Sweet N Social

Tag: personal journey

  • To Win in Life, How Many Tickets Do You Need?

    “Luck is not as random as you think. Before that lottery ticket won the jackpot, someone had to buy it.” ― Vera Nazarian

    I won a car a few years ago!

    The network marketing company I was with at the time was running an incentive contest. The promotional incentive encouraged associates to put in work and enroll people into the company. With each enrollment, we received two tickets that would be entered into the drawing. The contest period ran for several month and it was open to all associates. During the contest period, I enrolled only two people. That provided me with four tickets total to be entered in the drawing. I worked hard for those two enrollments.

    At the company convention, that’s when the drawing took place. Periodically during the convention, they would bring out the raffle ticket spinning drum on stage and draw a ticket for other prizes. I remember thinking to myself “I hope they don’t pull my ticket, I only have four.” On the last day of the convention, that’s when they did the Jeep drawing, and I won.

    Ever since then, whenever I think my odds of achieving my goals seen daunting, I recall my chances of winning the Jeep. It could be that one idea, the one interview, or the one book that provides you with the keys to unlocking your dream box. We don’t know which key will unlock the box just like I didn’t know what ticket could win the Jeep.

    I’ve celebrated the one ticket for winning, but I have often forgotten that I could never win without talking to the two people who enrolled. I would not of had the four tickets to put into the raffle drum for the drawing, and I would not of had the one ticket that won. It traces back to what we do each day that provides the opportunity to win.

    My takeaway: it’s what we do each day that can increase our chances of winning.

    Quote Source: https://www.azquotes.com/quote/474120

  • How My Boredom Lead to Unnecessary Spending and Unhappiness

    Boredom is the Devil’s delight.” ― Lindsey Rietzsch, 

    I first want to say that awareness is key. The more I stop and reflect, the more I think that life is actually made up of the choices we make in those little moments that we don’t really think matter.

    It’s a late Saturday afternoon as I write this. Usually my husband and I have our granddaughter on Saturdays. It’s been like this since she was born. She is now five years old. And like most Saturdays, we focus most of our activities around her being here at the house. Now that she’s getting older, we can do more things with her outside the home like take her to get her nails painted at the nails salon or take her to play games at Chuck E Cheese. What has been happening in this shift is, my husband or myself having more time for ourselves.

    Here’s where awareness is helping me focus on what’s important to me. In the past, when I had time for myself, I would run out to the local craft store or thrift store to spend money I usually didn’t have to spend. Looking back, this was a way for me to “pass the time.” The first thought that would pop in my head was, “since I have nothing to do, I might as well go browse the thrift store.” Once I got to the store, I could always find something I thought I “needed.” The more I read and learn, this was a way for me to handle anxiousness that arouse in me during time of idleness. In other words, this was a behavioral coping mechanism. My energy is flowing but I had no where to direct it!

    Since taking up time to write, I can now re-direct the energy I was feeling and use it to create something that might help someone who is dealing with the same kind of issue. We can use or energy for “good” or of service to others.

    What would you like to create? A new business or write a book? My challenge is you is to take a step back, see where you are revved up and putting energy into something that’s not producing anything positive for you. I must admit, at times, the desire is strong to got shop but when I take a pause break and ask myself, before I leave out, what’s the purpose? I can re-direct and find something more beneficial and in alignment with my goal in life which makes my so much happier.

    Now that my anxiousness is subsiding, I think I will settle in and watch a movie. I created something!

    Let me know your thoughts. If you like, connect with me through one of the Meetup groups. Here’s a link: https://www.meetup.com/pro/confident-strides/

    Quote Source: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/idleness-quote

  • Making a Comeback

    “Sometimes the hardest part isn’t letting go but rather learning to start over.” ― Nicole Sobon

    I have been having the urge to write again. I guess it’s something that never really leaves you, perhaps life just causes you to stop and re-evaluate what’s important to you.

    A lot has changed since I first started writing this blog many years ago. I started a YouTube and Anchor podcast last year just before the COVID shutdown. I wanted to see what I could offer to the world during the shutdown. I was on a walk with my dogs when the thought of how we were going to manage this “new normal.” I just keep looking at Chloe who I didn’t really want and I just pondered how this dog ended up in my life. My elderly neighbor was placed in a nursing home and she had asked my to keep Chloe. Chloe would growl and my husband when he would give me a kiss before heading off to bed. Chloe sheds a lot too! But here I was, walking this dog and actually enjoying myself. That’s when I realized that no matter what happens in life, we are always going to face change. Change is inevitable! What makes the difference is how we react to the change that is right in front of us each day.

    Now back to my podcast idea, I raced home and decided to make an offer to the coaches in my network. What advice were they offering to their clients during this time of change? The whole premise of the podcast was to present positive insight by offering the coaches an opportunity to be interviewed by me. My first interview appeared on YouTube in March of 2020. A whole year later, I am still interviewing and sharing positive insight that’s being uploaded weekly.

    My purpose moving forward with this blog is a way to provide positive insight that I gathered through the interviews as well as the insight I get while running. I invite you to join me on this comeback journey.

    Quote Source https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/start-over

  • Show Up First

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    Show up authentically and synergy will meet you there. ― Sanjo Jendayi

    I started running about three months ago. I had been an avid walker for more that five years or more.  I really have no clue as to where this is taking me. I simply love being out in nature and it’s a great way for me to find clarity and creativity.

    What inspired me to start running?  Well the same park I walk at is the same location that one of the local high school’s cross country team practices at.  I remember on one Sunday morning, I saw a young man out running in the cross country course by himself. Wow!! This young man didn’t wait until the coach told him to practice or the rest of the team to be there, he just went out and did it.

    We don’t need to get other people’s approval to do and be who we are. It’s nice to have a cheering section but sometimes the fans won’t show up until we do.  What have you been wanting to do? Don’t wait, be like that young runner and go for it!

    Photo Source: click here / Quote Source: click here

  • Stay on The Lookout

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    Blessing are everywhere, you just have to stay on the look out for them.  There are countless miracles that go unnoticed everyday of every minute.  A couple of years ago I learned of just a tiny fraction of the blessing are bodies do for each of us.  For instance, if you exercise, your body has a built in cooling system that you do not have to program.  Your body can heal itself.  You have a build in counseling system consisting of the mind, body and soul.  You are literally a walking miracle each and everyday!

    With that little knowledge alone my life shifted.  When your start to learn just how blessed you are to wake each morning with life,  you begin to notice those things in life that are taking up your energy and time.  You start to value your time and the time of others.

    Time is our most precious commodity.  Take inventory of those things that not longer serve their purpose in your life.  Time is not promised to no one! Take inventory of your own unique gifts and talents and reflect on just how you can us those gifts to serve this world.  Remember: You are a blessing!

    Photo source: Click here.

  • It’s Not That Important

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    It’s not that Important” were the words being shouted from the backseat of the car the other day when my husband and I were “discussing” where to place the cell phone in order to hear the navigational directions.  I will admit that I got “caught up” in the discussion because I was trying to make my opinion known.  Of course my husband had his own idea on where he wanted to put the phone since he was driving.

    My three year old granddaughter interjected herself into the conversation by saying “its not that important”.  The thing that caught my attention, besides this little person yelling from the backseat and the fact that she couldn’t quite say the word “important” was when I stopped to think about what was happening at that moment, she was right.  I had let my ego step in.

    I laugh now because it took the words of a three year old to remind me that sometimes the little things we make the biggest fuss over are the little things that can begin to tear a relationship apart. The best thing we can do is stop, take a deep breath and ask yourself, just how important is it for me to be right?

    Photo Source: Click here.

  • I Won the Jeep!

    I Won the Jeep!

    59720707_10218431886056543_4573895537492754432_oFor anyone who has followed my blogs over the past few years knows that I had an auto accident in 2013. It was a rainy Halloween night when I lost control of my BMW and hit the cement divider wall and totaled my car.  My BMW was my retirement gift to myself. My husband and I were going through some financial challenges at the time and my car was the only thing I refused to part with.

    I remember the evening well because it was the beginning of my spiritual journey.  That night of the accident was when I first noticed the tiny whispers of the Universe.  As I sat in the back seat of the police car, I remember a calming presence within that was saying everything is going to be alright. I remember thinking “God, you have my attention now!”

    Fast forward to 2019 and I am sitting in a huge convention center. My company is about to do a drawing for a 2019 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk.  As I watch the tickets being mixed up, I am thinking my chances of winning is not looking good. There must have be thousands of pink raffle tickets being mixed up in the large clear rotating raffle drum. But I decided not to focus on that, instead I started thinking about how it would feel to be seated in the Jeep, taking in the new car smell.  I could hear them calling the numbers.  I started thinking, I’m still in the running as they called off the first four numbers. By the 6th number, I was thinking, the winning number is really close to one of my four tickets I had.  It wasn’t until they announced the name of the winner that it hit me…  I won!

    I believe that the Universe is always speaking to us.  My accident in 2013 was a wake up call to what life is trying to get me to notice. I make it a practice to stay present and enjoy the beautiful blessing that surround me.  I know this post can not express the sheer gratitude, faith and appreciation I have for such a loving, generous, and supportive Life Force, but what I want to say is Thank you!

     

  • Residue

    Residue

    Have you ever come a cross a person and once you leave you notice the feelings or thoughts that remain after your encounter with them.  Like for instance you have people who bring up feeling of peace. you may have people who bring out the excitement of possibilities. We even have those people who are like hurricanes that stir up feeling of anxiety and chaos.  I call this, residue.

    Like this we encounter, we also leave behind feeling and thoughts on others.  It wasn’t until I became more aware of my own conscious thoughts that I realize that we all are leaving a bit of ourselves everywhere we go.  We have the power to decide what kind of residue we want to leave others.  Granted, they may not always receive it as such.

    I learned through meditation that we can set our intentions daily and choose to be either the lighthouse or the storm. What kind of residue due you want to leave? The kind that people enjoy or the kind that people want to wash off.

  • All Present

    All Present

    I honestly think we can learn something new each day. The biggest challenge is usually staying present in the moment to notice.  I started getting out and reconnecting with friends.  What I often finding myself doing before we met up was worrying about what were going to say.  It’s at those moments when you have to tell that little voice inside to “be quiet.”  If you are present in the company of others, you can always find something to talk about.

    What does it mean to be present?  That’s always a great question when people ask me.  It’s giving the other person you undivided attention. I always like to define what it is by stating what it is not.  Let me give you some examples.  Being present is not worrying about what you could be doing with someone else. Being present is not scrolling through your phone when someone is sitting with you.  being present is not thinking about what you are going to do once you leave.  Being present is saying to the person you are with, that they are important enough to listen and let them be heard.

    Once I learned what it meant to be present, my marriage and all of my other relations greatly improved.  The power is in your hands. The one thing that is always in your control is yourself.

  • Share Your Music

    Share Your Music

    One of the best messages I read on the message board out side of the gym was “the only bad workout is the one you didn’t do”.  That message is not only great for workouts but anything you choose not to do in life.  The only bad book is the one you choose not to write, or the only bad song is the one you choose not to record.

    I think about the messages I come across and can listen to now that’s available through YouTube.  Whatever you have an interest in, you can find.  I listen to speakers that no longer are with us but had great messages to share. Think about what you have been through in your life. Only you can share that story because only you have lived that life.

    We all have a message and a story to share.  I think you do the world a dis-service by not sharing you story.  You might be the one with the cure for cancer. Don’t leave this thing we call life with your song still in you. Share your music with the world.