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30 Amazing and Simple ways to Pay it forward

Audra McDonie / Self-Help / Leave a Comment

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” -Aesop

We’ve all heard the saying “pay it forward”, but where did this idea come from and what does it really mean? It started with Catherine Ryan Hyde’s book Pay It Forward and then became more well known in 2000 when the book was made into a film of the same name. The movie is about eleven year old Trevor, ( played by Haley Joel Osment), who is inspired by his social studies teacher’s (Kevin Spacey), challenge to come up with an idea that will change the world. Trevor comes up with the idea of paying it forward, which consists of doing a favor that really helps someone, and then telling him or her not to pay it back, but to instead pay it forward to three other people who in turn each pay it forward to three more – and on and on into a global outpouring of kindness and decency. I remember seeing this movie and thinking this was an idea that truly could change the world, or at the very least make it a better place.

Catherine Ryan Hyde, the author of Pay It Forward established the Pay It Forward Foundation in 2000. According to their website, “she established it as a catalyst to inspire growth for the pay it forward philosophy, acts of kindness among strangers, generating a ripple effect from one person to the next, one community to the next.” Over its 17 year history the foundation has inspired countless acts of kindness and it has inspired people all over the world to make the philosophy part of their daily lives. The foundation has also published a young readers edition of the Pay It Forward book to be used by teachers in schools. If you are a teacher and you want to use the book as part of your curriculum, you can request a class set on their website: payitforwardfoundation.com. If you are a parent and want to buy it for your child it is available at Barnes & Noble.

I would like be a more giving person and I am planning to make the pay it forward concept part of my daily life. I can only imagine what kind of world we would live in if every person incorporated this simple idea into their lives. So I have scoured the internet to find many different ways each and everyone of us can pay it forward on a daily basis.

30 Great Ways to Pay It Forward

Compliment the first 3 people you talk to today.
Send a positive text message to five different people today.
Put inspirational notes around your office, school, neighborhood etc…
Tell someone they dropped a dollar, a five or even a ten and then give it to them.
Donate towels, toys or food to an animal shelter.
Let someone go in front of you in line.
Leave a gas gift card at the gas pump.
Leave an inspirational note on someone’s car.
Smile at 5 strangers.
Take flowers or treats to the nurses station at your nearest hospital.
Leave a box of goodies in your mailbox for your mail carrier.

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”
-Winston Churchill

Give freely without expecting anything in return. Many people will ask how they can pay you back for your kindness. Tell them about the pay it forward concept. Tell them you don’t want anything, but you would like them to pay the good deed forward to someone else.

Bring a homeless person a meal.
Leave a good book behind in a cafe, train, bus, airplane, etc..
Pay for someone’s coffee.
Give blood.
Donate to a cause you believe in.
Listen to someone’s story. Many people have nobody to listen to them or someone who cares about them.
Give someone some words of encouragement.
Pray for someone in need. Send them love and pray that they have enough strength to get through what they’re going through.
Offer to take someone’s photo
Leave change where kids can easily find it.
Give up your seat to an elderly person or a woman.
Help someone pursue their dream.
Write a positive review for a good business.
Tell someone they made a difference in your life
Make a donation to your local food bank.

“None is useless in this world, who lightens the burdens of another.”
-Charles Dickens

Leave a toy in a shopping cart with a note that says, “please accept this gift for your child, to make the trip easier for both of you.”
Leave an envelope of money in a shopping cart.
Pay someone’s bill anonymously at a restaurant.
Create blessing bags for the homeless. They consist of non-perishable food items, personal hygiene products and clothing. To find out more about blessing bags go to Strongluv.com.

I hope that I have inspired you to incorporate this simple notion into your life. I really believe that if each one of us paid it forward (with these ideas or ones of your own) a few times a week, our world would be a kinder, gentler and more loving place. Take care and have fun on your pay it forward journey!

I would love to hear some of your pay it forward ideas! Please leave them in the comment box below!

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What to do when life sucks

Audra McDonie / Self-Help / Leave a Comment

“Sometimes life just sucks the jelly right out of your donut.” -Unknown

Life has never been easy, but lately it seems that the difficulty factor has notched up a good bit. The coronavirus pandemic, the hostile political climate, and the in your face media coverage, makes us feel like absolutely nothing good is going on in the world, and it is a lot to process. This along with the hundreds of other things we have to do and deal with on a daily basis, is a lot. I don’t mean to sound negative, but there’s no two ways about it, sometimes life really does suck. Now that we’ve cleared that up, what do we do when we’re stuck in a rough patch?

Unfortunately, life is going to continue to suck sometimes, it’s the nature of the beast. Even if we magically had everything we ever wanted in this life, there would still be times that sucked. We can’t control that there are always going to be difficulties and challenges at times. The only thing that we can control is ourselves and our reactions to them.

Change our perspective. Looking at things from a more positive point of view isn’t easy because our instinct as humans is to assess all situations through a negative filter. By focusing on the negative, we keep ourselves safe by avoiding things that can hurt us or make us feel bad. This negative instinct is not our friend. It makes us look at things in a pessimistic way for no reason. It isn’t helping us anymore in the world that we live in today. Advertisers and the media know about this predisposition to look for danger and they exploit it to sell us products and to control us. We have no control over what we see on the news, other people’s actions or even how they treat us, but we have full control of ourselves, our attitudes and our perspectives. We need to critically think and digest information and not just believe it because it is said with conviction. If we do this, we may find that things are not as bad as we thought.

Focus on the good. If you are reading this, you are probably lucky enough to have a roof over your head and food to eat. 821 million people in the world do not have enough to eat, so you’re one of the lucky ones. Change your perspective, change your life, right?

We live in world where everyone wants more… Society has set unrealistic standards that make us feel like we don’t have enough and that we are not enough. This could not be further from the truth. We already have everything we need and the way each and everyone of us is right now at this moment is more than enough!

Express gratitude. Miya Yamanouchi said that “gratitude is the antidote for misery.” I think this may well be true. Every day find something that you’re grateful for and write about it. You can post it on social media or express it through art, the important thing is to share it with the world in some way. We need more positivity out there to balance out the negativity! Write down one good thing that happened each day. Put them in jar and at the end of the year read them so you can relive all the amazing things that happened to you that year. Also, try doing one random act of kindness per day. It will make you feel great and life will feel a little less sucky!

So yes, life can suck sometimes. If we expect that it’s not always going to be smooth sailing, when the difficulties arrive, we can find ways to cope. I hope that one or two of things I wrote about today will help to make your life a little less sucky! Take care and hang in there!

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photos and quotes that portray some of the best things in Our world

Audra McDonie / Self-Help / Leave a Comment

“Babies are bits of stardust, blown from the hand of God.”
larry barrato

“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.”
henry david thoreau

“There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.”
george sand

“Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.”
pablo picasso

“People who love to eat are always the best people.”
julia child

“Look at everything always as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time last time: Thus is your time on earth filled with glory.”
betty smith

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Easy things to do that help with spiritual growth

Audra McDonie / Self-Help / Leave a Comment

Abundance is not something we acquire. It’s something we tune into.”
Wayne Dyer

One of the great things about writing this blog is it forces me out of my comfort zone and makes me search for new and interesting information on all sorts of subjects. Spirituality is something that is an important part of my life. You may be asking yourself what does being spiritual even mean and why should I want to grow spiritually? Being a spiritual person to me means believing that there is a power greater than me out there. I also think that we are spiritual beings inhabiting a material world. Spirituality to me has nothing to do with religion, although there are tenets of some religions that resonate with me.

Reasons to Grow Spiritually:

Find a sense of purpose and meaning in your life.
A way to find inner peace
Learn new ways to think and love
Take control of your life
Learn about yourself
Give more clarity around major life decisions

I have to admit that as of late, I have fallen into a bit of a spiritual rut. I have been content with reading books that I’ve been reading forever and my spiritual routine has not changed in a long time. I feel like it’s time for me to shake things up a bit. So I did a little bit of research and here is what I came up with. I hope you find something new to help you along on your spiritual journey!

Try Uma Beepat’s 555 Practice: Do these 3 things before beginning your day!

-5 minutes of meditation

-5 minutes of stretching

-5 minutes mentally preparing for the day ( looking at your calendar, making a to do list)

Help Others: This does not mean you have to run out and join the Peace Corps. Just being kind to people you come into contact with every day is an amazing way to help others. Family, friends, co-workers, people you see at the store or on the street. It is really as easy as taking the focus off yourself and putting it on other people. It means more than you think when you look someone in the eye and smile. Hug and tell your family and friends that you love them. One thing I do sometimes when I am out in public is to say “God bless them” when I pass strangers. It especially makes me feel good if it looks like someone is having a bad day or I can tell they are down on their luck. Praying and blessing someone is a sure fire way to help others.

Start a Gratitude Journal: This advice is in every book, blog and article on self help and spirituality. So you think that I would have a gratitude journal, but for some reason I have not started one. I have a pretty journal all ready, but for some reason I haven’t written in it yet. Focusing on all the wonderful things in your life is a way to take the focus off what you feel you are lacking. I am making a commitment here and now to start writing in my journal tonight, I hope you will too!

Listen to Your Gut, Live in the Present, Think Positively: I believe that if you can do these three things consistently, you will have a happy and peaceful life. I know, easier said than done, but remember progress not perfection is what we’re striving for here!

Sit Outside in Nature for 15 Minutes: There is nothing better for your soul than spending time in nature. It is even better if you can find a patch of sunlight so you can soak up some vitamin D. Living things need time outside to recharge. So try to get out there for at least 15 minutes a day and I think you’ll see that it makes all the difference!

So there we go, some easy things to add to your spiritual practice repertoire! I feel like I have some things in my arsenal now to help me out of my rut and now all I have to do is put them into practice. I hope that you were inspired to try some new things too!

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5 Super Helpful Life Hacks to make life better

Audra McDonie / Self-Help / Leave a Comment

I love life hacks. I have been collecting them on Pinterest for years. I thought it would be fun to go through them and share some of my favorite ones with you. I hope they are new to you, and that you will find them interesting and helpful!

Life Hack #1– Target will match Amazon’s price. If you find something for a great price on Amazon you can just buy it at Target. Actually Target will match any competitors price for stores like Kohl’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, Walmart and Macy’s!

Life Hack #2– Have you ever watched a TV show and absolutely loved the outfit one of the characters was wearing? There’s a website called WornOnTV.net that finds the exact clothes and lists them with where to buy them. I think this is so cool! The website is incredibly well researched and up to date. You should be able to find any outfit that you have liked worn by a character on TV and find out where to buy it!

Life Hack #3– Before you apply for a job at a new company go to GlassDoor.com where you can read reviews written by employees who have worked there. It will give you insight into what it’s like to work there before you actually do. This has been a lifesaver for me. I have used this website and it has saved me many times!

Life Hack #4 – Try to go twenty-four hours without complaining (not even once) and watch how your life starts changing. Doing this one small thing can be a life changer. When you are not allowing yourself to complain it is impossible to be negative. The less negativity you allow in your life, the better your life will be. I believe that positivity brings more positive things into your life, so by not complaining you are being more positive and your life will improve. Don’t take my word for it though, give it a try for 24 hours and see what happens!

Life Hack #5 – You can take real college courses for free! (you don’t get credit, but you get the knowledge, which is what is important.) I love to learn new things, so being able to learn more about things that interest me has opened up a whole new world to me! Below is a list of the different places that offer a whole world of knowledge: (And they are free!! Unbelievable!)

1.Coursera (Coursera.org) I am in the process of taking my first course right now. It is called The Science of Well Being and it was the most popular class at Yale University in it’s 316 year history. (It was called Psychology and The Good Life at Yale.) It is exactly like a regular college class online, with grades and all!

2. MIT Open Courseware (OCW.MIT.edu) I haven’t taken a course here yet, but I am going to. I went on the website and perused the physics courses they offer. I think I am going to take the relativity course first because it is something that has always intrigued me. It’s unbelievable that anyone can go on and have access to this knowledge!

3. Open Yale courses (OYC.Yale.edu) They offer classes on pretty much any subject. I found one called Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Faulkner. As a writer, these three names obviously got my attention. I am going to add this to the list of classes I want to take.

It was really fun sharing some of my favorite life hacks with you. I get excited when I find something that is interesting, helpful and enriches my life in some way. It is even more exciting sharing these things with you and hoping that these things will make your life a little richer too. Have an amazing day!

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3 amazingly simple tips to make housekeeping easier

Audra McDonie / Self-Help / Leave a Comment

“The objective of cleaning is not just to clean, but to feel happiness living within the environment.“
Marie Kondo

Housecleaning is a necessary part of living. Everyone feels better when their home is clean and organized. I have found it ‘s much easier to keep up on the chores around the house than it is to let them go and then play catch up. I have been cleaning for many years and along the way I have picked up a few things that have helped me to keep my house in pretty good shape.

1. Own only one laundry basket: This has helped me immensely with doing laundry. I used to have three laundry baskets and this was a recipe for disaster. I had a lot of clean folded laundry, but it was not put away in closets and drawers where it belonged. Instead, it was folded and stacked in my three laundry baskets! Having only one basket forces you to put the clothes in it away, because you need the empty basket for when clothes need to come out of the dryer to be folded. A simple fix that will force to to put your clean clothes away!

2. Don’t clean everything every week and make a cleaning schedule: Don’t clean everything every week. What! I know you anal retentive people out there are freaking out, but I promise you it’s not as bad as it sounds. I have a bi-weekly cleaning schedule and within those two weeks I clean everything in my house. For example: Week one I clean the bathrooms, sweep the patio and vacuum the pool. Then week two I vacuum the house, dust and mop. There are other smaller chores on my schedule too (like changing beds, cleaning the kitchen, etc…) I don’t clean anything every week and it has completely changed my life. When I cleaned everything every week, some stuff wasn’t even dirty yet! After two weeks, everything in the house is actually dirty and needs to be cleaned. My house is not pristine at all times, but I don’t care because this way of cleaning has given me so much more free time!

3. Empty the dishwasher in the morning and run it after dinner or before you go to bed: If you follow this simple rule, you will never have dirty dishes in the sink. I empty the dishwasher in the morning after breakfast and then I fill it up throughout the day. I know a lot of people who live alone don’t use their dishwasher because they feel like it is a waste of water, but actually if your dishwasher is energy star rated it only uses 3 gallons of water, versus washing the dishes by hand which uses up to 27 gallons of water. So run those dishwashers everyday and keep your sink dirty dish free!

I hope these 3 simple tips will help you to make your home more clean and organized in less time! Happy cleaning!!

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