Tag: life

happiness, inspiration, life

Why I’m happy being a Pollyanna

Clementine Fraser

Pollyanna 1“We can’t all be as positive as you!”

 

“Ugh, she’s always so cheerful”

 

“Being optimistic is just being naive”

 

I’ve heard all the above about myself, and about friends. One friend in particular was facing real pushback and scorn from new workmates on her optimistic approach to life and began to wonder if her positivity was really that annoying. I told her the truth – that it was one of her most endearing qualities, that her joy and laughter and boundless optimism had lifted up so many of us and we missed it every day now she no longer worked with us.

 

I like the way my sister once described my positive approach to life, she said: “When you meet people, you’re kind of like a big bouncy friendly puppy and no-one can quite bring themselves to kick you away”. Continue reading “Why I’m happy being a Pollyanna” →

life, Personal

Three Wishes – what would they be?

Clementine Fraser

Wishing upon a star, a blown out candle, or a genie lamp. Getting the world on a plate and then oops! suffering comeuppance from your granted wishes.  What would you wish for? and do wishes always have to backfire?

 

The wishes backfiring on the wisher is a tale as old as Aladdin.  And, after all, it worked out nicely for him in the end. But the Japanese folk tale The Stonecutter, and the European tales of The Woodcutter or Loppi and Lappi, even the movie Labyrinth are all stories that carry the warning “be careful of what you wish for”. They also warn against taking things and good fortune for granted, or abusing your new power. Often the traditional stories are also tales about the foolishness of women and how their advice makes the man suffer, or they are lessons about being satisfied with your lowly social position and not longing for more.

 

 

With that in mind, what would I wish for? For the world and for me? Continue reading “Three Wishes – what would they be?” →

life, Personal, self care

Getting rid of the ‘I let everyone down’ demon.

Clementine Fraser

let down fourMy stomach churns, my heart pounds, and my chest constricts. Feeling that I’ve let people down, whether I have or not, is in my top 3 most hated feelings.

Every so often I have an interaction where I find myself second guessing someone’s reaction – are they unhappy with me? Have I done something? did I let them down in some way? Mostly, of course, they’re locked in their own head and own emotions and it’s got nothing to do with me. But, you know, illogical feelings are illogical. Continue reading “Getting rid of the ‘I let everyone down’ demon.” →

life, motivation, Personal, self care

Thrive, don’t just Survive

Clementine Fraser

thriveLast year a friend told me his goal was to change his way of thinking from surviving to thriving. He had been inspired by this quote from Maya Angelou:

 

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with passion, compassion, some humour, and some style.

Maya Angelou

 

It really got me thinking. So often I feel as if I just have my head above water, or that I’m juggling so many balls I often feel frozen as they rain down around me and I don’t know which one to take. Other times I don’t feel so on the edge, but I wouldn’t call it thriving either. It’s kind of just being in neutral. Like when you get to the end of the weekend and wonder what you did, or realise that yet another year has passed and so much of it was spent in mundane banalities. I was so struck by it that i found a nice picture of the quote and stuck it above my desk at school. Continue reading “Thrive, don’t just Survive” →

life, motivation, self care

FOMO – is it really that bad to miss out?

Clementine Fraser

fomo signEven though it was a few years ago now, I still remember getting sent a photo from a good friend. The photo showed him and a whole bunch of my other good friends on an awesome road trip.

 

Without me.

 

Having fun.

 

Without me.

 

He hadn’t meant for me to feel left out. In fact, I think he sent the pic so I would know that they were thinking of me – that they were wishing I could be there.  It took a while for me to see that, though. At first I just felt a kick in the gut that ALL MY FRIENDS were having fun without me. How could they have fun if I wasn’t there? Look at all the fun I was missing! Continue reading “FOMO – is it really that bad to miss out?” →