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Stuck In A Rut? – Blaming Your Past Won’t Help You In the Present!

Are you stuck in a rut, or are you stuck in the past?

Give that question some serious thought for a few moments.

Living in the past will keep you feeling powerless and stuck in a rut. The past is the past for a very good reason, you have to go “past” it to get to your future. If you continue to live in the past and beat yourself up over what “might” have been, then you my friend are doing yourself a huge injustice.

Living in the past only helps to keep you feeling powerless and at the mercy of the gods.

You must learn by past mistakes, see what you did wrong and what you can do better next time and use that information to direct your future to what you want it to be.

You can take no action in the past, the events of the past have happened and they cannot be changed.

Living in the past leaves you powerless.

Living in the present and planning for the future will ramp up your personal power.

Taking action and making decisions can be scary at times, but what is your other alternative?

You have to move with the times, time and tide waits for no man. If you want to get yourself unstuck and start designing your future then you need to leave the past where it is, live in the present, and make plans for the future. There is simply no other way to get yourself unstuck.

Action and decision making are the tools that will enable you to get yourself unstuck.

You don’t even have to be sure to be heading in the right direction, if you find yourself off your chosen course then you simply readjust and get yourself back on track.

You must move forward to get yourself out of your rut.

You must set yourself some goals.

You must have a destination mapped out and a plan of how you are going to get there.

You simply break the task down into bite size, manageable chunks and deal with one chunk at a time.

Once you have dealt with the first manageable chunk, you simply move onto the second chunk.

Getting out of your rut and into your groove is not as difficult as most people would have you believe.

Believe in yourself and you will see that blaming your past won’t help you in the present.

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Tips on Being Really Present to Your Teen or Preteen Girl

It’s not easy parenting a preteen or teenage girl. It’s not easy being one, either. For the girl, it’s an emotional stage of growth, and for the parent or caregiver, it can be very trying. But there’s also potential for increased closeness and intimacy; after all, she’s growing older, and she understands more, and your relationship with her can develop into something beautiful and more mature. Daughters are such gifts, especially when this happens.

What does she need from you? How are you able to give it? These are questions that are unique for each person, but there’s a common thread here. All people have an emotional need for intimacy. In children, this need is first and foremost met by the parents. As children grow older, their siblings and extended family contribute in this process. Friends become more important as the child grows older. By the time girls enter their teen years, their friendships are usually vitally important to them.

But does this mean their need for parenting diminishes? No, not at all. They need us just as much, but in a different way. They need support, encouragement, boundaries, listening, and of course, love. How does this differ from their earlier years? How do we change our parenting to meet the needs of an older child?

Being present is important, and that can take different forms. Maybe going online with your preteen and watching that new movie trailer that she can’t wait to see. Or spending time as she shows you her latest Minecraft invention. Or looking into her eyes and really trying to listen as she tells you about her latest science project or bus episode; not trying to fix it; just listening with love. Everyone needs to be listened to, and this is one way to show someone you are there for them. It can mean silently taking over the kitchen when something explodes in the microwave and she bursts into tears, or not criticising when she knows she’s made a mistake. Or how about apologizing when we’ve made a mistake and trying to do better next time? Or thanking her when she helped her little sister so you could get your work done?

Discipline, yes, but also kindness. Speaking in a kind tone of voice when we delineate the chores she needs to do, instead of making it sound like a list of demands. Then throwing out a positive comment here and there as she does those chores, especially before we need to make a correction.

Things like this require effort on the parents’ part, and maybe some sacrifice.

It’s so easy to get caught up in day-to-day stress that we can forget what’s really important. Teens girls often like to talk at inconvenient times, like when we want to go to bed, or as we are getting in the car to go somewhere. If we can’t listen right then, maybe we can give them a time we can. It’s a question of mutual respect and balance.

If our girls get the emotional support they need from home, they will be much more equipped to handle their teen world, and much less likely to seek that support from sources that might not be good for them. As parents and caregivers, this should be near the top of our priority list. And a little reminder from time to time is a good thing.

We believe our girls are gifts, even during the sometimes stormy teen and preteen years. At Just4GirlsComforterSets.com, we strive to support parents and caregivers in the parenting process. Our girls comforters sets are an easy way to help create a beautiful and nurturing home environment for your teen or preteen girl.

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Original Christmas Presents

Beat the rush and buy Christmas presents for friends and family in style! The smart way to avoid the crowds and pick up great value is to attend an auction. You’ll be amazed at what you can find and you’ll be amazed at the sheer variety.

The best way is to take out a one month subscription to various auction search services which have the widest coverage of forthcoming auction lots anywhere on the web. However, if you want to take a short cut, stay tuned to this blog for a few tips! We will be pointing you in the right direction twice a week over the next six weeks with some terrific ideas, thus enhancing your reputation as a savvy and imaginative gift buyer!

In an online world, people often forget the simple pleasure of writing in longhand! It is even more pleasurable to respond to the numerous gifts and invitations received over the Christmas period with an antique pen. There are some wonderful old pens available at auction, frequently modestly priced, and they combine the fact that they look good, feel good and write good!

Some are truly collectors items and their distinctiveness or rarity may be reflected in their prices. Their desirability may, however, be determined by either your budget or the degree to which you care for the recipient! The broadest coverage of all comes from eBay though there is an array of other options as this glimpse into an online ‘auction search’ database indicates.

Items for sale this week include:

A pair of late 19th /early 20th century jewellers scales with brass pens and weights in a mahogany box (Peter Cheney – Littlehampton, West Sussex)

A 19th century Anglo Indian carved ebony document box with an intricately fitted interior for documents, inkwells and pens with a tray raised on bracket feet (Northeast Auctions – Portsmouth, New Hampshire)

A small assortment of dip pens including mother of pearl and carved ivory examples (Fieldings – Stourbridge, West Midlands)

Two vintage Waterman fountain pens (Reeman Dansie – Colchester, Essex)

There is no estimate for the first two lots while the latter two should be relatively inexpensive at around £25 – 30 each. If you want to browse the web more thoroughly, we recommend scanning sites that focus on bricks and mortar salerooms.

Happy hunting!

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