Positive Perspectives

Positive Carnival #2

Pavel Langweil at Blog of Inspiration writes Don't give up. He starts “Everyone has dreams. Dreams are the food for our lives. Following dreams can fulfill our life - but not many dare to follow them, falling in the routine life of getting to/from work. But why? Are they too far, too unrealistic?” He also talks about subgoals - a nice reframing of how to break goals down into manageable pieces.

Baile Rochel writes “I'm embarrassed to admit... “ a humorous look at crocheting that helps to keep her sane. Baile says “The whole point of crocheting is to just keep my hands busy, without stress. I don't know what I'm doing, and that's fine with me”.

Gina Cobb uses her post Never, Never Give Up: Woman Found Alive 63 Days After Earthquake to underline her important reminder. As she puts it “Life lesson: When something is important --really, really important -- never, never, never give up”.

As the Positive Carnival pickin’s are slim I will highlight two of my own favorite posts. A photo a day keeps the doctor away and One red paper clip and a positive attitude.

One Red Paper Clip and a Positive Attitude

What does one red paper clip and a positive attitude get ya? Ask Kyle MacDonald (no relation). At this point in time he's made a series of trades and now he owns a snowmobile. His end goal - a house!

On July 12th Kyle started out with a red paper clip, an idea, and a blog. Read about his series of trades at www.oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com.

Since then he's been interviewed on CBC 'The National',  National Post, Global National, TVA, 98.5 FM in Montreal, The Chris Pirillo Show, and CNN. See a slideshow of one red paper clip on Flickr. Some of the many blogs that talk about one red paper clip include: digg, trademe, cnet news.com. You can buy a one red paper clip t-shirt at Cafe Press.

When Kyle’s not trading up he writes - read his short stories here, is a podcaster - listen to his podcasts here.

Better get your housewarming gift ready - this guy's gonna get himself a house!

Read my latest post about One Red Paper Clip.

Technorati Tags : oneredpaperclip, positive, attitude

Is it the Holiday Blues or Depression?

Sometimes the blues spill over into depression. How do you know if it is a case of the holiday blues or depression? A clinically depressed person typically experiences at least five of the following symptoms during the same two-week period.  One of the symptoms must be either (1) persistent sadness or (2)loss of interest.

1. Persistent sadness
2. Loss of interest in things that you usually consider important
3. Eating more or less than usual
4. Sleeping more or less than usual
5. Lack of physical energy
6. Difficulty concentrating, making decisions
7. Deep, generalized pessimism and/or unwarranted feelings of guilt
8. Feelings of worthlessness
9. Thoughts of death or suicide
   (adapted from the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual). (DSM-IV)
   
   Resources:
   If you think you are struggling with depression here are some counselling resources:
   American Counseling Association, Canadian Counsellling Association, International Counseling Association

Depression e-books $6.99: Men and Depression, Women and Depression,

Technorati Tags : depression, counselling, counseling

12 Positive Starts and 12 Positive Stops for the New Year

I like the idea of a new year and the opportunity to reflect on where I've been, where I am, and where I am headed. Here's a list, in no particular order, of some positive things we can be doing to start off the new year. I’ve also included some of the habits we need to drop.

12 Positive Starts:

1. Start living with purpose.
2. Start being passionate.
3. Start taking risks.
4. Start listening with an open mind.
5. Start making your health a priority.
6. Start laughing and playing.
7. Start being good to yourself.
8. Start doing work that you love.
9. Start living your own life.
10. Start learning new things.
11. Start managing your money
12. Start spending time with people who matter to you.

12 Positive Stops:

1. Stop worrying.
2. Stop making excuses.
3. Stop doing work you hate.
4. Stop wasting your time.
5. Stop arguing.
6. Stop trying to be right.
7. Stop complaining.
8. Stop making the same mistakes.
9. Stop doubting yourself.
10. Stop worrying about the opinions of others.
11. Stop feeling sorry for yourself.
12. Stop spending more money than you make.

All E-BOOKS $6.99: Men and Depression , Women and Depression,  Anxiety Disorders , Stress in the Workplace , Your Child Can Succeed in School,  Winning the Homework Wars , Raising Teenagers: How to Survive Your Child's Adolescence

Technorati Tags : newyear, positive, start, purpose, passion, risks, health, laughter, play, life, money, people

Dealing With Loneliness During the Holidays

For most of us, feeling down during the holidays is often the result of too much to do, not enough time, fatigue and financial stress. While some of us don’t have enough quiet, alone time, others have too much.  Some folks face a special challenge during the holidays – loneliness. Sometimes people are alone because a loved one has died; sometimes people are alone because of fractured relationships. Whatever the reason, feeling alone is an even heavier burden at this time of the year.

 

Watch your negative self-talk. The first thing is to be aware of your self-talk. Self-talk is an ongoing series of inner messages about yourself, others and the world around you. What are you telling yourself about being alone and lonely during  the holidays? Do you blame yourself?  Do you blame others?  Be aware that your negative self-talk is a self-fulfilling prophecy. One way to change your negative self-talk is to shift the focus away from yourself and onto others. Reach out to someone like yourself and invite them to join you for a meal or a cup of coffee. There are many people who would welcome the invitation to spend some time socializing. 

 

What can you do to combat loneliness this holiday season?

• Volunteer your time. Opportunities to volunteer are endless. They range from reading stories to children at your local school, driving seniors to doctor appointments, getting involved with Meals on Wheels, to preparing food baskets. Call your local volunteer bureau – the need for volunteers is especially great at this time of year.
• Re-connect with friends.This is the perfect time of year to re-connect with friends. Send them a card, an email, or give them a call. Offer to meet for a coffee or go to a movie.
• Do something.Get involved in a hobby that you can do in a group. Singing or painting or stain glass - find something that you’ve been meaning to do and give yourself the gift of time and enjoyment.
• Events in your community.Read your local newspaper for community events that would be of interest to you. Often your local library will invited speakers to discuss a wide range of topics. Get on the mailing list of your local book store so you will receive announcements of author readings. 
• Get moving. Join the gym, a running group, or take up a team sport like curling that will give you all kinds of opportunities to get together with likeminded people and make new friends.
• Use what you've got.If you are housebound you can still reach out to others, especially others who are housebound, by phone or by mail. Organize a small network of people and take turns checking in with each other.

You need not be alone during the holidays if you are willing to reach out to others in your community. Take a chance, get involved. Who knows – the holidays might not be so lonely after all.

 

All E-BOOKS $6.99: Men and Depression, Women and Depression, Anxiety Disorders, Stress in the Workplace, Your Child Can Succeed in School, Winning the Homework Wars, Raising Teenagers: How to Survive Your Child's Adolescence

 

 

Technorati Tags : loneliness, sadness, depression, holidays, positive, attitude, change, wikipedia, happy, happiness, optimist, optimism, self-help, anxiety, stress, homework, teenagers, adolescence, e-books

 

How to Stay Positive During the Holidays

Whatever holiday is on your calendar in December - Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa - it is sometimes is a challenge to stay positive in the midst of the commercialism and general hub-bub.  Here are a few ways to stay positive during the holidays:

1. Avoid overscheduling yourself. Use an agenda to keep track of your holiday commitments so that you can physically see what you are committing yourself to. Along with your commitments to others make sure to include some downtime for yourself - even if it is half an hour here and there. Knowing that you have some personal time will help you to stay positive.

2. Lower your expectations  don’t strive for perfection, good enough is okay.Don’t expect your family to be perfect during the holidays. Be realistic about who they are and what your relationship is like with them all year around. That is especially true of step-families.

3. Make a budget and stick to it. The price of the gift is not equal to how much you love them. Focus on the people that you care about instead of the stuff that really doesn’t matter. Beware of the joy-to-stuff ratio: more stuff does not equal more joy.

4. Spread your socializing in the months after the holidays. Don’t try to pack a year’s worth of socializing into a few weeks. Start a new tradition with friends and make a date with friends for mid January or early February.

5. Get as much sleep as you can. Schedule one or two pyjama days for yourself or for the whole family - stay in your pj's and stay home and give yourself permission to rest and enjoy some time together without rushing about.

Holidays are for celebrating what is truly important to you, your family, and friends. Make it the holiday you want it to be and chances are you will keep a positive attitude.

All E-BOOKS $6.99: Men and Depression, Women and Depression, Anxiety Disorders, Stress in the Workplace, Your Child Can Succeed in School, Winning the Homework Wars, Raising Teenagers: How to Survive Your Child's Adolescence

 

Technorati Tags : Christmas, Hanukkah, budget loneliness, sadness, depression, holidays, positive, attitude, change, wikipedia, happy, happiness, optimist, optimism, self-help, anxiety, stress, homework, teenagers, adolescence, e-books

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5 Ways to Stay Positive in a Negative World

In view of the increasing negative events happening around the world here are five things you can do to help you stay positive.

1. Take a news sabbatical. Listening to the news can be downright depressing. All bad news all of the time can drag you down and keep you there. Give yourself permission to stop listening to the news, especially before bed time.
2. Use your influence to do good where you live. Shift your focus from what is happening in other parts of the world to your community. Get involved in making a positive change or contribution.
   
3. Focus on what is working in your life. Choose one thing that you are grateful for and focus on it for the rest of the day.
   
4. Express your appreciation to others. You can create a positive world one person at a time by saying thank you every chance you get to everyone you interact with – from the person who holds open a door for you to your child who does a chore to a cherished friend or loved one.
   
5. Focus on what you can change and let go of what you can’t change. When faced with a distressing situation ask yourself if you can control over the events. If you do, change what you can. If you don’t, learn to let it go and move on.

   Learn to be an Optimist:
   A practical guide for achieving happiness
   by Lucy MacDonald

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