Posts tagged ‘Changing your attitude’

September 15th, 2011

What Every Dreamer Needs

I am no superwoman. You can forget about what my last post implied. Puh-leaze! Although I work hard to change my attitude, I get dips in my days too. Negative feedback from others or within myself is enough to set off a domino effect on my mood. It goes something like this:

Could you redo this piece? —> Your writing sucks.

I didn’t get that job. —> I suck.

Okay. Maybe it’s not that black and white. But I’m a HSP (highly sensitive person) so I’d be lying if I said that I’m 100% immune to external and internal feedback.

What I can honestly say is this…

  • If I ride it out the feeling will go away.
  • If I accept how I feel, the feeling will be much easier to deal with.
  • If I realize that what I think is not always the truth, then I’m able to let go of obsessing over non-truths and get on with my life.
  • And most importantly, if I take a look at my situation from an eagle’s view, I am able to laugh. On the 5th day of Christmas what did the universe give to me? 5 query rejections, 4 minutes of self-doubt, 3 projects pending, 2 forgotten dreams, and 1 life as a writer. {That’s the ditty that was playing in my head yesterday.}

The thing is life will never be easy. Sometimes you have to put in the extra work to discover ways to soothe yourself.

For me, it means being a conscious observer, looking deep at everything I see. (My husband says watching me is like watching a child. I really cannot not look at every little thing.) It’s all in the details my friend. And I’ve been keeping my eye out on them recently…

 

Like this shot I took this past weekend. See the couple in the background staring into the garden?

 

And sometimes it’s the hidden “signs” that we didn’t notice before:

Random sign on a hiking trail.

 

Changes taking shape when we’re not paying attention.

Beauty in branches.

 

Or maybe love from an unexpected source just when you needed it most.

*Found this walking around my neighborhood today.

What do you need most right now? How are you fueling yourself and your vision?

*Want to see more photos? Here’s a bunch of them.

CategoryDaily Inspirations, Inspired Life | Comment3 Comments »

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September 8th, 2011

How to Turn a Bad Day Into a Good One

via Pinterest

{Excuse me while I reminisce for a bit with an old SATC episode.}

Ever see the Sex and the City episode where Carrie celebrates her 35th birthday? Her friends want to throw her a small birthday bash. But they are either late or can’t find the restaurant. In the end, she’s the only bell at her ball and has to pay for her $60 b-day cake too.

Yet, at the end of the night when Mr. Big drives up with big red birthday balloons and asks how was her day, she says, “Fabulous!”

I always wondered about that scene.

That is, until now.

You see, I’ve had about 0 bad days recently.

And it’s not because I won the lottery or suddenly lost my sense of reality.

I’ve actually discovered a tool that may help you get out of the funk you’re in.

It’s all about attitude…

Attitude is a concept that parents talk to teens about.

Self-help books

and gurus too.

But I didn’t really “get” it until a few so-called “bad” days weaseled their way into my life recently.

A biopsy.

A missed doctor’s appointment I waited a month for.

But then I decided that like the white scrawls on a green chalkboard, I could

simply erase it

by changing my attitude.

I made a conscious decision.

I DECIDED that external events would not CONTROL my life.

I DECIDED that who I was was more powerful, more whole, much more significant than a few measly circumstances that would one day pass and be an unmentionable memory.

I DECIDED that I would no longer play victim.

I would be the victor.

And I would do it gloriously.

What I needed to do was

LET GO.

I let go of the guilt I felt for a late appointment.

I let go of the expectation I had to live a certain type of life.

I let go of the disappointment.

I instead did one thing with 3 words.

Let it be.

I gave up fueling the drama.

I gave up on the idea of perfection.

I gave up on the belief that I had control over every single aspect of my life.

And in giving up,

I gave a gift to myself.

We don’t have control over everything. Sometimes unexpected events shake us up to our very core. And we feel like we have no choices. But we do. Try telling yourself, “This doesn’t have to be a bad day. This can be the best day of my life. If I let it. If I let myself see past the inconceivable.”

It is possible.

Trust me.

What I got instead of guilt and disappointment was gratitude, laughter, connection and an opportunity to feel empowered instead of disempowered.

It was the best day I could ask for. Instead of being one of the hardest days of my life.

Can you change a bad day into a good one?

I say, “Most definitely yes!”

In fact, give me more days like that one.

CategoryDaily Inspirations | Comment4 Comments »

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July 8th, 2011

Why Does Life Have to Be So Hard?!

{flickr photo}

Ever ask yourself that question?

Recently, I about hit my head on the table when I realized why life is so hard…

I’ve been saying it to myself since I was a kid.

Really? Really.

I said it to myself when I decided to choose the hardest project to do in class. I said it when I vowed to find a way to graduate with honors even though the Dean (he was a.k.a. as Georgie Porgie who liked to make the girls cry) said, “No” to me. I fought for a lot in my life because I believed a long, long time ago that life was supposed to be difficult.

And it was.

Darn it! I hate it when I’m right.

But I realized that maybe instead of saying, “life is difficult,” why not be open to a different thought?

That change has begin opening doors for me I didn’t realize was possible.

For one, it made me rethink this website.

I had created it on an impulse. I had a strong desire to spread my little bee wings and after a bike ride had a vision of inspiring others in various ways. Like a bee floating from flower to flower, I wanted to spread inspiration and positivity so it would grow one person at a time.

For the most part, I have created what I had envisioned.

I say, “for the most part,” because the way I did it was so clunky and inefficient that I ended up spending more time structuring the blog than I did writing it. [Insert horrifying scream here.]

Instead, I decided to streamline the process by combining all my crazy ideas in one place. You’ll hopefully see what I mean over the course of the summer.

Now, I’m not completely sure this will solve all my problems. You may find The Inspiring Bee to be a little scattered and a little neurotic at first. I’m hoping that’s okay. I’m hoping you’ll love it anyway.

Since it’s summer, I’m on a mission to risk BIG and start reorganizing my life and my business.

I started sharing a few of my summery goals on Twitter and Facebook. And found a group of similar minded gals. This has sparked another idea of mine, which I hope to also get my hands into in the next few weeks.

Stay tuned.

With loving thoughts,

Brandi {a.k.a. TIB}

CategoryFinding Your Purpose | Comment2 Comments »

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