Category: Daily Prompt

Powerful Playlist

inspiringmax

Put together a musical playlist of songs that describe your life, including what you hope your future entails. 

Music is powerful. It is part of my everyday life and is a great reminder of the past and motivator for the future. My present life playlist includes the following songs:

This song reminds me of my early years. It gives me motivation to continue with whatever goal I am seeking at the time.

https://youtu.be/MUBnxqEVKlk

I have loved this song since I was a teenager. Helen Reddy is Australian and the fact that her song was changing the world for women everywhere made me realise I could do anything I set my mind to. It was the anthem of International Women’s Year in 1975.

I am proud to be Australian. This song describes the history of the Australian people and reminds me—we are all one.

The final two songs give me motivation to set goals and work hard to achieve them. They remind me that I can choose how things impact me. By pushing myself, I can achieve things I never thought possible and become stronger in every way.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/mix-tape/

Happy Pill

inspiringmax

If you could create a painless, inexpensive cure for a single ailment, what would you cure and why?

Working in mental health I would love to find a cure for low self-esteem. It is at the core of many illness and plays a major role in suicide and self-harm behaviours. Low self-esteem can be improved however it is usually a long, slow journey, which the person living with it struggles to believe is possible to change. This impacts their want to start as it seems to hard. By creating a painless, inexpensive  and quick cure for low self-esteem the impact of mental health would be lessened.

The side effect of being able to cure low self-esteem may be that factors causing low self-esteem such as bullying, abuse, relationship problems, high stress, perfectionism may lessen and stop the cycle repeating itself. Low self-esteem is like a spark that turns into a wild-fire in some people. If it can be limited to back burning in its fire intensity it is much easier to control and many lives would be saved.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/placebo-effect/

Juggling Act

inspiringmax

How is this year shaping up so far? Write a post about your biggest challenges and achievements thus far.

For me, this year seems to be constantly giving me one theme—anything can happen. It is about learning to juggle even more balls in the air and see how much higher I can get them. Just when I think that I can’t juggle anymore someone comes along and says “I believe you can do this.”

Suddenly I decide let’s give it a chance anyway and I am taken to a new level and learnt a new skill. Sometimes its a bit surreal how it all comes together. Many years ago I learnt to juggle. Initially I used scarves to give me more time to learn the mechanics and then I was using balls. Once learnt juggling is a skill I haven’t forgotten but it definitely gets better the more I do it.

For me this is the same with my challenges. The more I choose to say—why not instead of why—the more I see my world open in different directions. This year I have changed my role at work and completed the A-Z April Challenge writing every day on a new letter of the alphabet whilst at the same time keeping up my usual blogging schedule. I have also learnt how to download my book as an e-book to help with the final stages of editing. Who knew I had the ability and only five months in. Certainly not me but I have kept pushing myself, learning new things and here I am reminding myself that I am not nearly as breakable as I thought and getting stronger by the day.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/state-of-your-year/

Sleep Equals Beauty

inspiringmax

Sleep is one-third of our lives: write a post about it. Do you love naps? Have trouble falling alseep? Wish you could remember your dreams? Remember something especially vivid? Snuggle under a blanket, or throw the windows wide open? Meditate on sleep.

Sleep rejuvenates you. I knew that but I don’t think I fully understood its meaning until I this video by researchers out of London. It shows very clearly the impact on skin of having 6 hours sleep each night instead of 8 hours. Personally I rarely get 8 hours as I have such a long commute in the morning however aiming for 7 – 7.5 is probably a realistic goal and cheaper than all the correction make-up required if I don’t.

https://youtu.be/Vy4CoCDh9nA

Other benefits of more sleep include:

  • Better mood
  • Increased metabolism
  • Increased concentration
  • Improved memory
  • Helps creativity
  • Improves athletic performance
  • Improves attention
  • Increases well-being
  • Improves ability to study
  • Reduces stress

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/sleep/

Party Time

inspiringmax

You’re throwing a party — for you! Tell us all about the food, drink, events, and party favours you’ll have for your event of a lifetime. Use any theme you like — it’s *your* party!

I love to celebrate my birthday. I take the day off work and do something fun—its my way of reminding myself that I am special. For my significant birthdays however I throw a party to share with my friends and family. My parties are simple affairs held at home.

Food is either a good old Aussie BBQ or pre-made finger food requiring heating only on the day. Everyone always loves my choices:

  • Cheese Dip
  • Chipolata Sausages
  • Chicken Sticks
  • Chicken Nuggets
  • Frankfurts
  • Meatballs
  • Party Pies
  • Prawns
  • Quiche Lorraine
  • Salmon Quiches
  • Sausage Rolls

Save some room for the sweet options:

  • Caramel Tarts
  • Chocolate Slice
  • Fairy Bread
  • Home-made Ice-cream With Lollies and Sherbet
  • Jelly Slice
  • Vanilla Slice

All of this is washed down with a few glasses of champagne or cocktails. Clever conversation is what follows—with maybe the odd party game or two. Basically whatever we feel like doing. My last party was my 50th birthday a few years ago. Remembering the food for this prompt has helped me as I am plan my daughters 21st celebrations over the coming weeks. Here’s a glass of bubbles to celebrate.

Photo Credit: Google Images

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/its-my-party/

Everyone Is Welcome

inspiringmax

If you could have a guarantee that one, specific person was reading your blog, who would you want that person to be? Why? What do you want to say to them?

Inspiring Max is not written for any one person. It’s “goal is to inspire you—developing a spark of hope into a fire that warms you and lights your path.” This is an open invitation to all who through their life journey have stumbled upon my blog. Whatever your reason for visiting — you are welcome. I hope you find inspiration to look on the positive side of life through the contents of Inspiring Max.

I find inspiration to do many things through my adventures on the blogosphere and I hope Inspiring Max does the same for others. I chose the double rainbow to represent my blog as it also reminds us of that life is not always dark and gloomy and there is hope ahead.

2011-07-30 17.13.54

Inspiring Max

Looks at life through positive

Ways and means

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/singular-sensation-2/

School Lessons

inspiringmax

Which subject in school did you find impossible to master? Did math give you hives? Did English make you scream? Do tell!

The subject at school I found the most difficult taught me many skills. The subject was physics which in the end I passed. But the real value was in the life lessons, which were more useful than any science equation.

  • How to ask for help
  • Boys love to solve problems
  • Smiling will get you everywhere in life
  • Break things down to their simplest form
  • Many heads work better than one
  • You are either a maths/science  or an english brain
  • Humour gets you through stress
  • Nobody can be good at everything
  • Listening to others is the best skill and will take you far
  • Get the foundations right and build from there
  • Flattery will get you everywhere
  • Relationships grow from a common bond
  • Gratitude
  • Your feelings are your own

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/land-of-confusion-2/

Thank you Cleaners

inspiringmax

What’s the household task you most dislike doing? Why do you think that is — is it the task itself, or something more?

Housework has never been mine or anyone else in the family’s thing. We all did it because we had to until one day we had had enough. After probably 12 months in discussion we hired a cleaner. Best decision we ever made.

Now a small family business cleans our home once a fortnight and they love it. When they first came to quote they stated there was 11 hours of housework in our house—no wonder we could never get on top of it—working and commuting full-time.

To honour ours and cleaners everywhere I have written the following acrostic poem.

Care about our chores

Love the work they do and working as a team

Enjoy the challenges of cleaning

Aroma in the air is amazing to come home to

No noise, no fuss

Environmentally friendly cleaning products

Remember the requirements of the household

Smile and sing as they work

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/those-dishes-wont-do-themselves-unfortunately/

Joy Not Jealousy

inspiringmax

We all get jealous from time to time — what wakes the green-eyed monster for you?

Jealousy is not an emotion I bother with. I find it draining and it doesn’t help me to follow my dreams or bring me any joy. If I find some thing on my journey I am interested in, I look into whether it really is something that I want long-term and if the answer is yes, I figure out what I have to do to get it. This is where the fun starts. Is it a goal I really want or does it just look  good on someone else?  This process has taught me a lot about myself. I now realise if I am not prepared to put the effort in—the goal is not important to me.

Poetry is a new skill I am learning as I develop my blogging skills and the following limerick sums it up for me.

What is the point in being jealous

 It doesn’t make us nice gals or fellas

 Instead I like to set a goal

Achieve my desire and empower my soul

The secret to learning what is precious

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/green-eyed-lady/

Forgive and Forget

inspiringmax

Share a story where it was very difficult for you to forgive the perpetrator for wronging you, but you did it — you forgave them.

Unfortunately we cannot stop trauma, tragedy and conflict happening in our lives. We can however choose how we respond to it, which changes its impact. By staying stuck—angry, hurt and wanting revenge, we keep focusing on the negative emotions. This allows them to  continue to hurt us in other ways, over and over again.

Forgiveness is acknowledging that it happened, but letting go of the negative emotions. Doing whatever is necessary to move on. How—will be different for everyone, but there is no other way forward.

For me, forgiveness isn’t about the other person or what they have done—it’s about my mental health. By not forgiving them I allow them to take from me again and again.  Not an option for me. I deal with my emotions, learn any lessons that need to be learnt and move on. I may not choose to forget, but I do choose to not let it consume my life and forgiveness is the key.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/forgive-and-forget/