I hope everyone had successful projects with the drawer organization activity.

And for you fashion fanatics – thanks for all the tips on the leopard print shoes! I can’t wait to get some!

Now, for a new organization challenge…this time, we’re tackling the dreaded…

PURSE!

I had some requests for purse organization tips, so I figured I’d start by looking at my purse. Unfortunately, a combination of procrastination, disorganization, and lack of systems has caused my purse to often contain a mish-mash or randomness that is not only irritating, but makes it difficult to find anything when I need it! Grr.

I have to add a side note quickly that I didn’t really think about how embarrassing it would be to post photos of my mess-making-ness on the web for all to see, but it absolutely is. So, it is with some anxiety that I share the following photos from my purse. Yikes. Here we go…

Assess

This past weekend, I took a few minutes to clear out my bag. I started by taking out all the contents and putting them on the floor. Total mess, right? Yes, this photo is a real photo I took of the actual contents of my purse. I had groups of items strewn about in random pockets. But since there are only 2 pockets and 1 big main area, it was pretty much one big pile anyways. Blech.

The primary culprit – paper!

I had all kinds of paper in my purse: coupons, notes, napkins, and mostly receipts. I had receipts everywhere!

Why did I hold on to them? The thought of “what if I need this later?” came into play. Also, “this could be useful one day” and “Oops, I forgot to take this out of my purse.” I found most of the paper items could actually be thrown away.

Sort

After getting rid of all the paper, I sorted the rest of my items.

I had:

• sunglasses
• gum
• ear phones
• charger (half pictured – the cord was in use at the time of the photo…lol)
• nail file (ladies, have you seen this! It has a case so your stuff doesn’t get messed up!)
• pen
• fabric change purse (I made it a couple years ago – it’s seen better days and probably needs to be replaced)
• 5 lip glosses!
• business card holder
• and my favorite wallet – my Louis Vuitton

Create System(s)

To really keep my purse neat, I figured the solution wasn’t going to be just the cleaning. You have to create systems. Remember, “a place for everything and everything in its place.” If something has somewhere to go, you’ll be more likely to keep things in order.

I read recently somewhere (sorry, I don’t remember the source! Maybe Real Simple?) that if your purse doesn’t have a lot of pockets, that you need to have lots of smaller pouches and bags that hold your stuff. This also makes moving to different purses very easy. Seems pretty common sense, right?

I don’t want to purchase any new change purses or mini bags at this time, so I’m going to try to use what I already have and keep my eye out for super-cute pouches that are on super-sale.

For now, this turquoise mini bag is going to be kept in my purse for my papers – my to-do lists and all those silly receipts. The plan is to put papers into this to be sorted when I get home or at a later date/time when I have time. I’ve also vowed to work harder at preventing crap from even entering my purse. If I can keep it out, it will be less to sort through at some later time. I usually am pretty good about not taking a receipt if I don’t need it, but sometimes they just give you one. I’m going to start throwing those away before they get into my purse. The rest will follow the turquoise-bag-system.

I’m also going to keep an eye out for cute mini change purses for some of my other items, because I think it would be great to maybe have one for my charger and ear phones, and also one for my collection of lip glosses.

And the existing fabric change bag will continue to be used. It’s done a good job of holding random things like coins, bobby pins, hair ties, etc. I could probably stand to have a couple smaller pouches to hold some of those items, though. Maybe I’ll sew a new one? Who knows. lol

But, I really think that implementing the small-bag system is going to be the key for me. It will be great to have my like items together in an easy-to-recognize bag. The challenge will be managing my papers, but so far, the system is working great! I just hope to keep it up!

***

Hope you guys are enjoying my Fashion Chic posts so far! I’ve been having a lot of fun putting them together! Let me know if you ever have any fashion or food questions – feel free to email me or post on my Facebook wall. My FB wall seems to be the fastest way for me to reply.

Your homework: Organize your purse – assess, sort, create system(s). What’s in your purse? What is junking it up or giving you issues. How can you create a system to keep things neat and orderly?

Reader question: What are your tips to keeping your purse organized?

For the first Project Get Organized activity, I wanted to do something simple. I tackled one of the drawers in my kitchen.

The drawer is the top one of four next to my stove. Because of its location and size, the drawer holds lots of small tools that I use frequently. In general, I like to put the items I use the most in the easiest-to-reach places. I think this is advice that most organizing books and web sites also recommend, but I also know it’s one that I’ve noticed as being very beneficial over the years.

As you can see from this “before” photo, the drawer had gotten to the point where I was just throwing things into it with little order. As I work through Project Get Organized overall, I remind myself “A place for everything and everything in its place.” The issue with this drawer (besides me being a little lazy when using it) is that it didn’t have a place for the things it contained.

If you notice in the photo, there is a white compartmentalized box that is not functioning well. Either the items weren’t placed well in there to begin with, or the box just wasn’t a good fit for the items. Additionally, there weren’t good containers in the rest of the drawer, which caused them to be put in there somewhat haphazardly.

Note: You can choose to either purchase storage containers prior to tackling your project or during. If you want to purchase them before, which is what I did, just pick up a few different sizes from a store with a good return policy. Once you see the sizes you need (as your work through your project), you can determine if you should purchase any additional containers or return any unused. If you prefer to purchase containers during, I’d get mine after Step 3, once I’ve estimated what sizes and shapes would work based on the size and shape of the various groups. I’ve written the following steps the way I did my project – purchasing containers first.

Step 1: Purchase storage containers

I purchased several Linus Shallow Drawer Organizers from The Container Store prior to starting my project. There are many options, but I like these because they’re clear and have neat little non-slip “feet” on the bottoms that help them stay in place. Before making my purchase, I measured the drawer to get a sense for how much space I had – width, depth, and height. Knowing that that drawer I was organizing was short and contained small items, I selected the shallow option (there are also deep ones) and chose smaller sized containers.

Step 2: Remove drawer contents and assess fit

I took all the contents of the drawer out and put them somewhere I could easily see – my kitchen countertop. I looked over everything and found a couple items I could donate, as well as a couple items that were better fits in difference areas of the kitchen. For example, I had some plastic drink lids that were pretty large and took up a lot of space in the drawer – I found a larger cabinet (where the matching cups actually were) and placed them there. I also found a couple items in the drawer that I didn’t use very often and moved those to other drawers. I wanted only frequently used (and smaller-sized) items in this particular drawer.

Step 3: Group like items

I actually did Step 2 while I did Step 1 – as I removed various items, I placed them into groups.

Step 4: Clean drawer (and add liner, if desired)

Now that your drawer is empty, it’s a good opportunity to give it a wipe down. I also lined my drawers with this black and white liner when we moved in, so I just placed it back in the drawer.

Step 5: Assess groups and select storage containers

Take each group of like items and determine the size/shape container that best fits it. For example, this rectangular container was a perfect fit for my group of measuring spoons.

Step 6: Fit containers together

I took my time fitting the various containers together into the drawer – placing them in different spots and configurations until I was happy with the entire fit. I decided to keep the white compartmentalized box that had been in the drawer before, but I moved it to the back of the drawer. Next, I fit the other containers together like a puzzle. I tried putting the measuring cups into a larger rectangular container, but it didn’t seem efficient for the space – there was a lot of empty space in the container and it took up a large portion of the drawer. I decided that since the measuring cups were pretty organized if you just kept them stacked that they didn’t need their own container. I pushed them to the side and found that I could fit 3 rows of storage containers next to them in just the right amount of space.

Remember you can move items in and out of this drawer – just assess the fit (shape, size, and use) and rearrange as you like.

I also found as I went through the project that were even a couple smaller items in other drawers of the kitchen that I could move into this one. Sweet!

And now for some “after” photos.

In the white container towards the back, I put small, less-used tools: a garlic press, meat thermometers, a pot spoon-holder clip, matches/lighter, timer, and a couple other random, small tools.

Towards the front, I put more commonly used items: wine openers, wine stops, tooth picks, measuring spoons, condiment spoons, measuring cups, and garlic. (By the way, where do you keep your garlic?! )

“A place for everything and everything in its place.”

Now that everything has a place to go, it will be easy to maintain this system going forward.
Total project cost: $15.95 (5 clear containers)
I’m also hoping that this will be easy for hubby to maintain. By the way, if you have a roommate/SO, you should make sure they’re okay with you re-arranging stuff before starting. They may even be interested in helping you with the project! Just ask! Either way, consider asking for their help in maintaining the organized system you put in place. Go teamwork!

And remember, you can constantly assess your drawer and items. If you find there are other items you use more that you want to be able to access more easily, exchange them for less-used items. Always consider use, size, fit and re-organize as needed.

*

*

*

Your homework (this would be a great weekend project!): Organizer a drawer. Start small. If you try to do all the drawers in home at one time, you could end up frustrating yourself or feeling overwhelmed. I know I have several other drawers I’m planning to organize, but by starting with one and seeing results, you’ll feel so good about that success, you’ll want to tackle more.

Feel free to share before and after photos – email them to me at thechiclife at gmail dot com. I’d love to see them!

Good luck!

If I’m being honest, I’m actually not the perky and happy person you see here on The Chic Life, at least not all of the time. I actually tend to be more of a negative thinker than a positive one. I’m more of a skeptic than a believer. In the past, I’d laugh off the idea of Project Think Positive. Positive thinking actually working? Sssshhhhaaaa, right. And monkeys might fly out of my butt.

If anyone wasn’t sure where Project Think Positive (my August challenge to be more positive) would go, it was me. And yet, I’ve never had anything against positive thinking. I just never was quite able to force myself to try it long enough. Thus the challenge.

Very often a change of self is needed more than a change of scene. ~Arthur Christopher Benson

See this quote? The first time I read it, I thought, you’re wrong – I need to get out of this situation. But did I?

Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same. ~Francesca Reigler

I decided that trying positive thinking certainly wouldn’t hurt. And you know what? Bit by bit, day by day, and week by week, as I incorporated more and more positive thinking into my daily life, I could really feel myself changing. My situation was the same, but I was reacting to it better. I was able to laugh off things that may have pissed me off before. Let’s not get crazy. I’m not saying I was living in a freakin Disney movie or anything, but my entire day was improved with hardly any effort. The change did not require a massive diet, lifestyle overhaul, or costly procedure. Nope. I just made a couple small changes to my attitude and approach to the day. And it worked!

Could we change our attitude, we should not only see life differently, but life itself would come to be different. ~Katherine Mansfield

I think Project Think Positive is my favorite challenge to date. I really feel like I’ll take the lessons we applied with me throughout life. I believe this challenge has changed me the most…and for the better!

Here’s what we did for the challenge:

• Week 1 – We countered negative thoughts by following them with a positive thought
• Week 2 – We countered negative thoughts by following them with a positive act
• Week 3 – We said positive Daily Affirmations
• Week 4 – We used the Action Mantra “Choose Positive” to remind ourselves to choose to make positive thoughts and actions

And so many people, myself included, were touched by this heartfelt guest post by Susan of The Great Balancing Act.

But the best part of the challenge? I know I feel great, but I’ve absolutely loved hearing about how you guys have done with the challenge – how you’ve been impacted and how it’s helped you…and how it’s helped the people around you! Reading your comments each week was wonderful! Thank you for participating in the challenge and for sharing your stories and insights.

***

And I leave you with one last quote (a repeat, but worth repeating):

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes. ~William James

Remember to Choose Positive from this day forward!

***

Details for the September challenge, Project Get Organized, will be posted soon! Check back for details.

***

Did you do Positive Think Project? What did you think of the challenge and how did it affect you?

Who’s ready for Week 4 of Project Think Positive? Anyone else feeling the better with all your positive thinking? I know I am! My inner Daria is being silenced by proof that positive thinking truly can lift your spirits and help you look at things from a more cheerful perspective (which really makes your day go by better…trust me!).

Week 4 {Action Mantra = Choose Positive}

At HLS this past weekend, we learned about Action Mantras, which are simple sayings that you can utilize in daily life to help you make better decisions. Dawn Jackson Blatner, author of The Flexitarian Diet, delivered a powerful presentation on action mantras that had the room spinning with love with Action Mantras. At least I know I was truly inspired. Since Dawn is an RD, most of the action mantras she presented were related to diet. For example, she had one that goes “Chair. Table. Plate.” This Action Mantra is to help people who have trouble grazing or snacking because the mantra is a reminder to sit down and eat meals at a table (rather than grazing mindlessly from a bag of potato chips). So Sir-Snacks-A-Lot can simply repeat the Action Mantra “Chair. Table. Plate” throughout the day, or as they reach for that box of crackers and be reminded to have a sit-down meal instead. It’s easy to remember and to use. Awesome, right? The Action Mantras seemed to mesh well with Project Think Positive, so I decided to come up with an Action Mantra for this challenge.

The Action Mantra I’m presenting is based on the simple thought that “words have power” but can be applied in not only words but in actions as well. Many people truly believe that the words you say become reality. They believe that if you say “I’m broke” that you will be. They believe that you should only choose and use words that you want to be your reality. So for this week (and the rest of next week since it’s a short week to end August), be selective in the thoughts (and actions) you use.

*This week’s challenge: Utilize the Action Mantra “Choose Positive”*

If you start to say something negative, try to catch yourself, remind yourself to “Choose Positive”, and say something positive instead. (apply this to actions, too, if you want)

In lieu of providing examples, I’d like to hear what positive words you would use in a couple scencarios below…

Scenario 1: If you’re shopping with a friend and you find yourself getting ready to tell them “I’m broke and can’t buy anything”, instead say something like “__________________.” (fill in the blank with a comment)

Scenario 2: If your friend asks how your job is going and you find yourself getting ready to reply with “My job is awful”, instead say something like “__________________.” (fill in the blank with a comment)

Scenario 3: If your friend asks how you’re doing (and maybe you’re really feeling down or going through a bad time) and you find yourself getting ready to reply with “My life sucks”, instead say something like “__________________.” (fill in the blank with a comment)

Remember (and if you have to, repeat to yourself): Choose Positive

Inspiration

“Every thought is a seed.  If you plant crab apples, don’t count on harvesting Golden Delicious.  ~Bill Meyer

***

Reader Question: In what way(s) have you decided to Choose Positive?

You may have read my blog post about supporting The Great Fundraising Act awhile back for my blog friend Susan. If you haven’t clicked over to her blog yet, you totally should. You may not think that a blog about cancer would be interesting. You may think it could be sad. But not only is her blog totally interesting, what I’ve noticed is that it’s not sad at all. While Susan doesn’t sugar-coat her posts about her cancer treatments and updates, she has this knack for looking at and finding even the smallest positives out of every situation. When I read her post about how, after losing her uncle to cancer and finding out about Susan’s diagnosis, she and her family  celebrated (yes celebrated!) with the most beautiful cake, I knew I wanted to ask her about doing a guest post to share her wisdom with you for Project Think Positive. Please welcome Susan to The Chic Life…

***

Hi. My name is Susan. And I have cancer.

I will admit, this is my second go around at writing this guest post for Diana. She asked me to contribute to Project Think Positive because of my naturally sunny disposition. Isn’t that right Diana?

Truth of the matter is, when I laid it all out for you, suddenly my story didn’t sound very positive, despite my positive outlook. It’s hard to make cancer sound like a good thing. And that’s because it’s not. But we’ll get to that.

First, here is what you need to know:

1. I am a personal trainer and certified Nutrition & Wellness Specialist. I blog about these things and my love of cooking, baking, and restaurant-ing at The Great Balancing Act.

2. In February 2011, I fell skating and shattered my left elbow. After a 5-hour reconstructive surgery, I found myself unable to work as a personal trainer and moved back home to be closer to my family.

3. In June 2011, after months of getting headaches and feeling weaker than normal, I get a bad pain in my neck. It’s swollen and the veins in my chest become visible. My mom gets worried and makes a doctor’s appointment against my will.

4. The doctor orders a CT scan on June 22, 2011. It finds a blood clot in my jugular vein. Another scan then reveals a large mass in my chest, along with increased lymph nodes under my arms and base of throat.

5. I spend a month in the hospital waiting for a diagnosis and to start treatment. After one needle biopsy and two surgeries, I learn it’s Hodgkins Lymphoma.

6. As of today, I am four weeks into treatment, having received chemotherapy two times.

7. My hair started falling out this week.

That my friends, is a very shitty situation. There is no denying that. I am not one of those people who will sit here and tell you that cancer is a blessing. Cancer has indeed changed my perspective on life for the better, but I am certainly not thankful for it. I would never wish it upon my worst enemy, let alone myself.

The night I was admitted to hospital and told that I had cancer, I wrote the following:

“Through all of this, I know I need to keep my wits, optimism, and sense of humour.”

That’s not an empty statement. Those are words I have come to live by. From the beginning, I was given a good diagnosis. Hodgkins is one of the cancers that can be cured with chemo and radiation. Yes, it takes a year or two of hell. Yes, it can return. Yes, I may need a stem cell or bone marrow transplant someday. But what is the point of fighting for my life, when I don’t allow myself to enjoy life in the first place?

From the beginning, there has never been any doubt in my mind that I would get through this. That the treatment would work, and that this would all someday be behind me. For me, positivity is survival.

It would be really easy for my to stay in my pyjamas all day and mope around pulling clumps of hair out of my head. But if I were to get even sicker tomorrow due to complications, would I be happy with how I lived my last few days?

Positivity to me isn’t about being annoyingly cheery and optimistic all the time. It’s about seeing the silver lining. About finding small things over the course of the day that put a smile on my face.

And when we’re faced with the big things, like The Big C, it’s about knowing without a doubt that we will get through it in one piece. Okay, maybe two pieces if you now count my prosthetic hair piece.

In the end, what I’ve really learned, is that life is difficult. It’s harsh and brutal, don’t ignore that. But that’s why we need to make it easier on ourselves. In my experience, the best way to do that is to stay positive. Why make life harder than it has to be?

***

Thank you so much Susan for your wonderfully written guest post! I hope we can hang out again soon!

And for the readers, be sure to check out Project Think Positive – it’s never too late to start utilizing some of these positive thinking tools and challenges. Here are links for Week 1 {counter a negative thought with a positive thought} , Week 2 {counter a negative thought with a positive act}, and Week 3 {daily positive affirmation/thought}.

Reader question: Do you look for the silver lining?

Welcome to Week 3 of Project Think Positive. Hope everyone is enjoying the challenge so far.

Week 3 {Daily Positive Affirmation or Thought}

Have you ever tried using a daily positive affirmation or thought? I found a great site here that explains all about affirmations, but here’s a snippet (do click here to read the rest):

“Affirmations are words or phrases which are said over and over to AFFIRM a single thought about yourself or other people. This is the way you have formed negative and positive programming through out your lifetime, saying things to yourself, about yourself, over and over. After thoughts are repeated, they soon become a BELIEF, and then we think this belief is our reality. In this way we form fears of poverty, health, weight and relationships and the emotions connected with these beliefs can even become our comfort zone, no matter how negative they might be.”

The site goes on to explain that you can utilize positive thinking and positive affirmations to change your beliefs for the better.

*This week’s challenge: Choose a daily positive affirmation/thought and repeat throughout the day as needed*

Example 1 (an affirmation from this site): I am powerful.

Example 2 (this is my personal favorite positive thought): Today I will be positive in a way that only brings me success.

And click here for an affirmation for every day of the rest of the year! According to the site, though, the best affirmations are the ones you write for yourself. Write one down now. Use it today when you’re feeling negative.

Words have power. Make yours count.

Inspiration

“Could we change our attitude, we should not only see life differently, but life itself would come to be different.” ~Katherine Mansfield

***

Reader Question: What’s your affirmation or positive thought for today? Or the week!? Feel free to share multiples to help give other readers ideas for their affirmations.

I hope everyone is having as much fun with Project Think Positive as I am. I’ve been pretty amazed at how far a little positive thinking goes, and I’m happy to hear from your responses that you’re achieving successful results, too.

Week 2 {Counter a Negative Thought with a Positive Act}

There was a time a couple years ago where I have was having a horrible day at work. Everything seemed to be going wrong. I was getting frustrated with everything, especially myself. As my frustration grew, I decided to do something positive rather than storming around or being all pissed off or sad. I wrote an Operation Beautiful note and, when no one was looking, stuck it to the mirror in the ladies restroom. I didn’t realize at the time that that’s exactly how Operation Beautiful got started, but after having that moment, it totally made sense. Sometimes the best way to counter negativity is to do something nice…not for you…for other people.

*This week’s challenge: Counter a negative thought with a positive act*

Example 1: You’re having a tough day and nothing seems to be going right for you. Rather than let your frustration set it and control your day, write an Operation Beautiful note.

Example 2: You’re feeling down on yourself for being so <insert word that applies to you here>. Instead of feeling bad for yourself, you sign up for a volunteer event.

There are so many ways you can do something nice for someone else. Can you think of some other ideas?

Inspiration

“If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another.” ~Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama

***

Reader Question #1: What’s a negative thought you had this week and what was the positive act you did to counter it. (if you’re too shy to share the negative thought, you can just share the positive act)

Reader Question #2: What are some ways you can do something nice for someone else?

Reader Question #3: What is your favorite quote on giving, love, and doing nice things for other people?

How’s everyone doing with Project Think Positive so far? We’ve just wrapped up Week 1, and I will be posting the challenge for Week 2 tomorrow morning.

I have been having such a good time reading all of your positive thoughts to counter your negative thoughts. When I read the strength in your stories, it reminds me to be strong, too. I think the thing that sticks out to me the most in your responses is how empowered you all sound! Like you’re not letting the negative thoughts make you wallow in a sea of pity. You hear the negative thought and you defeat it with your positive thought…or even thoughts. All I have to say is…great job!

I had a good experience of combatting negativity with positivity last week. I’d had a really long and stressful day at work. You know one of those where you just can’t wait to get home and relax? Well, I kept getting hung up from leaving the office by random, little things (needing to clean my tea mug, forgetting a bag, and pushing the wrong button on the elevator). I was starting to get really frustrated (probably because my temper was short because I’d been so stressed all day), when I reminded myself that the work day was over and that I’d have the rest of the night to relax and re-charge. As I had my positive thought, I pictured myself at home on the couch cuddling with Bailey and all my frustration melted away in almost an instant. I was a little surprised at how well the positive thinking worked but glad it did!

Your Project Think Positive {Week 1} Responses

Here are some of your responses to the Project Think Positive {Week 1} challenge (which was to counter a negative thought with a positive one):

• “Over the last year I’ve come back to the same thing, time and time again – that I’m going to love {it/him/her/whatever} anyway. Something is not as I would like, then I just shrug my shoulders and say to myself that I’m going to love them/it anyway. Not quite what you asked, but the closest I can get! I don’t think you can get more positive than being generous with love though ” -Emily of Flores Azules
• “Negative: I don’t like my job and i wish i was still on vacation, Positive: I have a well paying job and i get to see my work friends after a week of missing them ” – Donna at Life of a Happy Blonde
• “Yesterday I had a pretty hard day at work planned. All weekend I was freaking out, thinking that everything was going to go wrong and that it would be awful. After realizing how bad these thoughts were, I made myself instead view all my work as a learning experience. Regardless of what happened, I would leave with experience that I could put toward further projects. It did help in lessening my nerves!” -Liz at Tip Top Shape
• “My negative thought turned positive: I don’t want to go to work. But I am luckily to have a job as a neuroscience researcher, as well as a boss and coworkers who I consider some of my best friends.” -Ashley at Freckles and Spice
• “Today I’m struggling with my body image! I am super frustrated with how I’m feeling in my own skin. I reminded myself of the hard workout I had this morning. I also thanked my body for being strong; as I biked the Ironman Wisconsin course this past Sunday!” -Danielle
• “Lately I’ve been frustrated with the challenges both in vollume and intensity I’ve been facing at work. I try to remind myself it’s not forever and that I’ve been there before and have come out on the other end stronger for it…plus its a great learning experience…I just keep telling myself their growing pains .” -Sara
• “I just had a bike accident on Saturday that prevented me from doing a triathlon I trained for 3 months to do. This has been coming up in my mind all day and I am countering the negative thought- If I would have walked my bike I would not have crashed, with the positive- thank god I didn’t get that hurt from the wreck. I am going to be doing this a lot this week I can tell, but your challenge will keep me thinking positive!” -Aly at This Kat is Krazy
• “Negative: “I’m not valuable or talented enough to actually have or deserve a day job and work environment that I love.” (Actually had myself believing this today….) But thanks for the reminder to counter POSITIVE: “I AM valuable and talented enough, but am still young, only 2 years into full-time working, and just haven’t found the right career to maximize my potential and passions yet!”" -Whitney

Your Project Think Positive Quotes

I also asked you guys to share your favorite positive thinking quotes. Here are a few of them, along with some quotes I’ve shared on my TCL Facebook wall:

• “When I have negative thoughts, they’re usually because I’m too scared to face what could happen if I challenged them. “You’ll never finish a race” = “you’ll have to really apply yourself in training for the race in order to accomplish it, and it might get tough,” for example. That quote always puts things in perspective!” – Faith at For the Health of It
• “A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes” ~Mahatma Gandhi
• “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” -Willie Nelson
• “My favorite quote: “The secret of attraction is to love yourself. Attractive people judge neither themselves nor others. They are open to gestures of love. They think about love, and express their love in every action. They know that love is not a mere sentiment, but the ultimate truth at the heart of the universe.” -Deepak Chopra” -Winifred at Strive and Surrender  

***

Does anyone have any new moments of positivity that you want to share? We’d love to hear from you. Please post a comment with the negative thought you had and then also post the positive thought that you used to squash that negativity!

I have a new challenge for you dear TCL friends! And it’s a goodie!

First off, thanks so much to everyone who voted on the next challenge via Twitter and my The Chic Life Facebook page! The choices were Project Think Positive and Project Get Organized, and while votes were almost even (by one vote), I decided to go with Project Think Positive for this month. I’m going to take August to get organized for Project Organize, so look for that one next month! Side note for the organization fans: Ooh and for those of you who are interested in Project Organize, you may want to go ahead and get a planner. I ordered the Life Planner by Erin Condren (the other calendars are super cute too) and it should be arriving very soon (whee!). The EC planner (and other custom planners available online) can take a couple weeks to make and ship, so if you want to be able to use it during the challenge month, you may want to go ahead and order it now.

Challenge Origin

How would you respond when asked what you see – how full is the mug of oatmeal:

Of course this is that famous optimist/pessimist question. So, what do you see? Supposedly, if you see a half empty mug, you’re an pessimist. If you see a half full mug, you’re an optimist. Whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist, I think we could all use some more positive thinking in our lives. Riiiiight?

I know I do.

Challenge Details

Normally when I do blog challenges, I provide all the “rules” up front. I want to do this challenge a little different. Each week, I’ll provide a challenge for the week. But, as we progress through the month, I’d like you, if you can, to try to add the challenge for that week to the previous week. So, by the last week, you’re keeping the challenges from each week in mind.

Week 1 {Counter a Negative Thought with a Positive One}

I’ve been down a bit lately between being stressed in general and from my injury. And I’m human, I have negative thoughts occasionally. But I got pretty frustrated the other week with something random and I thought, to myself that I didn’t want to encourage all that negative energy. So, I did something to counteract it by thinking something positive. And with that, we have this week’s Project Think Positive challenge…

*This week’s challenge: For every negative thought, think a positive one.*

Example 1: If I got frustrated that I haven’t been able to teach my Zumba class in three weeks, I could counter that by being thankful that my injury wasn’t worse.

Example 2: If you’re frustrated that there’s a long line at Starbucks. You could counter that by appreciating the fact that you can afford the luxury of enjoying a Starbucks beverage (because that is something so many people in the world cannot do).

Try to find a positive way to spin your negative thought – to look at it with a more positive perspective.

Share the Love

If you want to tweet about the challenge, I would LOVE that! Please use twitter hashtag #projectthinkpositive

I’d also love it if you shared this challenge with your friends, family, co-workers, and even blog readers (if you’re a blogger). There are a lot of share buttons at the bottom of this post (even one to email the post to someone!), so feel free to use those. Let’s spread the positive vibes people!

Feel free to use this button on your blog:

<a href="http://thechiclife.com/2011/08/project-think-positive-week-1.html"><img src="http://thechiclife.com/wp-content/uploads/images/ProjectThinkPositive.gif" border="0" width="180" height="180" /></a>

Inspiration

Here’s a little inspirational quote for you to enjoy:

“The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.” ~Unknown

I’ll be sharing more positive quotes during this challenge month here on the blog, as well as via twitter and Facebook, so be sure to follow me there, too!

Reader Questions

Reader Share 1: Please leave a comment with your negative thought and how you countered it.

Reader Share 2: What’s your favorite positive thinking quote? Please leave it in a comment.

And for Project Veg-Up(PVU), here’s a specially written guest post by one of my favorite bloggers Katy Widrick. Take it away, Katy!

***

Katy Widrick is a vegetarian triathlete who blogs about healthy living and social media at http://katywidrick.com. She’s also founder of #Fitblog Chats on Twitter, which is pro-vegetables!

In all my life, there’s only been one vegetable I didn’t like — in fact, I’d pick it out of foods, trying to avoid even the smallest speck. I’d ask for special preparationat restaurants and I’d walk out of the kitchen when it was being cooked.

I’m talking about the dreaded onion. That tangy, spicy, crunchy enemy of my youth.

But youth is a funny thing. You know how people (parents) always tell you to keep trying things? That one day you’ll like what you currently hate?

I can’t believe it myself, but sometime between the ages of 20 and 25, I fell in love with onions.

Sauteed in stir fries? Yes, please.

Battered and fried? Nommmmm…

Caramelized to dark perfection on sandwiches and pizza? Oh, be still my stomach.

But I could have gone my entire life thinking I was an onion hater. One day, I just didn’t want to go to the effort of picking those bad boys out and I decided to just give in an eat those darn onions. Imagine my surprise when I didn’t just tolerate the vegetables — I relished them.

I’m a veggie freak. I love squash and mushrooms and carrots and potatoes and corn and just about everything under the sun. But if you don’t — I totally understand! All I ask is that you give at least one vegetable a second chance.

My name is Katy. And I love onions.

***

Thank you Katy for this fun guest post. Here’s to the veggie freaks! I kind of want to go saute up some onions right now! lol

Click here to check out another fun Project Veg-Up guest post with two recipes!

Note: photo credits -http://123rf.com