Words of Wisdom

Ladies, this is going to be a short but powerful blog.  Here are some great words to live by:

Learn from the past
Laugh at the present
Live for the future

If you can pull it off, everything else will fall into place!

Passing on a Little Encouragement

I know, I know...it's been awhile since the last time I've blogged.  Between work, kids, relationship, friendships, and everyday routine, it's easy to put yourself and your interests last.  But I'm determined to blog once a week...it makes me happy, and I hope it helps someone out there from time to time!

Getting to the big point I want to make today...Let's face it ladies, we do ourselves (and everyone else around us) some good when we treat ourselves better.  It amazes me that we can get so down on ourselves.  We criticize our weight, our finances, our decisions, but is this the way we would talk to our friends?  No, probably not.  Truth be told, most of us would probably NEVER say such discouraging and negative things to our friends.  Then why not treat yourself like you would treat a good friend?  Be positive about yourself.  Encourage yourself and be more confident!  It's a GOOD thing!  And for those times when we fall a little short, always remember this:  We all fall sometimes, but if you fall 7 times, get up 8 times!  You'll thank yourself!

Journey to Being a Happy Chic

Let's face it...as women, we deal with a lot.  We're multi-takers, mothers, employees, wives/girlfriends, daughters.  For most of us, we put so many others first.  While there's nothing wrong with that, I've found myself running on empty for what feels like most of my life.  And I'm sure many of you out there feel the exact same way.

The fact of the matter is, life is a journey, and I've decided to re-route myself to make mine a happy one.  I'm not saying to look out only for number one, but if we're going to be any good to our loved ones, we need to be good to ourselves.  And the good news is that you don't have to do anything extravagant to do that!

I'm saying let's limit toxic guilt...you know what I'm talking about.  Learn to say "No".  (I'm still learning that one myself!) It's when we lower our boundaries to make someone else happy even if it means sacrificing our own comfort or happiness.  I'm saying let's do a little something for "us" each day.  Maybe it's treating yourself to a bubble bath or your favorite food (even if it IS high in calories), manicures, pedicures...whatever floats your boat!  And let's be a little more forgiving of ourselves if we can't do it all.  Nobody can...and it's okay.

These are things that I've struggled with for years that I've decided to end here.  I know so many other women out there that struggle with the same thing, and while it's easier to tell someone else, "It's okay,", we fail to say it to ourselves.  So, for you ladies out there, just know that it really is okay.  This is the first step in my journey to be a happy chic!

New Year Resolution?

Well, it’s nearing the end of January…did you make any New Year resolutions?  If so, it might be time to do a spot check.  Year after year, people make these resolutions, whatever they may be, and they start off determined to “make it happen”.  Kudos! 

But do these resolutions do much for making us feel good?  If you’re like most people, probably not, and the reason is that most people dismiss the resolution just as quickly as they make it.  Why?  Because most resolutions are made out of imaginary obligations and are forgotten by the end of the year.  Maybe you made it because everyone else was making one, or because that was what was being discussed around the water cooler at work.  Regardless, if you don’t have the drive behind it, more than likely, it won’t stick.  The end result is an unaccomplished goal and feeling worse because you didn’t “make it happen”.  And by mid-year, it seems too late to start over.

For me, I have decided that making huge goals for the year are best taken in smaller steps.  For example, I have admittedly failed year after year at reaching my goal weight.  It's a matter of losing 8 lbs.  I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but it's the most stubborn 8 lbs. I've tried to lose!  And at the end of each year, I feel bad for not reaching that goal.  This is a new year...and apparently doing the same thing over and over has not worked.

Why not try something different this year?  It seems like making a New Year resolution is biting off more than most people can chew.  It seems so daunting!  Try taking smaller steps instead of one huge leap.  Make a new day resolution!  To accomplish my goal, I'm going to cut out something sweet everyday and/or cut my portions gradually.  So far so good, I've lost 2 oz. per day.  I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but it's better than seeing the scale stay the same or go up!


Start off each morning with one resolution…and do it!  By the end of the night, check yourself.  Did you accomplish your resolution?  If so, pat yourself on the back and start thinking about what your resolution for the next day will be.  If not, don’t beat yourself up, make it your resolution for tomorrow.  It seems so simple!  Don’t let something be your resolution for longer than a week before you do it.  At the end of the year, you’ll realize that you accomplished more each day through daily resolutions as opposed to one WHOLE year resolution.  Make it happen!

Why Am I Doing This?

Growing up, I always wanted to do something that involved creativity.  Sometimes I was a dancer, an artist, a writer, or an actress.  I was never business minded and the business world never held any interest for me.  I enjoyed thinking outside the box and exercising my originality. 

Then, the inevitable happened…

We see it all the time.  We make decisions that we think are going to be a temporary fix until we can do what we really want to set out to do, but before we know it, we’re stuck in a rut.  A great example of this is a job.  When I first started out on my own, I took a job as a bank teller, completely confident that I was only going to do this until I decided what I really wanted to do as a career.  It paid the bills and wasn’t a bad gig for someone right out of high school.  I had time to decide, or so I thought.

Time went on and life kept bringing new challenges (good and bad) into my life.  For me, it was marriage, kids, divorce…and even though I wasn’t a bank teller anymore, I was still in the business world, building upon a resume that wasn’t me.  It was like fitting a square block into a circle.  It felt forced, but I kept going because now, it was all I knew.

I had lost who I was, and in the process, lost my passion for…everything!  I had dedicated 20 years of my life to jobs that I never enjoyed; jobs that never gave me personal satisfaction.  Don’t get me wrong, I like doing a good job on a project and taking pride in my work, but I felt empty. 

Recently, I was having a conversation with my boyfriend about our jobs.  He talked about how much he enjoyed his job as a parasail captain and that he loved going to work every day.  As he talked, I thought about how I felt about my job.  I told him that I had never experienced that kind of joy about my work, so he asked me what type of job I would want to do.  I hadn’t thought about that in years, and actually struggled to even think of anything!  I told him that I wanted to write, so here I am…writing!  And loving it!

When I decided to start this blog, I hoped to accomplish two things.  The first was that my blog would fulfill my desire for a creative outlet, and the second would be to help other women.  We all need emotional support, and we all want someone to empathize and understand what we’re going through.  While all of our experiences are not the same, we’ve caught ourselves reading articles and blogs and thought, “Hey!  Been there, done that!” 

We spend so much of our lives working in some way, shape, or form.  While for most of us, it’s a necessary evil, why not choose something that fulfills us too?  I challenge you to ask yourself, “Am I living the life that I want to live?”  If not, maybe it’s time to do something about it.  I am.