Wise Words From Readers: On personality traits…

Remember when you were a kid and it was so easy to name your best personality trait? It was as easy as rattling off your favorite food or your favorite color. Maybe you loved how you always gave great advice to your friends or the fact that you were always the peacemaker. Or maybe you were proud of the fact that you never gave up.

But somewhere along the way, we seem to lose that wonder and introspective knowledge about ourselves. At the very least, we have a pretty hard time nailing down what exactly we like about our own personality. Sure, it’s so easy to see everyone else’s good qualities, but yours just seemed to be hiding, refusing to come out. So, I was so glad this week when some of you weren’t shy about singing your own praises…

*I have a sense of humor that I don’t always get, but hey if it makes people laugh I’m fine with it! We all need cheering up.

*Kindness. It has seen me through some tough situations!

How true! I was thinking about my own personality recently and am pretty darn proud of my fearlessness. It’s had it’s up and down, especially since my father died, but I feel like now, it’s on a permanent upswing. Being fearless gives you this sense of strength even if you’re completely terrified. That’s a comforting notion, isn’t it, friends? Anyway, here’s next week’s question…

What the best advice you’ve ever received from a sibling? Why did it mean so much to you?



Visit So About What I Said on Facebook and Twitter to share your smarts — and don’t forget to use hashtag #WiseWordsFromReaders. See you there, friends! :)


[Photos via We Heart It]

Let’s Try: The 24-Hour No-Complain Challenge

Think about this for a minute, friends: How many times do you catch yourself complaining every day? Think hard about this one. Why? Because we probably all complain a lot more than we realize. It could be something as little as grumbling as you get out of bed in the morning (which I did today because I overslept!) or something as big and monstrous as stressing over family issues or a looming work deadline. Yes, whether we like it or note, the act of complaining is hard-wired in the fabric of our DNA.

And as it turns out, science isn’t on our side. Stanford studies have shown that being exposed to just 30 minutes of complaining every day is enough to cause physical damage to the brain; it damages the neurons in the brain that are responsible for problem solving and cognitive functioning. That’s not all. Even if you’re not the one doing the actual complaining, just listening to someone complain quickly zaps your energy — I think we’ve all been in a situation like this, haven’t we?

Yikes! Well, NO MORE! After seeing a No-Complaining Challenge posted on Facebook, my mom challenged my sister and me to see if we could go 24 (whole!) hours without complaining. And each time we do complain, we have to write it down. So we’re going to try it! Tomorrow is the big day! We were joking all weekend that we’d better get all of our complaining out of our systems while we had the chance — trust me, we did!

I’d love for you to take part too, friends, so let’s make this a blog challenge, shall we? I’ll be sure to take notes of my experience — and of course, all those time I *accidentally* complain — and post a write-up next week! Are you game? Let’s goooo!! xoxo

[Top photo via We Heart It]

Wise Words From Readers: On advice to the next generation…

It can be a hard pill to swallow when you realize that you’re no longer a member of the hip generation. You’re no longer a card-carrying member of “the next generation,” and suddenly, people are calling you ma’am and you’re swapping “in my day stories…” over your morning oatmeal with your best friend, who swears she’s got you beat because she had to walk three miles to school and you only had to walk two. This week, friends, you heard me loud and clear and had some wonderful advice for the young people of today…

*Don’t feel like growing up means you can’t still be silly and have fun. Laugh ’til you pee your pants, no matter your age!

*Listen to the old ones, even if you don’t really want to. There is wisdom and beautiful life in old age.

*Save credit cards for emergencies.

*Two wrongs don’t make a right. They really don’t.

*Wear sunscreen……hahahah

Oh, I couldn’t agree more. Of course, I can’t help but add that you should never be afraid to be who you are. It’s so easy, especially when we’re young, to want to change so we can fit in, but there’s something so beautiful about not wanting to fit in — and even more, not even caring what other people think. Once you realize that you’re enough, then that becomes enough. Does that make sense? Anyway, here’s next week’s question…

What is your favorite summer song of all time and why?

Visit So About What I Said on Facebook and Twitter to share your smarts — and don’t forget to use hashtag #WiseWordsFromReaders. See you there, friends! :)


[Photos via We Heart It]

Wise Words From Readers: On your best qualities…

I’ll be the first to say it: I can be hard on myself sometimes. Extremely hard. As they say, we’re our own worst critic, and sometimes, all our self-confidence feels more depleted than a hot air balloon. Maybe that’s part of the reason I wanted to chat about our best qualities this week to combat the evils of our inner critic. And of course, your works cut right to my heart…

People are comfortable around me. I love that.

What a wonderful quality to have — the ability to have people just gravitate to you is such a powerful thing. Plus, something tells me it’s also one of those true life skills that will always come in handy. And now, for next week’s question…

What’s your go-to karaoke song and why?

Visit So About What I Said on Facebook and Twitter to share your smarts — and don’t forget to use hashtag #WiseWordsFromReaders. See you there, friends! :)


[Photos via We Heart It]

Honest Selfie #4: Georgie’s story

This picture is me at our favorite antique store when I was shopping after-Christmas sales! I can not wear makeup due to severe skin allergies, so I’m used to being makeup free. What I love about myself? My LOVE of family. My family is my heart. I’m old-fashioned, so I think I’m a bit of a homebody too.

Now this picture was in the snow last week. We don’t get much snow in the South, but last week was crazy — no makeup, of course.