My family has taken a lot of vacations over the years, and discovered a lot of places to love. And one of the most fun-filled trips we ever took was to beautiful California. When people think of California, places like Hollywood, Silicon Valley and the Napa Valley wine region tend to spring to mind. But […]
Spread Some Positivity with 50 Ways To Say You’re Awesome by Alexandra Franzen
Recently I had the chance to listen to a talk by Drew Dudley, founder of Nuance Leadership Development Services Inc, and he was quite easily one of the most inspiring men I have ever met. The wealth of knowledge that came out of his speech was incredible but one of the key points that he returned to more than once was the importance of telling our loved ones that they are important to us.
Now, just in time for Christmas, author Alexandra Franzen has come up with a fun and creative way to do just that with her new book 50 Ways to Say You’re Awesome. This book has fifty colourful pages with messages of awesomeness on each one and a place to write a personal message on the back of each page. The best part is that the pages are perforated so that they can be removed and given to the people you care about! [Read more…]
Coca-Cola Canada Shares Stories of Inspirational Canadians this Summer to Help Encourage Acts of Kindness
One of the basic truths of human nature is that our smallest actions can grow to have a big impact on our lives and the lives of others. Even something as simple as smiling at a person that looks sad can create a ripple that yields positive results all day long. And a recent national survey conducted by Environics Research on behalf of Coca-Cola Canada shows that Canadians are performing plenty of little acts of kindness in the course of a month! But many people believe that those actions aren’t getting the recognition they deserve.
That’s why Coca-Cola Canada went on a national search to find and showcase some of the amazing Canadians that go above and beyond with acts of kindness that enrich the lives of others on a daily basis. Reading about regular people doing such incredible things had me feeling inspired to make a difference too. These are some of the stories of everyday heroes that were found: [Read more…]
You’re Contagious, Make It Count!
For the most part, bloggers are incredibly supportive of one another and I’m so glad to be a part of the Canadian blogging community. But every once in a while, a blogger will attack her peers because she feels that they’re not acting in the “right” way.
It hurts me when I see things like this, but as I thought about events like these, I realized that they are by no means limited to the blogosphere. High school is what will spring to many minds when public humiliations of this sort are discussed but even in adult relationships, humans often have the need to criticize and judge each other. It can be subtle: the mom on the playground commenting that SHE would never let her child eat a pre-packaged snack like the one you just handed your child. Or it can be more obvious, especially online: a hateful comment that visiting a fast-food restaurant on your vacation has doomed your children to a life of bad health and obesity.
Happiness is a Dirty Mirror
Do you ever have those days when you just look and feel fabulous? Your hair is behaving, you’re wearing an outfit that you love and your self-esteem is through the roof? If you need those days more often, do I ever have a secret for you! Whatever you do…don’t dust your mirrors!
I discovered this trick a few days ago. I was glancing in my bedroom mirror as I passed by and I realized that I looked really, really good! My hair framed my face perfectly, my skin looked smooth and flawless and my eyes were bright and sparkling. I grinned, primped and totally enjoyed it; it’s always nice to realize that you look good without having gone to any special effort!
The next day, I had the same experience. I was thrilled, but also a little surprised. I hadn’t put on any makeup or even brushed my hair yet! And it was then that I realized that it was the slight layer of dust that was currently covering the mirror that was making me look so darn good! Basically, it softened my features. Imperfections in my skin and fine lines were no longer visible. My slightly dirty hair looked clean and perfect. My dusty mirror had become my own personal airbrush artist!
The experience got me thinking about the way us women look at the world sometimes. For the most part, our gazes tend to be squeaky-clean. We view our surroundings and ourselves with all the harshness of an overly bright florescent light bulb. And when we do, we realize that there are imperfections in almost everything, especially ourselves.
Maybe, just maybe, we need a slight layer of dust over our gazes. With a softened view of the world, we may see that all those glaring imperfections are no longer even visible. We might find that we look downright gorgeous and that the world around us does too. Maybe those rose-coloured glasses aren’t such a farfetched concept after all.
Self-esteem isn’t about attaining perfection. It’s about feeling good about yourself, your environment and your life in general. You don’t have to work your butt off to reach that point. You don’t have to stress about your appearance, your kids’ behaviour or the state of your house. It’s really just a matter of perception. All you need to do is airbrush your view of the world.
You’ll be amazed by how wonderful your life really is when you look at it through a slight layer of dust!
