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14 Tips for Getting Up On the Right Side of the Bed

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Kentucky

Not long ago, I came across these great suggestions for starting your day “Sunny Side Up.”   They’re by Becky Stephens, a registered nurse, which means she’s one of the hardest working individuals in the world.  Add her profession to a long list of professions I’d never be able to handle.  Not even on a good day.

Thank God for nurses.

While I think they’re all worthwhile suggestions, I’m particularly fond of number 12 – hot tea at bedtime and number 3 – saying a prayer.  Hot tea and conversations with God are beautiful ways to end the day!

14 Ways to Get Up On the Right Side of the Bed

  1. Stretch your arms and legs.
  2. Take four big healthy yawns.
  3. Say a prayer.
  4. Push back the sheets and jump out of bed.
  5. Take a shower.
  6. Look forward to something.
  7. Exercise for at least five minutes.
  8. Brush your teeth.
  9. Think positively.
  10.  Take a walk.
  11. Breathe deeply.
  12. Enjoy a hot cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.
  13. Consider who you can encourage today.
  14. Thank God for the sunshine and the rain and that you have the strength to appreciate whatever the day will bring.

 

21 Suggestions for Success by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

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Don't do anything that wouldn't make your mom proud. (21 Suggestions for Success by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.)
 

Some things are wildly popular because they’re wildly awesome. That’s most definitely the case with H. Jackson Brown, Jr.’s 21 Suggestions for Success. You could, literally, stop at each of the 21 “suggestions” and write a self help/self improvement book!

Instead (I mean, who has time to write 21 books?), I suggest spending a little time with each one. Don’t just read the suggestions, hear the suggestions. H. Jackson Brown, Jr. hasn’t just given us a great read, he’s given us an outline that could prove to be life-changing.

  1. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.
  2. Work at something you enjoy and that’s worthy of your time and talent.
  3. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
  4. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
  5. Be forgiving of yourself and others.
  6. Be generous.
  7. Have a grateful heart.
  8. Persistence, persistence, persistence.
  9. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
  10. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
  11. Commit yourself to constant improvement.
  12. Commit yourself to quality.
  13. Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.
  14. Be loyal.
  15. Be honest.
  16. Be a self-starter.
  17. Be decisive even if it means you’ll sometimes be wrong.
  18. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
  19. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.
  20. Take good care of those you love.
  21. Don’t do anything that wouldn’t make your Mom proud.

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How to Boost Your Self Esteem and Confidence

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Norman Vincent Peale Quote About Confidence
“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.” – Norman Vincent Peale

It’s normal to feel insecure from time to time, to doubt your abilities and talents, and even – on occasion – have difficulty finding any kind words for the person you see staring at you in the mirror! Even the most self-confident people in the world feel uncomfortable in their own skin every now and then.

The problem is, if you let this mindset stick around, it won’t be long before your levels of self confidence and self esteem plummet.

There are actually a few proactive things we can do to boost our self esteem and confidence. Use these tips whenever your own confidence begins to slip.

  1. Make a list of your attributes – physical, emotional, spiritual, educational, etc. Are you a good listener? Write it down. Do you have pretty eyes, a great smile, or great looking hands? They all count. Do you make people laugh? That’s far too important not to write down!
  2. Write down every compliment you’ve ever received. This, alone, may just do the trick. I was told not long ago that I look like one of my daughters and I’ve been flying on that one, alone, for months.  Remember the last time someone told you they loved being around you? That’s a great compliment. How about the fact that people trust and confide in you? Some “compliments” such as this aren’t actually said out loud but they certainly count.
  3. Come up with one quick, fairly easy task you want to accomplish and then set out to make it happen right away. Even if it’s as simple as cleaning out a closet, accomplishing something always brings about a feeling of self esteem.
  4. Think about your personal accomplishments – things that you personally were responsible for.  Whether it’s getting a high school degree, getting a B in a college class, writing a bog post that someone enjoyed, cooking a great meal…whatever!  Linger over each accomplishment as though it had just happened. Soak up the good vibrations.
  5. If you tend to compare yourself to other people, realize that this is almost as dangerous as eating rat poison. You do not have to be like anyone else – you’re YOU.  The things that make you unique are the things that make you special. Embrace the things that separate you from everyone else.
  6. Pay close attention to “triggers.” These are things that cause you to feel self conscious or to feel that you don’t quite measure up.  It could be as simple as wearing a certain color or putting yourself into a particular situation. Make a habit of identifying these “triggers” each time you feel down on yourself.  Get rid of the trigger and you get rid of the problem.
  7. If your self esteem issue is a physical one, as yourself, “What is within my power?”  If you feel self conscious about your weight, for example, start a program of exercise and healthier eating TODAY. Being proactive with a problem takes the sting out of it immediately.  It’s as though your brain says, “No worry. I got this.”
  8. Do something right now that’ll make you happy: Whether it’s  going for a walk, eating ice cream, having a cup of coffee, having two cups of coffee (sorry, now I’m transposing my wishes on you), grabbing a Chai Tea Latte at Starbucks, taking a long hot shower, letting chocolate work its magic on you, etc. Treat yourself to something that’ll make you smile… because you deserve it.
  9. A pep talk from someone may be just what the doctor ordered.  Talk to someone you’re especially close to – someone who seems to have a way of picking you up when you’re feeling down. They may have just the words you need to hear. If a human isn’t available, never underestimate the power of a pet! Seeing yourself through the eyes of a loving dog or cat can leave you walking on air.
  10. I saved the best for last – Go out and do something great for someone else. When you put a smile on someone else’s face, you’ll find that the one on your face will be even bigger.  Go by Starbuck’s and grab a Latte for you and one for someone else, then surprise them at work or home with both a visit from you AND an awesome treat. It’ll leave both of you smiling all day.  There’s something uncommonly fulfilling about making someone else happy. It leaves you feeling great about yourself, which may be just what you need.

If feeling unhappy in your own skin is pretty much the norm rather than the exception for you, you (obviously) fall into the category of having low self esteem. I know you don’t need me to tell you that. Just like you don’t need me to tell you that it can greatly interfere with your life and happiness. You have to really concentrate on taking the above suggestions and running with them. When you begin to feel better, you will, only then, realize what all you’ve been missing out on.

Sunday’s Quotes of the Day: Powerful Prayers

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This is the day which the Lord Hath Made: We will rejoice and be glad in it. - Psalms 118:24

I thought this would make a pretty perfect Sunday’s post!  Below are a few prayers I’ve rounded up – each with its own special beauty.

 “Heavenly Father, give us serenity to accept what cannot be changed, courage to change what should be changed and wisdom to know one from the other.”  (This prayer’s author is often said to be “Unknown,” but the prayer was written by Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr, a professor of Applied Chrisianity in New York City.  It was first published in 1935 as part of a pamphlet.)

“I shall be true – for there are those that trust me.”  ~Chinese prayer

“Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace.  Where there is doubt, faith.  Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  Where there is sadness, joy.

“O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.”  – St. Francis of Assisi

“This is the day which the Lord hath made:  Let us rejoice therein.”  – Psalms 118:24

“O God, thou hast given so much to us, give one thing more – a grateful heart.  Amen.”  – George Herbert

 

Setting Goals to Avoid Diddly Squat Days

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Quote About Unorganized Minds
My grandmother has always had a way with words. When she was on her game, she’d have you rolling with laughter – and it was usually when she was trying to be serious that she was the most hilarious.  I say “was” simply because she is in her eighties now and is in the early stages of dementia.  The grandmother I knew and the one I know are very different ladies.

Granny has never been large in stature – I’m not even sure she ever made 5′, but she has always been one of the hardest workers I’ve ever known – away from home as well as at home.  It always made her furious if she didn’t get everything done that she wanted to.  I can remember even when I was very, very young thinking that she was quite possibly the busiest person in the world.  She worked full time at a job she absolutely loved, kept a spotless home, was active in church and was very involved in a homemaker’s club as well as a bridge club (those ladies took their card games very seriously, let me tell you). In the summer, she could always be found working in one of her three rose beds, her garden or another part of her amazingly beautiful yard.

Even after she retired, she continued to wake up around 6:00 am, make breakfast, clean house, work in the yard, run errands, grab lunch, do more yard work, clean up, make supper, take a hot bath, and settle in for a little reading and/or watching baseball with her husband.

If, during the course of one of her packed days, she missed something along the way, she’d say she didn’t get “diddly squat” done.  This meant that she probably only worked in two of the three rose beds or that she hadn’t vacuumed her basement that day.

Diddly squat to her was different from the rest of us.

I’ve grown into her genes in a few areas – I have a passion for cooking, flowers, and birds, an obsession with magazines and baseball (except I bleed Cardinal’s red whereas she’s always been a Braves girl) and I love getting up early. I’ve also become the owner of a few of her phrases.  Diddly squat would be one of them. It’s a pretty good one – I highly recommend it.

I also have a distaste for diddly squat days.  Sure, a nice relaxing day is a dream come true every now and again (Sundays, I’m looking at you), but even then I want to look back at the end of the day and see that something was accomplished.

Even if it’s just making the bed!

My biggest problem is that I’m easily distracted. Make that VERY easily distracted. I can be working along just fine on, say, an article for a website, then glance out the window and see that one of our bird-feeders is running low. Naturally I just HAVE to go outside and refill it right then and there.

Then, while outside, I may see plants that need watering and a cat or two in need of a little attention…

By then I have to wash my hands before getting back to…. okay, what was it I was doing??

Story of my life.

Something that has helped me is actually painfully simple. I’m a list making fool.  To get anything accomplished, I have to make lists and, with all due respect to St. Nick, I check them a heck of a lot more than twice.

I’ve noticed that on days when I write down my goals and check them off as I go along, I get everything done.  On days when I think I can fly solo – without the list – inevitably, something’s left undone, unfinished, or forgotten about.  I made that mistake yesterday, for the first time in weeks.  I was scrambling at 11:00 last night trying to catch up to everything that had eluded me during the day.  Not a heckuva lot of fun.

Needless to say, I have my beloved, much ballyhooed list today.  Right in front of me with my purple pen ready to put a gratifying check mark before each goal as they’re met.  Each swoosh feels like a pat on my psyche’s back.

An organized mind is much more productive than an unorganized mind.

If you feel like your day just isn’t big enough for you to fit your life into, you might want to give list-making a shot.  It’s a goal’s best friend and a distraction’s mortal enemy.

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