, we find ourselves naturally affixing to it in our spare time. We know deep down this is what we are supposed to do because we are called to it through our deep sense of passion in our practice.

What if we can’t identify our destiny?

It’s likely because of the self-limiting beliefs (as a result of others self-limiting beliefs that they impose upon us) that made us feel we are incapable of realizing and fulfilling our destiny. In other words, along the way we told ourselves we are equipped to “do it,” most likely because we heard this from someone else.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. This is why I share my personal story.

This happened to me. Two things that I was told by someone I was very close to and had deeply admired stuck with me for a long time. These were: I was sick and I needed help / was incapable of taking care of myself. Regardless of my state of health at the time, which was not ideal, what do you think happened? Through repetitive hearing but more importantly repetitive replaying of this person’s words, they became my reality. Moreover, I relied upon and looked to this person constantly to help me with my health.

While I was struggling with health issues, they only became worse as I believed the words spoken over me by someone that I deeply cared about. The problem was, even though the person that spoke these words likely believed them and perhaps even thought they were being helpful, these words were not truthful.

Unfortunately, we cannot control other people: including what they do or say to us. But over time, we can we can learn to control the thoughts we have about what people think of us and most importantly, about what God thinks of us, which is that of a masterpiece; fearfully and wonderfully made. In God’s eyes, we were made in the a perfect image of Him, each of us equipped with unique gifts and powers. Yet, society and people are so quick to discourage us from our natural gifts and capacities. Why? Likely because they were also fed self-limiting beliefs, and did not have the tools to reframe their thinking and align their thoughts with God’s, which are both positive and authentic.

You don’t need other people’s affirmation

Though, of course, it’s normal. And we all seek it to a certain degree because deep-down, we all want to belong. The good news is we already do belong. As Christians and people of faith, we already belong to the most High Power, God.

Here’s another personal story about believing self-limiting beliefs…

Another person in my life that I was very close to often told me two other things: I had anger problems and would have trouble in relationships. Because I took others words so seriously for so long….what do you think happened? Yep, I believed these lies for years and became more isolated in my friendships, less trusting in my business relationships, more upset when something went awry, and more quick to leave when I found love.

Looking back, though hindsight is always 20/20, I could’ve taken these words with a grain of salt, most especially because they were a direct reflection of the person that had spoken them. This person had negative intimate relationships their entire life and had often had angry fits, seemingly for no reason at all. Yet, at the time, I could not see these words as a projection of the person that spoke them. Instead, I saw them as a direct reflection of me. So here is what I came to believe until recently: I was flawed, I was angry, I was troubled, I didn’t know how to be close to someone. And here’s the other thing: I didn’t isolate or distance myself from other people because I didn’t think they were good enough; I do so because I didn’t think I was good enough.

It’s especially hard to accept that people you love will hurt you or misread you…but it’s also a part of life. The good news is: the closer you get to God the more you will find and become closer to people that treat you better, understand you better and love you better.

Don’t let what anyone – except God – says about you to determine your destiny.

More importantly, don’t let any negative speak keep you from fulfilling your God-given destiny. You know deep in your heart and soul what that is. You have to keep the faith not only in your God, but in your dream.

Many successful people thank their “haters.” Why is that?

Because they spun negativity into gold. They took words meant to harm them and used them as fuel to propel them. They took criticism as currency to move forward. You can do this, too. We all can. It simply takes time and patience, as we must reprogram our minds. We must delete any comments – initiated by ourselves or others – that doubt us. We must replace these with positive words, thoughts and speak. In the process, we must express gratitude to those who doubted us, for it made us stronger.

None of us have been blessed with perfect relationships or people in our lives. This is the beauty of our pure relationship with God. So let us thank God for all of the positive and negative feedback we have received and our ability to understand that we can transform anything negative into something positive, through our faith, and fulfill our beautiful and unique destinies.

Blessings + love

xo,

Christina

Reading time: 5 min

Appreciation, Beauty, Editor's choice, Front Page Slideshow, Gratitude, Meditation, Nature, Photography, Presence, Spirituality, Writing

Weathering The Storm

March 6, 2018 by admin No Comments

Today in New York the weather is beautiful.

The air is crisp, the sun is shining, the breeze is light.

From today’s forecast, you’d be hard pressed to learn that a storm is inching its way into our state…

bringing strong winds and likely some snow.

As I stand on my balcony, with the bright sun gently warming my face, I can’t help but think about how these cyclical weather patterns pose a strong analogy to the natural cycles of life.

By this, I mean: the incredibly beautiful moments, inevitably met by the challenging ones.

And in this moment, as I stand with my feet firmly placed on the ground, I am reminded that without this balance – hot and cold, incredible and arduous – we would lose the essential sense of appreciation for the beautiful moments embedded with beautiful people that we cherish most.

So today, my affirmation is this:

I appreciate this moment and

no matter the change of season or tides

no matter the challenge or setback

I welcome all change

as natural and essential

to my growth and more importantly,

the growth of others

for all growth is collective

all evolution is shared.

As such,

I will appreciate not only this beautiful moment

but all future moments

for

the lessons they hold

the memories they leave behind

the beauty embedded in each second

so, I cherish this moment,

and I vow to cherish all moments, to the best of my ability,

from this moment, moving forward.

With the understanding that

inherent in all of life’s experiences are lessons.

inherent in all of our perceived challenges are solutions.

in spite of all pain, there is the opportunity for growth and change.

in light of every moment, there is reason to celebrate.

Today, I am to remember these simple things, mainly that:

Every breath is a miracle.

Every moment is an opportunity.

Every setback is a setup – for something better;

something we are more equipped to understand

thanks to the wisdom of our past,

the observation of our present

the nearness and availability of our opportune future.

Today, I wish for you to celebrate – no matter the weather, the situation, the challenges…

I wish for you to step back so you can fully step into the next moment,

with faith, courage and an unbending capacity

to appreciate all that life has and continues to offer you —

to realize the value of this moment, and the one to follow.

to encounter the depth and beauty of all existence,

to be grateful, and to express that gratitude as often as you can to all of those that have crossed for your path

for really,

these friends, lovers, parents, children, guardians,

whether terrible or wonderful

have been teachers and guides

offering us invaluable insight

into who we are and what we are to become and overcome

on this beautiful journey,

that we call life.

Today, as everyday, I am sending you all my love, blessings and most pertinently, appreciation.

xo,

Christina Lee | @therealchristinalee & @thecleanmethod

Connect with me on Facebook: The Real Christina Lee

——————

Have an inspirational or spiritual story you’d like to share?

Please know that all faiths and all stories are always valued and welcomed! Please email me, I’d love to hear from you. You can reach me directly: christina@the-clean-method.com.

Interested in living a clean, healthy lifestyle?

Check out my magazine, The Clean Method, and feel free to leave your comments there, as well!

Reading time: 2 min

Development, Editor's choice, Front Page Slideshow, Giving, Leadership, Motivation, Self-Development, Self-Help, Success, Writing

10 Achievable Attributes of Leaders

February 6, 2018 by admin No Comments

1o achievable attributes of leaders

leaders-with-influence-give-care-grow-live-empower-manage-serve-quote

The Attributes of “Leaders with Influence” / Via @LollyDaskal on Pinterest

Attributes of A Good Leader, via CharlesStone.com / Pinterest.

1. They put others first.

Authentic leaders are not self-serving. They are all-around serving! They incorporate others’ needs into their vision, and constantly align and iterate upon their vision to include the needs of others.

“A good leader is a good servant.” – via odb.org

2. They don’t lose sight of the bigger picture.

Leaders have a lot to focus on; that’s why people follow them! They understand this concept: while details are important, what’s more important is the “big picture.” Recognizing the “big picture” enables them to:

identify patterns
move toward their goals and
inspire great change.

They don’t get too caught up in the micro or granular. They keep top of mind the popular saying: “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

“A boss has the title. A leader has the people.” – Simon Sinek

3. They see the potential in themselves, and therefore in others.

In order for leaders to see potential in others, they must first see potential in themselves. This is how they became leaders. This is the inherent work of true leaders. True leaders recognize the value of their own potentiality for human achievement. Through this practice, they are able to identify the opportunity for and value of achievement in others. Remember, relationships are simply mirrors.

4. They listen.

Anybody can talk, but not everyone can listen. Authentic listening is what enables us to digest the information necessary to inspire action. Listening is what builds trust and credibility: two of the most important and identifiable characteristics of true leaders.

“Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.” – via Pinterest

5. They are open to constantly improving.

Even the best leaders require improvement. They weren’t born leaders; they became leaders, by constantly making small improvements that added up to MASSIVE improvement. They became leaders by recognizing the need to constantly improve themselves. They remained open to making positive changes. By doing so, they inspired others to make positive changes.

6. They see opportunity in everything, including hardship.

Every great leader, just like every person, has encountered hardship. Usually the greatest leaders we know have come up against the greatest challenges. Dealing with these challenges likely gave them the strength to inspire and lead others. How they perceived and acted on these challenges is what enabled them to reap the rewards of the opportunities that inevitably followed.

7. They value others’ opinions.

Remember: leaders don’t just talk. They listen. This means they listen to and value the opinions’ of others. When others recognize that they are sincerely valued, they are more likely to do right by their leaders. The rewards, therefore, are twofold.

“Do not listen with the intent to reply, but with the intent to understand.” – extramadness.tumblr via Pinterest

8. They remember this simple equation I’ve created: WISDOM + INTUITION + ACTION = MASSIVE CHANGE.

Leaders are constantly looking to improve their lives and the lives of others in massive ways. To do so, they must incorporate lessons from their own experiences and the experiences of others (wisdom) as well as their innate ability to sense what is the right next step for them from the wrong (intuition.) When the ability to take the next best step is added to the equation (action) leaders achieve MASSIVE CHANGE.

9. They walk their talk.

True leaders don’t boast about their achievements. In fact, the greatest historical leaders of all recognized the value of humility, and how such humility helped them to improve their relationships with others. Leaders do, however, often verbalize their values. But they don’t just talk about their values, or actions. They live them, day in and day out. This is what establishes trust with those that they inspire. They are similarly inspired by those that feed off of their inspiration.

“Great leaders don’t tell you what to do. They show you how it’s done.” – BeHappy.Me via Pinterest

10. They take accountability for the actions of themselves, and their team.

True leaders do not blame others or outstanding, extrinsic circumstances for their position or actions. Rather, they take full accountability for their actions, including the actions of those that relied upon them for inspiration and leadership.