7 Ways to Simplify Your Life

1. Practice Patience 
    If you have time to be on your cellphone and watch hours of TV, you
    have time to be patient.

2. Control Your Reactions
    Keep in mind that when you're interacting with people you need to calm
    yourself down if you're someone that gets upset easily. The way you act
    could be the reason some people seem to treat you in a not so friendly
    way.

3. Abandon Your Fake Friend
    If you feel your friend is taking advantage of you that person is not a
    real friend.

4. Go Ahead and Get Something Over With That You've Been 
    Dreading
    This thing you need to do is just hanging over your head, and once you
    do what you need to do you will probably feel so much better.

5. Get Rid of at Least One Thing in Your Life That You Know Isn't
    Good For You 
    This could be a bad habit, an unhealthy food, a job you hate, or anything
    else that drains your joy.

6. Be an Optimistic Person
    Whether you believe it or not, the way you think greatly affects what
    happens to you. It also affects how people treat you. People can feel an
    optimistic vibe and a pessimistic one too.

7. Establish a Routine That Enables You to Start Your Day In a
    Positive Way
    If you're always late, try getting ready fifteen minutes earlier than you
    normally would. Also, if the internet or your cellphone is the problem,
    get ready first and then worry about looking at your electronics.
   

Turn Negativity Into Creativity

Recently, I listened to a man while he complained about his job. I told him
he should write about it, or draw a picture depicting the situation. He looked
at me and said, "You're right!"

There have been many times I've had to rewire my brain to turn negativity
into creativity. I started this blog to help people that have low self-esteem,
because I struggled with it for fifteen years.

When my oldest son died in 2006, his classmates and teachers designed two
posters to honor his memory, so I had them framed. I've written poems about
him and I created a photograph book dedicated to his short life.

What ever your struggle is (or was) imagine what you can do to help yourself
or someone else in a creative way.

Do You Put Yourself Down?

I'm constantly hearing women put themselves down, and it's sad. This is
just a sample of what I've heard:

• "My hips are too big."

• "My arms are too big."

• "I'm too skinny."

• "I'm too fat."

• "I don't have a chest."

• "I don't have a butt."

• "My ankles are too big."

• "I don't like my knees."

• "My forehead is too big."

• "My nose is crooked."

It goes on and on and on...

If you put yourself down (like so many other women do) try to be different.
Don't put yourself down. I've noticed that when I talk to women, and they
point out what they don't like themselves I usually don't see it. They're the
only ones that see the problem. Chances are that when people see you they
don't see what you see either. I bet your hips, arms, chest, butt, ankles, knees,
forehead, nose, and body are just fine.

Designer's Block

I know a man who says he wants to be a logo designer, but he said right
now he has "designer's block." It's like writer's block. I told him to draw
a designer's block, but he didn't want to.

If you really want to do something or be something, you just have to do
it. Stop coming up with excuses and find a way.

Retouching Too Much

My son has picture day this week, and as I was looking over the picture
package choices, I was surprised by the retouching options. The option to
remove blemishes seemed innocent enough (although I survived 12 years
of school pictures with no retouching), but it was the other option that took
it too far for me. Now you can get your child's teeth whitened and skin tone
evened out as well. To me, this much retouching is too much.

These are school children taking pictures for a yearbook, not a magazine
spread. What happens when a child wants the retouching and the parent
can't afford the extra cost for the retouching? What if a parent has the photos
retouched without telling their child his photos would be retouched?

There's nothing wrong with wanting to look good in a picture, but removing
every imperfection is teaching children that they should look perfect and that
is just wrong.