Monday Motivation - Telling the Truth

Hi smart and crafty gals! Just before we sneak the next kit (WOW, where did October go) here's a little bit of what we do at SFTIO that's so very special...our online multimedia inspiration! Every month, we provide a ton of content - using music, stock photos, quotations, pinterest (not just pinning pretty things, but meaningful ones!) and our exclusive prompts and challenges that help you dig deep.

Here's a taste...but to get it all, you'll need to come over to the site. All our inspiration is FREE...all you need to do is click over and see us. I also urge you to sign up on our message board (just takes minutes) and you'll be ready to chat with women all over the world, who, just like you, struggle, triumph, ask questions, wonder, worry and celebrate...and you'll come away with more freedom, more honesty and more courage than you thought was possible.

What's our secret? It's not a bunch of phony 'happy thoughts' or transient states of bliss. It's telling your truth, no matter how scary or ugly it may look. Self-expression can't fix all your problems, but it makes you freer and more resilient. Here's a LO I did with last month's kit, BALANCE to show you what I mean:

This was my response to a challenge (from me :)) to our members to scrap about a major shift in their worlds and what the 'new normal' looked like.

Those of you who have been reading for a while (or have glanced at the sidebar) know that I lost my precious Bart last December. This is actually the very first page I've been able to do about him...that's right, me, the purveyor and enabler of emotion-based scrapbooking. But I finally got to the point where I could no longer ask you all to share without sharing more of what was difficult for me - sharing the thing that is MOST difficult for me. And if you read it, you'll see, the journaling is not a peaceful acceptance of the loss. I'm not there yet. 

And here's my (not so) secret - I don't have to be. And neither do you. 

Being right where you are, accepting yourself now, including your anger, resentments, fears, worries and resistance to change is CRITICAL to your well-being and your growth. Fighting it won't make it disappear - but being with the present moment and letting your emotions flow will make every future moment a tiny bit easier.

Here's a little sampling of what the ACHIEVEMENT Inspiration Page has to offer:

Prompt:

Failure: Is there such a thing as failing, or are you a believer that every failure is just a step on your path to a different success? Is failure a sign that you’ve actually tried difficult things? Are you quick to rebound after a failure or are you slower to recover. Has there ever been a time when you’ve closed your ears to the voices of others telling you that your failures meant it was time to stop trying? Have you ever looked back at a past failure and seen the meaning in it from the long view? What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

Pinterest:

Music:

Defying Gravity by Idina Menzel

Quote:

Periods of tranquility are seldom prolific of creative achievement. Mankind has to be stirred up. Alfred North Whitehead

Photo:

For more music (a streaming playlist), quotes, prompts, photos and pins, come visit the Inspiration Page.

I hope you use it to tell your truth.

Love,