A – Z Daily Affirmations

Welcome to the A-Z challenge!

I was so excited by the A-Z challenge and tried to come up with a cohesive theme for the challenge before I started writing.   Arlee Bird said that there were, of course, letters that are a challenge like Q.  As soon as he said that I knew instantly what I wanted to write for Q.   (You’ll have to wait and see.) 

Once I wrote Q  I started working on the other letters I thought would be tough and once I started writing  a surprising theme emerged…Affirmations.

This was very surprising for me because if you said the word affirmations to me I would scoff at it and dismiss you as someone who needs a crutch.  But the more I wrote the more I realized that maybe I just have the wrong (Stuart Smalley, self-help book aisle) association with the word.  Everyone I know gets down on themselves and forgets how wonderful they are. 

I hope these 26 shots of encouragement and reminders will be helpful to everyone who reads them and the people around you; especially if you share them and put them into practice.

Cheers!

Kate

A

Applause

Applaud yourself for the efforts you make.  Not everything works out as planned but acknowledge the effort you put in and give yourself the praise you deserve.  Then evaluate the situation and try again.

Applaud others for their efforts as well to keep them engaged and positive.

Noise

I have very little time that is my own to do with as I wish.  Most of it seems to be in the car.  Yet even there I find the voice in my head telling me to listen to the news and see what happened today when I know the last thing I really want to hear is more information that I will find upsetting.

I have found that taking a slightly longer route home, one with less traffic and only a sigle lane so my brain isn't busy telling me to switch lanes because that one is moving ever so slightly faster, in complete silence has been the best gift I can give myself.

It is amazing to me how little time we have without noises vying for our attention.

I discovered the silence by accident.  This route travels the edge of the continent and has very bad radio reception.  I had just left a noisy house and when the static started I shut the radio off, something I don't think I had ever done in this car.

I enjoyed the scenery more and then my brain started telling me marvelous stories.  It unraveled mysteries of my life and opened the door for my creativity.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to take time for yourself to do something you love.  It is also important to take moments to unplug and listen to your brain and your body.  Try it, you'll see.

Thanksgiving

I love holidays.  I love to cook.  I'm not too bad at it either.  Even people who aren't family are willing to come and eat my food.

We were blessed today to have so many friends join us.  I loved that I was able to cook for so many people who would appreciate spending the day at our home. 

My only concern is how I interacted with everyone. I had all the food prepared. I had to ask the guests to help on a few items; but it was mostly done. 

I didn't really get to join in the conversatiosn though.   I am shy.  That is a fact I try and change as much as I can.

I was able to sit with everyone a few times but I really didn't get a chance to sit and catch up with anyone or get to know anyone better; which is really what I wanted.

How do I host, make sure everyone is happy and still have time to talk with the guests and get to know them better.  I haven't figured that out.  All the years I have been hosting.  I am never able to enjoy the party.  No matter how much I plan ahead.  

I was so lucky today to have friends over that I really want to get to know better yet I wasn't able to really engage in conversation.  A small part of that was because I am shy but it was mostly because I was busy getting milk for kids, drinks for adults, etc.

In a couple of weeks I am having a group of women over for a cookie exchange.  I would love any suggestions anyone has on how to overcome this problem before they arrive on the 8th.

Thanks.

I hope you all had a lovely holiday and appreciated what you have to be thankful for.

I have my family and friends and job and so much more. I am really blessed. 

Peace and love to all.