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Picture of BEAUTY of the Day
When the word “beauty” is spoken, what automatically comes to your mind?
Merriam-Webster defines beauty as “the quality of being physically attractive, the qualities in a person or a thing that give pleasure to the senses or the mind, a beautiful woman” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beauty).
Maybe you think of super, skinny models and their flawless complexion. Maybe the face of a loved one comes to mind. Or maybe you see nature. Or food.
Every person is unique in the way that they view things and in the things that they love. So why do so many of us try to look like the models, and act like the superstars? Beauty is so much deeper than appearance and worldly attractiveness. Some where along the way, beauty became defined as a person who was such a height with so many inches around their waist, with this type of hair and skin. These became standards that so many have tried to force themselves to live by. Truthfully, only a small percentage can amount to that definition. But when everyone is trying to look like that one specific person, we become mindless robots and loose our true beauty.
What is wrong with you? Why aren’t you satisfied with who you are?
When the word beauty is spoken, we should each think of ourselves. Not out of pride or vanity but realizing that you are unique. You hold your own beauty. There is no one else like you in the whole world. Every single person on this planet is beautiful in their own way. Some prefer to hide their beauty. Some refuse to acknowledge its existence. But it is there.
I am an expert on beauty. Why? Because I see it all around me. I see it in the people I encounter daily. In the nature
designed by God. In the art designed by humans.
I do not judge as the world does but I see things
for the simplicity and the reality of what they are.
Beauty is all around. Let’s open our eyes and take
a fresh look. You will be amazed at how much your
life can change when you start to really see beauty.
Over the next few blogs I am going to dive deep into
the topic of beauty. I hope you dive with me into the
recesses of your soul and find that beauty that you
may not have known exists.
Photo from Pinterest
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What is
Beauty?
You are a
Beauty
DEFINE BEAUTY
January 1, 2014 Wednesday
It does take some work to reach this point, but if you are willing, we can go on this journey together and find your true beauty. This work will take place more in your thoughts and your heart than in the gym or in front of the mirror.
It will be well worth it once you reach your final destination.
Photo by my dad
Taken in Kansas
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Yesterday we came to the conclusion that everyone has their own uniqueness that makes them beautiful. We do not have to strive to be something we are not. We can just be ourselves.
We have been taught that beauty is all about appearance, the way you look. But today we are going to redefine beauty. We are taking it back to it’s original meaning.
Beauty is so much more than your appearance. Beauty is about knowing who you are and being comfortable and accepting who you are. This not only encompasses your looks, but it includes your character, your personality, everything that makes you, you.
When a person becomes content with themselves and loves themselves, their is a joy that is ever present with them. This joy lightens their moods and brings a beauty unlike anything that the media could try to force down your throat. This is true, complete beauty.
Picture of BEAUTY of the Day
REDEFINE BEAUTY
Real
Beauty
January 2, 2014 Thursday
Someone who is content with their beauty does not desire to change it, only to enhance it. They love the way they were made so they do the necessary steps to care for what they have. They work out and eat right not to look like a stick figure but to be healthy and to feel healthy. They care for their body and so they use proper hygiene. Some will wear make up to enhance their facial features. But they do not get wrapped up in trying to be like everyone else because they have come to the understanding that they can only ever be themselves. And that is enough for any of us.
We do not need 15 million Angelina Jolies walking around. One of her. One of you. One of me.
Photo of Paint Splatter
Taken from Pinterest
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We have established that appearance is not all that there is to your beauty. But looks do play a small role.
When I say that appearance (looks) play a part in your beauty, I am not meaning that you have to fit the Barbie or Ken mold. What I am saying is that you should find it within yourself to accept what you look like, the way you were made. When you see yourself as beautiful, you carry yourself in a different way that makes others stop and recognize your beauty.
True, nobody is ever completely satisfied with their looks. As humans, we have a tendency to want what we do not have.
By accepting the way you look, you acknowledge that you were born with the hair, eye, skin color, face shape, body shape, freckles, whatever and that combination makes up you. This is your natural beauty. Some of these things cannot be changed.
Many revert to dying their hair, wearing colored contacts, spray tans and extreme diets. But you do not need to do those things.
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January 3, 2014 Friday
APPEARANCE
Looking
Good
This song is by Barlow Girl and is called Mirror. It is a beautiful song about breaking out of trying to fit in the world's mold of beauty and seeing themselves for who they really are.
The lyrics are below.
"Mirror"
Mirror, Mirror on the wall, Have I got it?
'Cause Mirror you've always told me who I am
I'm finding it's not easy to be perfect
So sorry you won't define me
Sorry you don't own me
Who are you to tell me
That I'm less than what I should be?
Who are you? Who are you?
I don't need to listen
To the list of things I should do
I won't try, I won't try
Mirror I am seeing a new reflection
I'm looking into the eyes
of He who made me
And to Him I have beauty beyond compare
I know He defines me (Yeah)
Who are you tell me
that I'm less than what I should be
Who are you?
Who are you? (Yeah)
I don't need to listen
To the list of things I should do
I won't try, no, I won't try
You don't define me (You don't define me) [x4]
Who are you to tell me
That I'm less than what I should be
Who are you?
Who are you?
Yeah!
I don't need to listen
To the list of things I should do
I won't try, no, I won't try
Yeah
Who are you to tell me
That I'm less than what I should be
Who are you?
Who are you?
Yeah
I don't need to listen
To the list of things I should do
I won't try, no, I won't try
Photo of Mom's Bday Cupcake
Taken by Me
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January 4, 2014 Saturday
MIRROR MIRROR
Mirror on the Wall
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I hope you are having a beautiful Sunday!!
Picture of BEAUTY of the Day
January 5, 2014 Sunday
MORE THAN LOOKS
Beautiful Quote
My friend Brittany being all stylish and beautiful.
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Your beauty comes from a place far beyond your looks. Beauty starts from the inside and is displayed through your personality and your character. Those two, combined with your looks, create a unique individual. There is no other person like you in this whole universe.
Your laugh, your smile, the things that bring you joy, your ability to cry when you feel pain, all of these things and so much more are beauty shining through you. Positive attitudes, a cheery mood, welcoming and hospitable spirits are all beautiful characters being displayed.
We are not always going to be overflowing with joy, believe me I have been through my share of hard times. But your true beauty is still there. It does not leave you when times get hard or when you increase in age. These things can enhance your beauty. The more challenges you face in life and the more you learn, the more you see who you really are and what you are made of. And you learn to appreciate and love yourself through it all.
Some have a harder time dealing with things or pulling through. Their beauty becomes clouded over with things like bitterness, jealousy, anger and hatred. Those people are in need of some extra love. If you have some extra love to share, and you know someone in need of it, go let your beauty shine through today and be love to someone who is hurting. You may be just what they need.
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January 6, 2014 Monday
BEYOND LOOKS
Character &
Personality
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If you want your beauty to be shown, you do not want any of those things hanging around. They are quick to cover and destroy your beauty. In different stages of life, I have had one or more of those “side effects” stick around. It made me miserable. I hated everything about my life and I considered myself far from beautiful.
We will talk about these “side effects” further. I will share some of my stories with you. If you are facing any of these or going through a hard time, this should bring you hope. We can get out of it together.
Feel free to send me your story as well. I love to hear from my readers.
Most of the difficult things that you face in life do in fact steal your beauty. They also still your joy and eventually your life. However, it is up to you on how long you let that happen.
After a heartbreak, a death, an accident, etc ... it is normal and important to go through stages of grief, anger and hurt. You do not want to stay in any of those stages. You want to go through them naturally and then let go of the situation. But too many times we get stuck in one of the stages or we find companions like self-pity, bitterness, depression and hatred along the way.
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January 7, 2014 Tuesday
STEALING BEAUTY
Beauty
Killers
After months of this, I finally woke up from the sleep of bitterness and let go of all of those people, all of the hurt they caused me, and I decided to move on with my life. I had to forgive and choose to keep living without them. They had long since forgotten me so it was not doing me any good to hold on to the pain and harbor bitterness in my heart.
Letting go of bitterness is a choice. A wise choice. The longer you hold on to it, the uglier you become. Both in appearance and in your personality. It destroys you from the inside out. But when you make a choice to live without that, you have to work hard to not let your mind think those negative thoughts. Not speak those negative thoughts. Instead, when they come (and they will) find something positive to think on instead. Pray blessings over people that hurt you.
You cannot give up on this process and do your best to not given in. It will be an amazing transformation when you make it to the other side.
When things do not go the way that you planned, when your closest friend back stabs you, when people turn on you because of false accusations, all of these and more are daily occurrences.
Its easy to let bitterness take over when we are constantly confronted with hurt caused by friends and family. I will be the first to admit that I am guilty of it.
A few years ago, it felt like everyone in my world had turned against me. I was left with just a few friends and family members that did not understand me, but chose to stick by me. But because I had lost so many close friends all at once, for no good reason, I allowed bitterness to take over my thinking and my attitude.
I had decided that because these people were so fickle that everyone in the world was the same way. I began to loathe humankind. I decided that I did not need friends anymore. I did not need anyone in my life to love me. If someone did come along that wanted to be my friend, I was not going to get close to them because they would just leave me like everyone else did.
This thinking went on for quite a few months. I was miserable and did not know how to enjoy my life anymore. I did not know how to see beauty in my own life. I had let one devastating circumstance bring my whole world down.
January 8, 2014 Wednesday
BITTERNESS
Better
not be
Bitter
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BE YOU
Picture of BEAUTY of the Day
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Read the passage above and then reflect on how you live your days.
Are you constantly striving to be like someone else and then beating yourself up when you do not measure up?
Or do you live each day in the cpnfidence of who you are?
You are you, and only you. So be you.
January 9, 2014 Thursday
Confidence is
KEY
Picture of BEAUTY of the Day
SELF-PITY
Not even a year ago, I had fallen into self-pity. I hated everything about my life and it constantly made me in a grumpy mood. I kept thinking, “Something needs to happen with my life. God needs to do something.” A while later, I remembered that famous quote that is posted to the left and I realized that I am responsible for how my life is going and for how it will turn out.
From that point on, I started of thinking of everything that I did not like about my life and began making gradual changes. Now, I am in love with my life. I love the things that I get to do, the opportunities that I sought out. And I know that if anything makes me miserable, all I have to do is change it.
(It is important to seek direction and advice but do not sit around waiting for something to fall into your lap. It never will.)
Life is what you make it. So my dear friend, if you are stuck in self-pity, grab this rope I just threw to you and start climbing out to the beautiful world around you.
Do you spend long hours sitting around wishing something good would happen to you? Do you continuously long for other people’s lifestyles or goods? Do you feel sorry for yourself and desire for everyone else to feel sorry for you too?
Those, my friend, are all symptoms of self-pity. And self-pity makes a person very unattractive. Self-pity is something that I find is becoming more common and that is not a good thing.
I don’t know about you, but I have a really hard time keeping a conversation with someone who is always down in the dumps but does not want to do anything to change their circumstances. No matter how much you try to help them, they do not want to put forth the effort to change their own lives.
That is the secret to breaking out of the pit of self-pity. You must realize that it is up to you to change your life. It is not up to any other person. It is your life, so take responsibility for it.
January 10, 2014 Friday
Don't fall
in the pit
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But it is NEVER the answer. If I could make it through all of that junk, Hell on Earth, than you sure can to. No, it is not easy but the longer you keep pushing through, the sooner you will break out of it.
Do not ever give up on your life. It is such a precious gift. Hang in there because it will get better. Feel free to send me a message, even if you are a complete stranger, because I am here for you to talk with and I will pray with you.
This is a really big subject and I plan on talking about it some more tomorrow. I will give some tips on how to overcome depression and get back to your beautiful life.
Depression sucks, straight out. If you have never dealt with depression than you are a blessed individual. But most people I have met in this life have faced depression to some extent.
Depression is a subject I know VERY well. It has eaten up big portions of my life, sucked beauty out of so many months of life and has literally made me feel dead. I cannot say that I have ever tried to commit suicide but on multiple occasions I have thought about it and even considered the quickest way. I could never go through with it though because I did not want to disappoint God and I knew that he had a big purpose for me in this life.
I got depressed over lost friendships, lack of friendships, boys, my parents divorce and so many other things. For a while, it seemed like anything would make me depressed and I had to tip toe through life so as not to upset myself and fall back into the dumps.
So many things in life can cause such huge pain. It feels like our hearts cannot bare the sorrow and the broken pieces. Even if there is someone that cares about you or you feel like you have people you need to live for, death seems like a much easier solution. Death feels like freedom.
January 11, 2014 Saturday
FEELING DOWN
Be
Happy
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2. Talk it out - When your thoughts are keeping you down, one way to relieve depression is to let it out. Find a friend, an unbiased party, who listens well and gives up lifting advice. Share everything that you are feeling and thinking. Cry in front of them. Just let it all out. When you put it all out in the open, you no longer feel like you are alone in the tower or your mind. This was hard for me. I was not a big talker and I did not let anyone know what was going on inside me. Once I made this step, it was like the dam broke and I was one step closer to being free.
1. Positive Thoughts - When you are depressed, your thoughts are normally consumed with the person, or situation or whatever, that is making you depressed. When you keep thinking of that, you stay depressed. But the good news is, you have control over your thoughts. They should not have control over you. If you are like me, I did not know that I had control over my thoughts. Once I learned that, I had to train myself to think on different things. It is very hard to take control of your thoughts when you are so used to them being in control. The trick is to be mindful about what you are thinking about. Catch those thoughts right away and force them out of your head by replacing them with positive and happy thoughts.
I have put together a list of 5 different things that have helped me through the years in breaking out of depression. You do not need to stay in depression, so let’s take the steps to get out.
January 12, 2014 Sunday
5 STEPS OUT
Get out
of Depression
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3. Keep a Diary - Pouring all your feelings and your heart out onto a sheet of paper is another way of letting the depression out. Writing helps me examine things more closely. When I kept a diary, I was able to understand my feelings and see what was really going on inside of me. When you keep a diary, you can read back through your entries and see how far you have progressed. Learn from your past and move on to your future.
5. Don’t make it harder on yourself - It is time you hear the truth and accept it. The damage was done the second whatever happened took place. Since than, that person has not been tormenting you, the situation has not continued to reoccur. But you are still depressed. Why? Because you are doing it to yourself. You are the only one putting yourself through those thoughts. You are the only one suffering from the depression. You are hurting yourself. STOP. Get control of yourself. Stop torturing yourself. A friend described this to me about a week ago when she was describing a situation she was in. She immediately realized that she was the only still torturing herself over the situation. That is such a healthy and wise way to live. Recognize that you are in control and pull yourself out of it.
4. Let it go - This is such a hard step but its a biggie. Just plain let it go. Whatever it is that has got you down in the dumps, Get over it. Move on with life. Come up with something else to look forward to, something to live for. Forgive whoever hurt you and allow yourself to live again. Start over. It is really a simple thing but it is very hard to do when you are depressed. I know you can do it.
An amazing thing happened though when I made that decision. I became a completely different person. It was like somebody had lifted the curtains on my life and I could finally see the sun. It took me almost ten years to finally let go of the anger and hatred and forgive him, from when the anger first bud in my heart as a child. Imagine how much life I missed out on because I wanted to stay mad at him.
I can’t say that I have conquered anger completely. It is still there enticing me when life does not go as I had planned. I still throw mini tantrums (normally when I am alone) and then cool myself down. But I never let myself stay angry at someone or something for too long because I do not want to live a life consumed by hatred ever again. I am hoping that if you are holding onto some hatred that you will do what you can to let it go and embrace the love.
Hate is such a strong word. Probably because of the strong emotions that come with it and the violent force that seems to take over. Have you ever hated somebody, some thing, some part of your life, some place? I know I have. Hatred was not very becoming on me. It does not look good on anyone else either.
Once you have allowed anger and rage to simmer in your heart for a while. That hatred just sort of appears and takes you over. Its hard to control and even harder to get rid of. But it is too dangerous to keep.
After my parents got divorced and my mother remarried, I was angry. I was also young and did not know any better. So I let the anger stay. I fed it and eventually it grew. Before I knew it, I hated my stepdad. I hated him for many, many years. I was a teenager by than and I knew that I had to get rid of the hatred because it would destroy my life. But I did not want to. I did not want to like him or have to forgive him or anything close to that. I would make up excuses like, “It is hard to forgive him when he is still here.”
Keeping it made me into an ugly and sometimes mean person. I could not control when or who I lashed out on, but it was normally family that I love very much. Finally, before I went off to college, I decided to forgive him. I let go of the anger and embraced the love of God. It was the only way that I could truly love him.
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January 13, 2014 Monday
LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED
All You
Need is ...
Love
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January 14, 2014 Tuesday
YOU ARE AWESOME
Don't
Forget
January 15, 2014 Wednesday
DANGEROUS
Don't
Forget to
Forgive
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We have just talked about hatred and anger and not too long ago I spoke on forgiveness. Many times when we are angry or hold hate towards someone it is because we need to forgive them.
This video above is done by the rapper KJ-52. The song is called "Dangerous" and it talks about the dangers of not forgiving. It is a really great song.
January 16, 2014 Thursday
DON'T BE JEALOUS
Just the Way
You Are
Jealousy! Another ugly trait. When you are jealous of someone, you think that you need something or someone that they have. But what really is happening is you are saying to yourself that you are not good enough as you are. You need her nose or his abs or their clothes and then you would be perfect, right?
Jealousy brings about two problems: the first is you will continually be unsatisfied and the second is you will never appreciate yourself. (Not to mention it could lead to stealing, etc.. but we will stop it before it gets that far).
Jealousy may start out with you wanting only one thing that someone else has. You think you will be completely satisfied once you have that. If or when you are able to get that one thing, the next thing you know you are desiring something else from another person or more than one thing this time. It continues to grow as you continue to feed it and give into it. You never get satisfied. In fact, you become more unsatisfied the more you indulge in jealousy and you end up being crazy, obsessing over other peoples body’s or hair or whatever.
If you are constantly craving someone else’s hair style, eye color, body type than what are you saying about yourself? You are telling yourself that you are not good enough, you are not beautiful. You will never be content, satisfied or appreciate yourself. You have a unique beauty all your own. But if you keep coveting everyone else’s look, yours gets lost in the mix. This brings us full circle to one of our earlier blogs about accepting your beauty and your looks. Because you are the only you.
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If you have found that you have a tendency to get jealous, take a moment and think about why. What are you unsatisfied with about yourself? Then I want you to make a list about all the things you like about yourself and say them out loud to yourself in the mirror. Do this several times, a few times a day, until you start believing them. Soon these highlights are the only thing you will see, instead of seeing all the things you want to change.
Another thing that I have found helpful is adopting the chorus of the song “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars for yourself. A small part of the song has been posted to the left. But if you take that chorus and sing it to yourself or allow Bruno to sing it to you, you really do feel better and start to believe that you are perfect just the way you are. You do not need everyone else’s everything to be perfect, you are already perfectly you.
We all have problems. I do and you do. My problems are my own just as yours are your own. You have no right broadcasting other people’s flaws or mistakes. Just like they have no right to do that to you.
Gossip is so childish, but yet adults seem to do it all the time. One thing to think about, if you have a friend who is always talking to you about others, you can be 100% positive that friend is gossiping about you to everyone else.
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Have you ever felt someones judgmental gaze as they stared across the room at you, tearing apart every piece of you? Judging you. Just so they can gossip about you later?
“Did you see her hair? She wore that shirt last week? He is such a nerd?”
Or have you been on the other side? Being the judge. The gossiper.
There are two real reason why people are so judgmental of others and talk bad about them: jealousy and insecurity. It has nothing to do with anybody being better or more popular than anybody else. There is no perfect person that can judge everyone else.
We just covered the topic jealousy. If you are so jealous about someone else that you feel like you need to degrade them behind their back, that is just pathetic.
Insecurity is a whole other issue. Everyone has insecurities. To better yourself you should try to overcome them. When you talk about someone behind their back because you are insecure in yourself, you are giving into the insecurity, not overcoming it.
January 17, 2014 Friday
DON'T JUDGE ME
GOSSIP
January 18, 2014 Saturday
LIVING BEAUTIFULLY
Life is a
BEAUTIFUL
thing
Now that we have spent some time going over characteristics that are not so beautiful and tend to steal your beauty, lets focus on things that are beautiful in you (not on you - we will get to that later).
Today I want to talk about the beauty in finding what you are passionate about and living for that. You may have heard it said that there is nothing more beautiful than a woman that knows what she wants and is not afraid to go after it. Some may use that as an excuse to get a man they want but lets talk about it in terms of life.
What do you want your life to be like? What things would you like to change? What are you passionate about? Are you working towards what you want? What is getting in your way?
Go through those questions above and write out your answers - you can even send them in to me if you would like. If you do not know the answers to some of those questions than it is time to do some major soul searching in yourself. It is time to have some alone time and think deeply on what your heart craves, what your mind is searching for.
Nothing is more exciting, challenging and beautiful than a life that is lived going after your passion, your dreams, the thing that you want most in this world. Nothing is more depressing, life draining and heart wrenching than being held back from what your soul craves.
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January 19, 2014 Sunday
KEEP SMILING
JOY
Smiles are a beautiful thing. I have never heard anyone say to another person, “Your smile is ugly. Stop smiling.” Why? Because no matter who you are, when you smile, your face lights up and smiles bring smiles to everyone.
But there is something more important than a smile. What is behind your smile (not talking about your teeth, though those are nice as well)?
JOY. If you carry a pure, genuine joy with you, people cannot help but be captured by you. They can see your joy from a mile away. People are drawn to joyful people. There is so much pain and disappointment in this world that one little ray of sunshine can brighten someone’s entire day.
Don’t you want to be that person? It is a wonderful feeling to walk into a room and be greeted by a warm face that exudes joy. Have you ever experienced that?
Strangers that I meet do not understand why I smile all the time. Why am I so happy? Why am I always laughing? They do not ask me because they are annoyed by it, on the contrary. It intrigues them and they want to know my secret.
Honestly, I have come along way from the person I used to be, to whom I am now. Possessing joy is not as easy as getting your teeth whitened to have a sparkling smile. But as you follow my blogs, you will find that I am not only teaching you how to be beautiful and embrace your beauty but also how to be joyful, full of joy. They come hand in hand.
So keep on learning and applying these daily tips to your life. In the meantime, smile as often as you can. A smile will turn your own attitude right side up.
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This is Molly. She is such a sweet kitty. Not mine but my friends kitten.
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.
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Another beautiful trait that so many woman lack is belief. Belief is such a powerful tool. Without it you will not get too far in life.
When you believe something you have hope. And hope gives life to your soul.
You should believe in yourself. Believe in the gifts, talents and skills that you have. Believe that you can achieve your goals. Believe that your life can be changed for the good. Believe that you can overcome whatever situation you are up against.
Belief alone cannot fix everything or make it all right. But belief does give you the hope to try a little harder, hang in there a little longer and become a little stronger.
If you do not believe in yourself, no one else will. When you believe in yourself, you boost your own self-confidence. Everyone can see that confidence and they will begin to believe in you too.
In order to believe in yourself, you have to know who you really are. I am not talking surface things like a mother, a teacher, etc ... but deep down. If you do not know who you are, it is time you stepped back and figured it out. No one can tell you who you are. You must find it for yourself. Listen to your heart.
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January 20, 2014 Monday
BELIEVE
Believe in
YOU
Picture taken by me. Chinese tea party with my mom
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January 21, 2014 Tuesday
FEAR NOT
BE
YOU
Do not ever be too afraid to be yourself, to let your voice be heard or to go after your dreams. Be inspired and inspire.
Penguins are my favorite :)
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January 22, 2014 Wednesday
MAKE UP TIP #1
SMILE
Smile through life even when you do not feel like it.
Baby animals are so cute
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Have you ever changed something about your appearance, your style, your speech just to please someone else or to fit in with a group of people? I can say that the majority of people have in some small way or another.
When you are going through school that is probably the easiest time to change based on other’s opinions of you because of your desire to fit in, to be liked. As we grow up we continue to change anyways.
For myself, I was constantly changing. We moved to many different states and different schools with different cultures throughout elementary and middle school. I did not know if I was supposed to wear skirts or sweat pants, sneakers or flip flops. Was I supposed to be a tomboy or a girlie girl? It changed with every school that I went to and I can say that I was constantly confused as to how I was supposed to fit in.
As you get older and mature into an adult, I hope you learn how to just be yourself. To find your own style, your own fit, and to stand your ground. That you will not change just because someone makes a remark about your hair cut or pair of shoes.
Beautiful people are people that come to the point of acceptance of self and no longer give in to everyone else’s demands or suggestions. They have figured out themselves on their own and they do not make changes to please anyone. In truth, you can never win them all, so in somethings it is best to just please yourself.
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January 23, 2014 Thursday
UNWILLING TO CHANGE
Change
for
yourself
My passion is fashion. What is your's?
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Ambitious, passionate, driven, goal centered. Those who live life with one or more of these traits often find life to be more beautiful than those who are not passionate or ambitious.
Everyone has something that they enjoy doing, something that they desire to do. We are all different, given different dreams and aspirations.
Some may desire to be a full time mom; pouring into and loving their children. Some may be passionate about traveling the world and experiencing other cultures.
I have always been really passionate about fashion. Drawing it, picking out fabric and sewing outfits. But there was a time, right after I graduated college, when I did not know how to pursue my dreams. I was just entering into the real world and everything was coming at me all at once. My dreams did not seem so achievable. They felt very far away and unattainable. So I gave up on them. I stopped sewing and I stopped dreaming.
During that time, I lost the zeal I had for life. There was nothing big and exciting to work towards or look forward to.
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)
Without something to look forward to, to set goals towards, you lose your desire to live life.
Thankfully, a friend was able to speak to the deep places of my heart and reawaken the dream that I had let go of. It was like, all of the sudden, I had come back to life. I was passionate and working like never before to see my passion for fashion materialize. I am still working towards it. I have a ways to go but each day I am a step closer. Each day I wake up excited because I have something to look forward to. I have something that drives me on.
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January 24, 2014 Friday
GOAL DIGGER
Where is
YOUR
passion?
You may have many big goals. And that is awesome. Just do this for each of the big goals.
It is more than normal for things to go wrong or take longer than expected. So if you have set backs, just recalculate, reset your plan and get back to completing your goals.
These steps can be used from anything to getting physically fit to climbing the corporate ladder. You will have huge success in whatever area you are working on as long as you stick to it. I believe in you.
1. What is Your Goal? The first thing you need to know is what your goal is. Make sure it is something BIG that will take a few years to achieve. Narrow it down to one sentence. Such as “I want to be a _________.” or “I want to do ___________.”
2. Time Frame - The second thing you need to do is set a reasonable time frame for achieving that goal. Allow time for mishaps or set backs. I have to be careful because I like to see how much I can achieve in a short amount of time but it is better to give yourself more than enough time to complete a goal than not enough time.
3. Education/Research - The next step you need to take is to see if you need more education or have to do some major research for where you want to go. If so, make sure to schedule this into your time line and place them as some of your goals.
4. Yearly Goals - Now it is time to set yearly goals. You have your time frame of when you want this goal completed, now break it down year by year. “I want ________ done by year one. ___________ completed by year two. ____________ finished by year three. And I will reach my goal by the end of year four.” You can set multiple goals for one year because you will more than likely have time.
5. Monthly/Daily Goals - Now it is time to narrow your goals down even further. In order to get to the place you want to be in the first year, what steps do you have to take to get there? Schedule things to get done in the months leading up to it. I even go as far as to set daily goals (or a to do list) so that my main goals are always in front of me and I am constantly looking forward to the big goal.
Huskys are my favorite dog.
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Some of you may have read the blog from yesterday and thought, yeah I have passion and drive about such and such but I do not know how to set goals. Or maybe you are like I was, unsure of how to reach your goals. Follow these few simple steps and you will be off to pursuing your dream in no time.
January 25, 2014 Saturday
GOALS: HOW TO
How do
you get
there?
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I do not know if you ever feel this way, but when I hear too much of the news or my family spends dinner time discussing the downfall of our economy, I just feel overwhelmed. I kind of feel like the world is caving in on me and it makes me want to give up.
I think to myself, “What is the point of anything that I am working towards?” If everything is just going down the hole maybe I need to be thinking of ways to survive all of the things that are coming. I should not spend my time working towards the things that I love and I am passionate about.
That is kind of how I have been feeling today. If you have experienced it before, you know it to be a very heavy feeling.
I believe it is important to know and be knowledgable about the things that are going on in the world around you. It is also important to be wise with that news you receive. But it is just as equally important to not let the heaviness of it all to fall on your shoulders.
You cannot possibly fix everything. What you can do, you should do. But you should also live your life. Do not be consumed with all the cares of this world. We need to learn to live a balanced life. One in which we are aware but you are not obsessed with the doom. When you focus too much on the things you cannot control, you forget that life is living on beautifully around you. You miss out on the present.
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January 26, 2014 Sunday
CAVING IN
Live in
the
PRESENT
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January 27, 2014 Monday
IT'S OVER
Live in
the
PRESENT
Yesterday we discussed the cares of life, how they can be very overwhelming and can discourage us. My words of advice were to live in the present. Those same words of advice I will use today. But instead of talking about the future and those things that easily overwhelm us, we will discuss the past.
Our past can be just as overwhelming as looking forward and spending too much time focusing on the big things ahead.
When the past rears its ugly head, it normally comes in the form of regret, guilt and torment. But why should we allow the past to haunt us so? It is, in fact, over. There is no going back. No changing it. Time machines have not been invented yet. The only thing to do is focus on the present and move forward.
For a few years of my life, I spent a lot of time in the past. In doing so, I missed out on those few years of my life. I did not enjoy them because I was unable to live in the moment. My thoughts were so consumed with the past and the what-ifs that I had no idea what was going on in the life around me.
When you get stuck in the past, it is kind of like you are surrounded by this bubble. You are oblivious to everything outside of the bubble. To your friends and your family and even to the present you.
Spending too much time in the past is a dangerous place. Some people never make it out. When I finally did, I realized all the damage I had caused to myself. The past is not a place I want to visit again.
The only way out of your past is to make a decision to push past those thoughts and make an effort to live in the moment. It is not a one time thing. You have to keep at it until you are completely free of that bubble.
MORE TO LIFE THAN 9-5
January 28, 2014 Tuesday
Dreams,
where did
you go?
Have you ever dared yourself to question society? Do you find yourself questioning the ways of business? Of “normal” life in general?
Okay those questions are kind of broad and confusing. What I mean is, are you satisfied with the mundane 9-5? Have you given into the lie that this is all their is to life? Have you succumb to being a slave for another for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week?
Have you ever felt like there was more to life than building someone else’s kingdom and pocket book? When you were younger, did you dare to dream?
What did/do you dream about? What happened to those dreams? Why were they so easily snatched away? And you were left with nothing but a desk job, that you hate.
Do you still long for that other life that should have been yours? Or have you allowed all of those dreams to die?
Very few have went after their dreams and are watching them grow and flourish. Others may have never had a dream and so they are happy and content with building the dreamers dream. But what about the rest of us? Those who have dreams but are having to push them aside to pay bills, to have a home, to eat.
Can there really be more to life than this? I believe so. I always have. If you are really passionate about something, I believe that you will go after your dreams. You may have to start small. You may have to work at your dreams and work a 9-5. But nothing can stand in your way. You are determined and you are passionate. I cannot wait to see what you will do.
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TIME FLIES
January 29, 2014 Wednesday
Time,
where did
you go?
Today will never come again. Once it is gone, there will never be another. Do something special and memorable today because you will never have a chance to do this day over.
If you look back on your life, whether you have been around for 10 years or 100 years, you realize that time passes by very quickly. I am starting to clump my life together in years. I did this and this last year. So and so the year before and so on.
I graduated from college almost four years ago. I look back and it feels like that was only yesterday. But so much has happened in those four years. I also wasted so much time on things that were not important in those four years.
When you start to truly realize how quickly time goes by, you try to savor each beautiful moment a little longer. You make the things you do each day really count.
When you look back five years from now, are you going to remember the times you sat and watched TV for hours? Or are you going to remember the times you volunteered, helped someone in need, played catch with your family, went out with the girls?
Before time flashes before your eyes, make a choice to live each moment with purpose and meaning. Don’t wait until it is too late. The chance will never come again.
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DUST TO DUST
January 30, 2014 Thursday
What
Legacy
will you
leave?
We, as humans, are given a specific amount of time on this earth. We do not know when that time will be up. We do not the length of our allotment. Some people leave us a lot sooner than we ever expected or wished.
This message is not meant to be morbid. It is meant to make you think of your life know. What are you doing that is purposeful? If your last breath was today, would you be leaving behind a legacy?
We each were put on this earth to make the world a better place. That means something different for each person. What you are striving after, or working for should last longer than you do.
This life is not about you but it is about the good that you can bring to others, to the world. To impact, make a difference, change life as we know it.
Too many people have given into the cultural norm of waisting their life by partying, drinking, spending hours in front of the television, obsessing over themselves or others.
Will any of that leave a legacy? Will any of that impact your small world? It will not leave a legacy but it will impact it and not in a beneficial way.
There is no escaping the fact that you will one day die, but once that day comes, will you leave anything to remember you by?
I hope this message makes sense to you and I hope it encourages you to live beyond the norm. To do something that will make a difference in this world long after you are gone.
You don’t have to invent the light bulb or find the cure for cancer but there is something that each one of us can do. I encourage you to find what that is and go after it with all your heart.
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IMPORTANT REMINDERS
January 31, 2014 Friday
Happy Friday and Happy Chinese New Years to everyone.
Here are just some simple reminders of many topics that we discussed this month.
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Simple
Reminder
