15 Things to Give Up

You First

Take care of yourself first. I usually think of the oxygen mask theory when I remind people to take care of themselves first. On an airplane, you are told to place your oxygen mask on your face first before helping others. This includes your children! As a parent, we know how hard it is to save ourselves before saving our children. But think about it... if we save others first, who will save us? We will be around longer to help longer if we are safe. The whole point is to take care of yourself before stressing about taking care of everyone else. It is okay to take a reasonable step back from life's demands to make sure you are okay. It is necessary to put yourself first.

The Key to Effective Change

So many times we hear people who want to make a change say, "I want to..."  Very seldom do we actually see the actions necessary to make the change follow their statement.  Therefore, in order to make a change we have to WORK for that change. 

George Bernard Shaw
playwright

The first step in making a change is to MAKE A CHOICE.  It is not enough to just want to change.  You must choose to make the change occur.  Dreams are worthless unless you wake up and do it.  Quit feeling stuck in a rut.  Get out of mere tradition. Many times we continue to live a certain way because it is simply what we are used to doing.  However, tradition can be one of the major obstacles holding us back from doing what we want to do and being the person we desperately want to be.  Once you have your mind set on the change you want to make, figure out how you will make that change.

The second step is to WORK FOR THE CHANGE. We need to understand that we did not develop habits overnight. Habits take time to fester in our everyday routines.  So, it is unreasonable to think that we can get rid of unwanted habits in one night.  Change requires effort, planning, hard work, thought, and determination.  Habits seem to call our name at the most inopportune times.  We just have to stand our ground and work for a consistent change.  We cannot be weak once we start working to make a change.

The major step to making a change is to KEEP AN HONEST COMMUNITY. We all have people who are either working for us or against us.  We need to figure out the difference amongst the group of people we are associated with.  We need to distance ourselves from the people who seem to be holding us back from what we truly need to be doing to better ourselves.  We need people who will support us in spite of our wrongdoings, love us, tell us the truth, and break things down to us to help us understand.  We need people to tell us as it is with LOVE.  We don't need someone who is going to make everything an argument.  We need someone who is willing to go the distance with us and not help us go back down that old path. There are times that we try to make it seem as though we are always okay even at our lowest times and front to make it seem that we are strong.  However, we all need someone who we can trust to be confidential, non-judgmental, truthful, and love us for who we are despite our downfalls.  If you can find one person who can strengthen and support you throughout the process of change, that is good.  If you can find even two people, that is awesome.  Just be wise of who you call your "crew".

Pray for Boston

Inspired Clipboards

I am super excited about the crafting journey that I am embarking on! All my life,  I have been bored by the thought of creating, coloring, designing, or decorating anything until recently. Back in October,  I wanted to support a small business. I ordered a product online and anxiously waited for it to arrive so I could wear my product. When I received the product, it did not resemble the picture very much. I was so upset. I called my sister to vent, and she insisted that I call the vendor and request an exchange since small business owners will work with their customers to make them happy. I thought about it and said I would simply try to recreate it. I did it successfully!  I even thought about selling the same products. However, I did not keep up with the creating process, because it was not really a passion of mine. I then began my journey of crafts. I have dabbled in multiple arts-some not as successful as others. 

 

To make a long, drawn-out story sweet and simple... I have found a craft that I can stick with! I have begun decorating those brown, ugly clipboards to make them look more presentable.  They were all rather girly, so I decided to create a manly one for my husband.  I even took it a step further to coincide with my inspirational blog. I am now adding messages to the back of the clipboard and designing the front. Isn't this cool?! To check out some of the clipboards or even BUY one, click the link below or see the Inspire Store tab at the top. I'm excited about this and hope that it can grow into something greater soon. :-) smiling from ear to ear

Click the link to visit the Inspire Shop!... http://inspire2beinspired.storenvy.com/

Beware of Germs

http://www.wellnessrevolutiononline.com
 

I have been out of commission for a whole month! I have neglected my blog, because sickness got the best of me. To make matters worse, my daughter could not give me my space as I recuperated, and ended up sick too.  I hardly ever get sick (especially for an extended period of time) and I have never missed so many days from work since I started working in high school. Needless to say,  my daughter and I are both doing much better and I'm back to blog. There were a lot of topics that I wanted to touch on while I was sick, but didn't have the energy.  Hopefully, the ideas can come back naturally so I can write about the happenings of life freely.

 

Note to readers:

• Sanitize your work areas frequently.
• Wash your hands often.
• Sneeze and cough in your shirt, NOT your hands. Teach your children this technique or any adults who lack this common courtesy for others in the vicinity.
• Carry hand sanitizer for those moments that you can't make it to a sink (like after shaking someone's hand).
• Be careful not to rub your hands across your face without washing them first.
• Wash your hands before eating... especially after touching those disgusting menus at the restaurant. 
• Be mindful of your cleanliness at all times.
• I could go on forever about staying away from the disgusting things that surround us, but I think this is enough to cover the basics haha... Stay well!