Comments Off on Quotes That Make You Go Hmmm…
November 14, 2012 in quotes that make you go hmmm...
Tagged gratitude, how to be positive, inspiration, inspirational quotes, inspiring quotes, internal reflection, life quotes, pollyanna, positive, positive quotes, positive thinking, positivity, quote, quotes
We often focus on tending to the needs of others: our children, our spouse, our parents, our boss, our clients, our friends, our acquaintances, the cashier, the waiter.
We think about past conversations and how we could have said things differently.
We obsess about the one thing we wish we didn’t say in the heat of anger.
We read book after book on how to nurture our children so they grow up to be caring, productive individuals of society.
But we often forget to foster a relationship with the one person who will always be with us, through thick and thin, for better or worse – ourselves.
Who else gets up in the morning and faces all that you face?
Who else reacts exactly the way you do?
Who else is there for you every moment of every day, ready or not?
Who else knows your deepest and darkest secrets and consistently stands by you?
The answer: No-one else. Just you. The ole Me, Myself and I.
Each and every one of us has this special person in our lives.
The one constant person who is with you from the moment you are born to the moment you die.
So, what is your relationship with yourself?
Do you treat yourself well? I don’t mean do you treat yourself to gifts, although that’s important too – sometimes, to a certain degree. I mean do you treat yourself with respect, kindness and forgiveness?
If you wanted to set yourself up for a date with the friend of a friend, how would you describe yourself to the friend’s friend? What words would you use?
What words do you tell yourself when a conversation doesn’t go as smoothly as you had hoped? Be careful. Words can hurt so speak gently.
What are the nicknames that you call yourself? Are they endearing or demeaning?
Who do you see when you look in the mirror? Friend or Foe?
Do you like yourself?
You are going to be with yourself for quite some time so if things aren’t going well, now is the time to change all that.
Go easy on yourself. You’re only human.
Don’t beat yourself up if you screw up – and you will undoubtedly screw up from time to time, likely many times. Everyone does. Instead, learn from your mistakes and pledge to do better the next time.
Be your own best-friend; the kind of friend you are to others.
The better the relationship you have with yourself, the less you will stress over the relationships you have with others because being you, knowing yourself, and doing your best, is all people can expect of you and all that you can expect of yourself.
In your quest to be your own best friend, the first thing on your to-do list should be to give yourself an AWESOME nickname because when you’ve said something stupid to the cute guy you’ve been hoping for months to meet, instead of saying to yourself “Nice one, Dummy.”, wouldn’t “You are one unpredictable gal, Stellar Cosmic Chicana!” feel so much better?
What AWESOME nickname are you going to give yourself?
Share it below.
♥
What is one excess that you currently have but could live without?
If you gave it up, would you really miss it?
Is it worth trying to live without it now?
♥
Comments Off on Positive Ponderings: Excess
Posted in positive ponderings
Tagged challenge, communication, grateful, gratitude, how to be healthy, how to be positive, inspiration, internal reflection, pollyanna, positive, positive thinking, positivity, power of words
Take a walk down memory lane with this week’s Bright-Side of the Web.
See how many of the lyrics you can remember.
Watch “Happiness” from “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”
(song begins at 1:30)
What is Happiness for you?
Comments Off on Bright-Side of the Web: Charlie Brown
Posted in the bright-side of the web
Tagged grateful, gratitude, how to be positive, inspiration, inspirational quotes, internal reflection, pollyanna, positive, positive thinking, positivity, power of words
Chocolate covered almonds. Chocolate covered raisins. Chocolate covered peanuts. Chocolate covered chocolate.
Chocolate = Happiness.
Chocolate = Satisfaction.
Chocolate is not only soothing and comforting, it can be used as an analogy to life’s pleasures.
A smile on the faces of family members, a hearty straight-from-the-depths-of-your-gut laugh, a hug precisely when needed, a baby’s cooing, dancing with abandon, someone to talk to when you need to vent, helping someone, making a difference in someone’s life or in the world are all examples of “life-chocolate”.
Enriching, satiating, elevating.
Basic food, water, safety and shelter are the meat and potatoes; the main course. The sustenance you need to survive; the means to keep you going to the next day.
But chocolate, ah! That is what makes life…well, life.
The sweetness that makes the drudgery bearable.
Without chocolate, there would be nothing to look forward to at the end of the ‘must do’. No special treat with which to reward yourself.
Some of us have chocolate all around us but can’t see it. They live in the ‘hot/cold’ game. They get close to it but walk right past it. If no-one says “You’re getting warmer”, they don’t take notice or the time to seek it out.
Maybe that is why an Easter egg hunt is so much fun.
My chocolate may be your pie, or ice-cream, or cheesecake. The medium can change, the meaning remains.
Start filling your basket with all the chocolate you can find. Just the act of starting to look means you are getting warmer. And if you look around and realise that you are ‘burning hot’, get a bigger basket, then share it with your friends.
What is your chocolate? Where did you find it?
Comments Off on What Is Your Chocolate?
Posted in reflections, observations & musings
Tagged communication, grateful, gratitude, how to be positive, inspiration, internal reflection, pollyanna, positive, positive thinking, positivity
Comments Off on Quotes That Make You Go Hmmm…
November 7, 2012 in quotes that make you go hmmm...
Tagged grateful, gratitude, how to be positive, inspiration, inspirational quotes, inspiring quotes, internal reflection, life quotes, motivational quotes, pollyanna, positive, positive quotes, positive thinking, positivity, power of words, quote, quotes, quotes and sayings, share quotes
~
Change of seasons?
Change of tactics?
Change of scenery?
Change of pace?
Change the channel?
Change your mind?
Change a tire?
Change a diaper?
Change your clothes?
Change your attitude?
The correct change?
Change for the better?
Change is as good as a holiday?
Change is what you need?
Change can kick-start a whole new outlook?
“People are always telling you that change is a good thing. But all they’re really saying is that something you didn’t want to happen at all, has happened.”
Meg Ryan, You’ve Got Mail
True or False: Do you think change is for the better?
I have always said that I love spontaneity – but only if it’s my idea.
Do I feel the same way about change?
If you believe as I do, that everything happens for a reason, then I guess you could conclude that change is a good thing. Or is it?
Perhaps change is simply inevitable.
There are many inevitable things:
Life = good
Aging = good for a while
Death = not so good
So then is change something that is out of our control?
Some changes we purposely create, for better or worse (I’ll let you categorise them for yourself):
Moves – to new jobs, houses, cities, countries
Face-lifts, nose-jobs, tummy tucks, tattoos
New hair-styles or colour, clothes, shoes
Live together, split up, marriage, divorce
What is positive change for one person could be devastating for another depending on their life circumstances and how much control they had over the change.
Some changes we have collectively and inadvertently created:
Climate change
Ozone depletion
Extinction of species
As humans, we are not perfect and we make mistakes.
What we haven’t learned yet is how to learn from our mistakes.
Some changes we refuse to make, or make quickly enough:
End to world hunger
End to wars and civil unrest
End to poisoning our air, soil and water
They seem simple enough to change when you see them in black and white, especially when you realise that all three boil down to one thing – greed.
Do we categorize good change as that which we can affect and bad change as that which is out of our control?
Whether on purpose or not, good or bad, some change is inevitable. Some might even call it fate.
But where we have control over change for the better, particularly where the health of ourselves and our planet is concerned, why wouldn’t we act to bring about change – now?
How about this for a change: let’s change our tune.
Let’s change our reaction – or non-action – into making a difference before inevitable becomes irreversible.
Change your perspective.
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” Mother Theresa.
Have you heard of the ‘six word memoir‘?
The idea is to describe your life using only six words.
I would like to put a twist on that. A Pollyanna twist.
Using six words, write about something positive in your life.
Here’s mine:
What’s yours?
30-Day Challenge: Day 5
How is your 30-Day Challenge going? Did you make it through the weekend? Don’t be discouraged if you didn’t. Stick with it and ignore the slip-up. You can add a day to the end if you like.
So far, I’ve managed to keep bread at bay and it has not been as difficult as I had feared. I’ve had soup with salad a couple of times and eggs with no toast. The tricky thing for me is just keeping it at the front of my mind and not unconsciously making a sandwich out of habit.
Well, 4 days down, 26 to go!
How is your challenge going? (Don’t forget to share your 6-word positive memoir)
Comments Off on Positive Ponderings: Six Word Positive Memoir
Posted in 30-day challenge, positive ponderings
Tagged challenge, communication, grateful, gratitude, how to be positive, inspiration, internal reflection, musings, philosophy, pollyanna, positive, positive thinking, positivity
It’s November 1st and time to begin the second of what I hope to become monthly 30-Day Challenges.
For this month’s challenge, I am going to attempt something I have never done before. Something that is bound to be a very, nay extremely, difficult challenge for me.
For the next 30 days, I am not going to eat any bread.
No bread.
I am having a hard time even typing that. No bread.
In the bread category, I am including sandwich bread, bagels, croissants, waffles, english muffins, muffins of any kind, and yes, even pizza – Gasp! (I was going to include pasta too but I fear this will be enough of a challenge. No need to go crazy. One step at a time)
I love bread and cutting it out for a month will definitely be a challenge but one which will bring me a step closer to regaining the healthy eating lifestyle I once enjoyed.
I have already managed to remove it from my breakfasts by drinking smoothies instead – a spill-over benefit from my yoga challenge. One meal down, two meals and snacks to go.
I also intend to continue the yoga practice that I have incorporated into my daily routine from last month’s challenge.
So, are you with me? Are you going to cut out bread for a month? Or have you decided to challenge yourself in another way?
Share your November 30-Day Challenge below. Misery loves company! 🙂
Comments Off on Quotes That Make You Go Hmmm…
October 31, 2012 in quotes that make you go hmmm...
Tagged grateful, gratitude, inspiration, inspirational quotes, inspiring quotes, internal reflection, motivational quotes, pollyanna, positive, positive quotes, positive thinking, positivity, quote, quotes
#B4Peace
Embracing Pollyanna 