Up For A Challenge? Try Parenting

Wow... getting into the routine of blogging regularly is a challenge! Thank you to all of you who read and follow my posts! I will become more proficient at this!

I want to take a quick moment to share what I believe the single greatest thing a person can do in this life is. 

Be a parent. 

If you love a challenge, there is none greater, that's for sure! There was a GREAT video going around social media about an interview for the toughest job and it was spot on accurate. You are on call 24/7.  And parenting, despite the rough moments, hands down it is worth it.

Everything impacting a child's life begins at home in the early years. It doesn't matter if the family is birth, foster, adoptive, same sex - it really doesn't. What matters is the QUALITY of those relationships. Humans are born with a mimicking reflex so everything we do is being absorbed by their rapidly developing minds.

I know I'm no veteran when it comes to parenting, but I feel I've had some pretty incredible role models in my life. Plenty of what to do and what not to do. I've read books, observed others, agreed with some ideas, disagreed with others. But I feel quality parenting comes down to 5 key ideas (in no particular order).

1. Protect. I don't mean overprotect - they have to learn some lessons the hard way! But keep them safe while allowing them the freedom to grow and flourish. 

2. Patience. Everyone seeks to be heard, to be understood. Young children more than anything so it is OUR job as parents to demonstrate that we understand them before we help them find the words. Learning means making mistakes. When upset, don't react emotionally (and yes! this is a tough one) but respond with...

3. Love. Physical, emotional and spiritual. Lots of hugs and positive affirmations; time spent together doing things WITH them not just supervising. Giving of yourself so that they may feel valued.

4.  Demonstrate. Do you want them to do more than watch television? SHOW them! Demonstrate how to be caring, serving citizens by being one yourself - have them join you in projects! Give them responsibility and guidance and marvel in how capable they are becoming. Tell them how proud you are of them!

5. Forgive. This one has to work both ways. Know that they will challenge you, test you. That's good! That's healthy! Forgive them their mistakes. Know too that you will make mistakes and you are not perfect - forgive yourself.

There will be days that are hell, days that are heaven. It's an emotional roller coaster with no exit. But when those little eyes lock on to yours... there is a piece of your heart that swells so much it could burst at any moment ♥

Smile And The World Smiles With You

This past weekend I attended a fantastic seminar that my church hosted. I wasn't sure what to expect, I only knew that as someone who wants to be a contributing member of my community, I needed to be there.

Some great questions were asked of us as the congregation. How are WE helping our Pastor and Church to be the best it can possibly be? How are WE living up to the churches mission to spread the word and work of Christ?

Now I don't mean to get all controversial, but this topic of giving more than receiving - whether you are a person of faith or not - should be true to each of us! What are YOU doing to contribute to your community? To others? To better the life of another?

I admit I am guilty of having been selfish at times in my life. I believe each of us has. Having been on both the giving and receiving end of life believe me, giving feels FAR more rewarding! The times when I've been able to help my parents, be a contributing member to my household, sharing little acts of kindness to loved ones, and helping a stranger just because its the right thing to do - those are the times I've felt truly great about myself.

I could talk about major natural disasters and how nations pull together during those times to support each other, which is fantastic. But I'm choosing to talk about daily life. You. Me. Your neighbour. Life is a crazy ride. One minute we will be smooth sailing and the next, caught in a storm so great we fear we might capsize! The next time the person on the other end of the phone has to call you, be firm if you need to but don't snap at them. They're just doing their job, it's nothing personal.  The next time a store clerk seems distant, give them a compliment. A smile. Thank them. Hold the door for a stranger. Smile at that person you pass in the street. Give of yourself, your time, your effort, your wisdom, your ear, your heart - whatever you have to give - and CARE for others whether or not they care for you.

If everyone waited for someone else to make the first move - there would never be one. Be a leader! Begin the change!  After all, you never know when you will make a lasting impact on someone. Make it a positive one. ♥

"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing" ~ Mother Teresa

What Do You Aspire To?

Are you anything like me? Where you have a big picture in mind at any one time however the day to day activities become a blur and change from moment to moment, making it very challenging to stay focused on HOW to get to that big picture!?

I short time ago I found myself feeling disappointed with myself as well as feeling frustrated about a few other things. I was fortunate to have my husband home and to have a beautiful sunny day to enjoy so I took advantage and spent the morning outside, taking the dog for her walk and then playing with the kids in their sled. During that time I took the opportunity to reflect. 

I love those moments. Quiet moments to just be in my head, asking myself questions about why I've been behaving or feeling the way I have gave me the chance to remember that each of us has CONTROL! Over how we choose to respond, how we present ourselves as an individuals, how to go about handling life. First thing I decided was to be pleasant! That won't fix everything but it sure as heck will make me feel better about myself! 

I believe something that goes hand in hand with control of one's self, is change. And change can be hard! How do you deal with change? Do you embrace it or do you try to hide? I LOVE change and ironically my husband doesn't do well with it! Lol! Talk about an exercise in patience!  

When you actively decide to make a change in your life, chances are they won't miraculously happen over night. You'll have to work at them. Revise them. Go at them again. Remind yourself daily. Hourly. Even minute to minute some days. And there will be bad days mixed with good. But in the end, your choice to be persistent and stay positive will take you to places beyond your imagination. 

Eyes On the Road Fool!

Hard to believe it is the end of January already! Feels like yesterday was the 1st!

In preparation for this week's blog I found myself digging through some personal disappointment. I wanted to find something that not only I can learn from but something I can share with others so that they too may learn from.

This month has been one of especially tough times or my family and I. I won't get into all the details because frankly we all have our own problems we deal with and what fun is it listening to people gripe about their problems! Each of us are faced with moments where we feel exasperated, perhaps like it can't get any worse! Ironically a large series of events occurred for us right before I was supposed to travel out of country and during a time of immense opportunity! Talk about frustrating!!!!

The opportunity? The company I work for, Nutrie, announced a new system that I am through the roof excited for! It WORKS BEAUTIFULLY! I was fortunate enough to get in on a portion of the first wave of action and WOW! That's all I'll say... Wow!!!

Needless to say my game plan is in place but is formulating much slower than anticipated and I found myself mentally getting in to a rut. I was annoyed... I was doubting myself again (insert audio of Napoleon Hill - love listening to him) What I'm getting at is this: I hit a speed bump. My eyes left the road and I drifted.

Now I find myself back on course but struggling to hit my goal. I lost valuable time! Oh yes, had I followed my coaches and mentors and put in more work, worked smarter, faster, and had I closed my ears to negativity and doubt... had I just been true to myself, I'd be attending what I'm confident will be a brilliant training seminar! I could meet new people, confident of my success. Yup. I'm mad at myself.

So the upside to all of this? I see where I went wrong. I know what I have to do. I became indecisive. I was approaching my problem from the wrong end. I got hung up on HOW when I should have been focused on WHY. It is a valuable skill that one not get caught up in the moments of failure but to pause, reflect, regroup and GO AGAIN - WISER!

One of my favorite quotes through life has been 'It has to hurt if it's to heal'. I believe I've taken that to be my motto of sorts. Life gets rough but don't give up and you'll get through it. Pursuing your dreams will present obstacle after obstacle. Don't look behind you, don't take your eyes off the road. Stay focused on the course ahead of you and always remember WHY your dream is so important!

Where's Your Head At?

What an insane start to 2014! I can't wrap my head around the fact it is only two week into the year and it's shaping up to be a roller coaster! Good thing I love the rush!

First, welcome back! I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas Holiday! We sure did! Lots of smiles, laughs, food and good company. The jeans got a little snugger, in part I'm sure to the lack of exercise during this time mixed with so many delicious foods, but I'm thrilled to say my weight stayed the same! A miracle! Due to the crazy ice storm we didn't get to see as many family members as would have liked, but better to stay safe and see them at a later date then never see them again!

I have to confess, coming up with a topic this week has been more of a challenge that I anticipated! So much going on and yet how do I narrow it down to share on one particular subject? Well at this time, this second week of 2014(!?!?!) a good share of excitement and alarm have been placed on our doorstep so discussing mental attitude seems most fitting. 

This past year had been a roller coaster as well, but I see it as a success and I attribute that to the personal growth and development that took place for myself and in affect, my family. Through starting up my own business I found myself plugging in to many personal development books. Novels like John Maxwell's  The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking, As a Man Thinketh by James Allen and the latest, The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin to name a few. 

Through each of these powerful resources I gained more insight into how my behaviour and frame of mind had been structured to this point in my life, and I was surprised by how negative it all was! "Maybe", "if", "perhaps", "try", "can't" and "I don't know" were all staple words in regular conversation! I discovered I was constantly setting myself up with roadblocks rather than looking beyond the immediate obstacle to the end result. Viewing that end result with eagerness and a smile made thinking about how to get there far easier! Actively DECIDING that I wasn't going to be negative (because frankly how good is the company of someone who is a 'downer'?) felt like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulder! CHOOSING to be happy, and to focus my energy on things that make me happy, like helping and serving others, has done wonders for my psyche and now, during a time of very real alarm and turmoil in my life, I find that I'm not panicking. I'm very aware of worst case scenarios that could present themselves in the days and months to come, however I'm not dwelling on them and getting stuck. I find myself focused on 'what can I do right now in the present, to make this moment just a little bit better?' and that makes me happy. I've learned that I can't always control the circumstances of my life, but I CAN control how I handle them. And that too, makes me happy.

If my words resonate with you and you have any stories you would like to share, I would love to hear them!