Beautiful moments in pictures

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.”  ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Steps to a Happy Life (part 5)

Steps to a Happy Life with Positive Attitude

Step 5: Share Happiness with Others

Not only do you need to be positive with yourself for this new positive attitude to really take effect, you also need to be positive with others. You have to share your wealth of positivity with the world.

The best way I’ve found to do this is quite simple and basic: be nice. Be nice to other people, no matter what. Tell someone he or she looks nice today. Tell someone they did a great job on that presentation. Tell your parents or children (or both!) how much you love them and how great they are.

When someone is feeling down, do what you can to cheer him or her up. Send flowers. Write notes. Don’t gossip. Be kind to all living things. All of these things sound basic enough, but they don't always come easily. Not even for me.

 

In the past, I didn’t wanted to see the good in myself and, therefore, didn’t want to see it in others either. I used to be critical and condescending. Now I strive to be encouraging and supportive. I try not only to treat others, as I would like to be treated, but also to consider how they would like to be treated.

People appreciate positivity and the more you are sharing it with others, the more you are practicing it and reinforcing it in your own life. The best way to multiply your own happiness is to share it with others!

Steps to a Happy Life (part 4)

Steps to a Happy Life with Positive Attitude

Step 4: Reinforce Positivity in Yourself

Once I started thinking more positively and adapted to a more positive attitude, I realized I had to reinforce these thoughts and behaviors in myself so they would stick. As with any sort of training, practice makes perfect, and, yes, you can practice being positive.

The best and easiest way to do this is to be positive when it comes to who you are. Tell yourself you’re awesome. Tell yourself you look good. Tell yourself that you love and accept yourself completely. Tell yourself you did an awesome job at work or raising your kids or whatever it is you do.

 

 

Be honest with yourself, but do your best to look for the good. And, whatever you do, don’t focus on the negative. Nothing good can come of telling yourself that your butt’s too big or your latest career goal wasn’t met.

It’s okay to not like everything about yourself (yet), but don’t spend energy dwelling on the negative. Remind yourself of the good in you. We all have positive attributes and it’s up to you to remind yourself of them every day.

Steps to a Happy Life (part 3)

Steps to a Happy Life with Positive Attitude

Step 3: Look For the Positive in Life
There is the positive aspect in everything. In every person, in every situation, there is something good. Most of the time it’s not all that obvious. We have to look. And sometimes we have to look hard.

The old me just sat back and allowed things to happen by default. If I saw negative, I went with that feeling. I didn’t want to look harder or think too much about the good. I found it much, much easier to sit back and just accept what I saw.

Now, when I’m faced with a difficult or challenging situation, I think to myself, “What is good about this?” No matter how terrible the situation might seem, I always can find something good if I take the time to think about it. Cancer diagnosis? Leads you to appreciate life more fully. Disaster? Look at all the people that run to aid the ones impacted –- people care.

Everything –- good and bad -– is a learning experience. So, at the very least, you can learn from bad experiences. However, there’s usually even more to it than that. If you really take the time to look, you will usually find something good, something really positive, about every person or situation.

Steps to a Happy Life (part 1)

Steps to a Happy Life with Positive Attitude

 

Step 1: Believe Happiness is a Choice

For me, this was a hard one at first. I thought that people were either unhappy or happy (and I was one of the unhappy ones). I used to blame this on all kinds of outside forces –- fate, experiences, parents, relationships –- but never really stopped to think that I could choose to be happy.

Sure, this isn’t always easy, but it is always, always an option. Teaching myself to see that happiness is a choice has been one of the greatest things I’ve ever done for myself.

Now when I find myself in a bad situation, I know that it’s up to me to find the good, to be happy regardless of what’s happening around me. I am no longer pointing fingers, placing blame. I realize that everything happens how it happens and it’s up to me to choose how I want to feel about it. I am in control of my happiness level and no one can take that away from me.

Life

LIFE

1. the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally. 
2. the sum of the distinguishing phenomena of organisms, especially metabolism, growth, reproduction, and adaptation to environment. 
3. the animate existence or period of animate existence of an individual: to risk one's life; a short life and a merry one. 
4. a corresponding state, existence, or principle of existence conceived of as belonging to the soul: eternal life. 
5. the general or universal condition of human existence: Too bad, but life is like that.

We all want a happy life, and we all know that having a positive attitude feels better than a negative one. But for some reason, we are all attracted to and can be easily drawn to the negative side. How do we go about to establish a more positive attitude as a daily habit?

Even for someone like me, a naturally positive person, having a positive attitude is not always easy.

I still sometimes see the world through a negative perspective, focusing on the bad and ignoring the good — especially when things aren’t going the way I had hoped. As I’ve been struggling with this lately, I’ve been reminding myself that it really is possible to change my perspective.

About a year ago, I decided I was going to make a change in my life. I was going to start looking for the good, seeking the positive, and striving to make every day a joyful experience.

This was something I would have never imagined myself doing, but it’s something that has impacted my life every single day since then. I’ve had to do a lot to get to where I am right now, and I still believe I have a long way to go.

I’m not searching for any particular end point, however. All I want is to be happy, to live a life that focuses more on the good than the bad (though I do believe you need both to have a happy life).

On this road — this twisting, turning road to happiness — there have been many ups and downs. There have been challenges — cancer, my daughter's thyroidism, my husband's diabetes, etc. There have been inspirations — beauty around us, music, art, my daughters, good friends, etc. There have been many amazing experiences that I never would have had if I had not made the choice to live a positive and happy life.

Recently, as I struggle to be positive about certain challenging situations in my life, I’ve been giving some serious thought to how I transformed my outlook from negative-focused to a more positive-focused one. (Note: I don’t always see the good. Like everyone, I have good days and bad days, but, for the most part, there has been a BIG shift in my attitude over the past year or so).

Though I have to admit that there are many, many factors involved in my personal development — such as my business, the countless books and blogs I read, creating my blogs, and surrounding myself with happy, supportive people — I can say that, at the most basic level, choosing to be positive has helped me the most in terms of becoming the person I want to be.

When I think back on my transformation now, I recognize that there are certain steps that lead to the best ways to begin stumbling down that path to happiness by establishing a habit of positive attitude.

Over the next few days, I will expand on my journey and talk about those steps — and the impact on my photography and craft business. Join me on my journey.

Picturing "You"

“It’s one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it’s another thing to make a portrait of who they are.” – Paul Caponigro

When it comes down to who you choose to professionally photograph you or your family, it's important to find someone that captures "you".

Thank you for considering Dawn Michelle Creations! I realize that your choice in a photographer is personal and I would consider it an honor to capture the important moments in your life.

We translate our passion for storytelling into images destined to last you a lifetime. Since you’ll probably want fitting ways to show them off, we offer an endless array of eye-catching options for hanging, decorating, sending, and sharing – all available the same day you receive your prints.

Once we capture your story, you get to choose how it gets displayed. We give you options – from archive-quality canvas hanging on your wall to photo cards you drop in the mail to grandparents. We offer a variety of print sizes for you, from a large 30x40 down to mini wallet-sized gems your kids can share with their friends. Best of all, choose one of our package sets and you can do all of the above!

Our Portraits

Life is full of moments that can become precious gems, and we know just how to find them.

By getting to know your family’s personality first, we’re able to create a friendly, familiar session that immediately puts you at ease.

The result?

High-quality portraits delivered to you usually within a week, all backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee (click here to learn about our quality).

At Dawn Michelle Creations, we offer more than professional photography. We capture the moments your family will cherish for years to come. We know exactly how to bring out the unique personalities of each individual, creating a photographic record that can be shared and
displayed.

Dawn Michelle Creations does more than take photographs; we create memories that last a lifetime.