positively present

positively present's 2011 summer soundtrack

  (♥)

 

With the arrival of Memorial Day weekend here in the US, the summer season has been sparked. The weather is hot (nearly 100 degrees tomorrow!) and the time has come for bathing suits, barbeques, and breaking out the summer songs. Below are some of my 2011 summertime favorites. 

 

Up Up and Away -- Kid Cudi

Lights -- Ellie Goulding

And Run -- He Is We

Don't Wait -- The Duke Spirit 

Swim Until You Can't See Land -- Frightened Rabbit

Who We Are -- Ryan Calhoun

Ten-Twenty-Ten -- Generationals

Cosmic Love -- Florence + the Machine

The Re-Arranger -- Mates of State

Big Jet Plane -- Angus and Julia Stone

Keep Your Head Up -- Andy Grammar

Positive -- Taio Cruz

Young Blood -- Naked and Famous

L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. -- Noah & the Whale

Spotlight -- Patrick Stump

You'll Be Mine -- The Pierces

The Story of Us -- Taylor Swift

Fire -- The Submarines

 

I hope these songs help you to get into the summertime spirit! For more of my favorite tunes, check out my YouTube page or the Inspiration page on Positively Present. And if you have some favorite summer songs of your own, please feel free to share them in the comment section below. I'd love to know what you're listening to and feeling inspired by this summer. 

 

What songs are inspiring you this summer? 
Any songs you'd add to this summertime soundtrack? 

 

words to live by: ... and run

(♥)

Kinda wish I had the courage,
A bit of bravery.
So tired of waiting on a man
to come and save me.
Wishing I had everything,
Or something really.
Hard to admit it,
But now I’m thinking freely.
I’m going to open my mind to all these,
New found exciting possibilities.

I’m making all my own plans,
Throwing all my old ones away.
Gonna grow up, Be someone.
Draw a map, find a path.
Take a breath and run.
And run.

Filling my head with words to encourage me,
Gotta get my act so straight so I can truly believe.
That what I’m waiting for, is really worth the wait.
Stop bringing myself down,
I gotta know what makes me great.
I’m going to open my mind to all these,
New found exciting possibilities.

I’m making all my own plans,
Throwing all my old ones away.
Gonna grow up, Be someone.
Draw a map, find a path.
Take a breath and run.

I am trying to get past this,
Be better than I once was.
Tired of waiting, on someone else.
I am trying to get past this,
Be better than I once was.
Tired of waiting on someone else,
I can fix it by myself.

I’m finally taking a stand,
I’ve learned from all my mistakes.
I’m making all my own plans,
Throwing all my old ones away.
Gotta grow up, be someone.
Draw a map, find a path.
Take a breath and run.

 
"And Run"
He is We

 

This has become my latest favorite song. Every time I listen to it, I feel inspired. Check it out here on my YouTube channel.  "Words To Live By" is a segment on Positively Present that features my favorite quote or lyrics from the week. Every Sunday I post a quote or lyrics that have inspired me with the hope that they'll inspire you too. Comments will be closed on these posts, but feel free to tweet the post if you enjoy it or contact me via Twitter. 

using journaling to unleash your creativity

(♥)

The post below was written by Mari L. McCarthy, The Journaling Therapy Specialist, founder of Journaling for the Health of It™. To learn more about Mari, check out her journaling blog at http://www.createwritenow.com/journal-writing-blog/. 

One of the best benefits of journaling is its uncanny ability to keep you awake, creatively. Moreover, Journal Writing Therapy can be a powerful tool for dislodging creative "blocks." Creativity is your birthright. Absolutely everyone is creative, whether they know it or not. When you think about the fact that you are constantly making choices, deciding between options, and favoring personal preferences, you can see that you are unique, and that you naturally create that uniqueness.

Certainly it's true that some individuals take more time to develop their natural creativity than others. Some develop their muscles, or work to stretch their intelligence, or spend a lot of time cultivating their sexual allure, or their beauty. Which parts of our selves we decide to emphasize is our personal choice.

But there's special reward in cultivating our inner creativity, because a strong and confident creativity will make your progress faster and smoother in all other areas of concentration, as well. This is because when you access your creative self, you access unlimited possibilities. You are no longer constricted by fear and self-doubt. You can see for endless miles into the wellspring of inspiration.

Many people think creative blocks are simply professional hazards, something that happens to us, over which we have no control. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are never ever empty of ideas. If we feel separated from our creativity, if we feel uninspired and dull, it is because we lack the will to access imagination. We're tired or sick or afraid. For some reason, we're choosing to block ourselves.

If we can manage to re-locate the will to unblock, our personal creativity leaps up happily to meet the effort. When we willfully ignore all objections and wait with an open heart for the inspirational responses to our small efforts, the floodgates easily lift. How do you use journaling to help open those gates? Here are a few ideas.

 

How to Use Journaling to Unleash Creativity
 

1. Open your journal to a fresh page and write the date. Now write at the top of the page “I am aware that...” and just write, write, write until you feel it’s right for you to stop.

 

2. Invite your inner kid over to play in your journal with you. Close your eyes and picture your inner kid. He or she may be your actual child self, or the imaginary friend you used to have. Then open your eyes. In your journal, ask questions of your inner kid. What makes her happiest in the world? What’s his advice on a challenge you’re facing now? What’s the greatest lesson she’s learned in life so far? Take notes on the replies you get. Doodle. Use colorful crayons or markers if you have them. Have FUN!

 

3.  Focus on your dreams. Use a few tricks to help you remember your dreams and keep a journal chronicling these nighttime adventures. Don't forget to go back and re-read your entries every so often.

 

4.  Take the title of a song and use that as an opening for a journal entry. What represents how you feel at the moment? “Don’t Worry Be Happy,” “Wild Thing,” or “Un-Break my Heart”?

 

5. Make a Fun List. We make lists all the time – to-do lists, grocery shopping lists, packing lists -- but they aren’t always fun or imaginative. Try making a “just for fun” list to get your creativity flowing.

• Favorite books, movies, TV shows or songs
• Things you want to do before you turn (insert age here)
• Inventions you couldn’t live without
• Celebrities you would like to interview
• Books you want to read
• Characteristics or traits that you like about yourself

 

These prompts are just a few from my book, 27 Days of Journaling to Health and Happiness. I hope you will enjoy and profitably put to use all 27 practices. Once I began to know and trust my own creativity through journaling, ideas and possibilities began to flow unchecked, and I'm still in awe every day at the infinity of inspiration. And my confidence in the bounty of the universe never wavers!

 

Today's post was written by Mari L. McCarthy, The Journaling Therapy Specialist, founder of Journaling for the Health of It™.  Please visit Mari's blog at http://www.createwritenow.com/journal-writing-blog/. In 27 Days of Journaling to Health and Happiness, Mari walks you through an easy process for accessing your natural inner strengths. Mari's latest publication is titled Who Are You? How to Use Journaling Therapy to Know and Grow Your Life.

 

I've chosen a winner for the copy of The Book of (Even More) Awesome Things! Laurie was chosen as the winner and will receive a free copy of the book. Congrats, Laurie!

how to write your own story: 6 ways to get started

(♥)

So much of what we face in life is out of our control. We didn't choose to be born when and where we were born. We didn't choose our families or the social status we were raised in. As David Brooks writes in The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement, 

 

"We can choose the narrative we tell about our lives. We're born into cultures, nations, and languages that we didn't choose. We're born with certain brain chemicals and genetic predispositions that we can't control. We're sometimes thrust into social conditions that we detest. But among all the things we don't control, we do have some control over our stories. We do have a conscious saying in selecting the narrative we will use to organize perceptions." 

 

So many things in life our out of our control, but the narrative we create about who we are and where we're going is something that we do have control over. It can be really hard to realize that sometimes. Life can overwhelm us and make us feel as if so much is out of our control. But it's not. Okay, some of it is. But it's up to us to work with what we've got -- to create our own stories and make our narratives read the way we want them to. 

 

6 Ways to Start Writing Your Own Story 

1. Learn to cope with change. Life is filled with the unexpected. Things change. People change. If you want to have control of the story of your life, it's up to you to learn to adapt to change. You must realize that it's inevitable and you have to learn to be flexible. It's only then that you will be able to truly craft your own story without feeling as if you are powerless to change. 

2. Stop focusing on other people. It's hard not to focus on other people -- after all, we are social animals -- but what I mean by this is stop allowing other people's views of the world to impact yours. Stop comparing yourself to others. Stop creating a life that is centered on what other people do and say. If you want to have a story that's all yours, you must learn to stand on your own two feet. 

3. Add value wherever you can. We often feel trapped in the situations, cultures, or social circles we were born into. It's very tempting to complain and blame, but that gets you nowhere. What does get you somewhere is adding value to every situation you find yourself in. Even if things aren't ideal, you can add value simply by being positive or giving your best effort. Blaming and complaining is a waste of time. 

4. Choose your lens to view the world. You can't choose a lot of things in your life, but you can always choose the way you look at the world. It's up to you to choose a lens through which you can look at your life. You can be positive or negative, imaginative or bored, brave or fearful. There are so many ways you can look at your life -- and that's all up to you to choose the right lens. 

5. Make your own choices. When faced with choices in life, it can be tempting to look to others for guidance and advice. There's nothing wrong with doing this, but remember: at the end of the day, the choice you make is yours. To write your own story, you must control the plot. Don't hesitate to seek advice, but remember to take it with a grain of salt. You have the final say in the choices you make. 

6. Evaluate the people in your life. One of the most important aspects of any story is the characters. What characters are in your life? Who are the good guys? The bad guys? If you want to be writing your own story, you have to be choosing the characters carefully. Surround yourself with people who are going to bring you up and inspire you. Find the people who will help you write the story you'll want to look back and read. 

 

There are so many things outside our control in this life. It can be tempting to throw up your hands and say, "Forget it! Things just happen and I don't have any control!" But you are better than that. You, like me, can see that there are some things we can control. We can control our outlook. We can control our decisions. We can control who we surround ourselves with. We control what we choose to focus on. Yes, there are a lot of things that come at us, things that we're born into, that influence the stories of our lives, but we do have some say in the way our narratives turn out. It's up to you to take hold of the pen and start writing your own story. 

words to live by: the time is now

 

(♥)

 

You'll never enjoy your life, 
living inside the box 
You're so afraid of taking chances, 
how you gonna reach the top? 

Rules and regulations, 
force you to play it safe 
Get rid of all the hesitation, 
it's time for you to seize the day 

Instead of just sitting around 
and looking down on tomorrow 
You gotta let your feet off the ground, 
the time is now 

I'm waiting, waiting, just waiting, 
I'm waiting, waiting outside the lines 
Waiting outside the lines 
Waiting outside the lines 

Try to have no regrets 
even if it's just tonight 
How you gonna walk ahead 
if you keep living behind 

Stuck in my same position, 
you deserve so much more 
There's a whole world around us, 
just waiting to be explored 

Instead of just sitting around 
and looking down on tomorrow 
You gotta let your feet off the ground, 
the time is now, just let it go 

The world will force you to smile 
I'm here to help you notice the rainbow 
Cause I know, 
What's in you is out there 

I'm waiting, waiting, just waiting, 
I'm waiting, waiting outside the lines 
Waiting outside the lines 
Waiting outside the lines 

I'm trying to be patient (I'm trying to be patient) 
the first step is the hardest (the hardest) 
I know you can make it, 
go ahead and take it 

I'm Waiting, waiting, just waiting I'm waiting 
I'm waiting, waiting, just waiting 
I'm waiting, waiting outside the lines 
Waiting outside the lines 
Waiting outside the lines 

You'll never enjoy your life 
Living inside the box 
You're so afraid of taking chances, 
How you gonna reach the top?

"Waiting Outside the Lines"

Greyson Chance

"Words To Live By" is a segment on Positively Present that features my favorite quote or lyrics from the week. Every Sunday I post a quote or lyrics that have inspired me with the hope that they'll inspire you too.Comments will be closed on these posts, but feel free to tweet the post if you enjoy it or contact me via Twitter.