Nanea Hoffman – SweatpantsAndCoffee.com via Desiree Angelique Hackett
Filed under Attitude, Encouragement
Charity Sparrow via Stephanie Youmans Wilson
You have to have a certain amount of confidence in order to accept this.
I don’t know why, but as a child, I felt I had to ‘master’ something – at least be reasonably good at something – before I did it in public. I definitely wanted to AVOID stumbling at all costs. I keenly felt in competition with my older brother, never measuring up.
An example would be an invitation to go bowling. Instead of just going, learning the best way I could and having FUN with it, I would accept the invitation, then go a few days ahead of time and bowl several games in order to try to avoid looking like an idiot. It was almost a panicky thing for me.
Now that I’m older than dirt, I no longer feel embarrassment at not having done something before. I won’t say I embrace completely new things with wide open arms yet, but I openly say I’ve never done something before and don’t agonize over looking silly or inept. Life is too short for that. I accept that all of us have strengths and weaknesses and that we are NOT competing – and that no one CARES if I suck at something or not. The point is learning something I didn’t know before and enjoying the experience of learning, sticking my neck out and trying something new – just for the joy of it.
Even though I may stumble a lot these days :0) – I’m having more and more fun dancing!
Filed under empowerment, Encouragement
Heather A. Stillufsen – via Christine Malone – LinkedIn
Filed under Attitude, empowerment, Encouragement
Brooke Hampton – CreativeChild – via Desiree Angelique Hackett
Filed under Encouragement
Leadership First-LinkedIn
I find this to be a really great motivator.
I don’t have many ‘fears,’ but I’ve seen lots of friends whose lives simple dwindle. Their world implodes, becoming smaller and smaller until they’ve given up old interests and don’t want to welcome new ones.
I have more interests than I have time or energy for the day. It seems I barely get started and the day is over.
This time next year, I want to be the best ‘me’ ever. I would like to look back and feel that I’ve used my time well. I hope that I will have shown friends and family how much I love them in so many ways they laugh about it. I want to be as healthy as I can be – taking good care of myself and my husband. I want to fill each day with things that bring me joy.
Where do YOU want to be at this same time next year?
Filed under empowerment, Encouragement
Medical News Today
When our son was home visiting from Thailand over the holidays, he talked about how much meditation has helped him. He had started practicing it by himself, then went to a monastery in Chiang Mai for two weeks. He’s been practicing daily ever since, feeling much more calm, in control of his thoughts, reactions, and emotions, and feeling content.
Tonight (our time) he’ll start his newest adventure – spending time learning to meditate from a master in a monastery in Siddharthanagar, Nepal. He had to fill out a lot of forms and answer many questions to be accepted for a 3-week stay. This time can be extended with the permission of his teacher. He hopes to stay two months.
He’ll eat breakfast at 5 a.m., then meditate until lunch. After lunch (the last meal of the day) he’ll meditate until bedtime – a total of 14 hours every day. He’ll be interviewed by his teacher or a nun there daily, 6 days each week so they can keep track of how things are going, what he’s gaining, what he needs to focus more on, etc. He’ll do sitting and walking meditation.
During this time, in respect for the monastery, the school, and the concentration on this opportunity to learn, he’ll be incommunicado – OUR character-building part of his adventure. This will end, if all goes as he hopes, around the end of March.
I hope he gains what he hopes to during this two-month period. I already felt that he was calmer, more outgoing, more accepting of everything while he was home. I’m really proud of the kind, caring man he is. It’s fascinating to talk with him, learning what he thinks of life, priorities, goals, and more. He already can look at a situation with more depth than his parents, seeing it in a whole different light than we. I’ll be so interested to hear what he has learned and felt during this latest adventure.
JaneSturgeon.wordpress.com
I promised myself that when I finally finished getting our tax stuff together for our CPA, I would then keep up with things on a monthly basis, and reorganizing our files according to deductions, etc.
I’ve just spent much of the afternoon doing just that for January, 2019! I had made spreadsheets of deductions, and copied them for 2019. I used the stuff I had accumulated for January, plugged in the numbers on the proper spreadsheet, then made new files. I then balanced our checkbooks, finishing things up for the month.
I may break my arm trying to keep patting myself on the back, but I’m really happy that this afternoon resulted in such a good start to the new year.
Ironically, by the time I have this down to a science, I’ll probably have croaked! :0)
SayingImages.com
I truly believe that happiness comes from inside you.
Of course, it never hurts to win the lottery, but your attitude about what is happening colors everything you feel, say, and do.
When I find that I have my nose out of joint, I look around, looking to blame something or someone for my bad mood. A lot of times I feel justified for a bit, stewing and fueling my anger, frustration, hurt feelings, and more.
If I think ‘something‘ is at the root of my problem, I try to quit griping internally and do everything I can to change the situation. (I have more luck with this at some times, than others.) When my attitude is due to ‘someone,’ I try to explain my feelings when I’m calmer in an effort to get them to understand and talk about things we can do differently.
I have more trouble with things involving ‘someone‘ than ‘something,’ because, after I examine the situation, I find I need to change MYSELF, rather than trying to get the someONE to change. I look at the larger picture and have to admit that at least 50% of the ‘problem’ is me.
SO – I can choose to keep my nose out of joint or decide to adapt, looking at things from a more positive point of view.
Developing and nurturing a positive attitude is a much healthier, happier way to live.
Filed under Acting Like a Grownup, Attitude, Encouragement
Simple Families via Carol Auclair Daly
Filed under Encouragement, Favorite Quotes, Good Thoughts
Zen to Zany via Cathy Ruggiero
Filed under anticipation, Attitude, Childlike Fun, Encouragement
Daryl Roy – LinkedIn
Smiling and laughing are contagious. I’ve seen videos where someone on a bus will start to laugh and all around him start laughing, too, even though they have no clue what is funny. I’ve seen faces of seeming bitter old people break out in a truly wonderful smile when someone smiles at THEM.
I’ve been in a sad state of mind and DECIDED I would smile at people (and animals) wherever I saw them. Not only did most smile back at me, MY spirits were raised, as well!
I have decided that attitude is all in life. You can’t control much of what happens to you and around you. You CAN control your reaction to it. I’m not saying I think one should go around with a silly grin on your face regardless of what is happening around you. I AM saying that many times you can CHOOSE which part of an event you’re reacting to.
Two examples –
What I am choosing to react to is how lucky I am to have known her. How proud I was of her creative spirit and lust for life. I can celebrate her life.
I spent a couple of days on the verge of tears. (I’m tearing up NOW as I type.) I already miss him and his exquisite hugs so badly it hurts. I can choose to dwell on the fact that he’s gone. I can feel sorry for myself that he lives half way across the world. I can be depressed that it might be several years before he comes to visit again.
What I am choosing to do is to be grateful we have such a wonderful son – proud of the kind, caring man he is. I’m happy that he loves us not only as his parents, but as people he enjoys spending time with. He has gone to great lengths to set up a secure chat program so we can talk several times a day. (We’ve already spoken to him three times today.) He also set up a conference call program – like Skype – but infinitely better, where we can talk and see each other real-time when we’re all up and functional at the same time. (There is 12 hours difference between us.) I can remember every moment of our visit, laughing, teasing each other, having some serious talks, and the wonderful hugs.
I choose to look at the positive side of things as much as I am able. I want to concentrate on the NOW – the sounds, smells, feelings, people, pets, ideas. How lucky I am to be alive.
I want to “be so happy that when others look at me, they become happy, too.”
Filed under Attitude, Challenges, Encouragement
Kelly Mizell – LinkedIn
“New Years is all about getting another chance. A chance to forgive, to do better, to do more, to give more, to love more. And stop worrying about “what if” and start embracing what would be….” 😊❤️� ~ Kelly Mizell – LinkedIn
Filed under anticipation, empowerment, Encouragement, Favorite Quotes, Good Thoughts
WISH 1 –
“My Wish for you in 2019:
May peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts.
May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet of $100 bills.
May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips!
May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires.
May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy.
May the problems you had forget your home address! In simple words …….
May 2019 be the best year of your life!!!” ~ Unknown
Mag for Women
__________________
WISH 2 –
“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.” ~ Neil Gaiman, British author
thesocialpoets.blogspot.com
WISH 3 –
sun-gazing.com via cathy ruggiero
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Filed under Dreams, empowerment, Encouragement, Favorite Quotes, Good Thoughts, holidays, wishes
Smile and Shine via Cindy Basnett Thurman
Filed under Encouragement, giving, Good Thoughts, kindness
creativeartworksblog 