Low Self-Esteem can kiss me REAR!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaOjMXyJGk

Have you ever dealt with self-esteem issues?  Have you ever seen a friend struggling with them?  It is an awful plague of self against self!  It is where we are crippled and cannot see what other’s see.  Perception of ourselves is maybe not consistent with how others view us.  Above I posted a link to a very positive campaign.  I too wanted to point out that this is not and shouldn’t be directed at just women….men too have issues with this.

I got into a discussion this morning with a former classmate of mine regarding this campaign.  He was annoyed at the fact that Dove was pushing this beauty is “superficial” and inadvertently selling Dove’s products to uninformed consumers.  I think what he is really getting at is that people are ignorant to the fact that beauty is found on the inside of our bodies not our products.  Products are meant to enhance our self image.  Take it from someone who is going into the beauty industry, you have to help people feel good from all facades!

Part of my mission going into Cosmetology is not to push unrealistic image changes but to help all of my clients see their self-worth.  Yes, make them look better than what they came in looking like, and help them to understand that their perception of self is an important and not just surface deep.  Yet if we are not fully confident or satisfied in ourselves, how on earth will we succeed?

We must first look and recognize what goodness and gifts we possess.  We have to start somewhere.  A lot of people cannot deal directly with their inside first.  We have to start first with outward appearance as majority of our issues come from how other’s view us.  We are so cruel to ourselves. How we view ourselves is one of the main veins of why our self-esteem is the way it is as well as how much we acknowledge our God-given gifts and talents.  If we don’t know and appreciate what gifts we possess how can we use them to help boost the self-esteem?  Oh wait a tick……..how if we don’t love and appreciate yourself then how can you love and appreciate anyone else??

I have a friends who have made me do little self-esteem activities to which got me where I am today.  I would go through post-it-notes and post around my house all the positive qualities that I possessed.  I started first with appearance.  That is all I could see as I was really in bad shape.  Then started turning my focus to what was good on my inside.  They got me to see exactly what they see. It was a long road to seeing how badly I had been beating myself up.  It was really bad but once my friends helped shed some light, I came around to appreciate myself for who God made me.  I am forever grateful for them.

Today, I am dedicating my positive flow to self-esteem awareness and helping others see just how wonderful they are.  Look for the good in others, you never know what an impact you have!!!

Hugs and Kisses (and do yourself a favor and give yourself a big hug for me!)
❤ CatMan

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Rainbow Connection: Humor and Inspiration

Inspire.

“One person can make a difference, and everyone should try”  –John F. Kennedy.

Hearts of Inspiration...

First of all, Thanksgiving was wonderful.  Saturday’s Old Oaken Bucket game (Indiana University vs. Purdue University–sorry it’s a Midwest thing!) and enjoyed plenty of good company.  Well tonight really sums up just what a fantastic time I had because I went with a girlfriend of mine to see “The Muppets Movie”  🙂

Over the past few days, I was reminded to Inspire.  At Thanksgiving, just showing up and helping gather the food, people, and everything needed to make the show happen is the best way to be.  No one like people who just show up for food than “peace out!”  Simply playing games with the youngest members of the gathering can mean the whole world to them as a “big person” is paying them some attention.  And hugs are priceless and irreplaceable.

I am a woman who can equally perform tasks as a single or together (thank you Ms. Piggy and Amy Adams for the reminder!), I am someone with a few small gifts to offer–as everyone has SOMETHING they can contribute (thank you Walter…), life is about figuring out who you are and what you are made of (thank you Kermit for helping me never lose hope in myself), and just when you think you can’t figure it out, there are friends who are all around to help you find your way!

The Muppets single-handedly reminded me of the third best thing in the world….laughter!  What would we be without laughter?  That’s right, a bunch of serious fuddy-duds.  I said it.  Fuddy-duds.  What could be worse?  Inspiration through laughter.  What a novel idea!  Something that has far been under appreciated for years…witty, smart, dry humor.

A dear friend of mine, RL taught me a little something about humor this weekend as well when we were on our way to the Old Oaken Bucket game.  To be a stand up, you have to always be on your toes and keep your head about you.  You cannot let people catch you off guard, but play off the opportunities given to you on stage.  If you get a heckler, no need to bother.  They aren’t worth your time.  Keep the rest of the crowd engaged.  Same could go in real life situations as well.

Image from: http://www.missouriskies.org/rainbow/rainbow_elam_cr_1.jpg

Tonight was a final reminder my desire and purpose is to inspire people.  I am to encourage, help people discover what it is I see that they can’t see, and ultimately change people’s perceptions of themselves that they way they view their futures.  Laughter, positive reinforcements and lots of love….that is the formula.

People are too quick to give up on themselves.  They lose hope so easily!  What is that all about???  We can never ever lose hope especially not in ourselves!  For, if we do not believe we can do it, then surely no one else will.  We must stand tall on our own two feet and chose to inspire ‘I’ first then let the inspiration radiate…

So how do you inspire?  For me, it is humor and insight….but what is it for you dear friends??

❤ CatMan

An Affirmation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg&feature=player_embedded#at=15

I ran the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon this past Saturday.  The weather was nice but, it was the biggest pain in my booty ever.  First of all, with events such as this I like to plan ahead.  Plans were still being solidified morning of the event.  Cause for me to panic a bit considering this is one of the largest mini-races in the nation.  I have bulleted the list as not to bore you with all of the gory details.

Image from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg&feature=player_embedded

1. I was run/walking this mini with originally 2 girlfriends of mine (Mars and Special K) and one of their significant others.  4 total.  They were still trying to decide how to figure out how they were getting to the race the night before…
2. I ended up staying with another girlfriend (KBarnes) who was running the race too….so we could all walk/run together.
3. Day of the race:  we were together until it came to parking.
4. Special K and I were in Corral R (I didn’t find this minor detail out until about mid race…) but Mars and significant other this were in Corral V.  We were all supposed to be in R.  Opps.  KBarnes was in Corral T.
5. I went to Corral R thinking I was just going to find everyone there or go back to walk with KBarnes, but who was I kidding??  I got lost from everyone.  I had to go to the bathroom and we had at least 20 min left to start.  I felt like I needed someone to page my mom.  “we have a lost kid up here at the start line…..”
6. I started the race off with no one beside me that I knew…I was kind of frantic and couldn’t relax.  I hit the first pit stop then.
7. I ran my heart out until Mile 4, then I started to walk….then Mars and Special K came right up from behind me!  They ran/walked with me until Mile 10 (then they had to leave for a wedding)
8. I had Mars text KBarnes to let her know where I would meet her after the race and that was my plan.
9. We got to run on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway…and just on one long stretch I saw my college cheer coaches on the side cheering us on!  How cool is that?!  Gave them hugs and we were on our way!
10. I finished strong walking the last three miles with a wonderful woman named Jewels.  We were both very happy to have each others company.
11. At the finish line, I looked diligently for KBarnes…discouraged I started walking away…THEN NOMAD APPEARED!  Boy was I glad to see him!!
12. Then we walked to Panera, where I was meeting KBarnes.  She was nowhere to be found there…then she busted thru the door and goes “where have you been?!  I was so worried I couldn’t find you!”  That’s when I explained what happened.
13. I got my stuff and then Nomad took me to get my car.
14. On Sunday, horrible migraine.  I didn’t move literally 4 hours straight, threw up twice, and just felt ikky.  Oh and my 2nd toe was black and blue.  That was pretty cool.

Image from: http://just--wow.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-not-to-win-marathon.html

So all in all, I was glad to have finished.  It was the hardest race I have ever completed in my life!  But, I did it.  I made it thru and I was alive.  OH you might be wondering about my time….well that was nothing to write home about…but no matter what I finished it.  🙂

I started this post off with the youtube.com clip, “Jessica’s Affirmation” because I think it is important that I complete this race.  I made the commitment and I successfully completed my goal: “…to finish still standing”.

My Affirmation:  I can do anything independently or with others.  I am my own person and as long as I am confident in myself and my OWN abilities, I will succeed at whatever I choose to accomplish.  I recognize my strength comes from the Lord, my drive comes from my will, and I will only be as successful as I believe myself to be!

xoxo

CatMan

Today I am thankful

Listen for your enjoyment:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQIH3iq1xVw

Today friend, I would like to say thank you.  Thanks for being there for me when I needed you the most and thanks for always giving me the honest truth.  Thank you for telling me when I have lipstick on my teeth, or when those pants fit too snug….OR when I am being that girl and  just laughing at me.  Thank you for always standing up for me when I was being made fun of and thanks for sticking with me even though I would have never blamed you for calling me too weird to hang out with in public.

 

Thanks for never letting me out of the house looking like this!!

 

 

Thanks friend for laughing with me and sometimes at me when I was having issues.  Thank you for healing me when I was sad about a boy or just listening to me vent about people in my life who are demeaning…thanks for caring how I feel and what is happening in my life.  Thanks for the hugs and love you give me and thanks for always knowing just how to cheer me up.  I appreciate it.

 

BIG HUG!

 

 

For all of this, I am so thankful and happy to consider you my friend!

 

I’m getting married!!! :)

I volunteer with the Special Olympics of Allen County pretty regularly.  I have found that my athletes bring me so much joy.  One in particular is K-Man.  K-Man is a great guy…he’s middle aged, sweet as pie, and was one of my favorite athletes to assist during bowling season.  He just cracked me up!

Our routine was as follows (once he stepped in the door of course!):

-Help him put on his bowling shoes

-Get him set up on his lane (placing his ball on the ball rack was included in this task)

-Then helping him step down to the lane (even though he was perfectly capable of doing it himself) and watching him bowl.

I got to be his cheerleader.  That was pretty spectacular.  He would always ask if he was going to make 100…or if he was half way…always.  Then, he would throw in there “you goweeng to get my boweeng scorr wight?”…to which I would reply…”yes I will help you get your bowling score…but at the end!”….”ok!”  He would always have this big grin on his face and give me these big hugs.

One day he noticed my ring that I wear on my left hand…it wasn’t on my ring finger.  Then that’s where the humor came in…”Arrr you maweed?”, “No (slight chuckle) I’m not married”, “Will you marwee me?”….slight pause….”Someday K-Man, someday.”  He gave me this HUGE hug and just said were getting marweed!  He gave me the biggest kick that day.

What a precious give of grace and perspective.  These athletes–I just cannot explain or express what gifts they have given me!  They are such dolls.  I encourage you to hang out with them sometime.  They will truly change your life!

Me and the K-Man! Isn't he sweet?

xoxoxo,

The Sentimental CatMan

Throw me a floaty!

Sometimes when we are drowning, we reach out to whatever we can get our hands on to help pull us back up.  For a lot of people, there are so many things that we take personally or to heart.  They aren’t meant to be like that.  But, as humans we can sometimes take ourselves too seriously or forget who we are in the process of figuring out where we are going next.  We are emotional creatures, duh!  For me personally, I am trying to find a balance between figuring out things on my own and depending on others.

I like to learn from others so that way I can make a reflection and apply something from their experience in my own.  This is how I have developed my perceptions.  This too keeps me emotionally protected.  I too am an observer.  I, much like a camera, love to capture the real perception of what or who the subject is.  The truth and beauty of it.  Now, I not so much like the camera, enjoy seeking out what makes my subject really tick.  I am enthralled with digging deep into a person to figure out why they do something or  why they think or perceive the way they do.  There are sometimes however, I must say I have to go with my gut and steer clear from the subject.  Usually they have some emotional negatives attached that I could so easily pick up and frankly I don’t want it!  I have enough of my crap not to worry about other people’s stuff!

As emotional creatures, human beings pick up emotional trash from others.  I like to explain it like a person with tons of strings attached and at the ends of the strings are these tin cans that just follow you where ever you go.  If we don’t let go and cut the strings they just get everything all jumbled and create a mess!  Right now, I am learning to cut those unhealthy strings and move on.  The issue is there is always a scar; so no matter how much you want to forget it, leave it behind there will always be a footprint behind!  How do you forget an emotion?  Yeah, if you find out how, let me know!

Last night I was talked through a panic attack, got to speak with a dear friend who too is swamped in her own life, and hung out with a friend who fed and gave me an amazing embrace.  People so severely take hugs for granted.  A hug was just what I needed to get through my yesterday.  Now I sit with my Jamie Cullum station (oh man that guy just is so sexy!) and am finally relaxed and at peace!  And no, I didn’t dream I wet my pants like I did the night before but, I did throw my scissors out in the hallway this morning.  🙂  If your lucky, maybe I will tell you the story behind it….stay tuned!

Does it seem like scissors are a theme here??  😉

Which one can you relate to?