Making 2017 My Year - Pumped Up Playlist

Music makes any task ten times better, and you know I mean that 100% passionately. I have countless posts on this blog about music, from favorite albums to vinyl to throwback hits of my youth, to new artists I have discovered and want to share.

I find that music makes me more productive, feel more confident and sassy, as well as inspired. With that being said, today I'm going to give you ten songs I adore for upping my productivity and inspiration. These are songs you can work to, run to, clean to, or if you like strutting down the street like a boss ass bitch, they work for that too!!

Britney Spears - Work Bitch 

A beat you can dance to, and a message you can relate to. G'wan Britney, you fabulous fox!

Beyoncé - Run The World (Girls)

A never fail tune that makes me feel like I'm in Boss Mode every time I hear it! "Disrespect us? No they wont!"

Jessie J - Do It Like A Dude

This might be a bit near the knuckle, but I admire more male power figures than female, and this song reminds me to do it like a dude!

Pink - Raise Your Glass

If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's to be myself. I am a bubbly weirdo, a nerdy foodie, I'm not gonna be liked by everyone, and that's okay. It helps to remind yourself of your quirks - you will succeed, no matter what people think of you!

Timbaland - If We Ever Meet Again

Remember to reflect on the people you crossed paths with in your life. You're who you are because of them. The path you're on may not have been the same without them.

Muppets Treasure Island - Professional Pirate

Afford me a moment of cheese, please! This song just makes me smile, and very few people can deny the inspirational quality of show-tunes, even this one. "When you're a professional pirate, you don't have to wear a suit!"

Bon Jovi - It's My Life

Bon Jovi just have a song for every occasion and they really, truly inspire me when times are rough. It's your life, you have to do what's right for you, and remember that sometimes, that means taking a leap of faith.

Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way

Self explanatory really. Even if people don't believe in you, you have to do your own thing.

The All-American Rejects - Gives You Hell

Pardon me for this one, but sometimes you have to give the two fingers to some people, and use the anger they spark as motivation to climb up to your dreams!

Will-I-Am - Feeling Myself

I'm gonna close this one out strong, with a song that always always always makes me feel confident in myself, and helps me to believe I've got what it takes. It's unconventional, but that's me all over isn't it?!

So there you have ten of my top musical picks that make me feel inspired and motivated to get things done! I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed compiling it! I may even do a part two, who knows?! 

Have a lovely Valentines tomorrow folks, 

Amy, 

xo

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Making 2017 My Year - Quotes to Inspire

Does anyone remember Motivation Monday, the series I used to do when I was on my fitness journey? Well, motivation is a huge part of getting things done, and I'm a big fan of inspiring, motivational quotes, and I'm going to share a few with you today, as well as my thoughts on each one and what it means to me. In my experience, if you can make something truly real and applicable to you, it's more likely to stick!

Image: gnomeangel.com

One thing you have to do, if you want to get to your goal, is realise that you may have to get there in a more unconventional way than you forst thought. You might just have to walk in a straight line to get there, or you might have to double back a few times and veer off course in order to get to the finish line. It's not a failure to have to alter your journey to your goal!

If there's one thing I learned from my time in archery, it's that perfect practice makes perfect. You have to keep working at it, whatever it is. In order to be great you have to try, fail, try some more, maybe fail some more, but in the end you will succeed.

This Nelson Mandela quote is beyond true, no matter who you are of what you're trying to achieve, it always seems so much more insurmountable until you've reached the end! You have to keep the momentum going for your dreams or you will fail. That's the harsh truth. You have to keep studying, keep working, keep applying, keep practicing, just keep going.

Procrastinating is a terrible habit of mine. I will sit and watch Netflix when I have ironing to do, I will paint my nails instead of catching up on emails, I will cook dinner instead of working on something important. It's a really, truly, awful habit. I'm working on kicking it though. The main thing I want to be able to say is that I've achieved all my tasks and that I am sitting here, drinking this glass of wine because I earned it!!

Self-deprecating people will know the struggle all too well. You feel awesome for between five seconds and five minutes every day and the rest of the time you doubt yourself. I speak from experience. The thing is, I'm also a former glory-hunting sports person, and I don't do something if I don't stand a chance of winning. You know the phrase "It's not about winning or losing, it's about taking part"? Well, I understand that phrase, but I also disagree, if you're not doing something to win, why are you even bothering?? Show up, be amazing, aim to win/succeed/be the best!

This one is a stone cold fact. You're not going to get a great job if you're not willing to put in the work needed to get that great job, you're not going to get that gold medal if you aren't willing to train in the rain, you're not going to succeed if you're not willing to at least try to suck. You need to be brave.

The main thing you need to do is believe. Not in a hippy-dippy, pulpit-thumping, kind of way, though if that appeals to you then that's cool too - but you need to believe in the good things coming. You need to have faith that you're going to succeed, no matter how long that might take or how hard that may be. You will succeed, you will get there!

Image: GettingMyHealthyOn.com

And finally, remember, that no matter how slow you go, you're still moving towards your dreams. You're still going in the right direction.

I hope you feel inspired and motivated. This year is yours, go out and grab it! 

Amy, 

x

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I've given credit for images where possible, if any of these images are yours just drop me a line and I'll give credit!! :D 

Making 2017 My Year - The Strong Start

Image: www.dumpaday.com

2016 was a wonderful year in many ways, but in other ways it was a bit of a bust! I left my bakery job before my birthday in March, went off on holidays with Dex, and came back to face unemployed life. I did get a job pretty soon after we came back, but it was obvious that I wasn't good at the job, so a couple months later, we parted ways. When I left that job, I gave serious time and thought to the idea of going back to college.

The thing is, I have many many areas of interest, and a whole plethora of things I want to do in my life. Just for the hell of it, I'll give you a few of the stand out things I'd love to try my hand at:

• Chocolatier, 
• Optician,
• Combine Harvester Operator (I know!!) 
• Model
• Radio Host,
• Writer, (This one, I hope to achieve one day)
• Chiropractor 
• Personal Assistant, 
• Lyons Tea Taste Tester (Dreaming big, yeah, that's me!!)

I really only gave one or two of these options a real chance, and optometry was a high contender until I realized I would need to take Leaving Cert Physics. There would be a better chance of getting me to sit for a blood test than getting me to sit another leaving cert paper!! 

I decided to look around for some other options. I had seen a good while back on my OG blogging buddy Kayliegh's blog Kayliegh Land that she had gone back to college through a local governing body and that seemed to be a cool option, because she's been retraining into Accountancy if I remember rightly. 

If any of my readers are unemployed, you may have heard of Springboard, an initiative to retrain and upskill people who are currently out of work. I was mooching around online on St Stephens Day and I stumbled on the Springboard website, so I signed up, and I decided to see what was on offer. Next thing I know, I'm filling in an application for a Digital Marketing course in Dublin Business School (DBS). I thought I'd never hear anything back but lo and behold the first Monday of the 2017, I got a call from the Admissions Officer asking for some transcripts and documents, I went off to meet the head of the Digital Marketing Department in the college a week later, and next thing I know, I'm in! 

The most nerve wracking thing for me about the whole thing was the meeting. I'm a nervous chatterbox, and I was terrified, but when I sat down with the Dept Head, I was absolutely at ease. We talked for a while, and by the end of it she had told me on no uncertain terms that I was going to be recommended for a place in the course, shook my hand and bid me farewell. Poor ol' Dex came with me and he had to endure my excited, completely awestruck ramblings for the following few hours over dinner, and take a call in his work when I got the acceptance, but he was a trooper.

Image: www.zerodean.com

I had already decided on New Years Eve that I was going to make 2017 MY year, that I was going to do whatever it took to bring myself closer to the dream. When I applied for the course in DBS, I had made a positive move in the right direction, but if it hadn't have worked out in my favor, I just would have kept of trying. Getting a place in this intensely competitive course is just the beginning though, next thing I need to start looking for is a suitable internship and start taking steps towards a future in this industry. 

I'm only 16 days into 2017 as I write this, and I'm already so excited for the year to come. I'm so pumped to get started with my course, it's given me a new focus and a new drive to succeed that I haven't had since I first went into the bakery. 

All in all, 2017 is shaping up to be pretty great already, I'm ready to smash it!!

Amy

xo 

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Top 5 Running Tunes

Today, I'm comign at you with a little bit of motivation for running, with my Top 5 Running Tunes (right now)! I've a big love for what I refer to as "stompers", so I've included my favorite stompers! I hope you enjoy, read on!

Madonna - Hung Up

An undeniable beat, calls to mind many a 5k race day. I've great memories of this song, and when it comes on while I'm pounding the pavement, it makes me work that little bit harder. Definitely recommend this for hill training, that's for sure!

Robbie Williams - Party Like A Russian

Another absolute stomper, perfect for getting through a tough kilometer or so. A deliberate beat will drive you, that much is for sure, and this couldn't be any more deliberate if it tried. I'm obsessed with this song, and because of it, I've been rediscovering Robbie's oldies lately. What a great artist, am I right?

The Bloody Beetroots - Warp 1.9 (Feat. Steve Aoki)

One, two, whoop whoop! This will absolutely motivate you to finish strong, I swear! You will plough through a run with this backing you up, and if you ever get the chance to see them live, do it!! They're unbelievable live, one of the best shows of my life!

Hozier - Jackie And Wilson

One of my favorite songs of all time, and a beauty to run to, too! Can we all just agree that Hozier is an incredible artist whose music can be applied to any situation? Thinking, running, cooking, I can listen to his music anywhere. This track, in particular is very good for running!

The Darkness - Last Of Our Kind

One of my favorite songs, by one of my favorite bands, this song will get you through the shittiest of runs, Children, we are the last of our kind. So deep is my love for this song, that I would love to have a tattoo to commemorate it. I've always got The Darkness in my running playlist, because everything this band do is immense!

So there you have it, my Top 5 Running Tunes right now. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you want to leave some links to your favorite running/workout songs, pop them in the comments, I'll wrap my ears around them! 

Amy 

xx

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