Imagine That!

Your Imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.

 

“Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.”  – Albert Einstein 

Do you look at a blank page and see a story full of adventure coming to life?  Do you look at a blank canvas and see the colors of a beautiful picture appear?  Can you walk into an empty room and picture it full of furniture and décor?   If you said yes to any of these, then you have a good imagination. 

 

Having a good imagination is genuine gift in life.  I love how my husband can look at an empty space and see what could be built. I am not that talented. I also love how some people go to a thrift stores to try and find a piece of old furniture that could be refinished into something usable and they do it.  They could look at an ugly, old rocking chair with painted wood and peeling fabric on its cushions and just like that, transform it into a beautiful stained wood rocker with brightly colored fabric cushions. My mother in law could do that.  She also knew how to sew and made beautiful clothes for her family. She used to buy fabric and made cushions, curtains, quilts. Amazing! 

 

I don’t know exactly how she did all that but I I wish I did; because I realize what a blessing it is to learn how to do that in this life. I know that in my own life this skill has helped me to recognize opportunities of potential that exist in everything you do. My husband can see potential in people at work. It has helped him to recognize talents that people hold potential to achieve, and it has helped him to see a vision for what he needs at work. 

 

“Anxiety uses imagination to picture something you don’t want.  Vision uses imagination to picture something you do want.  Either way, you tend to get what you focus on.  Imagine a future where you shine, others thrive, and the light of hope shines brighter in the world.  If you can see it, you can be it.”  – Ian Lawton 

 

Con amor,

Vero 

Do more of what makes you amazing

There is something amazingly powerful when a person takes their God given talents and puts them to use in a big way. Every one of us came into this life having our own unique talents. Some are obvious talents such as music, or dance, or writing, while others have less visual talents such as the ability to appreciate others or a sensitivity to others feelings or the ability to recognize talents in others. Whether your talents are publicly obvious or not, the talents you have can become very powerful in your life if you recognize them, develop them, and appreciate them.

 

A few days ago my daughter posted i her blog about making a Goal Poster. I am hoping all of you were able to read it, and if you were not I would strongly suggest you take the time to read it over. It is probably the most important tip for success I could ever share with you, because making your Goal Poster is one of the most impactful things you can do for your life. I really hope everyone will decide to make one.

 

One suggestion I have as you prepare to make your poster is to sit down and make a list of each of the God given talents you see in yourself. Don’t be shy about it; you are the only one who will see this list so make sure you don’t hold back in listing your talents. Think hard about it. Make sure you remember to list every one of your talents, even the ones that are not as obvious or visual. Once you have completed your list of talents make sure that some of your goals you set on your poster tap into those special talents you have. I truly believe that people will have the greatest personal and financial success in their life when they put their talents to work. I believe there is always a reason that God gave you the individual talents you have. I don’t believe for a second that there were any mistakes made in determining what talents each of us would possess. I also believe that when we tap into the special talents we have and use them to their fullest that it makes us amazingly wonderful!

 

Keep that in mind as you set your goals and make sure you aren’t ignoring those things that will naturally make you a huge success in your life. And remember that God gave you the talents, but what you do with them is all on you. It is our job to make the most of them.

Con amor,

Vero

What have I learned as a parent?

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned as a parent? I was asked when I taught parenting classes for the Family Support Center. Here are some of the answers discussed. 

 

Kids are people too. They deserve respect and our attention. 

 

By word and example show your children that you are a person of integrity worthy of trust, so they can feel comfortable seeking your guidance as they discover themselves and their place in the world. 

 

Their feelings shouldn’t be expected to be controlled 100% of the time. Its ok for them to lose it just like us adults do sometimes. And they remember your actions more than your words. 

 

Don’t make promises you may not be able to keep, and they are so much wiser than we give them credit for. 

 

Keep the lines of communication open with your kids. Make sure they keep talking to you. 

 

My kids told me things that made me crazy but they never knew it. I listened. 

 

To relax. It won’t last forever.

 

They respond better to connection than coercion 

 

To be present. 

 

Never give up! 

 

I often thought: These kids are Heavenly Father’s kids, He knows them better than I do. He didn’t raise them just to give them to me and have me mess them up in 18 years. He believes in me, even while knowing all of my weaknesses. 

Never lose hope! 

 

Con amor,

Vero

 

 

 

 

Keep Working and Serving to be Worry Free!

Keep working and Serving to be worry free! 

 

“The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired.  One of the greatest ironies of life is this:  He or she who serves almost always benefits more than he or she who is served.”       -Gordon B. Hinckley

 

I absolutely love that quote!  And it is so true. Nothing cures a sense of worry faster than just diving in and getting the work done.  As we work we make progress and as we make progress we start to feel that sense of empowerment – that feeling of “hey I might actually be able to handle this”.  Because the truth is that when we do dig right in we usually do find that in the end we were able to handle it.  In my experience, we are always far more capable of handling things then we think we are.  And in my experience, we finish up and look back and there is a huge sense of pride and accomplishment that we handled something we thought was much bigger than our ability.  You want to point and shout with joy “I did that!…me, the person who had no idea they were capable of doing that!…I actually did it and I found out I was much stronger than I thought!”

 

Overcoming challenges and climbing mountains that at one time seemed impossible to climb is one of the most exhilarating feelings in the world.  It helps build your confidence.  It strengthens your faith in yourself and in a higher power that helped you accomplish it.  It brings those proud moments in life when you can feel good about a job well done. My  husband Daniel is proof to that! 

 

And I love the second half of the opening quote where it says that the person who serves always benefits more than who they are serving – also 100% true.  Whenever I take time to do something to help another person my own life improves tenfold.  I always feel happier and more at peace, and no question I feel that it benefited me far more than the person I was serving.  Serving others helps us become a better person and that is something that brings joy and peace into our life.

 

Remember to continue doing acts of service even when the Christmas Season is over. Do it for at least one person tomorrow and then notice the joy it brings into our lives.

 

Have an amazing, worry-free day!

 

Con amor,

Vero