Don’t Let Comparison Steal Your Joy

I’m sure we have all heard the quote “comparison is the thief of all joy.”

We as humans live in a world where comparison happens without knowledge. You see a person with a better job, better car, better house, etc. and sometimes we cannot help but compare our lives to others.

What we don’t realize is, when we do this, we take small bits and pieces of our joy away from us. Constant comparisons to other people’s lives does nothing but put you in a position to be pessimistic about your life; or on the flip side, it can cause you to look at others’ lives as inferior to yours (if you are comparing what you have that is better than someone else), and that is a negative trait that no one should want to inherit.

Count your blessings more than counting what you lack: it’s all about your mindset. If you focus on what you have, you will spend less time talking about what you lack. What you have in your life at the time in your life is tailor made for your success. Comparing your life to someone’s else’s doesn’t bring about any positive feelings, because no one’s life is the same, and the timeline for what you want and need in life is not the same as another person’s.

Focus on your goals and how to achieve them: instead of comparing yourself to what others have, try focusing your energy on achieving the goals you have for yourself to project

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Whitney C.1 Comment

Self-Care Sunday Highlight: Laughter 

The age-old quote says “laughter is good for the soul”, and I couldn’t agree more. 

Ask yourself, when is the last time you laughed?  When is the last time something made you giggle uncontrollably.  Also, ask yourself how you felt after you had a good, hearty laugh. 

Whenever I laugh, it’s like medicine to numb the pain.  I’m a person who is always looking for a silver lining with my friends and family.  I strive to be optimistic all the time, and I try to find the humor in things.  Sometimes, a silly situation is all it takes to turn a mood around.  It reminds you that life isn’t too bad that you can’t smile.  It also helps to have friends in your life who know how to make you smile, even when they don’t realize it.   

This week, laugh. Laugh uncontrollably.  Laugh until it makes you cry.  Find a funny picture, reminisce on a memory, do a funky dance or sing a weird song.  Talk to someone who you know will bring you some positive energy and endless moments to smile about.  Do something that you know will make you laugh enough to remind you that life isn’t as bad as we make it seem sometimes. 

☺☺

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The Christmas Tag!!!

“Chestnuts roasting, on an open fire……” 🙂

So, today I’m feeling real holly and jolly today (possibly because of the Christmas  party we are having at work today).  As an extension of my holiday cheer, I am going to do the Christmas tag for you all!  I will have the questions down at the bottom of the post for anyone else who wants to do this!!  So, lets get it!!

 

  1. What is your favourite Christmas Movie/s?

My favorite Christmas movie…?  Actually, Nothing Like the Holidays is my favorite Christmas movie.   I don’t know how I stumbled upon  this movie a couple years ago, but ever since,  I HAVE to watch it at least 3 times during the Christmas holidays!  My favorite line?

“I’M NOT GONNA RUN THE BODEGA!”

LOL.

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  1. Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

Christmas morning!  And I am definitely someone who will be up at the crack of dawn (even before my own toddler), ready to open gifts.  Christmas has always been one of my favorite holidays, and now that I am a mother.  I am enjoying more of watching my daughter and nephew open their gifts and see the joy on their faces for the holiday.

  1. Do you have a favourite Christmas memory?

There is a video of my daughter and my nephew’s first Christmas, where they were wearing matching onesies.  My nephew was playing drums, and my daughter was dancing.  It was classic Kynn and Preston, and I loved it.  I think that is the year we knew they completely enjoyed their Christmas.

  1. Favourite festive food?

I LOVE turkey and dressing, with cranberry sauce and giblet gravy.  That is my all time favorite combination at holiday time.  That and apple pie for dessert.  And let’s not forget the wine 🙂 ….

  1. Favourite Christmas gift?

I don’t know if I have a favorite Christmas gift.  What I enjoy the most is when someone gets me something that they KNOW I will love; or if they take the time to get me something that I specifically asked for or casually mentioned in passing conversation.  Thoughtful gifts  are the way to my heart.

  1. Favourite Christmas scent?

Ehh, I don’t have a specific scent, but I know when I start to smell cinammon, apple or vanilla type scents,  I am knee deep into the holiday season!

  1. Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?

No Christmas Eve traditions, although I would like to develop one for my daughter.  I know she will want to make cookies for Santa and write a note.  I also may let her open one gift the night before. 🙂

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  1. What tops your tree?

Right now, a star.  I want to get a really pretty angel like my grandmother has on the top of her tree.  It’s gorgeous!

  1. As a kid what was the one (crazy, wild, extravagant) gift you always asked for but never received?

I’d have to say I was pretty blessed.  I can’t think of anything I asked for that I never got for Christmas or at one point in my life. I also have gotten older and don’t ask for much; Im in a season in my life where I’d rather give than receive.

  1. What’s the best part about Christmas for you?

Spending time with my family and friends. Period.  I have always loved Christmas because I knew that  was the one holiday of the year that everyone will come together for a day and be joyful and laugh and have fun.  As everyone has grown, we have  all made our own new traditions, but one thing that I will never  give up is  having the ones I love the most with me on Christmas.

Here are the question for you to answer. 

  1. What is your favourite Christmas Movie/s?
  2. Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
  3. Do you have a favourite Christmas memory?
  4. Favourite festive food?
  5. Favourite Christmas gift?
  6. Favourite Christmas scent?
  7. Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?
  8. What tops your tree?
  9. As a kid what was the one (crazy, wild, extravagant) gift you always asked for but never received?
  10. What’s the best part about Christmas for you?

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Loving Yourself Gets Hard, and That’s Ok.

Today, I was faced with an emotion that I haven’t felt in a long time;  I wasn’t happy with myself.  I was having a pretty bad day and beating myself up about it.  I hadn’t felt this way in a long time; in fact, I had been in surprisingly great spirits lately about a number of things.  But on this particular day, I guess I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, because I looked in the mirror and I didn’t like who I saw that day.  It wasn’t the same person who had been looking in the mirror everyday, and that bothered me.


Continue reading “Loving Yourself Gets Hard, and That’s Ok.” →

Whitney C.1 Comment

Hey Grandpa,

For a number of years I’ve written small dedications to you, in some form or another.  Every year it seems that with a new accomplishment in my life, there’s a small sadness attached because you weren’t here to share in that joy.  We are now in year 10, and my emotions still are all over the place when I think of you not being here.  I never imagined there would be things we wouldn’t share together. 

I never imagined you not seeing me walk down the aisle with a man I loved because he was just like you. I never thought you wouldn’t see me obtain a Masters degree.  I never thought you wouldn’t get to see your first born great granddaughter. This is what hurts the most, because she would love you…she would make your eyes light up and your whole spirit would be elated with her presence.  She is that special. 

The physical presence is what I miss the most. I still hear your laugh when I do something silly.  I still laugh at how little you contribute to a conversation, but that’s your nature; still, quiet and only willing to talk when you felt like it.  I guess you brought meaning to the term “unbothered” lol. 

10 years is a long time to live without someone.  I know people who have lived without their loved ones for much longer, but you were the first person I lost that I was significantly close to. Someone I saw regularly and spent time with regularly was taken from me early one morning while I was away at school.  I left Hinesville to attend college, feeling confident that I would see you again when I visited, that you were strong enough to see me finish and that you would get better; however, it didn’t go quite as planned, as there was a bigger plan at hand for you to not have to endure that pain, and one day you suffered no more.

I don’t talk about my grief very much to anyone.  Few people know truly how I feel, but no one (seriously) knows the impact that you’re physical absence has on me. It’s something I’ve chosen to keep hidden from a lot of people, for no particular reason.  I’ve preferred to keep it that way, but with this making 10 years since your passing and me not really discussing it, I feel the need to tell you how I feel.

There are days when I’m fine, life moves forward with no interruptions.  I raise Kynn, I support my family, and everything is pretty normal.  Then there are days that I pass by grandma’s house. Or that store you would walk to. I want to see you sitting outside of that store eating those nasty Moon Pie’s you seemed to love so much (sheesh lol), or sitting on your porch in the rocking chair, or walking up the street.  These things were normal, these things I wish I could see again. 

If I could have you back, it would bring my heart unending joy, because there’s so much I want you to see; so much I wanted you to be present for.  I wish you could see Kynnedy and Preston; they are complete angels. I wish you could meet Brandon, because he’s a sweetheart, just like you.  I wish you could see me doing well, making you proud of me.  I wish I could give you a hug, hear you laugh, or just sit around you and not do a thing. I’d even try that whole sleeping under the tree thing (something I never understood but do you grandpa, lol). 

I say all these things, and it still doesn’t measure up to how much I miss you everyday.  All I ask is that you continue to watch over me.  Keep smiling, keep laughing.  Never stop having my back.  Let me know if I’ve made you proud, I sure hope so. 

I love you Leroy Henry Izzard, Jr. I miss you terribly, and may you continue to rest on, until we meet again at the Sizzler, with a plate full of chicken and fatback.

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The Joys a Child Brings

I never knew how much joy children really bring to your life, until I had one of my own.

I could be having the worst day ever, I could want to cry my eyes out and lay in bed all day and do absolutely nothing; but my daughter makes that impossible.

Since the day she was born, I was convinced that she was truly blessed with pure happiness.  Unless she has just woke up from a nap, she is always very happy, talkative and pleasant to be around.  I have received so many compliments from people who tell me she is so pretty, and sweet and an overall happy baby!  It’s one thing for me to notice her happiness, but when perfect strangers can’t help but smile at her, I know she has a gift.

I’m so lucky to have her in my life. Her smile and her laugh will make up for all of life’s lemons.  I hope as she continues to grow, she keeps that quality about herself.

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