What makes life complete is the relationships we make and keep, we tend to learn, make mistakes and grow through them. But truth be told, relationships are not easy, they require a lot of hard work. Be it a relationship with friends, a loved one, a family, you have to put in so much work to make it work and last. Relationships are also not smooth, it gets bumpy with time, but your ability to remind yourselves why you are together will keep you back on track. Due to the fact that constant motivation is needed in any relationship, I have put together relationship quotes to motivate your relationships, by individuals who are vaster in this area and who have walked the face of the earth more than I have.
1. Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not burn until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.
Anais Nur
2. A loving relationship is one in which the loved one is free to be himself to laugh with me, but never at me; to cry with me, but never because of me; to love life, to love himself, to love being loved. Such a relationship is based upon freedom and can never grow in a jealous heart.
Leo F. Buscaglia
3. A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.
Walter Winchell
4. The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.
Carl Jung
5. When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are.
Donald Miller
6. Assumptions are the termites of relationships.
Henry Winkler
7. Relationships-of all kinds-are like sand held in your hand. Held loosely, with an open hand, the sand remains where it is. The minute you close your hand and squeeze tightly to hold on, the sand trickles through your fingers. You may hold unto some of it, but most will be spilled. A relationship is like that. Held loosely, with respect and freedom for the other person, it is likely to remain intact. But hold too tightly, too possessively and the relationship slips away and is lost.
Kaleel Jamison
8. Someone to tell it to is one of the fundamental needs of human beings.
Miles Franklin
9. When a woman is talking to you, listen to what she says with her eyes.
Victor Hugo
10. Some think love can be measured by the number of butterflies in their tummy, others think love can be measured in bunches of flower, or by using the word ‘forever. But love can only be truly be measured by actions. It can be a small thing, such as peeling an orange for a person you love because you know they don’t like doing it.
Marian Keyes
11. When you are truly in love, you will never have anything to hide.
Jay-Z
12. Some of the biggest challenges in relationships come from the fact that most people enter a relationship to get something; they are trying to find someone who’s going to make them feel good. In reality, the only way a relationship will last is if you see your relationship as a place where you go to give, and not a place that you got o take.
Anthony Robbins
13. The beginning of love is the will to let those we love to be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. If in loving them we do not love what they are, but only their potential likeness to ourselves, then we do not love them: we only love the reflection of ourselves we find in them.
Thomas Merton
14. We can improve our relationships with others by leaps and bounds if we become encouragers instead of critics.
Joyce Meyer
15. The royal road to a man’s heart is to talk to him about the things he treasures most.
Dale Carnegie
16. Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.
Oprah Winfrey
17. You can kiss your family and friends goodbye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world that lives in you.
Frederick Buechner
18. Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by friends we choose.
Tennessee Williams
19. When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.
Dale Carnegie
20. A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.
Donna Roberts
21. Loving people live in a loving world. Hostile people live in a hostile world. Same world.
Wayne Dyer
22. Patience is the mark of true love. If you truly love someone, you will be more patient with that person.
23. Communication is key in any relationship but understanding is the whole door. You wouldn’t need the key if the door is not there.
Timi Dakolo
24. A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.
Mignon McLaughlin
25. To say that one waits a lifetime for his soulmate to come around is a paradox. People eventually get sick of waiting, take a chance on someone, and by the art of commitment become soulmates, which takes a lifetime to perfect.
Criss Jami
26. Nothing is perfect. Life is messy. Relationships are complex. Outcomes are uncertain. People are irrational.
Hugh Mackay
27. Love is a two-way street constantly under construction.
Carroll Bryant
28. Spend a few minutes a day really listening to your spouse. No matter how stupid his problems sound to you.
Megan Mullaly
29. We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into the mutually satisfying weirdness and call it love-true love.
Robert Fulghum
30 Communication is the proof of life in any relationship. In spicing up your relationship, you need to prioritize communication and giving attention.
Godman Akinlabi
31. The biggest difference trust makes in any relationship and not just an intimate one is that you can relax, be open, be yourself.
Mira Kirshenbaum
32. Forgiveness is essential for every kind of relationship.
Barbara J. Hunt
33. When you are focused on your partner’s good qualities and show them the same kindness, warmth, respect and generosity of spirit that you would your best friend, your relationship has the greatest chance of not just surviving but thriving into its later years.
Sophie Winters
34. Working through conflict, we maintain and build a strong but flexible, honest but loving connection in our relationship.
Aaron F. Steinberg
35. You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly.
Sam Keen
36. Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle; love is a war; love is a growing up.
James Baldwin
37. I believe that two people are connected at the heart, and it doesn’t matter what you do, or who you are or where you live; there are no boundaries or barriers if two people are destined to be together.
Julia Roberts
38. Never above you. Never below you. Always beside you.
Walter Winchell
39. In a relationship, each person should support the other; they should lift each other up.
Taylor Swift
40. Learn to be quiet, enough to hear the genuine in yourself. So that you can hear it in others.
Marian Wright Edelman
41. Love is an endless act of forgiveness. Forgiveness is me giving up the right to hurt you for hurting me.
Beyonce
42. Well, it seems to me that the best relationships-the ones that last are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before. Like a switch has been flicked somewhere. And the person who was just a friend is suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with.
Gillian Anderson
43. The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but to hold hands.
Alexander Penny
44. Whenever you’re in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.
William James
45. He’s not perfect. You aren’t either and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold unto him and give him the most you can. He isn’t going to quote poetry, he’s not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break. Don’t hurt him, don’t change him, and don’t expect for more than he can give. Don’t analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad and miss him when he’s not there. Love hard when there is love to be had, because perfect guys don’t exist, but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you.
Bob Marley
Conclusion
This last quote is by far my favourite quote and I made it come last on the list because you might scroll to the end and I want you to get a quote that says it all. A relationship quotes to motivate your relationship, by helping you find perfect in imperfect.
There are a lot of relationship quotes to motivate your relationships, quotes to help you stay strong when it all seems like it will crumble. In fact, that tete-a-tete you just had with your little sister or brother surprisingly can serve as a relationship quotes to motivate you.
Over time, I have come to realize that you don’t necessarily have to register at a gym or join a weight loss community to lose weight. You can achieve your goal in the comfort of your home. I know it’s hard to do it alone, sometimes you just say “I have tried for 2 weeks I deserve a break” or “I woke up too late and I feel tired” or you might even use my favourite line “I will work out after this movie”. But you have to push yourself to work out at home before going to a gym. “Charity begins at home”. There are tons of weight loss exercises you can do at home, without any equipment and you would still get the results you want. Making that choice to lose body fat, to be fit and healthy is all the motivation you need.
So, let’s get straight into it.
Easy Weight Loss Exercises You Can Do at Home
1. Walking
This is by far the most interesting weight loss exercise you can do at home because you need to constantly be on the move. You shouldn’t be sitting in one place for a long time, you should get up to drop your plates in the kitchen, get up to get the remote, take a stroll.
In doing all of these walkings around the house, you would realize that you would burn more calories than just sitting on your couch all day.
Walking not only helps you burn calories to lose weight, but it also reduces pain, improves mood, reduces stress, improves overall body posture, the list goes on and on.
2. Dancing
I wonder why people wait till there is an occasion before dancing. Truth be told, dancing is an exercise we tend to neglect and put in the “pointless section”.
What you do not know is that dancing works the whole body, you don’t need a step guide, all you need is a rhythm and you are good to go.
So, whether you are on your desk trying to write like me, or in the kitchen doing the dishes, you can move your body.
3. Jump Ropes
Jump roping takes us back to when we were little, but this time we are not doing it just for fun but also to lose weight.
This is roping is a cardiovascular weight loss exercise you can do at home to burn lots of calories, strengthen the feet, reduce injury risks and also keep the entire body fit.
Personally, I find jump roping to be very effective not just for the body but also for the brain because as you jump and swing your arms simultaneously, your brain improves its coordination ability.
4. Jumping Jacks
This is another exercise you can do for your body to thank you. Jumping jack aids in weight loss, balances heart rate improves stamina and flexibility.
5. Squats
Just like most people, when I hear squats, I think bigger butt. But the truth is, squats not only helps to get a bigger butt, but it also helps strengthen the muscles of your upper and lower body, strengthens the thighs, cores and back.
This is another really effective weight loss exercise you can do at home, yes you heard right, you can jog right in your sitting room or your room. You don’t have to go outside to jog, you can do it on the spot without moving an inch.
Jogging is a cardio exercise that helps you burn more calories depending on how much effort you put into it, it helps you cover more steps, which in turn aids in keeping you healthy and fit.
8. Mountain Climbers
The first time I came across this exercise, my mind went straight to climbing mount Dimilang. I became really fascinated when I realized that I can climb the mountain right in my home, I don’t have to travel to Adamawa or Plateau to work out.
Mountain climbers boost up your heart rate, improve your balance and also makes you agile. Mountain climbers not only work the lower body, but they also engage the upper arms and cores too.
Conclusion
Everything and anything count as an exercise, trust me, you don’t have to start big, you can start by doing 10 squats and increase depending on how strong you get.
You can also create challenges for yourself, challenge yourself to walk 3000 steps in the house, thank God for technology as we have apps to help you count your steps, like pedometer-step counter. I challenged myself to complete 200 jump ropes a day until I graduated to 1000 a day.
Let me share with you, two more weight loss exercises you can do at home; stay hydrated and get enough sleep. I don’t know how else to stress these two, but no matter how many seconds or minutes you spend planning or the time you spend working your entire body, if you don’t stay hydrated and get your required beauty sleep, you will not see results.
This is because your body wouldn’t have time to repair after every rigorous workout you do. Whatever you do, always remember to drink water and get enough rest. These are all part of what I learned when I was trying to lose weight, and they have proved effective.
So, if you haven’t worked out in a long while and you would like to try the above, feel free to, or you are a workaholic and you would like to share with us what type of weight loss exercises you do at home, feel free to do so in the comment section.
When it comes to how to lose body fat quickly, there are so many steps on the internet, some would tell you to go on a high protein diet, some would tell you to work out regularly, a lot of steps to follow. But, trust me, nothing will work when you don’t put your mind to it.
Some months ago, I weighed 115kg, I was comfortable, I could do things my slim friends couldn’t do, I was happy and all. But little did I know that the excess body fat around my organs was affecting me in a negative way, I had high blood pressure, I couldn’t sleep well at night. My breathing was unusual and my organs were hurting. I had to make that decision to either be overweight and unhealthy or be fit and healthy.
Losing body fat is hard, it doesn’t just happen overnight, you have to put in a lot of work, sometimes you just want to lay in bed and do nothing. It took a lot of effort for me to lose 15kg, and right now I feel more comfortable and happier with my progress.
So I’ll be sharing with you some of the tips that helped me lose my body fat quickly. I hope you’ll find them helpful!
Steps That Really Helped Me to Lose Body Fat
1. Consistency is Key!
This is an important aspect when trying to lose body fat, you need to be consistent in whatever you decide to do, you have to be committed to staying consistent. I created challenges to help me out.
For instance, you can say from 15th to 31st of every month, you want to do 1000 skips every morning. That would help you stay consistent because you know you have a daily target.
You can’t just start working out and take a break for months, and expect to see results.
2. Sleep More
Trust me if you are not getting up to at least 6 hours of sleep, your body fat isn’t going anywhere. As an adult, you need between 6-8 hours of sleep.
This would help your body repair itself and also help prevent obesity.
Do you know that waina that was so delicious you had to eat 15 pieces or that mountain of rice you just ate or the 4 wraps of tuwo you just had? What if I told you that all the extras turned into bad fat, and all the bad fat clogs around your organs, which in turn leads to obesity?
Don’t get scared, I am not saying you shouldn’t eat, of course, you have to. All I am saying is, when you reduce your food portion, to the size that even your stomach will thank you, you are one step closer to losing your body fat.
5. Eat More Fruits And Vegetables
Eating more fruits and vegetables provides you with vitamins, minerals, fat, potassium, and fibre that aids digestion and also helps to lose body fat quickly.
6. Love Yourself
I know a lot of people that want to lose weight because they get insulted every day. Believe me no matter how much weight you lost, if you don’t love yourself, you would still feel overweight. You need to say to yourself “I look good”, “I have an awesome body”, “there is no me anywhere else”. “I am fat, so?”
When you love yourself and you say positive things to yourself, only then can you get the results you want.
7. Do it Now
Some of us are still stuck in the “someday island”, we keep saying “I will start tomorrow, I will start on Monday or next week”.
Why not start today, why not start right now? You don’t need to wait till January 1st to make your new years’ resolution about living a healthy life.
Every day should be your new year, you have to get up and do it now.
8. Exercise Regularly
If you noticed, I didn’t start with exercises, I started with a bunch of things you need to do for yourself. That’s because you need to be strong mentally, to have the physical strength to work out.
There is no limit to what you can do to lose body fat quickly, the most important thing is that you have made that choice to be healthy and fit and you must stay true to yourself. As I said earlier, it is hard but you can do it. Remember to always get enough sleep, try as much as possible to sleep stress-free, and always drink water.
I have given you my tips and a bit of how I lost 15kg out of my body fat, I would love to hear yours in the comment section.
One sensible thing you can do for yourself when everything happening around you seems chaotic is to write, keep a journal. But surprisingly, when we hear the word “journal”, what comes to mind is an image of a teenage girl on her bed, writing about all the boys in her class. But the definition of a journal is way more than just a teenagers’ diary.
A journal is a record of your daily life, events, experiences, thoughts, feelings, ideas, achievements and happenings around you, more like your “amebo or gist partner” doesn’t matter your age, so why shouldn’t you have one? Before we look into reasons why you should keep a journal, let’s take a look at few types of journals, and trust me I would chip in some reasons to convince you before the end of this article.
Food Journal
Whether you are a foodie or not, you should definitely keep a food journal. This would help you keep track of what you eat during the day, eliminate the ones that are not healthy, in case you are struggling to lose weight. A food journal would also help you to determine what foods to eat to increase your metabolism or what foods are bad for you.
Travel Journal
A travel journal helps you keep track of the places you have been to, the experiences, challenges you embarked on and also fun moments.
Fitness Journal
Keeping a fitness journal is really important as it helps you monitor every single workout, how your body reacts to the exercises and also how your body feels on the rest days.
This is the most important type of journal, as it helps you stay organized. Instead of bombarding your brain with a lot of things to do, write them down and at the end of the day cross out the ones you were able to complete and try to figure out why you couldn’t complete the rest.
The list doesn’t just end with the above types listed, you can keep whatever type of journal you want, be it an appreciation journal, goal tracker journal or a dream journal. Now, let’s dive into those reasons I promised you and I am sure that at this stage, you are already thinking about what type of journal to keep.
Why You Should Keep A Journal
1. Keeping a Journal Improve Writing Skill
Journaling helps to improve your writing skill, this is because the more you write, the more perfect you get at writing. You probably might want to ask “do I just write anything?”, heck yes, as long as you write, it doesn’t matter what.
2. It Helps Keep Track of Your Progress
Keeping a journal such as a fitness or a to-do list journal, helps you keep track of your progress and what to do in order to get better.
3. A Journal Improves Your Memory
When you write something down, it lets your brain know that you want to remember it again. It is proven that students who take notes during a lecture retain information better because the act of writing lets your brain know that it should pay attention.
4. Keeping a Journal Helps Achieve Goals
When you write down your goals, it serves as a reminder of what and what you need to achieve at what specific time, it also helps you stay accountable to your set down goals.
5. Journals Improve Communication Skill
You learn to express yourself effectively when you keep a journal, which in turn helps you communicate better. Writing leads to a clear mind, which leads to clear communication.
6. They can Serve as Record For the Future
A good journal is like wine; it gets better as it gets older.
Unknown
7. Keeping a journal is a gift you give the future you, reading what you wrote can give you an insight into how far you have come. It also makes you appreciate the moments you have had, either good or bad and how they have helped you become who you are.
7. Inspiring Creativity Is One of the Reasons You Should Keep a Journal
You should keep a journal because it helps you harness your inner creativity. The more you write, the more you discover different thoughts, expressions and ideas you never knew you had in you.
8. A Journal Reduce Stress
When you write your thoughts and feelings, you decongest your mind and make it easier for your brain to process those thoughts and feelings that formed up throughout the day.
This act will help you sleep better at night.
9. Journals Help You Heal
Writing serves as a tool for emotional, physical and psychological healing. When you put your traumatic experiences into writing, it helps you free yourself from the experiences, which might lead to depression.
10. It Helps to Boost Self-Esteem
The more you write about positive experiences and results, the more your brain relives those moments and builds a mental shield when doubts try to prevent you from achieving your goals.
Conclusion
Always remember that journaling is not hard, what is hard is starting the habit. But, when you do start, no matter what type of journal you decide to keep, what’s most important is the fact that you made that choice to connect with your mind, body and soul.
I was at a job interview at a media house, anxious and fully prepared because I had always dreamt of being a T.V personality. I stepped into the office and all eyes were on me, I felt my dress was off the hook, went in with full confidence and hope.
On getting inside, without even asking for my name or asking to see my CV, I was denied the job, when I asked for a reason; they couldn’t give me any, except that I would require two seats and a table. I was surprised and demanded a clearer explanation, without caring about my feelings the interviewer told me that, if I had left some pounds outside I would have gotten the job. When has size become an essential credential for acquiring a job? When did intellect and size start sharing equal percentages?
It’s really upsetting when you try to convince people, that your weight has nothing to do with your brains. I feel you shouldn’t be judged by the size of your jeans but by the size of what you have to offer. Unfortunately, in our world today, it’s a common saying that, big or fat people cannot take the center stage.
There is this look you get when you walk past people, they either stare at you disgustingly or laugh at you, mock you or even insult you for being fat. I wonder why people opt for fat people, especially fat girls out of the world. Fat or big doesn’t mean you cannot do what other people can do, it probably means you have bigger dreams, all you have to do is get up and own it.
The truth is, as a fat girl, you have little or no chance of having friends because no one wants to hang around with a big girl, everyone wants a skinny one. One they can relate with easily without having to hear her breath loudly. But, who knows what those really skinny girls go through, just to get fit. I mean, when we all die, the coffin wouldn’t care if you are skinny or fat, so why do we have to discriminate and segregate.
During my school days, I used to feel very uncomfortable, I had little confidence in myself. People called me fat, big, all sort of names. Initially, I used to be the really quiet type because of my size, I was a victim of circumstance, I did all sorts of exercises, tried my best to lose a little bit of weight.
But then I was inspired by Queen Latifat who said in her movie “when you are called fat, turn it around, feel good about it, because you are pretty, hot and tempting (PHAT)”. I have been using that against those who called me fat, and it has really helped me greatly. You should use that too.
Well, this is to all the fat ladies out there, you can be whoever you want to be, fat or thin, have fun and love yourself. When you hear people call you fat, don’t feel bad, because when you do it decreases your self-esteem, and as a lady you wouldn’t want to lose that, we don’t want “them boys” to step on us. You might be thinking, “how can I be fat and still be happy”? It’s possible, you have your pen, write your way to your happiness, I for one am happy being fat, big or chubby as they say.
My advice is, don’t listen to what people say because if you do, then you are giving them the keys to your world and that means they would have the power to control you however they want, in any direction and at any given time. Do things that make you extra happy and don’t ever let your size dictate who you really are, you are you for a reason.
Fat, big or chubby, you have a purpose in life; don’t let your size get in the way. And in case you want to lose weight, do it because you feel like it, not because you feel intimidated. Always wear clothes that say “i am fat so?”.
