You can learn a lot by being a fly on the wall.
The people who cross your path have led interesting lives, do
interesting things, and have many interesting stories to tell. If you
take the time, be quiet, watch and listen, you can discover a great deal
-- about them, about life, and even about yourself. It’s not just
their words – you can learn from their actions, from the things they
choose to talk about, not just what they say, but how they say it.
We are surrounded by many, many beautiful souls, but we don’t always
get the chance learn just how strong and beautiful others really are.
Look and listen before you start speaking, and you will be amazed at
what you see.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Quitter
I hate to admit this, but I am a quitter. For most of my life, I've started and stopped at so many things, in so many ways. But, that's ok, I would say -- nothing lasts forever, right? I suppose I could explore the reasons why I don't stick to much, but let's just say that I have a tendency to start things and not finish them up. This blog, for instance, is a good example. If I manage to finish this entry, it will be only my second. The first post was added over a month ago. If I don't say any more, it will be one more thing I quit.
Why bring this up? What is so special about today? Why not just quit blogging, like I've quit so many other things, and have done with it? Because today is a milestone. One year ago today, I went to my first Zumba® Fitness class. And, I haven't quit going. That is the milestone -- I started something, I liked it, and I didn't quit.
Oh, there were moments, believe me, where I could hear the whisper. OK, you've done enough. You've proved your point. Isn't it time to stop? But, as weeks turned into months, as a once a week activity turned into something I do 3 times a week, something changed. I started ignoring the voices that said "don't," "stop," and "can't."
This time last year, I was on a mission to lose weight. I was working with a weight loss program, and had lost a modest amount in 6 months. But, the pull to quit was still there. The same whisper, the same words. I actually stopped going for a few weeks at the end of 2011, but a call from the center brought me back. I decided I wasn't going to quit. Since starting the program, I have lost about 55 lbs, and I am down four dress sizes. Finishing what I started feels good.
Despite being more focused on possibilities and ignoring the negative voices, though, I found myself saying "can't" this week. Thankfully, I was called on it. "The minute you say you can't, you can't," I was told. Or, won't. I wondered, on the drive home, if thinking "I can't" once again didn't make me a hypocrite. For several months, I had focused on and talked about believing in oneself and making the impossible possible. Was I quitting yet again?
Here's the thing about focusing on the positive: it starts when you learn to forgive, first yourself and then others. You can make mistakes, take a step back and start fresh. A positive person can have a negative moment, a negative thought, and still remain a positive person. To answer my own question, no, it's not hypocrisy, because thinking "I can't," if just for a moment, only makes me human. It's a pause in my journey, not the final destination, as long as I don't stay there.
My tendency to quit was my way of giving up on myself. I'm not that person anymore. I believe in possibilities, and that if we keep trying, we can accomplish anything. I believe in moving forward, and being better today than I was yesterday. I believe in trying, and when something doesn't work out the first time, trying again.
So, if I'm going to quit anything, it is the idea of giving up. I am quitting quitting. Feels good...
Positively yours,
Fariha
Why bring this up? What is so special about today? Why not just quit blogging, like I've quit so many other things, and have done with it? Because today is a milestone. One year ago today, I went to my first Zumba® Fitness class. And, I haven't quit going. That is the milestone -- I started something, I liked it, and I didn't quit.
Oh, there were moments, believe me, where I could hear the whisper. OK, you've done enough. You've proved your point. Isn't it time to stop? But, as weeks turned into months, as a once a week activity turned into something I do 3 times a week, something changed. I started ignoring the voices that said "don't," "stop," and "can't."
This time last year, I was on a mission to lose weight. I was working with a weight loss program, and had lost a modest amount in 6 months. But, the pull to quit was still there. The same whisper, the same words. I actually stopped going for a few weeks at the end of 2011, but a call from the center brought me back. I decided I wasn't going to quit. Since starting the program, I have lost about 55 lbs, and I am down four dress sizes. Finishing what I started feels good.
Despite being more focused on possibilities and ignoring the negative voices, though, I found myself saying "can't" this week. Thankfully, I was called on it. "The minute you say you can't, you can't," I was told. Or, won't. I wondered, on the drive home, if thinking "I can't" once again didn't make me a hypocrite. For several months, I had focused on and talked about believing in oneself and making the impossible possible. Was I quitting yet again?
Here's the thing about focusing on the positive: it starts when you learn to forgive, first yourself and then others. You can make mistakes, take a step back and start fresh. A positive person can have a negative moment, a negative thought, and still remain a positive person. To answer my own question, no, it's not hypocrisy, because thinking "I can't," if just for a moment, only makes me human. It's a pause in my journey, not the final destination, as long as I don't stay there.
My tendency to quit was my way of giving up on myself. I'm not that person anymore. I believe in possibilities, and that if we keep trying, we can accomplish anything. I believe in moving forward, and being better today than I was yesterday. I believe in trying, and when something doesn't work out the first time, trying again.
So, if I'm going to quit anything, it is the idea of giving up. I am quitting quitting. Feels good...
Positively yours,
Fariha
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Positively me...
"Oh, great! Another blog!" I can almost hear those words from some random stranger looking through a list of new blogs that were started today, including my own. Does the world really need another blog? There are many things we could ask this about. Does the world really need another coffee shop? Does the world really need another song? Does the world really need another person? Don't we already have plenty of those?
Well... yes and no. It's been said that there is nothing new under the sun. Every idea you can think of has probably been thought before. And, yet, the world's not done. It keeps producing more people, more coffee shops, more songs, and as of today, more blogs. Because even though there is nothing new under the sun, it is the combination of those ideas in a way that hasn't been done before that makes for the fresh and new. And, exciting, too, truth be told.
So, what am I doing here, you might ask. Nothing, really. I just thought it might be a little fun to put to paper (or to the web, as it were) the thoughts that come to mind from time to time. OK, yes, I post a lot on FaceBook, and most days you can find me there. But, every so often, I have thoughts that are bit too big to be contained on a FB status. So, what's a girl to do? Start a blog, of course!
When I first started with FaceBook, many of my posts were about politics. However, in the last year and a half, I started making some changes in my life. (Topic for another post?) Politics fell by the way side, and I started posting about health, positive thoughts and motivation. (OK, I do, still, on occasion, post about politics -- especially when the elections roll around.) A conversation before Zumba this morning set the direction of this blog. While I had originally thought of reclaiming and renaming the label ABCD -- another topic for another post -- I settled on the idea of positivity.
Positivity is a choice. We choose how we react to life, how we deal with the things that happen to us. There are those who have everything -- a nice home, a nice car, clothes on their back, food on the table -- and still they are unhappy people. It is no fun socializing with people who bring negative energy with them wherever they go. Many times, we have to let these folks into our lives. They are our family, our co-workers, people we have to interact with. But, keeping in mind that positivity is a choice, I wanted to bring a little more of it into the world.
I can't control everything that happens to me, but I can put on a smile and deal with it. That, I guess, is the point of all this, which brings me back to my original idea way up at the top. Does the world need another blog? Maybe not. But, I'm going to do this anyways. If I can put up thoughts and ideas that will make someone smile (or even laugh), then I have been a force for good in the world, and I can rest easy when my time comes. I'm not looking to be brilliant or extraordinary. Just positive. Just happy. Just me.
So, stay tuned. Hopefully, my next post will include something to brighten your day, even if it is the least little bit.
Positively yours,
Fariha ;)
Well... yes and no. It's been said that there is nothing new under the sun. Every idea you can think of has probably been thought before. And, yet, the world's not done. It keeps producing more people, more coffee shops, more songs, and as of today, more blogs. Because even though there is nothing new under the sun, it is the combination of those ideas in a way that hasn't been done before that makes for the fresh and new. And, exciting, too, truth be told.
So, what am I doing here, you might ask. Nothing, really. I just thought it might be a little fun to put to paper (or to the web, as it were) the thoughts that come to mind from time to time. OK, yes, I post a lot on FaceBook, and most days you can find me there. But, every so often, I have thoughts that are bit too big to be contained on a FB status. So, what's a girl to do? Start a blog, of course!
When I first started with FaceBook, many of my posts were about politics. However, in the last year and a half, I started making some changes in my life. (Topic for another post?) Politics fell by the way side, and I started posting about health, positive thoughts and motivation. (OK, I do, still, on occasion, post about politics -- especially when the elections roll around.) A conversation before Zumba this morning set the direction of this blog. While I had originally thought of reclaiming and renaming the label ABCD -- another topic for another post -- I settled on the idea of positivity.
Positivity is a choice. We choose how we react to life, how we deal with the things that happen to us. There are those who have everything -- a nice home, a nice car, clothes on their back, food on the table -- and still they are unhappy people. It is no fun socializing with people who bring negative energy with them wherever they go. Many times, we have to let these folks into our lives. They are our family, our co-workers, people we have to interact with. But, keeping in mind that positivity is a choice, I wanted to bring a little more of it into the world.
I can't control everything that happens to me, but I can put on a smile and deal with it. That, I guess, is the point of all this, which brings me back to my original idea way up at the top. Does the world need another blog? Maybe not. But, I'm going to do this anyways. If I can put up thoughts and ideas that will make someone smile (or even laugh), then I have been a force for good in the world, and I can rest easy when my time comes. I'm not looking to be brilliant or extraordinary. Just positive. Just happy. Just me.
So, stay tuned. Hopefully, my next post will include something to brighten your day, even if it is the least little bit.
Positively yours,
Fariha ;)
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