Ok, slight overstatement, but those Dove squares just get me. Whoever in their PR department decided to write little messages on the wrappers really knew what they were doing.
I was going to write a post on my general lack of self-control when it comes to those little geometric pieces of temptation but instead, I decided to flip the switch and view it in a positive light. So what if I’ve eaten almost an entire bag in the past five days? That’s five days’ worth of confidence-building, life-inspiring, day-changing advice, right? Right!
I kept the wrappers lying around the apartment all week and, after a fun scavenger hunt last night, collected all the best tokens of wisdom I could find, ones that really spoke to me and had an impact on my day-to-day life. So without further ado, the lessons I’ve learned from Dove.
“Stretch your body, stretch your mind”
- This one should come as no surprise that it stuck out to me. I think it’s so important to stretch, whether that be stretch physically (which, ironically, is what I’m the worst at), mentally or spiritually. I love to hear other people’s life views and opinions, learn about other cultures and debate over current events and politics. I can’t imagine a life more boring than deciding what you believe and then never being open to hearing other opinions. It’s so good for the brain to “stretch” past its everyday thinking and really branch out to hear and understand the differences in the world.
“Seek out small pleasures” and “Enjoy the small things in life”
- I’ve noticed that a lot of people are quick to notice the bad things and skip over the good, especially when it comes to little things. I’d be lying if I said I don’t fall into the same trap, but I’m usually good about stopping to smell the roses, if you catch my drift. I’m known to stop in the middle of a walk to notice a beautiful painting in a store window or cut my run short to sit on the beach and stare out at the lake. You just HAVE to. The world is so miraculous and enough bad things happen on a daily basis that, if you don’t take notice of the good things or make room for small pleasures, you’ll just become one giant stress ball waiting to explode. No Bueno.
“Create a happy place”
- I’m definitely guilty of always looking to my surroundings to make me happy. “If I could just not sit at a desk all day I’d be happy,” “If our apartment was cleaner I’d be happy,” “If I had enough money to take more roadtrips I’d be happy.” But maybe happiness will come when I make every moment a “happy place.” It goes back to perspective, which I’ve talked about so many times. Also, I think it’s so important to come up with a ritual that puts you in a happy place. Whether it be a bubble bath or on a yoga mat reading a trashy magazine or in a local coffee shop sipping on a latte, we all need a ritual that centers us. Happy places are out there, just waiting for us to create them.
“Too much of a good thing is wonderful”
- This is interesting. The minute I opened this one I laughed because I thought, “Wow, perfect excuse to eat tons of chocolate!” Why is it that my mind always goes to binging on food when I think of rewards, celebrations, “good things”, etc.? Binging on chocolate takes a good thing and turns it bad, because let’s be honest, who feels amazing after scarfing down 35 pieces of chocolate in ten minutes? Too much of a good thing means more than just eating good food – for me it means taking more walks after dinner, staying up an extra hour to see a new episode of Chopped, running an extra mile because I feel a rush of energy at the end of my planned distance, etc.
“Smile”
- It doesn’t get any simpler than that.
Now listen to some fun music and have a great Friday – the weekend is only hours away!
Questions:
- What’s your favorite type of Dove chocolate? I love regular milk chocolate, dark chocolate caramel and dark chocolate sea salt
- What’s your favorite cliche lesson you’ve learned? Please don’t say “Dance like nobody’s watching” – this isn’t your 13-year-old dream board… 😉
i had a big lunch 
Dance like nobody—oh wait…
hahaha well you’re “dancing runner” so I would have forgiven you for it 😉
😉 🙂
Ohhh, I love these lessons and chocolate has taught me a lot, too!! I love milk chocolate and caramel chocolate!! YUM!!!
Cliche life lesson: “Laughter is the best medicine.” 🙂 🙂 Happy Friday!!
Caramel and chocolate are one of life’s perfecting combos 🙂 and great lesson! It is true, even if it’s a total cliche haha
Too much of a good thing is wonderful- loveeee that haha. I definitely go overboard sometimes though.
My favorite super cliche saying- beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This is such a common phrase, but it really makes me so happy because it essentially is saying that everything is beautiful in its own way, it is really just dependent on people looking for the good in things. 🙂
I like that attitude, Moni! It’s all about looking for the good things in life 🙂
i think dove negates the over-indulging our sweet tooth by feeding our brain a little as well…. I’ll take it!
Agreed haha whatever helps us sleep at night haha
I hoard Dove chocolate wrappers. It just feels wrong to throw them away! I love all their little inspirations, particularly when served with a side of dark chocolate. Yes. Please.
“Everything happens for a reason” is definitely one of my favorite cliches. I really believe that’s true, and holding on to that makes tough moments a LOT more manageable for me.
I KNOW! If they didn’t break so easily I’d try to make a collage out of them or something…at least hang them on the fridge! Maybe I’m just too eager when I get them and then I just rip into them too fast hahah
I haven’t had any chocolate (you know processed one, because I use cacao powder daily) in a long time! But when I did, I remember eating dove dark and almond chocolate yummy!!
Cliches: “you are at the right place, at the right time” (something like that), and “if it didn’t happened it means God has better plans for you” (or again, something like that)! What I love is that even when they are cliches, sometimes they arrived when they are needed!! Little reminders!!!
I like that one – “you’re at the right place at the right time”. It’s a good reminder of staying present.
Haha wait, I don’t think I’ve ever had said Dove chocolate with little sayings on the wrappers. What the hell! I love my Yogi tea sayings though. They’re like fortune cookie phrases but better!
How is that possible?? I thought they all did! you’ve been missing out haha but tea with sayings on it is a lot healthier so Go You! 🙂
I love the dark chocolate sea salt, for sure. I got the dark chocolate coconut once, and expected it to have like pieces of coconut in it or something, but it was like a Russell Stover and had a gooey interior, which for some reason was a major let down. That said, it had the best saying on it, which was “Live the Dream”
Ok. I shall.
Whoa that actually sounds amazing to me haha so I have to put those next on my list.
I love the dark chocolate! And hey it is healthy for you right!? So why can’t we binge a little bit haha
dark chocolate is always a good choice! 🙂
This is such a cute post! And is the favorite type of Dove chocolate a trick question? All of them…
It is tough to choose just one…it was hard for me to settle on just three! ALL the chocolateeee!
Haha I used to keep all my fortune cookie ‘lessons’ until I got the same one again. And again. And then didn’t even get one once! The highlight though was ‘you are the crispy noodle in my Asian salad’. Wise words.
Dove chocolate isn’t very popular here, but I love their Ice cream bars!
Aw such a flirty fortune cookie! haha
Love it! We don’t have those chocs here but I love the idea behind it! Anything that can bring an extra smile is always good! 🙂
yep! it’s a little extra pleasure during the day 🙂
Seriously though, Dove’s marketing is top notch with these words of wisdom. Same with Yogi tea.
I know you can’t argue with little nuggets of wisdom tucked inside food products…it’s brilliant
Dammit now I’m going to have to go out and buy a bag of these. For one thing I forgot how good they are, but those wrappers really do make me smile. 🙂
Buy some! Totally worth it to get a little boost 🙂