Lately, i've been thinking a lot about happiness, what it means to me and how to achieve it. These deep thoughts have encompassed everything from my professional happiness to romance, family and even my own mortality. It's definitely been a core-shaking summer and although things have felt out of control at times, I've grown so much by navigating my way through the recovery period. It seems a lot of my friends have been navigating through some life changing experiences lately. If you happen to be experiencing the same thing, here are a few tips to inspire and motivate yourself back onto the right track.

• Never stop learning. Even if you have been in a particular field or community for a long time, it's never appropriate to rest on your laurels. To keep evolving, it's important to keep exploring and learning. For me, I've been wrestling with how to balance the site, what my "full time" passion is and how to turn that into something lucrative (ie, when is the Chanel bag of my dreams going to be mine?). I've found inspiration and motivation from the words written by my dear friend, Yuli Ziv, in her new book Blogging Your Way To The Front Row - The Insider's Guide To Turning Your Fashion Blog Into A Profitable Business and Launching A New Career. Not only is Yuli my role model for all things entrepreneurial, but her book is full of no nonsense advice that even Pro Blogger would be crazy to ignore.
• Take control of your mood. I know this might sound like a new age statement, but the momentary time outs that I've taken have meant the difference between crossing the line and keeping it together. In taking a moment for myself, i indulge my senses in an aromatherapy treat. These days, I've been indulging in a little Life Therapy. A line of body products specifically formulated to hep you choose your mood, Life Therapy's pulse point oils, hydrating body oils and all new scrub have become my crutch on particularly difficult days. During the weekends, I cover myself in Chill, a delightful combination of amber, cedarwood and vanilla. Try a little aromatherapy the next time you feel upset, worried, anxious or stressed. You might just be surprised at the results.
• Stop saying "no" to yourself. The internal dialogue that we have with ourselves is one of the most important lines of communication we can have. Think about all the times you've said no to a desert, hair/nail/lip color because it didn't feel like "you", loved a look on the glossy pages of a magazine but dismissed it because it felt too far from who you are and so on and so on. Have you ever allowed yourself to do something, even when common sense and practicality might advise otherwise? Don't get bogged down in the day to day or the things you "should" do. You'll end up spending your whole life shoulding, coulding and woulding all over yourself.

It's nice to shake things up every once in a while. How do you navigate life's changes?