Author: handicraftsowl

Optimistic

Optimistic people have a positive outlook, are more confident, look to the future, and hope for the best in every situation. Pessimistic people have a negative outlook, are unsure or hesitant, brood over the past, and expect the worst in every situation. Being optimistic is less stressful and better for your health.

I have always been an optimist. I have even been called “Pollyanna”. She was a little girl who always found the silver lining. She played a game she called the Glad Game, where she tried to find something in every situation to be glad about. I believe things can always be worse and we should be grateful for what we do have. Helen Keller, who was blind and deaf from birth, once said, “I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.”

Eeyore is a sad little donkey that always expects the worst and he frequently loses his tail. Have you ever noticed that moods are contagious? If you hang around negative people, it tends to make you negative, too. So try hanging around positive people and see your own mood improve.

The Law of Attraction says that the energy you put out into the universe comes back to you and attracts more of the same. If you have a positive attitude, you will attract more positivity into your life. Listen to uplifting music and watch uplifting movies. You can’t plant weeds in your garden (your mind) and expect daisies to grow.

Winston Churchill once said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”  Like Pollyanna, we can strive to find the good in every situation and we will live a healthier, happier life.

Nonconformist

Do you remember as a child saying, “But all my friends are doing it!” and your parents asking you, “If all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you do it, too?” This rhetorical question was meant to point out that you shouldn’t do something just because everyone else is doing it.

I don’t decide how to live my life based on what everyone else is doing or follow fads. I have never been anti-establishment. I wasn’t a hippy, or goth, or punk, but I have always marched to the beat of a different drummer. I have looked back at the norms of society and realized that they change over time. What was normal and accepted 10 or 20 or 30 years ago might seem outrageous today.

I tend to question everything and do my own research. I also don’t believe something just because someone famous or in authority says it is true. Scientists used to believe that the sun and planets revolved around the Earth and any dissenters were considered heretics. Galileo, while not the first Heliocentrist, was tried by the Roman Inquisition and found “vehemently suspect of heresy” and they sentenced him to house arrest where he remained for the rest of his life. And yet, he was correct.

While conforming may feel safe and comfortable, there are many benefits to being a nonconformist. They are driven by possibilities. They ask questions, explore, and discover. Nonconformists are the ones who shape the world. Innovation is dependent on nonconformity. Henry Ford was an American industrialist who revolutionized factory production with his assembly-line methods. He said, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”

Leonardo da Vinci, the original Renaissance Man, was definitely a nonconformist. He even wrote backwards! He wrote using the mirror method because he was left-handed and didn’t want to stain the paper with ink. He was not only an amazing artist, he was also a brilliant inventor. His inventions include a flying machine based on the flight of bats, an armored tank-like vehicle, and a diving suit!

Just because you finished school, doesn’t mean you should stop learning. You are never too old, and it is never too late, to try something new. Julia Child published her first cookbook at age 50, Sam Walton founded Wal-Mart at age 44, Vera Wang designed her first dress at age 40, Laura Ingalls Wilder published the first of the “Little House” books at age 65, and Grandma Moses began her prolific painting career at age 78. It takes courage to step outside your comfort zone, but it is almost always worth it.

Being a nonconformist means thinking for yourself. Timothy Leary, an American psychologist and author said, “Almost everyone today is brain-damaged by our education which is designed to produce docile automatons.” Our children need to be taught how to think, not what to think. Others may say they have your best interest at heart, but when it comes down to it, they seldom truly do. That’s just human nature. The great thinkers didn’t take knowledge for granted. They observed and experimented. They pushed boundaries. And we can, too.

Musician

I play several instruments, but as I said before, I am a Jack of All Trades, and therefore, I am a master of none of them. I started playing clarinet in the 3rd grade. I chose clarinet because it was one of the instruments my Dad played, too. I had a beautiful, wooden Artley clarinet that had my name engraved on it. I was in concert band, orchestra, and marching band all the way up until college. My Artley was stolen, but I found a similar one on eBay. I even still have some of the sheet music from Junior High and High School.

“People of Note” by Laurence McKinney was originally published in 1940 and is a collection of poems about different instruments found in a symphony orchestra. I love this book because it has a fun poem about the clarinet. I originally found it in a thrift store when I was a teenager, and I still have it decades later.

I took up playing the ukulele after my grandson was born. I wanted to learn how to play lullabies to him. The first song I learned to play was, “You are my Sunshine”, and it is still his favorite. I tried learning to play the classic acoustic guitar, but the metal strings hurt my fingers too much. The ukulele is so much more fun to play and it is pretty easy to learn a wide variety of songs.

I don’t know if most people think of it this way, but another instrument I play is my voice. In other words, I love to sing. I may not be Mariah Carey, but I was good enough to be invited to join the mixed Staff/Student choir my sophomore year in high school. I also enjoy singing Karaoke with my friends.

There are other musicians in my family, too. My sister plays piano and flute. Her son is a drummer, and my son plays guitar, bass, ukulele, and he recently started playing the mandolin. I guess we are a musical bunch.

Loquacious

A loquacious person is someone who is chatty or talks a lot. When I’m on the phone with my sister or best friend, we can talk for hours. I’m definitely an extrovert and I chat with strangers all the time. I am always starting conversations with someone while waiting in line, or on the train. In school, I was called “teacher’s pet” because I sat in the front, and was always raising my hand to answer questions in class. I actually feel uncomfortable when the teacher asks a questions and people just sit there.

I’m an open book, and sometimes tend to overshare, but I really try not to. I make sure to read the body language of the person I am with so I don’t make them uncomfortable or bother them. I also have to concentrate on not monopolizing the conversation. Sometimes I just get too excited, especially if I have a story that goes with what the other person is talking about. I like to get to know people and feel connected.

I may be talking quickly, but behind the scenes, my brain is going a mile a minute! It’s like the duck on the pond. He looks like he is swimming serenely along, but his feet are paddling furiously under the surface. People tell me that I am so random. If they ask me, I can always list all the links that got me from Point A to Point Z in the conversation. But, even I sometimes lose my train of thought.

Kind-Hearted

I firmly believe that when you are kind to others, kindness will come back to you, like a boomerang. What goes around, comes around. It doesn’t have to be some grand gesture. Sometimes a simple smile can make someone’s day.

I have never understood how some people can be so rude or mean to others. Especially when they want or need something from that person. So often, the person they are being rude to isn’t even the person who caused the problem in the first place! I make a point to always be nice to people who are making or serving my food (I don’t want any extra “seasoning” in it!), or people that I am trying to get money from, like when I am trying to return an item or get a refund, etc. People are much more likely to help you if you are polite to them.

I have always enjoyed helping people. I have worked for the Veterans Administration for 23 years now, helping my fellow veterans with their disability claims. I also enjoy volunteering at charity events. The VA has an annual event called Stand Down which helps veterans connect with others who have had similar experiences, and provides a comprehensive support network for homeless and other high-risk veterans.

Are you a kind-hearted person? Click Here to read an interesting article on Psych2Go and see how many signs fit you.

But, one thing to remember, just because you are kind, doesn’t mean you need to be a doormat. If you make yourself a doormat, people will wipe their feet on you. If someone hurts you or takes advantage of you, it’s okay to let them “no”, or even just remove them from your life.

Jack (or Jill) of All Trades

A Jack (or Jill) of All Trades is someone who is good at doing many things, but not usually great at any one of them. The saying usually goes, “Jack of all trades, master of none”, but some people add, “but better than being a master of one!”

I’m an artist and a handicrafter. I paint, piece quilts, sew dolls and their clothing, crochet, knit, and make jewelry. I like to say that some of these skills will be useful during the zombie apocalypse since I can make things to keep people clothed and warm. Otherwise, I’m going to need to trip someone in order to stay alive!

I don’t think you need to be an expert at any one thing. There is always going to be someone out there that is better at something than you are. We can always improve our skills, I think it is more important that we continue to grow.

Personally, I love learning new things. I am a perpetual student. I used to check books out of the library to learn new things, but now my favorite thing to do is watch tutorials on YouTube! I have known how to knit since I was a child, but recently learned the continental method, which is more like crocheting and is much faster.

I seem to always have a dozen projects going at one time. I do finish them, eventually, but for me, it’s more about the journey than the destination. Having a deadline to finish something just turns it into work, and where’s the fun in that?

Intuitive

Intuition is the ability to understand or know something without needing to think about it or use reason to discover it. It’s that gut feeling, or hunch, that you should turn left instead of right. It isn’t magic, but may seem that way to others. Intuitive people listen to their inner voices.

I remember one time during my lunch break, I was headed to a restaurant and suddenly changed my mind, even though it was in the next block. I had decided to go to a different one that I had already gone past. I turned into a parking lot to turn around and few seconds later, the truck that had been behind me went through the intersection and got hit by another driver who ran the red light. If I had continued going straight, that would have been me in that intersection instead!

Intuitive people are optimistic because they can see the big picture, and often have their heads in the clouds. They are imaginative, creative dreamers. They are very observant and can sense what others are thinking or feeling.

My sister and I are the exact opposite in a lot of ways. She is the pragmatic one who is serious, organized, and always keeps her house spic and span. I am the eternal optimist who hates the mundane details of everyday life and rarely make my bed. I would forget to pay the bills if they weren’t on auto-pay. But one thing we have in common is we are both very intuitive. She lives in another state but we talk on the phone all the time. I can’t count how many times one of us will bring up a topic and the other will say she was just thinking about that same thing, or had just mentioned that to someone else earlier that day. Has something like that ever happened to you?