Us millennials get a lot of stick for the way we choose to live our lives - you should have seen the reaction I got from some people when I explained that I was leaving my stable, well paying job in Gibraltar to go travel and spend a year living in Australia. The thing is our generation thinks differently. we no longer feel like we have to take the first job that comes our way straight out of school/university and stay there until retirement so we get a good pension and can afford a mortgage and house. I think nowadays there is more importance on our mental health and pursuing careers that make us happy and fulfilled, instead of chasing higher salaries. In a perfect world, I'd love to open a cafe/book shop where I could also sit in a corner and write away. So what do us millennials look for when choosing jobs? 

Interestingly, a study by Free Office Finder has shown that a third of employees put more focus on the office environment than their salary and benefits. When I worked for a gaming company (and like most are) the office just consisted of a big open space and rows and rows of desks and computers. It was almost as miserable as those little cubicles you see in American movies. Luckily in my last job, we were at the top floor of the World Trade Center and had large glass windows and was nice and airy. Some companies have even gone as far as to add pool tables and gaming rooms to their offices (not for everyone I guess). 

The great thing about living in Gibraltar is that I would literally wake up for work at 8:15am to be out the door by 8:45am, grab my coffee from Costa and be in the office by 9am. I'm currently working as an Au Pair in Australia and my commute to work has got even shorter, change out of my pyjamas and walk up the stairs. I don't think I could go back to living in London and having to wake up at 6am to go commute an hour each way in a jam packed tube. 

Most of us spend 8 hours a day working with the same people, so if there's a cold environment in the office it's going to make going to work dreadful. Companies that encourage things like team building events, open plan offices and have a manager who isn't tucked away 1000 miles from everyone else usually have a more connected and in turn, more productive and motivated staff. 

9-5 jobs are not for everyone, which is why a lot of people are now choosing jobs that they can do from their laptops or freelancing. As long as you're not working in customer service, some flexibility should be allowed as long as you're getting your work done. When I worked in London we had the choice of working 11am - 6pm, which meant we missed the morning rush and also qualified for off-peak train journeys. 

Who doesn't love cupcakes on their birthday? Funnily enough the study only found that 9% of millennials looked at benefits when picking a job, whereas '19% of Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Z' did.  In my last place of employment we got free smoothies and office yoga on Thursdays and monthly team lunches - and not going to lie that made going into the office exciting. I think another thing to note is that we're not necessarily looking for costly benefits, sure a bonus is great and being rewarded for hard work. But instead things like extra holiday allowance or social activities seem more attractive. 

What things do you look for when looking for a job?

When I travel to a new country or city, I always search through Pinterest before hand to find hidden gems, the best cheap eats and of course, where to party. I love sharing my itineraries on my blog and when I come across places or restaurants on my trips that leave me going back for a second visit, I love telling you guys about them too. Sadly, I haven't yet managed to travel everywhere (I must be the only millennial who still hasn't been to Bali) but luckily, I have a lot of friends and mutuals on social media who have been to countries I haven't. So I thought, wouldn't it be a great idea to have a blog post with a list of restaurants, hotels and spots recommended by you guys? So first up, here's Asia. 

Eat

Happy Phnom Penh Pizza - despite the name serves more than pizza (Myer)

Experience

Genocide museum (Myer) 

The flicks movie theatre (Myer)

Stay

Beji Ubud Resort (Daniella)

Alit Bali Villa (Myer)

Eat 

Taco Casa - Mexican (Daniella)

Batubara - Argentinian Grill (Daniella)

Yoghurt Republic (Myer)

Experience

Tirtta Gangga Temple (Daniella)

ATV ride through rice fields and villages (Daniella)

Traditional coffee tasting (Jaylan)

Waterbom Bali (Myer)

Mason elephant park (Myer)

Stay

Kew Green Hotel Wanchai

Eat

Yum Cha 

Experience

Lantau Island

Montane Mansion

Suzakukan Suzaku Crossing (Giana)

If you've been to any of these countries, would love to hear your own personal recommendations!

G

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We all have bad habits - whether you're aware of them or not. I had a bad habit of sucking my thumb until I was 10 years old, which in the end led to me having corrective jaw surgery at 16 (ok so they're not all that extreme). I also leave tissues everywhere (most unused, I just seem to grab one to use it and then forget). Some habits are easier to break than others, and sometimes it just takes a change in outlook or routine to break them. Here are just a couple that can be easier to manage than we think. 

There's a lot of negativity that surrounds social media and the impact it has on our mental health. Personally I just think it comes down to how and how much you use it. I love that Instagram in Australia has removed showing the number of 'likes' on photos as I think people will focus more on posting pictures they like and then get disheartened when it only receives 10 likes. For me Twitter has to be my favourite platform as It's usually the most entertaining and insightful and you know, there aren't pictures of people in bikinis every other post. 

I have friends who are constantly checking the feed on IG that shows you what photos your followers have liked, and that never ends well - you're just asking to see things you know are going to annoy you. I just ignore it all together and to be honest I don't spend a lot of time scrolling on IG. If you find yourself comparing yourself to others on the site, or see things that tend to bother you or get you down - unfollow (or mute) them or don't look. Instead follow pages that will motivate you! I love Charli Howard's body positivity on her account, and I could spend ages scrolling through Emily Malice's tattoo art work. 

We're all familiar with the phrase 'small minds discuss other people' right? How draining is it when you're around a group of people who spend their time discussing who X is with, how much weight X has put on/lost or how annoying X is because they keep posting pictures in Bali, when really you're saying that because you wish it was you on that holiday. 

There are two ways to go about this, if the majority of your friends are constantly discussing other people in a negative light, either don't partake in the conversation or if you don't agree with what they're saying, maybe even stand up for that person - even if your friends will be less than impressed. 

I can't write a list about bad habits without mentioning smoking can I? Smoking is something that has never appealed to me, even when I've tried one after two puffs I've pulled a face of disgust and thrown it on the floor (much to the annoyance of the person who gave me one). So as a non-smoker I thought, surely it can't be that hard to quit? As my smoker friends have pointed out, yes it is. 

Luckily there are other methods now like e-cigarettes which has been found as the most effective way to give up. Switching to vape kits can make the process of quitting easier as they bring everything you need (and they smell great) to make the switch. More so you don't even have to leave your bad and can have a browse through an online vape store - because who actually goes out to buy anything anymore? What's interesting is that England plans to be smoke-free in the next decade - wouldn't that be nice? You can all go on a night out/for a meal without having half the people leave to go have a smoke every 15 minutes! 

I've got pretty good at cutting out sugar when it comes to my tea and coffee - I've managed to bring it down to half a teaspoon which I think is quite an achievement. If you spend a lot of time with me, you'll know my weakness is chocolate and sweets which is why in the lead up to my Fiji trip I'm having to boycott 7/11 all together because I have no will power whatsoever. 

I've found the best way to stop sugar cravings is to just cut it out all together for the day. If I tell myself I'm just going to have 'a chocolate' from the bag I know I'll end up getting 3 or 4. Whereas if I agree that today I'm not going to have anything sweet, and then I'll treat myself to something tomorrow I can control my cravings a lot better. 

This is definitely one of my pet peeves, I really don't understand how people can be late every! single! time! There's times that being on time are out of your control - the bus is late, you're stuck in traffic or you got your foot stuck in a bear trap or something. 

On the other hand, if you know you're someone who takes ages to get ready, or you're a slow walker or you just simply don't care about wasting other people's time, then just pretend you have to get there 30 minutes earlier than the actual time and, you know try and aim for that. 

What do you think are some of your worst habits?

G

When you walk down the street in your hometown and make eye contact with strangers, are you the kind of person who smiles or says hello? Or are you one of those people who stare intensely as you walk by but your mouth doesn't move an inch? One thing I've noticed since moving to Australia is that people here are a lot friendlier and have a warmer approach. Every morning when I walk to the gym I frequently hear 'how you goin!' from people passing by and end up having conversations with people as I wait for the traffic light to turn green or when I'm sunbathing at the park. It's something so simple, but I find just smiling at people who I cross paths with (not in the city, or I think my muscles would be permanently stuck like that) has a positive effect on my day and mood. 

So are Australians just happier people in general and that's why they're like this? Surely it's because there's constant sunshine, Tim-Tams and lots of money to go round. Then again, I have been to places in India and the Philippines where the people have 1/4 of the luxurious that we have, and they have the same positive, smiley outlook to life. So what is the key to being happy and smiles all round? 

I think the main principles are accepting yourself and those around you, being mindful and kind to all living beings and the most important but hardest one - being content with what you already have.

We grow up always wanting the latest gadget, trainers, expensive cars and annual trips to Disneyland and sometimes when we can't afford those things or they're not in our grasp we get all sad and in a hump about it. We become envious of people who have all those things and make the mistake of placing our happiness in the hands of things instead of experiences. 

Whereas when you look at communities in Asia, for example on my trip to India. The kids looked so happy just playing football with us and just being amongst friends and family. I shed a tear when I brought some chocolates for them and one girl wanted to give me half of hers. Obviously they have their share of hardships and not being able to pay rent or your bills is depressing and will no doubt make you sad. But I think living within your means is the key to being happy. I'm currently earning half of what I was earning last year when I had a full-time job back home, but I'm still feeling content and investing my money in things that actually bring me joy (like more trips and festivals). There are some other simple ways to feel more content with life.

And with people you actually like spending time with. If meeting up with someone for coffee seems like more of a chore than a fun way to spend your time, then don't go. If you feel most 'alive' on the weekends when you're on the dance floor, then go out every weekend - who cares what anyone else thinks. As long as you're not harming anyone! 

Fulfilling your own personal goals is all fun and stuff, but have you ever done something to help someone out without getting anything in return? Feels good doesn't it. Whether that's volunteering to build schools in Africa, or helping your friend move out of their house. It feels good to make others feel good. 

Can you tell I've been reading a lot of self-help books recently? Limiting beliefs are the reasons you tell yourself you can't do or achieve something. "I'm never going to lose weight" "nobody loves me" "I'm a pain in the ass and nobody wants to be around me". The sooner you cut those out and start believing in yourself and what you are capable of the better you will feel about yourself. Or as the books say, 'raising your frequency and energy'. 

I know, there's nothing more annoying than when people are late, cancel last minute or take your food from the fridge after you've been thinking about getting home and eating it all day. But it takes so much more energy to be annoyed at people or situations that you can't really do anything about anymore. You can't change what they did, but you can change how you react and how you let it affect you. 

How many times have you said 'urgh I can't be bothered to go to work' and even though most of us would rather be sunbathing on a beach drinking mojitos, keeping a positive outlook and state of mind is key. Instead think of all the good things that might happen today. I might meet a really nice customer. I'm going to earn X today which means I can justify buying tickets to X. If that doesn't work, you'll have peace of mind knowing it will be over in 8 hours and you can go home and watch Netflix in bed. 

I hope by the end of this post you'll try at least one of these things, or if not just go and smile at yourself in the mirror and say 'today is going to be a good day. I've collaborated on this post with The James Clinic who are helping everyone have a smile they are proud of by offering cheap cosmetic dentistry. 

G