Uptight? Not to worry...

"Uptight (Everything's Alright)"

Stevie Wonder

Baby, ev'rything is all right, uptight, out of sight.
Baby, ev'rything is all right, uptight, out of sight.
 

(Lyrics inbetween)

And it's all right, what I can't do,
Out of sight because my heart is true,
She says baby ev'rything is alright, uptight, clean out of sight.
Baby, ev'rything is alright, uptight, clean out of sight.
Baby, ev'rything is alright, uptight, ah ah ah ah,
Baby, ev'rything is alright, uptight, clean out of sight.
Baby, ev'rything is alright, uptight, clean out of sight. 

Today, I'm focusing on the chorus of this song. Stevie Wonders "Uptight" reminds us that sometimes we can get so caught up with this and that, that we can forget to push our own "up-tightness"  out the door. This is just a little reminder that everything can indeed and is, alright :)

Happy Monday

Nicole

YOU are your greatest investment...

You want it? You need it? Then go for it! Anything is possible

I was told, I would probably never walk again. This was me two years ago..

 and this was me just last month. I was asked to perform at Belhaven University.

And this month...

Like I said, you are your greatest investment, YOU. Anything is possible

Nicole

Oh what a beautiful morning...

"Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day. I've got a wonderful feeling, everything's going my way."

 

Nicole

Thoughts, thoughts, everywhere

 

It's so funny the places our brain takes us. All it takes is a sight, touch, taste, smell, or even hearing something and we're automatically back in some memory, thought planning, and what not.

I was making some pumpkin pancakes this morning (egg-free, organic, and delicious), and during the process I realized I was actually cooking. Not to long ago, this was something I couldn't have done even if I tried. The other day, it was overcast and rainy. I could only think about where my career is now and where I want it to go.

Perhaps I'm not alone. Perhaps you've had your own moments where specific thoughts swirled around in your head. I guess my question is, are they just thoughts? Or are they thoughts that will lead to action? It's one thing to give yourself this internal checklist, but it's another to take your thoughts and put them into action.

For me, I want to get a better body, better career, a better way to get my name out there. My life has been flipped upside down. I had a very concrete plan for myself and my future. That is now out the window. I'm unable to do what I wanted for my life right now. My dreams aren't necessarily over, they're just on pause for the moment. In the meantime, what can I do to keep me going? What can I do that will make me happy? Aha! I found it, but is it something I'm just saying? Well, you've all heard the expression "the proof is in the pudding". If you say to yourself, this is what I want to do, this is what I need to do, then get up and do it.

Keeping up with social media is tough for me. However, if I want the career I want, and I want to get there, then social media is something I need to become one with. After all, "talk is cheap, actions speak louder then words."

I talk and even preach these things because I believe each and everyone of us has this potential inside of us to be greater then we ever expected we could be, and all it takes is for us to know and believe that about ourselves. So, turn your thoughts into realities. I can confirm that it can come true. Trust me.

I'm not gonna lie, I want the best for me. Along with my family and friends, naturally. But I want the best for me. I can see it in my thoughts, I can feel it in my bones, but unless I take these thoughts and do something with them, then they are just what they are, thoughts.

If you are happy with the "what ifs" and daydreaming, have at it. That's not really my cup of tea, but that's just me. Turning my thoughts into a reality just seems like the best adventure. And honey, I'm not alone when I say, I am ready to set sail!

Nicole

Don't give up

Nicole

My thoughts on...the "Bad Attitude"

The word "bad" can be found in the dictionary, so can the word "attitude." Found together as one word, that is something you can't find in a dictionary. Though for me, I feel you should.

Ever since I was little, I've seen my parents have their ups and downs, general tiffs here and there about bills, miscommunication, the car, and so on. My parents have had their own moments when they've blown up, but nothing too extreme. Even when my brother and I had our moments, and trust me, we've had our fare share, they never just flew off the handle. Maybe if it was something that was absolutely out of line, they would give us our sentence for whatever the "crime" was, and we would move on. We'd move on because, what was done was done and it was now time to move forward.

Growing up, I watched as things would happen to my parents. Friendships drifting away, family members passing, getting the bad end of the stick after they were told otherwise...I'd watch all this. Little did I realize at the time, but despite whatever crap was thrown their way, they managed to assess the situation, figure out how they were going to move forward, and then they'd begin this process, and just do it. Now it wouldn't happen right away, but eventually they'd finally get to where they wanted to be.

Despite whatever stress they might have been going through internally, they constantly would push it to the side and keep going. Funny, because I'm realizing this more and more as I'm typing the words. They'd have their moment of aggravation, frustration, disappointment, etc, then it was, "ok, let's make this better."

While in the hospital, I was pretty much the youngest one in rehab. The next youngest person in there was like 53. Maybe it's something about getting older, but it seemed so many of those older patients would constantly complain. They'd complain about soreness, or they were tired, or they couldn't do something, or worse, just cuss out whoever was helping them because they thought they were being tortured. It was about this time I learned that many of their aches and pains were far from even existing and they just really didn't even want to get out of bed. Who could blame them? Every room had a flat screen attached to the bed and there were channels for days. Talk about an awesome lazy day.

Well, after about 2 days of listening to bad attitudes I realized that I was allergic to them. It was such a foreign concept to me to have one. I mean, if you're in the hospital and you don't want to be, fix it! It may take a bit, but eventually, you'll get better and get OUT.
I really believe that attitude has a lot to do with your all over being. So, I declared to all these bad attitude patients:

"Quit griping!!! What was that Mr.Nelson? Your knee hurts because you tweeked it? I'll bet...well, I fell off a building. Everything hurts. So I'm here to fix that, and you're screwing up my mojo with your complaining. Now, turn that frown upside down and work. How's that knee feeling now?"

The therapists loved me for this. I said all the things they were thinking but couldn't say out loud.

And that was the way things were. I don't do good around people with bad attitudes. Especially when they complain about wanting to find a solution to their bad attitude, tell everyone and their momma, yet take absolutely NO advice when given it and prefer to gripe more about the bad attitude and no solution. Almost as if the bad attitude is actually the thing that makes them happy.

I've met a slew of characters since my accident. The ones from the medical community are the really interesting ones. I've met some folks who have wanted to one up me with their list of injuries (we're all in the same club, so there is no one upping), they enjoy making other able bodied individuals feel uncomfortable because they aren't disabled and will never know what it is like to be in a disabled persons shoes, or the best, they go head first into the victim role and because they are where they are now, the whole world owes them.

Look, I have believed from day one that what has happened has happened and I can't change that. But what I can do is make the absolute best for myself and build a future for myself. I'm still breathing. 

Will I continue to experience complications due to my accident? Most likely. Will I have days that will absolutely frustrate me? 100%. Will anyone ever understand what I'm going through? Not really. Do I care about these things? Nope, I have better things to do with my time.

I don't like bad attitudes. I have them though because I'm human and not a machine. I'm sure most people feel the same way. When I'm faced with someone in a bad attitude, I am compelled to help them fix it, but if it is clear that they're holding on to the bad attitude, I distance myself. It makes things easier. I know misery loves company, and if that's your thing, so be it. It's just not really for me.

Here's my final thought:

Does the bad attitude in your life deserve so much of your attention, and really... is it worth it?

 

Nicole

St. Patty's day!