Pay It Forward

Hi All,

You've probably heard Pay It Forward a gazillion times and never thought much about it. You probably just figured it was an over-used saying.  Well, I've discovered a GREAT FUN way to do just that, Pay it Forward...and I love it!

Several months ago while I was in line at McDonald's, I pulled up to pay for my order and the cashier said "the guy in front of you paid for it" I was floored. I didn't know the person in line in front of me. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why a complete stranger would pay for my order. This gentleman was in a police car so I thought maybe it was my neighbor who is a detective, but nope - I checked, it wasn't him.

What was cool was how it made me feel the whole day. I was happy! I was telling my friends at work about my awesome morning experience. Then a couple weeks later I thought of doing it myself and referring to it as Pay it Forward. I even ordered some business cards online from Vista Print that have the logo for my blog and the words "Have a Blessed Day" and under that is says "Pay if Forward".  Now when I go through the drive thru and pay for people's order I ask the cashier to give the person behind me the card and say "Pay it Forward."

It's a small way to brighten someone's day. I promise it will make you feel great when you do it. I encourage you to give it a try. The next time you're going through a drive-thru, pay for the person's order behind you. See how cool it makes you feel. It's a great way to do something nice for someone else and you aren't expecting to be thanked or acknowledged because you just drive away. No recognition is needed. Giving anonymously an unexpectedly is rewarding.

 I'm hoping this type of Pay it Forward will catch on all across the country. Can you imagine how awesome it would be to see people randomly being generous for no other reason than to say Have a Blessed Day, I care about you. Obviously it doesn't have to be limited to a drive-thru. Pay it Forward everywhere....anywhere you are at in some small way you can bless someone else. Try it - it's FUN. It really is better to give than receive.

Leave a comment and let me know how you Paid If Forward!

Gratitude and Attitude

In 2014 I decided to have a word for the year. So for 2014 my word was GRATITUDE.  I really wanted to focus on being thankful.  Sometimes we get so focused on what we don't have we forget to be thankful for what we do have.  It is so much more rewarding to have a thankful spirit. Your days are so much happier and rewarding.  Now that's not to say I flew through 2014 on a cloud of happiness and gratitude. I had my periods of frustration and setbacks. What I liked was that I was more aware - I knew when it was happening and really focused on bringing myself out of whatever slump I was in at the moment.

 I think I did pretty good for 2014 with my word of the year. To this day I still carry my 'gratitude' journal.  My goal is to daily (sometimes I get busy and forget) write down 5 things I am thankful/grateful for.  I am so thankful for all the amazing blessings the Lord has given me.  I know what I have is not because of anything I did - it is all Him.  

 I encourage you when you find yourself complaining about things like: "my house is too small, my car is old, my spouse is driving me crazy" remember - - - there are people who would love to have your home, your car, or even your spouse ;-)

I starting thinking about what my word for 2015 would be in December of 2014. My word for 2015 is ATTITUDE.  No, I did not intentionally make 2014 and 2015 words rhyme - ha.  After much soul-searching and desire to be a better person it quickly became evident Attitude should be my word for 2015.

 At work I was really struggling and allowing myself to get into these obnoxious moods and not being very supportive. I was allowing what others were doing or not doing,  to affect me. What I should have been doing was rising above the situation, not allowing my emotions to get the best of me, setting a better example for my team .

 If I am being totally honest, I was downright critical, judgmental, and obnoxious.  Who died and left me ruler of the people.  Ummmm, I'm pretty sure NO ONE did.  Instead of setting a good example, casting a positive  shadow I was doing the exact opposite.  It was a slow start getting myself to 'think' before I spoke.  To assume positive intent when others said something I found offensive or manipulative.

I think the key is becoming aware. I am much more aware of my actions, motives, and responses.  The last couple of months I believe have been my best so far. Now, lets see how I do the second half of the year. I challenge you to find a 'word' for the year that you can focus on. Share your word with me in the comments below.

Sort of part 3 of 3 Finding Your Happiness Series

Hello Everyone, what I should be writing it part 3 of 3 on happiness, however as I write I find myself embarrassed and saddened by the delay in getting back to the blog.  A TON has happened during the last 9 months (and no it was not a baby - ha). I say that only because I'm already the mother of 4 and grandmother of 7.

I wanted to give you all the update and tell you that while it's been a long while, way too long! I'll give you the quick version of the update.

1.       We have finally moved into our new house, praise the Lord!

2.       My new craft space is finally finished - woo hoo,

3.        I'm ahead on my Bible reading ;-)  yeah! I decided to do a " read through the Bible in 365 days" reading plan.  I've never done that before and it's been a real joy a
nd surprisingly I look forward to it. I know, I know, that sounds bad. In the past I just did hit-or-miss reading and it wasn't as meaningful to me. I'm really enjoying it and encourage you all to give it a try as well.

4.       I have big plans for getting the StampinMania.com website revamped and working as I originally had wanted it to.

5.       I started picking a word for the year, my word for 2014 was "gratitude" my word for 2015 is "attitude".  I've been focusing on improving mine as far as not letting things get to me like they used to. So far so good - it's going well. 

6.       I've been spending most of my free time on my StampinMania.com website. It's a small online paper-crafting website I started not quite 2 years ago. Crafting is a passion of mine and I've had many hurdles but I'm not giving up!

I feel stronger than ever that now is the time for me to help encourage others. We all go through rough patches, it's how you handle them that is important. I recently saw a saying, and for the life of me can't remember where - probably Pinterest, but it said "Disappointments are Inevitable; Misery is Optional" I like it so much I put it up on my board at work.

I will close for now with a promise to post regularly, even if it's just to say Hello. I hope you are all having a blessed day.  Remember - Focus on what you do have, not on what you don't have.

Finding Your Happiness - Part 2 of 3

Hi Everyone,  Here is part 2 of the 3 part Happiness series. Though I expect I will talk about happiness more than just 3 times ;-)

As I focus on myself and look for areas to improve I've come across a number of things that just make sense. I ask myself why I didn't think of these things on my own and earlier in my life.  Some of the things I've come to learn are below. It is of course not an all-inclusive list. If it were, this blog post would be VERY VERY LONG.

Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate. You stay much happier when you are NOT focusing on the negative. Continuing to harp and bash on things you hate puts you in a negative state of mind.  We all fall guilty of this behavior but once you become aware of it, change it. Like the late Maya Angelou said "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." That means, now you know better, you now know to stop focusing on what you hate and bashing the negative, so it's time to 'do better'. Focus on the positive and being kind. Then you'll be doing better.

• Be Grateful & Count Your Blessings
• Send Positive Energy into the universe
• Be Kind.  Helping others gives you a great feeling

Creativity Enhances your happiness.  Find your inner creative self. Creativity comes in all kinds of flavors. Most people think "oh, I have to be able to paint; but I can't even draw a stick-figure". WRONG. There are tons of things that are 'creative'  Singing, Sewing, Designing, Paper-crafting, gardening, etc.

A new study finds that happiness and other positive emotions play an even more important role in health than previously reported. Researchers found that when happy people contract a virus, or “catch a cold”, they report fewer symptoms and in fact, are less likely to contract the virus at all.

I challenge you to try to focus on happy and not the negative for a week then see how your situations have improved and how you feel "Happy" again. Then I ask you to come back to this blog post and post a comment to share your findings
Today CHOOSE to be Happy

What is keeping you from HAPPINESS - part 1 of 3

Some days I get mentally exhausted listening to others complain, and I must admit at times I chime in with them. Then I think "Stop It" this is ridiculous.  Why am I so concerned with what someone else is doing, or 'not' doing? I have to redirect myself to prevent me from plummeting into the pits of gossip and complaining; and honestly that's not always easy!

I recently started soul-searching a lot more than I have in the past. I am really enjoying the quotes and inspiration I'm finding on Pinterest. Surprisingly it really helps me get into a frame of mind to really take a look at myself. I know, I know, some of you are thinking "Pinterest" really, that's lame, but actually continually seeing uplifting messages REALLY does work. Follow my Quotes and Inspiration board to get a jump start on finding inspiration that inspires YOU!

Some of the sayings that really motivate me to think are:

SO TRUE

Do you know any Worriers???

This one Cracks me UP

Currently I'm planning on a 3 part series to this topic. I wanted to just give you a few items to think about to start you on the journey of finding and KEEPING your Happiness.  That's a journey that I'm on and I invite you to join me.

What motivates you to take a deeper look at yourself? Leave your response in the comment section below. Follow my blog so you don't miss any of the posts.

What it's all about

Hi - I wanted my first post to be a little background about 'me' and why on earth I think you may want to follow me in my journey through LIFE.

It wasn't until recently, say the last few months, that I really started looking at life and really wondering - what's the purpose, how can I be a better human being, why have I become so self-involved, how can I help others, and so on and so on.

I started pinning lots of great quotes and inspirational items on Pinterest, I'm a junkie now for sure! What I found was the more I searched and really thought about a lot of the GREAT things I was reading was that I could actually CHANGE ME.  The problem isn't everyone else, it's ME and how I "react" to everyone else.

No one can steal my joy, unless I LET them. I've decided to take it back. I did let circumstances of life snatch my joy and now I want it back !!!

I found myself chiming in when the nay-sayers and negative-nellie's at work got on the train of doom and gloom and gossip and bad management, etc.  That was NOT helping my cause.

SO. . .I hope you will follow along as I try to bring uplifting information to you, as well as miscellaneous things I find interesting, or tips & tricks I may learn about Social Media. I expect this blog will morph into what it will be as I continue along.

I hope you will consider following me in this journey and joining in along the way.
Here's to you finding YOUR JOY and Happiness. Life is too beautiful to waste any more time complaining.

Thanks for stopping by,
Chat soon
Terri

OMG - so I just viewed my post and realized I left out a major important note. Why on earth did I name the blog Dream.Strive.Become...well, as I was scrolling through the pins on my Quotes & Inspiration board the other night and ran across one that just hit me. When I saw a pin that said Dream.Strive.Become. I knew instantly that I wanted that to be my focus and name for the blog. I checked it out to make sure I wasn't infringing a copyright saying and discovered that a mother had created this as her motto for the year. It is from her children's school. It has been their motto for several years. Please check out and follow her blog. I certainly plan on it. Click here Landeelu here's Landee's eye-catching graphic that was my inspiration.