I simply love how Ralph Waldo Emerson describes summer: “Live in the sunshine. Swim in the sea. Drink in the wild air”. Adding to his most romantic definitions of this hot season, I would add more to this beautiful quote: "Bring on a zing and bling to your wardrobe as well!"

After a particularly dreary and freezing winter and a warm spring, a blazing summer zooms in. But at the same time, the same hot summer ushers in all the vibrant colours and styles in clothes too. Planet Earth is blessed in terms of beautiful seasons and their rich colours. Each season sports a different mood, clothing, and food. I as an Earthling feel super blessed in terms of variety. Our moods are also affected by the clothes we wear every season. Hence it is important to choose the right colours and textures for every season. 

While summer brings in lots of light (vis a vis winter) it brings in the dreaded heat that drains out all our energies. With the mercury rising, clothes become a sticky affair, and hence the need for softer, thinner textures and shorter lengths too. Since darker colours and thicker fabrics attract more heat, lighter colours with smaller prints are recommended. Floral prints are popular every summer and cotton clothes in pastel shades replace the darker coloured thick woollens in our wardrobes. 

Wait, did you just hear a “Sale, Sale, Sale” or a “Summer Shopping Festival” buzz on your phone? I am sure your SMS and email inboxes or Whatsapp are flooding with offers. Artificial Intelligence is faster in sensing your needs these days than your family or friends. One browser search is enough to activate sales alerts.

Over some time, fashionistas and fabric connoisseurs alike have come up with clothes meant for every season. Markets are the best indicators for every season’s clothing. As every season approaches, you can see a vivid change in the shop displays and street market displays too. 

Summers ain’t different! Observe the shelves changing into hues of pastels, greens, yellow, and orange. You will find everything from sleeveless tops, tank tops, blouses, crop tops to capris, shorts, minis, LBRs, and one-piece dresses. It is one of the best seasons to experiment with colours and designs as well. As they say: “The funkier, the merrier”.

Just walk to your nearest street and shop away! Await the hottest summer deals and get geared to be cool this summer. Here are the top 10 summer wardrobe tips.

It’s time to ditch the wintery blacks, greys, the synthetic and woollens, and the Spring’s warm clothes.
Give a cool, green, summery twist to your wardrobe!

1. Adopt lighter, pastel shades

Summer’s here! Choose light colours that are soothing for the eye and the skin alike. Adding softer shades of blues and greens in your wardrobe will help you bash the summer blues away.

2. Go for Cotton, Linens 

Always go for fabrics that help you breathe in the heat. Thin flannel, cotton or linen, or any material that helps air flow easily in your body.

3. Oh yeah! Tank tops

Men and women alike can opt for this cool option in this sweltering heat. Your best body partner for the season. Vests in the wardrobe keep the heat away.

4. Choose Denim shorts/skirts

Flaunt your legs in style this season with the trendiest cuts. Pair it with your favourite tank tops, blouses, and crop tops.

5. White shirts...White shirts...White shirts...

These will never run out of trend/fashion. White is chic and sexy! Pair your shirt with cool denim/capris. Fashionista tip for girls: tie the ends of the shirt in a knot and rev it above your belly. 

6. The Quirky Print route

Myriad prints colouring the markets in vibrant hues – floral, animal, tribal art, and even the quirky! You could even design your shirts and kurtas. Search for DIYs to create your combinations.

7. Cold shoulders are back!

This trend hasn’t gone off the markets for years. It surfaces every summer with new cuts and floral prints. Get yourself one if you don’t have one already! Pair it with shorts/capris/jeans.

8. Go Asymmetrical

Trending these days, available in breezy and flowy materials with beautiful prints, there is an amazing collection of these online and offline! Just take your pick from a gorgeous colour palette.

9. Flowy's In!

Frocks in smooth, soft fabrics that run off your body like butter are a must-have for your wardrobe. These are chic, trendy too. 

10. Strappy sandals & Hoop earrings

And finally, get your sun hat on, wear your loopy, hoop earrings, treat your feet with a pair of strappy sandals and enjoy a lovely evening stroll. This is a must-have in your summer wardrobe!

Stay cool and happy this summer wherever you live – the grasslands, plains, mountains, or a valley! Make sure you enjoy the season with your favourite food and drinks. Let your hair down and add a little fashion bling to your clothes. Signing off with these beautiful lines on summer by Benjamin Alire Sáenz 

“Summertime. 
It was a song.
It was a season.
I wondered if that season would ever live inside of me”

Follow Priya Rajendran & The Word Route

“Freedom isn’t the ability to say yes, it is the ability to say No”. And how true is this! Ironically, we end up doing the reverse, saying Yes when we have to say No. We limit our freedom.

Picture this, you are working on a project and receive a call from a colleague. He asks if you could help with an ongoing project in your office. You are probably occupied with another work but out of goodwill, you say a yes. After a few days, you receive similar requests, and this time you want to decline but feel stuck. You feel confused and overwhelmed. It will be a vicious cycle that will be difficult for you to break.

Recently, an acquaintance called to request if I could help with a task, and for the first time, I said I could not help. The person mentioned the task, said it would take me a few days to finish and it included working on weekends. She genuinely required someone to help her. I have had worked on weekends until recently but decided to reserve time for my family. So, I politely refused. Another time, a friend approached for another help and I had to turn her down too. I have started saying yes to saying No. This is my story. 

Well, as I have said in my previous ’10 Reason’s Why,’ doing something against your heart, against your will, will only lead to more unhappiness within you. And, if you are not happy, others around you would either be. Refer keys to Self-Love. 

My journey from “Yes” to “No” took me many years. So, it is extremely relatable when someone tells me they just don’t know how to refuse or turn down someone. And, if like me, you are an empath, a person who is sensitive about others’ feelings and puts others’ feelings above yours, it becomes double challenging to say NO. Old colleagues and associates would chide me often for taking up projects/work of other co-workers just to help them out. But in the end, I would lose out on precious “me time”. I realized this much later. 

An empath’s emotional cycle

Typically, an empath will often feel stuck in a cycle, unable to break it. I have always been an empath. Each time the empath tries to convey they are busy it ends up looking more like a Yes or an affirmation for the other person. The reason is the body language – it’s vague! Most women face this in their daily lives. They end up taking more work – more than they can handle. Right from morning to evening, whether it’s household chores, kids, cooking, cleaning, or for their profession, women somehow manage to squeeze in extra time for that one “small” chore/help someone needs from them. Unfortunately, many such “small chores” lead to many and eventually end in exhaustion and body breakdowns too! In the process, they end up draining off all their energies. So we should learn to say NO.

1. Maintain strong body language
Always be extremely clear with your voice, body language, and non-verbal gestures. You could sport a slight smile on the face and simply refuse to do the work. No apologies are needed either.

2. Show or share your calendar status
Even though NO is a complete sentence, some of us find it difficult to be firm when it comes to refusing help. Show your calendar and mention your cut-off work time to the person (if you are in the office or even at home). If you are working remotely, you can send a screenshot on your phone to the person showing your schedule for the day. Once you do so, it will get easier to turn down.

3. Maintain a clear schedule – Soft-board & Online Sticky Notes
Keep a soft board at your workplace as well as at home. Make a weekly chart or timetable of all the work you have planned in the week and pin it there. Each time, a colleague/ any person approaches you for help, you can easily glance at your schedule and calculate the amount of time to finish your existing tasks. Once you set a cut-off time for completing your work, it will be much easier to decide whether you can take on an extra task apart from the existing ones. Those who are constantly on the move, and may not have time to check their soft boards, can set an alert on their phones as well. As soon as your phone buzzes notifying you of your day’s tasks (set at respective timings), you can plan to take on additional tasks accordingly. 

4. Empath Route
Use lines like “I feel you”, “I completely understand your situation” and follow it up by saying “I wished I could, but I cannot take on this additional task since it will delay my existing work.” No false promises here but genuine empathy is shown.

5. “I love the task, an excellent job opportunity, but…”
There are times when a compliment works wonders in refusing a person. It may be extremely tough to refuse the job especially if it is as per your requirements. So, begin your response by appreciating the task, thanking the person for the opportunity, and telling how you would love to do it. In the end, it will be easier to say you will not be able to handle the task.

6. Logic vs Emotions
It may sound a bit clinical/terse but try this. Start asking questions to the person offering the task/job/asking for help. Set aside emotions. a) What is the task about? b) How long will the task take to complete? c) How much do I have to do? d) What are XYZ’s expectations regarding the task. Depending on responses, you can turn down the task. NO heartburns/awkwardness.

7. Assert you love for providing quality output
This will help you refuse to do a job to a large extent. You can cite that the time period is too short to deliver a good quality product/output.

8. Set your value, choose yourself
Please set a higher value for yourself whenever you are approached with a project. It does help in filtering jobs that are not worth your time. 

9. You aren’t an elastic band
After a lot of sticky situations where I wasn’t able to say no because I was approached by known people, I realized I was over stretching myself. I was sitting beyond working hours just to complete deadlines. 

10. Follow your instincts 
The moment you get a job assigned to u or someone approaches you with a project, you will get the vibes easily. You will be able to get a cursory glance into the time and money aspects of the projects. Choose accordingly and say no to doing something you don’t want to do. 

Reserving the right to say no might make you look like a vamp/villain, for awhile. But trust me, once you make it a part of your system, people will stop taking you for granted! Trust me, it is the most exhilarating and liberating feeling. So, whether you are a woman/man, be aware of your feelings, be clear with your thoughts and learn to be firm. You need NOT agree to do every work that is offered to you. 

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Follow The Word Route

Detox seems to be in trend now. Everyone going through a rough patch or wanting to end stagnation in their life is taking this route. The beginning of the pandemic till now has become “that” time for people to pause and reflect upon what was happening in life. Priorities have also shifted from a fast, quick-fix life to a relatively slower lifestyle, spending more time with the family, engaging in activities that have never been done earlier. 

So, what does detoxify actually mean? Its classic definition means getting rid of unwanted, harmful substances from the body. While doing research on detoxifying, I came across myriad topics on “how to detox”. A browser search will typically throw up results like – how to detox the blood, liver, lungs, skin, brain, yourself, and even the mind! But very few links on “how to detox” the friend list. It is understandable why “toxic friendship” won’t be seen in search lists (there may be a few random links). Friendship is a sacrosanct relationship. It is about being yourself with people who love you and have stood by you through thick and thin. So how can friends be toxic, you would ask – rather anyone would question. It is possible not to accept there are and can be toxic friends too. Who are they, anyway?

Friends are human beings after all and friendships like other relationships can have changed, and twists and turns in tone too. They will be happy, joyful, jealous, bitter, angry, and will probably have hatred as well. We accept all of it in a friend. But when the behaviour of a friend begins to affect us, it is time to have a talk with that friend and convey your discomfort to them. If the friend continues to behave in the same pattern – abusive tone/sarcastic statements, it is time to move away from him/her. A conscious step away will make you realize the toxic cycle you were in or were going to be entangled in. Just ask yourself a few questions – How are you feeling after a particular episode/conflict with the friend? Is this friendship affecting your daily life? Do you have friends who do the same? Can I cut myself off from this friend? 

If the answer to the above questions is yes and a feeling of negativity is permeating you thinking about the friend, it is time to move on!

Filtering out/decluttering – a process

So, how do you filter out toxic friends? All of us are familiar with physical and mental detoxification. There is a third type now – detoxifying or filtering of friends – physically as well as online – friends whom we meet regularly and those whom we meet online. 

A friend recently declared on her social media timeline that she has successfully “decluttered” her friend list. All of us are into some type of social media platform and sharing a slice of our life there almost on a daily (even hourly basis). We have added our friends in the friend – school, college, colleagues, and some like-minded friends we met on our social media accounts and some with whom we network (albeit virtual professional networks). We added some friends just because they are “friends of friends”. Go to your timeline and remove all those “friends of friends” whom you have never met and who don’t have any profile pictures. These are also a part of your toxic circles!

Identify the Red flags 

So, why do a detox of these friends? 

• You may or may not agree with friends all the time but if they begin to interfere or harm your physical and mental space, it is time to say goodbye to them. 
• The moment a friend starts telling you to choose between friends, choose to cut off.
• Whatever be the medium – physical/online, harming may mean leaving you emotionally drained. One of the ways of harming could be gaslighting. It doesn’t only happen in relationships but in friendships as well. 
• You end up being uncomfortable and constantly anxious around them – especially the unpredictability in their reactions. At times, it is a sunny high and at times, a moony low. 
• When you recognize these signs, you start maintaining a distance and gradually cutting off from them. You don’t want them to know what is happening in your life or even their life. 
• Agreeing to disagree is common among best buddies/friends but when a line is crossed by them – making you feel guilty or you becoming their emotional “punching bag” all the time, then it is time to detox. 

1. Recognize the red flags –
   Identify “friends” who are trying to put you down and drain you emotionally.
   
2. Confront –
   Ask your friend why he/she is behaving in a certain way. Normally the toxic friend will not have a clear reply. They may deny the behaviour completely. Just block the person after this – virtually & physically.
   
3. Slow fading off –
   Another way of moving out of this toxic friendship is gradually detaching communication – reduce the number of messages, taking lesser calls, and no meetings. Just block the number/email.
   
4. Zero conversations –
   Stop replying to messages or engaging in discussions with them. Your friend(s) will get the message and cut off himself/herself. 
   
5. Stop giving the benefit of the doubt – 
   There are no second chances for toxic “friends”. Each time, you give excuses for their bad behaviour and mask as “they are like this”, you are deceiving yourself. Once you do that, it will be easier to cut off.
   
6. No going back – 
   Once you cut off, avoid taking their calls or replying to messages. Do not think of returning because they will try giving you reasons for their behaviour and what triggered them. They will try to rationalize it too. The cycle may continue if you decide to forgive them.
   
7. Get an emotional closure – 
   Meet your friend one last time, explain the reasons for cutting off from the friendship and walk off.
   
8. Accept their absence – 
   If it is a friendship that has been for many years, then it is understandable to feel hurt. Recognizing the toxicity is a sign for you to understand and acknowledge that they have no more role to play in your life. Give yourself time to heal. 
   
9. Surround yourself with positive people –
   Meet other like-minded friends. The moment you meet friends who are supportive, you will recognize the toxicity better and keep away from “friends” who are putting you down at the slightest.
   
10. Engage in positive activities, meet new people –

The most important person is you and will remain always! So, the moment you start loving yourself more, you will surround yourself with positive people – people who will stick by you through thick and thin. More the self-love, the lesser you become a magnet for negative and toxic people. Say NO to toxicity.

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The Word Route

When Valentine’s month is around the corner, every year, the “perfect love” quotes suddenly get more Google hits and clicks. Quotes go viral on all texting platforms. Online portals’ sales go up a month ahead so that the “perfect gift” reaches the respective Valentines. “So, what did u gift your Valentine?” is the chosen question by all people around you. What are you doing for your loved one? All of a sudden, FB and Twitter start brimming with posts and quotes on definitions of perfect love. 

Over a period of time, decades and various eras, the definitions of love have changed a lot. Bollywood, Hollywood and the entire celluloid defined “perfect” love for us. Archies and Hallmark added a dash of love with sprinkles of specially customized printed cards and e-cards. Now, lovey-dovey messages, quotes and memes on social media platforms declaring their love for a special someone are the new trend.

Perfect love has been defined as an “everlasting sans blemishes” love – those perfect love confessions, perfect proposals, perfect weddings et al. But, have you ever thought how skewed perfect love can be? For instance, what is perfect for you may not be for your partner or someone else. And we often look for that “perfect” partner with “perfect” traits and subsequently a “perfect” life too with “perfect” kids too. 

Social Conditioning et al

Years of conditioning have made our own forefathers and generations of parents to make everything look perfect for us. During our growing years, we have seen these “perfect” relationships. Hence the idea of a perfect partner got seeded at a young age too. In the old era, flaws in a person were looked down upon as the ultimate blemish and seen as reasons for a relationship to fail. Couples were meant to be perfect in every way. Of course, the measures of perfection were how well one performed our respective gender roles – pre-set functions expected out of us in society, abilities and social knack to live a certain lifestyle, education, job and even parenting. Perfections are never ending.

So why not change this? Break some traditional codes in relationships. Change definitions of love or rather enjoy imperfections in your partner. How about finding a special one who is not-so-perfect, yet someone who embraces us with our own flaws? I would say someone who is as crazy as you and someone to handle your craziness and vice versa. The one who is unafraid of loving oneself and others around minus judgements.

What I suggest may appear a dreamy prospect for some, a utopia for many and even something impossible! Believe me, it isn’t! Just change the frames of your specs and the colour of your glasses – you are all set! So, take the imperfect route.

10 REASONS WHY
Priya's recipe for an "Im-perfect” Love Story

1. Its Okay not to be Okay

The best feeling is to accept that things are not okay in your relationship. It is perfectly fine to talk to each other about it. There are lesser conflicts once we know that things are not fine at either end. You should be able to make your relationship so strong that you can express yourself without feeling scared of your partner’s reactions. It goes both ways!

2. No-Rules relationship

Make a thumb rule not to make any rules. Bonds grow stronger when there aren’t any terms & conditions or rules binding each other. Go with the flow, give each other space to grow in the relationship. 

3. Walk the Unconventional path 

Walking the traditional path hasn’t done any good for relationships. So reverse relationship goals. Change your couple goals – ones which will complement each other, fill in each other’s shoes rather than compete with each other. No one has to be better than the other or try hard to attain goals to be perfect in the relationship.

4. You can be Parallel Lines – Let’s agree to disagree

The moment an argument starts or a discussion where one disagrees, the first thing that happens is to slam the doors, windows, throw things and what not – even go into silent mode (torture mode). Instead choose the peace method – I agree to disagree with you. It is perfectly fine not to be in sync with each other’s opinions lest we become programmed “yes” robots.

5. Make different traditions 

Go against conventions and create your own traditions. If you have couple goals, make sure you change them from time to time. The moment you feel things are going in the same monotonous pace, break the codes and change the rhythms.

Little rituals like impromptu dates over coffee, drinks or simply a movie will keep the relationship afresh! Perhaps plan a travel and go backpacking. Just take baby steps instead of thinking of milestones to take off pressure on performing better in a relationship. After all, we don’t want a performance appraisal at home. 

6. Be what you are!

Don’t attempt to change yourself and don’t expect your partner to do the same too. When you are in a relationship, it is natural to show your best side. It is extremely instinctive to change your traits to suit your partner or for peace and harmony in your relationship. This will keep you genuine and honest. It is okay to be the way you are but accept your partner with his/her flaws as well and be honest to each other about it. Stretching oneself to have a perfect relationship will only make it more flawed! 

7. Listen to your heart, go by instincts

There is a quote I read somewhere – “Music is the beatbox of the heart”. The same way instincts are the beatbox of every relationship. For couples to remain honest and organic to each other, they must go by instincts and gut feelings to be more responsive and empathetic to their partners. It will help keep the relationship grounded. You will instinctively know when your partner is low, wants to resolve a conflict/perhaps just change the rhythm. Just sit down and talk. If nothing works, pen it down in a diary and talk about it with your partner too. Expressing how you sense your partner’s discomfort and happiness from time-to-time, will make you walk a longer path with your partner. This has to be mutual, though!

8. Keep communication channels open

Open yourself to conversations – short, long, deep or even surface level – with your partner. This will help both of you develop more respect for each other. Love only grows when you share. The more you share your emotions, thoughts and your soul with your partner, the more the paths to each other’s hearts will be smooth. There maybe nothing to talk at times – even sitting next to each other in silence speaks a lot! Staccato conversations amidst silence also brings two people closer.

9. Touch, hug and kiss 

Words have magic to stir you but a touch has the power to stir a million nerves and the cords of the heart! Physical proximity will help you develop stronger bonds. Touch boosts instincts and empathy between people. So, touch, hug and kiss, probably give a peck on the cheek too! Another added bonus: a healthier life.

10. Treasure every li’l moment

Photographs, diaries, mementos, gifts and moments…cherish all of them! Memories are the best gift in any relationship and they last the longest. People may lose their wealth, assets and materials but memories are something that will remain forever – even after you die. The moments you create with your partner will remain with you till you grow old and beyond. Bonds get stronger when u revisit each memory from time to time. It reminds you of the good moments as well as the not-so-good ones too. But each moment matters. Do not lose any moment – capture them and cherish them forever!

So, my first question to all of you: what is your idea of perfect love and a perfect relationship? Think carefully and you may post it in the comments section of my blog here.

Follow Priya Rajendran 
The Word Route

Appreciating oneself for little things, whispering sweet nothings to yourself, a little pat and hug to yourself for achieving something, or when you did some good deed is defined as self-love. Philosophically speaking, many of our saints have said this: self-love is a way to attain the highest levels of spirituality. If you love yourself, it means you have reached the spiritual realms too. So, it is lovely to have this warm fuzzy feeling of loving oneself.

But I often ponder and wonder if this word had not been coined, would we know what it is to love oneself unconditionally? The answers are mixed. We do know that we should appreciate ourselves and love ourselves too – but we don’t! 

Some think it is mandatory to prioritize our family first above us, while a few of us think unless we appreciate ourselves, we cannot love others. Mostly it is the former group that is the majority everywhere and ends up behind in priority rankings in receiving love. Don’t you think so? Ah, but this is utopian, most of you would say! I agree too ‘coz I have done it myself too! I still believe we can make it real too – we can be the majority in prioritizing ourselves. There is nothing wrong in it. My favourite quote has always been: You can’t pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself first!

So, what makes us do this – neglect ourselves? In most cultures, races, and ethnicities in the world, people are conditioned to ignore themselves and lead their lives for the sake of others, put others’ happiness above theirs, and love others more than themselves. Even the slogan and war cry of every defence force in the world says we are supposed to put our society before us. But that is for the homeland, not applicable to normal citizens. Let’s change this punchline and save ourselves first. If you happen to fly in any airline, even the safety instructions say we are to save ourselves first and then our fellow passengers. Then why don’t we apply this in real life too? Give love to ourselves first – we can love our loved ones better.

Fight/Flight – You choose!

Societal conditioning is so strong that people who put themselves first or show they love themselves are scorned at, looked down upon, and labeled as “show-offs” or “selfish”. I have been called selfish many times whenever I expressed opinions with some friends in the past saying it is good to think about oneself first.

Society does this. People live in fear each time they decide to be happy in their life. It has become a matter of life and death as to “what will society say” if I did this or took a particular step. Right from deciding every milestone in our life to choosing a life partner, society misuses this power of “they have the right to choose our happiness”. They bully you into thinking that the moment you decide to choose oneself or take decisions to be happy, you will be unhappier. It is a fight or flight situation for many. 

A majority end up in the “flight” category as many choose to keep society happy by remaining unhappy. I never really advocate the “fight” as in physical fight options (as in the celluloid) but stand for yourself by taking decisions for yourself, ignoring societal norms. Standing up for yourself, I reckon needs guts but once you take the first step, it is equivalent to a million steps taken already, and “society” is already in line. There will be a few days of cribbing, ostracism, increased bullying tactics, etc but in the end, you will discover happiness and peace once you wear horse blinders. 

My love for celluloid and Bollywood reminds me of another classic example of a Big B movie Kaaliya’s dialogue (has a symbolic connection to self-love for me) – Hum Jahan khade hote hain, line wahan se shuru hoti hai. It literally means I set the trends. If I love it, I do it and if people love what I do, then why not. I inspire people to do it! So, be the trendsetter and start loving yourself more!

Keys to Self-Love

It took me 35 years to break the body-shaming code and accept my body for what it is – wear clothes that I love. When I finally broke that code, it was my first step towards self-love – pure unconditional love. For many of you, I am sure self-love is a “work-in-progress” or a “yet-to-begin” task. But the first step is crucial. 

Here are 10 things to do:

1. Begin the day alone – your favourite cup of tea/coffee/any beverage you like. Sit with your pet/your garden. Enjoy the silence.
2. Choose a time after work to switch off from anything remotely digital – phone, laptop, tablet, or whatever you can think of. Spend that time with your family or perhaps a friend.
3. Choose a day in the week to be outdoors with yourself – go out, pamper yourself, eat what you want, indulge in retail therapy, watch a movie – basically date yourself!
4. Mark dates on the calendar to look after yourself physically and mentally too – circle dates for health check-ups or meeting your therapist (if any).
5. Go backpacking (smaller locations according to your budget) or any small adventure for a few days to begin with. Travel is the best way to pamper yourself and a great stress buster too.
6. Compliment yourself for tasks you have achieved – mini-tasks (at work/home) can be made into milestones! Cooking and cleaning aren’t menial jobs so please take time to pat yourself on the back for the same.
7. Dress up. Make sure you wear a new outfit from your wardrobe daily (even if you are working from home), admire yourself, and sit like you are at your workplace. Just looking good too gives a good high.
8. Go for a whole-body massage once in a while. Schedule an appointment with a good masseur. A massage activates all the muscles, tendons, and nerves in the body and also gets the hormones flowing in the blood too!
9. Create a bucket list (if you haven’t already) and start doing them one by one. It could be anything you always wanted to do but you couldn’t. Once you begin doing it, ticking off each and everyone will give you a natural high of achievement!
10. The last is the best. Learn to say NO when you don’t want to do something that doesn’t feel right for you. It is equivalent to respecting your feelings and loving yourself for all decisions taken. 

And finally, always remember “You were born to be real, not perfect”. You get to decide whether you are good, bad, or ugly! Be what you are and love yourself!

Follow Priya Rajendran
The Word Route