Friday, October 8, 2010

Simplify Your Life...and two contest links

There's always more than one way to look at a situation....
But, sometimes it seems that things are going against you.  It could be rejection letters, it could be your WIP has hit the wall, it could be your basement flooded twice and your favorite pet died.  (For those of you who are new to my blog...I had a not so much fun summer...) But, look at my lovely basement now!  It is clutter free and completely repaired!  We took the summer "fun" as an opportunity to simplify our lives....
I began in the basement, but soon moved to the kitchen, the garage , the guest bedrooms, my daughter's room (with her help of course), our room, including the closet, and I began The Great Declutter Movement.  In fact, we aren't done.  We've only just begun!  My husband was so inspired by the basement flooding that he built a wonderful set of shelves in the storage room and plans on building two more!  We are going to completely empty one of our guest rooms and I am going to have my OWN room to be creative in.  (I'm beside myself with excitement!)  I don't know how many truck loads of goodies I'll be donating to St Vincent DePaul's Thrift Shop, but I feel really good about it... 

Flooded Basement Twists Into A Positive:
*Helped out a worthy charity
*Did a project with my brilliant hubby
*Spent more time with daughter (because she couldn't go in the basement to watch TV all summer...)
*Basement repainted and reorganized
*The whole house is getting decluttered
*I'm getting my OWN ROOM (my first one since I was 17)!!!!!!!!

So, when you are struggling with a rejection or a negative in your life, twist it and into a positive....

Please feel free to share a time you have twisted a negative into a positive or if you are struggling with one right now maybe we can help you find a twist on the situation (My disclaimer: I am not, nor have ever been a medical doctor so I'm not promising anything, I'm just sayin' I'd like to listen and help if I can. I usually reply to your comments via email, so if you don't have your blogger set up showing your email I can't reply to you personally.)
*****
WARNING: TWO DAYS LEFT UNTIL CONTEST CLOSES!  If you are not following Dear Editor.com now would be the perfect time to start! They are holding a contest to celebrate being up and running for six months! It's a great place to go for advice and if you have advice it's nice to be able to share, too... So hop over and perhaps you could win a picture book critique!
****
Sheri over at The Writer's Ally is hosting a Freaky Fright Writing Contest with prizes galore!  If you don't know Sheri, you need to hop over and meet her, she's got great things going on all the time at The Writer's Ally! 

Have a safe and happy weekend!

34 comments:

  1. Hi Sharon,
    Excellent way of looking at life. Negativity can be about our perceptions of a situation.
    I live my life, as best I can, with a realistic form of positive anticipation.
    I lost my home and my life savings and that could seem like a very negative situation. Yet, I am much happier now. For the house I lost was small, crowded and had a tiny garden. Now, although I'm renting through what is called a 'Housing Association'; I now live in a beautiful location and have a huge, wonderful garden that was created out of love and sheer
    determination. I maybe be poor financially, but I'm so much richer in my heart.
    Thanks Sharon.
    With respect and kindness, Gary.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Woud love to de-clutter, but have a husband who loves having lots around him. Happy weekend to you, Carole. :0)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Just goes to show you. Even the worst things in life can lead to something good.

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congrats on getting so much done! Negatives can often turn into positives--it's just a matter of looking at them the right way.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the idea of twisting things into a positive. I think, for me, it's hard to write and go to school (plus all the other stuffs that have to be taken care of). But I'll be done with school this year and no more homework (at least not for school)!

    ReplyDelete
  6. When I was at the shelter for 9 months and nobody wanted me, I keep telling myself that I was the one waiting for the right family. What a positive that turned out to be!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Awwww Sharon K Mayhew!! What a beautiful decluttered and thoroughly new basement!! It's fantastic!! Yay!

    Oh but the best is that you'll have your own room!! Yay!!!!! That's the best ever!!!

    You've really turned such a lot of negatives into sparkly positives and gained yourself a room!!! Sorry,I just had to say that again cos that's just brilliant!! :-)

    Oh I do like Brian's take on this!! LOL!!!! Everyone - bipeds and furry creatures should take heart with your fab post today!! Take care
    x

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your basement looks beautiful! I love the color of the paint and white trim!
    I'm glad you found positives in the flooding. I am a positive person, too. I find it easier to deal with things with a better attitude.
    I'm doing the Great Declutter Movement right now!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. You have done a beautiful job on your basement, Sharon, and good for you continuing the uncluttering! It inspires me to try to do something about my own. Most always good things can come from bad, and a positive attitude can cancel out an awful lot of negatives.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love when the negatives turn into positives. You guys did a great job.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Well look at you turning that frown upside down ~ love it! Your basement looks beautiful! I love the colors. De-cluttering is so good for the soul isn't it? It somehow sets you free. Good for you.

    A negative into a positive? I can't think of one quickly though I am sure there is. Things usually happen for a reason don't they?

    Have a super terrific weekend Sharon!
    xo Catherine
    xo Catherine

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love spinning negative to positive! So my husband broke his arm when we had just started dating. REALLY bad break. It even kept him from going to medical school.

    BUT . . . on the positive spin, he got ME. :D He would have left before we had time to date long enough. So overall, I'm glad he broke his arm.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hey, I love that idea of turning the rejection into a positive. :D

    ReplyDelete
  14. A great post with a wonderful message...I try to live that way and it's not always easy, but there is always something positive in every situation="Through pain or joy, there is potential for grace realized."...Change your perspective and you can change your life!...Hope you have a fun weekend, Sharon; your basement looks beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great job on the basement! Love the advice on twisting a negative into a positive.

    ReplyDelete
  16. The basement looks fantastic! Good job on decluttering - it feels so good when you get some of it done. My daughter and I went through several rooms this summer too!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Aw amazing! Well done on that!

    I am dying for my own room. I want a study to line with shelves and books and to decorate exactly how I want and need and be totally creative in! I hope you'll post photos of yours once it's ready, I'm so envious :-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thank you for sharing this. That's such a wonderful way to look at things -- and just at life in general. And the basement looks absolutely wonderful now. Your family did such a great job on it! :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. hi dr sharon! ha ha. im gonna call you the twist doc cause your showing people how to twist the bad into some good. im real happy your could see the good out of all that bad stuff. for me just think if i didnt have that lukemia and get so long at the hospital and get a cool doctor that got me blogging i wouldnt have got you for a friend. wow thats a for real positive! and just look at all the blogger friends i got cause of being sick. how cool is that!!
    ...hugs from lenny

    ReplyDelete
  20. I'm so glad to see you making lemonade, Sharon. So sorry your summer was so miserable, but it looks like you have come through it all like a champion. The basement looks lovely, by the way.

    ReplyDelete
  21. WOW! Your basement is lovely indeed! Congratulations, Sharon! You're right. Sometimes what seems to be a negative circumstance turns out to be a blessing in disguise. I try to be positive even in difficult situations. However, I'm only human and sometimes I get the blues :(

    ReplyDelete
  22. LOL...I WISH I COULD HAVE SEEN THE POSITIVE ASPECTS FROM THE START...IT'S MUCH EASIER TO LOOK BACK NOW THAT THE MESS IS MOSTLY BEHIND US AND SEE WHAT WE GAINED FROM THE SITUATION...

    THANKS, JUDE...HE WAS A WONDERFUL CAT AND I MISS HIM EVERY DAY.

    I WILL POST PICTURES WHEN I GET MY ROOM DONE....

    THANKS FOR STOPPING IN EVERYONE!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Sharon, so glad to know you're making progress on your basement! I think it's great you've been able to turn things around to your advantage.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Sharon,

    OMG I love the basement! It's beautiful!

    I've been visiting Lenny...but I can't leave a message because of my adult contents on the blog on Mondays...but I have taken the writer oath and will post the button on my blog!

    Big hugs to you both
    Hawk

    ReplyDelete
  25. Well it looks beautiful! So nice and open...love it!

    Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse

    ReplyDelete
  26. You are such a positive gal, I love it.

    ReplyDelete
  27. It's great you were able to get so much good out of your flooded basement.

    ReplyDelete
  28. The basement looks great! We've been trying to reduce and declutter over here as well. I'll be glad when it's done, but the doing is NOT fun.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I love stories that involve twists like these! A decluttered house can beat nothing! :-) Have fun getting there...

    ReplyDelete
  30. LOL! Loved your disclaimer. :o)

    I know it's been a rough summer for you, so it's awesome to hear (and see!) the positive that has come from the bad events.

    I've yet to see a negative thing in my life not turn into a positive thing. Something truly miraculous, since I know I don't deserve that kind of treatment all the time.

    Thanks for sharing, friend! :o)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Oh, man, I just realized what I said... I meant to say, "Nothing can beat a decluttered house". Talk about twisting my own words! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  32. You're such an amazing person! I love knowing people who are just kind-hearted, sweet, and willing to do anything to help a good cause! I'm glad to see this negative was in fact a positive!

    Spring cleaning on a whole new level :)

    ReplyDelete
  33. i love to de-clutter and find it is on on-going thing that i must keep up with. sometimes i clear out stuff from my closet and i wish i could part with more. it feels so good dropping that stuff off to goodwill and having more room in my teeny little closet!

    thanks for visiting my blog today! :)

    ReplyDelete