Carissa Mae Whaddya Say

All of the negativity in life can make it easy for you to get wrapped up and lost in it all. Believe it or not, some people actually like being angry and upset about the things that are wrong with the world, and they don’t take the time to stop and look around at all of the good things going on in their lives.  The truth is that you won’t be able to live a positive, happy life if you’re constantly focusing your attention on the bad things that are happening in life. Even with all of the bad that life can throw your way, you have to remind yourself that everything will be okay and work out in the end. If things don’t seem okay at the moment, then it’s not the end!  Believe that things will work out for the better and that you will get through whatever difficult situation you currently find yourself in, and you will be able to overcome anything and everything that life decides to throw at you.  Difficult situations exist in order to give you experience and knowledge so that...

Gratitude is the key to living a happy, healthy life, which is part of the reason why I started Sunday Sunshine. Yesterday, I’m sure you all thought about or even posted the things that you were thankful for, just as I did. If you don’t have gratitude in your life, then it will be hard to live the positive life that you want to live. By starting every day thinking about at least one thing that you are thankful for, you will start to live a happier life. It’s a scientific fact that those who practice gratitude tend to live happier lives, so why not try it today? You have nothing to lose by giving it a shot, but you have everything to gain! Having an attitude of gratitude is something that can be so life-changing and inspiring that you can’t help but be in a good mood whenever you think of something that you’re thankful for. Try it right now! Think of someone you love, a utility that you have, food you ate or something you drank, even the weather!  Hold that thought in your mind; thi...

Good morning, and welcome to the second edition of Sunday Sunshine! Today is another brand new day full of opportunities and good things. It’s a day to be grateful for all of the things that you currently have.  To start off this Sunday, I’d like to say that I am thankful for the fresh air, the opportunity and freedom to explore my surroundings, and the chance to wake up this morning.  There are countless other things to be grateful for today. What are yours? Let everyone know in the comments, and spread a little joy and positivity today!

To believe in yourself means that you have faith in yourself and your abilities. You allow yourself to be true to yourself and who you are without compromising your beliefs or sabotaging yourself into fitting in with other people. When you believe in yourself, you can truly be yourself.  You don’t need to rely on validation from other people in order for you to believe that you are capable of doing great things; you already are! Self-belief can get you a lot in life, but most importantly, it can help to grant you the confidence you need in order to achieve the things that you want. Self-belief is a powerful tool that can help you bounce back from your mistakes and setbacks you may face in life. When you believe in yourself, there is nothing that can stand in the way of your goals. People who believe in themselves are actually better at viewing failures at learning lessons than those who have little self-belief.  Believing in yourself involves learning from your mistakes and fo...

Good morning, y’all, and welcome to the first installment of Fire It Up Friday! My dad and I had this idea that is similar to Sunday Sunshine, but this is where we get all of you to post the things that you look forward to. It doesn’t have to be during the weekend, of course, but anything that you’re looking forward to, just to throw more positive energy out there. You never know who might need a little more light in their lives, and it can be easy to lose hope when you’re stuck in a rut with seemingly nothing to look forward to in your life, which is why we’re firing it up this Friday and posting the things that we’re looking forward to in life! I’m going to start off this Fire It Up Friday by saying I look forward to getting coffee tomorrow, to spending the day with family, and to the next time I wander down to the beach! Also D&D tonight, with good food and great people! I also want to take a moment to talk about something that’s rather important—suicide. Suicidal thoughts can b...

It is not selfish to put yourself first. You need to prioritize your own needs before trying to get out there and help others; you’re no good to others if you can’t help yourself first. If you try to take care of other things or people before yourself, you could easily find yourself in poor health, low spirits, or mental fatigue. It can be easy to get wrapped up in the lives and events of others, but where does that leave you? Exhausted, frustrated, and generally stressed out about having to take care of everyone and everything around you. It’s tiresome! Which is why you should always strive to take care of yourself first and foremost before everything else around you. Where do you start with all of this? How do you find the time for you? It can start with a simple thing, such as spending some quality “Me Time” in the early morning before work. It can be as simple as making a healthy breakfast, doing some yoga, or taking your time in a hot shower. Eating healthy, wholesome foods is ano...

We are all capable of making choices in life that we won’t necessarily agree with later on. Life is something to be experienced and learned from every step of the way. You’re not always going to make the right decision on the first try, but that is what experience is for, and you can only acquire experience by making the wrong choice first. Every choice you make has led you to this moment in time. Often, when you make the wrong decision, you’ll feel guilty about it afterwards. The truth is, if you didn’t know any better, then it was not your fault, and you should treat the experience as a learning lesson rather than something to look back on with shame and regret. Not knowing better at the time is not something to be ashamed of, so long as you know better now and make better choices. You must forgive yourself for the choices that you have made. Choose to forgive and move on with your life instead of living a life of guilt and regret. You need to remember to go easy on yourself; life is...

Your happiness is something that only you are in charge of; no one else can change the way that you feel about your own happiness. Sure, you can meet friends that become your family and make you happy, but you are the one who chooses to hang out with them! Just like if you choose to hang out with people who bring you down and talk negatively all the time. Your happiness is your responsibility, so whatever you do in life, make sure that you’re doing the things that bring you joy, happiness, and peace of mind. All of the choices that you make in your life will lead either to your happiness or to your downfall. You will learn throughout your life that you’re going to want to make the kind of decisions that will lead you towards a happier life, even if that means you need to cut out old habits or even people. The negative people in your life can weigh you down easily and quickly. It can be hard to cut someone off completely, whether it’s due to fear of retaliation or because you just don’t...

Happy Earth Day, everyone! Today is a great day to get out in nature and to appreciate the world that we live in, although it could be a tad warmer in my opinion. Earth Day has been around since it was first introduced fifty-four years ago, on April 22nd, 1970. Earth Day is a time to bring awareness to the issues around us, such as pollution, endangered animals, the use of pesticides, and clean drinking water. It’s also a time to plant trees, clean up litter, or simply spend time in nature. I have a question for y’all: How much of the plastic we throw away every day is recycled? The answer might shock all of you hard-core recyclers out there: Only 9%. Food waste is similar, with about 20% of food never being eaten simply because it looks less-than-perfect. It’s absolutely crazy the amount of food that is being wasted and the amount of plastic being recycled. The thing with plastics that you have to remember is that they can only be recycled so many times before they can’t be recycled a...

I’ve said before that your best is going to look different every day; if you only have 20% to give and you give 20%, then you’ve given 100%. It’s impossible to go above and beyond what you are currently capable of. Rest is needed, and it is needed every day of your life. You won’t get to where you want to be if you’re constantly burning yourself out and overworking yourself to the point of exhaustion. Excelling in a task is the same. You don’t have to be the best, but you need to do your best. Your actions will speak for themselves. You will struggle, though; we all will! The struggle is a part of the challenge of life; without it, you wouldn’t have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and experience necessary to further your skills. Always strive to do your best, no matter the situation. It can be easy to feel as though you need to compete with everyone, but you shouldn’t have to feel that way. There is room enough for everyone to succeed where they are meant to succeed. We should...

Hey y’all, I’d like to try something different with today’s post, if you don’t mind. I’d like to start a new thing called Sunday Sunshine, which is where you—the readers—can chime in with the things that make you happy, the things that you’re grateful for, or something that brought you joy recently. I think we could all use a little more happiness and joy in our lives, so let’s use today to share those things with the people around us. Life is too short to wake up in the morning and have all of the bad things in life be the first thing that you see. Turn off the news and tune in to the positives of life—they’re far more entertaining anyway, and keeping a positive mindset is quite healthy for you! I’ll start us off with my Sunday Sunshine by saying that I’m so thankful and appreciative of all of the amazing people in my life, especially the people that read these posts of mine. You guys are the reason that I do them, after all. So, what’s your Sunday Sunshine? Post your positive vibes i...

Every moment in your life is an important piece of your own history in the making, so you want to make sure that you are present for every second of it. You don’t want to find yourself living in the past, or even the future, for that matter, but rather, you should be living in the present moment, no matter what that moment may be or what it looks like. The present is the only time that you have when you really think about it in terms of life. The future is never guaranteed, and the past is merely gone; the present moment is all that you have in the grand scheme of things. Sure, you can think about your future, and you can regret the past, but neither of those things truly matter when you’re living in the moment. You don’t need to spend your time worrying about the future or dwelling on the mistakes of the past; you can choose to simply exist in the time that you have been given. Choosing to be in the moment is something that can become so profound in your life, but you need to learn to...

Miracles are all around us, no matter where we look. Life itself is one huge miracle clothed in thousands of tiny miracles, if only you take the time to look around and find them. There is so much in life that is good and that you can be thankful for; those are the miracles.  Waking up in the morning, having someone who loves you, having hot water, food to eat, a job that pays you—these things are just a few of the many miracles that you could experience in your day-to-day life. Seeing the miracles and appreciating them is a form of gratitude, and gratitude will always guide you towards a happier life.  It has been scientifically proven that those who have a grateful heart are happier than those who don’t practice gratitude, so why not find something to be thankful for today? Your mind will thank you, and you will be happier because of it. Happiness is a choice, and when you choose gratitude, you will always live a happy life. Finding one small thing to be grateful for can ins...

Whether you believe it or not, your thoughts will have such a massive impact on the way that you live your life and how positive your life is. The life that you live will always reflect the kinds of thoughts that you have about yourself and about your life. If goodness begets goodness, then happiness begets happiness. I know sometimes that it can be hard to keep a positive attitude, but finding one small positive thought a day can work wonders for your quality of life. The kinds of thoughts that you have will dictate the kind of life that you live. If you want to live a happy life, then you need to make sure that the thoughts you are having are happy as well. You won’t be able to live a depressing life if you have a good attitude about it. Your mindset can quite literally change your life, but only if you allow it. Your thoughts can have an incredible impact on your life, both good and bad, so you need to be careful about the kinds of thoughts that you allow into your mind. It’s easy t...

The weight of the world shouldn’t be carried on your shoulders; you have to learn when to put things down in order to lighten the load. Take a look at your baggage and go through it with a fine-toothed comb. Is there anything that you’re carrying that you don’t need? Is there something that is no longer serving you or the way that you want to be living your life? We should all take a moment to examine the things that we carry on our shoulders, because we will often find that a lot of them are not ours to carry. Other people’s opinions, reactions, and negative vibes are just a few things that you don’t need to carry around with you. Letting go of the things that you can’t control is just one step toward lightening the load on your shoulders. You should also take a step back and examine your own behaviors as well. Maybe there are some things or habits that you need to let go of in order to lighten the weight on your shoulders. Maybe you’re clinging to the past when you really don’t need ...

Everyone has something that they are afraid of—you, me, everyone! It’s not shameful to have these fears, but you shouldn’t allow them to take precedent over your life. Things only have power over you because you give them that power. If your fears are starting to hold you back from living the life that you want, then you need to rethink how you view those fears and learn to break past them in order to move on. Your limitations are only limitations because you allow them to be. You are capable of so much more than you give yourself credit for, so don’t allow yourself to be brought down by your fears just because you’re worried that you won’t be able to overcome them. You can do anything that you put your mind to, and if that involves overcoming your fears, then you will be able to do just that! When you choose to avoid your fears and not face them, you open yourself up to even more fear, as well as limitations on your abilities. Facing your fears allows you to break free of the restrict...

Constantly worrying about what other people think about you is not only detrimental to your health, but it's downright dangerous. If you want to live the life that you want, you need to learn to let go of the opinions that others may have about your life. Other people’s thoughts and opinions about your life should not have an impact on the way that you live your life; your life is yours alone to live! When you think about how others might perceive you or whether they are judging you or your life, you can cause yourself to head down a downward spiral very quickly. You start to overthink your actions and words, or you might “dress to impress,” or maybe you try to change the way that you act in order to fit in with everyone around you. The truth is that you don’t need to do any of that.  You’re not meant to live your life in a way that pleases everyone around you; rather, you’re meant to live it for yourself! People’s opinions are just that—opinions! And they should have no bearing on...

The Law of Attraction is a very real thing, I believe. Whatever you focus your energy and attention on will always find its way to you, so if you’re focusing on the negatives of life, you should expect to only find the negatives in life. When you shift your focus to the positive, however, you will find that life is far more splendid and enjoyable than it ever was before. There is a good side to every situation that you find yourself in, even if sometimes you need to look a little harder to try and find it. If you’re having a hard time finding something good in your current situation or in a situation that you were in in the past, then perhaps it was more of a learning lesson. Lessons are always good, as they help you grow and gain knowledge about how to better handle similar situations. Spending your days looking for the good and seeing the good despite what may come your way will always bring you more and more good in your life. If you never start taking the time to look for the good,...

Everyone that you meet in your life will have an impact on you, whether or not they journey with you for the rest of your life. The thing that you have to remember is that you will outgrow people. You will move on with your life, even if others don’t move on with you. Some people are not meant to stay in your life forever, and you may find yourself outgrowing them. It can be a strange thing, outgrowing someone, but sometimes it has to be done in order for you to move on with your life. There are those in this life that simply refuse to change or grow, and when you’re in a constant state of change and growth, it can be hard to continue to hang around those people, especially when they refuse to understand you. It’s okay to move on with your life and to continue living your life the way that you want. You shouldn’t change yourself for anyone, and you can’t expect everyone in your life to grow and change with you. Sometimes, you have to let those people go. Your growth and your life shoul...

Slow progress is still progress, no matter how slow or how little it may seem at the time. It can be easy to look at the minimal progress you’re making and think that you’re not really getting to where you want to be. I promise you that the little progress you’re making is better than the no progress you would be making if you simply gave up. If you quit now, you’ll never achieve the things that you want to. Just because you’re not seeing the progress right away doesn’t mean that it’s not happening. Be patient with yourself, and you will get there eventually! It doesn’t matter if you only make a little progress every day or a little progress every other day; progress is still progress, no matter how small! What matters is that you’re putting in the effort to actually make progress instead of slacking off and eventually quitting because you’re not seeing the results that you want. Let this post serve as a reminder, or motivation, to get you back on track! Don’t quit just because you fee...

Everyone always says to follow your heart, and while that is definitely inspirational and true, you should always remember to take your brain with you. You can’t achieve the goals that you want based on sheer luck alone; sometimes you have to plan and work things out before you can get to where you want to be. We all have dreams, hopes, and aspirations for the things that we would like to accomplish in life, but if all you’re doing is following your heart without putting any thought behind your actions, you’re going to end up between a rock and a hard place very quickly. A little bit of thought and planning behind what you want to achieve can go a long way. Remember that you won’t be able to accomplish anything if all you’re doing is wishing for things to happen. You have to put your money where your mouth is and actually take action in order to see the results that you want to see. It can be difficult at first, but you won’t get anywhere if you don’t at least start on the journey! The...

Failure is nothing more than an opportunity to learn something new. You can still achieve your goals and your dreams, even if you fail at something. You need to learn to take those failures and use them to your advantage. Use what you have learned from your failures and mistakes, and put that knowledge towards trying again. Don’t let one little setback stop you from accomplishing your goals; setbacks are a chance for you to learn, not to quit. This applies not only to your goals but any setback that you face in life. Use those setbacks, mistakes, and failures and learn from them. Could you have avoided it? If so, how? If you couldn’t avoid it, what steps could you have taken to make your situation better? Setbacks are going to be all around us, and they’re going to happen every once in awhile in our lives. Sometimes, it might even feel like there’s just one setback after another, and while those situations absolutely suck, you shouldn’t lose your hope or your positive attitude. Those a...

It's a strange saying, right? But it holds a lot of truth when you take the time to really think about it. Consider for a moment that the snakes are the people around you who take to gossiping, putting other people down, or blowing up their resumes just to make them feel good about themselves.  Not barking at them means keeping your business just that—yours. You don't need to be engaged with them, and in fact, you shouldn't. Dealing with people like that on a consistent basis can get tiring very quickly. It takes a toll on your mental health, whether you realize it or not. So, you shouldn't worry yourself about the things that the snakes are doing. Don't bark at them. They can do their own thing, and you can do yours.  Granted, it can become difficult if the snakes are constantly coming your way to try and poison you with their venom, but you always have the option to just walk away from the situation altogether. You don’t need to listen to someone gossip about some...

Living life is like surfing on the ocean; the waves come and the waves go, but the ocean remains. You’re going to experience many different waves in life, both good and bad. You’re going to have wonderful high waves, but you’re also going to experience lower waves that aren’t as easy or as fun to surf. You won’t have a perfect day at the beach every day, but that’s life! Like I said in a previous post, life is full of ups and downs; you just need to learn to ride the waves as they come rather than trying to fight the ocean herself. You won’t always have rough seas; the sun will come back out and the seas will calm after the storm has passed. Calm seas never made a skilled sailor, after all; you must learn to overcome. You need to remember, too, that even if you’re surfing the high waves, anything could go wrong. Don’t allow yourself to dwell on the “what ifs,” but instead keep them in the back of your mind as a precaution for the things that could go wrong and prepare yourself for them...

Contentment with yourself and your life doesn’t merely happen; rather, it’s a way of thinking. Your mindset will reflect the sort of life that you’re living, so having a grateful mindset can change your life for the better. Gratitude and happiness go hand-in-hand with one another, after all. You can’t be upset and thankful at the same time, just as you can’t be ungrateful and joyous at the same time.  Gratitude is a very important choice that you have the ability to make every single day, and if you’re choosing to say no, then you’re going to wind up in a pit of darkness and despair relatively quickly. You need to shift your mindset to focus on the things that you’re thankful for; only then will you discover that you can change the direction that your life is heading in. Life is full of ups and downs, but just because you feel like you’re in a down doesn’t mean that you’re going to stay there forever. Don’t let the negatives of life bring you down; choose to push through the bad an...

I absolutely love when I’m having an excellent day, driving around, blasting good music, singing loudly (it doesn’t have to be good; you just have to enjoy it), and someone wants to give me the stank look for it. I won’t apologize for loving my life and choosing to be happy and positive, despite everything. Though I am sure that there is someone out there who doesn’t love their life, and I’m sorry, I hope you feel better soon, because there is always something to love. I don’t need to allow people to ruin a good day, and neither should you. Choose to see the good, to be the good, and to have a wonderful day! Don’t let the Negative Nancys get you down; they can’t mind their own business to save their lives. You shouldn’t be made to feel like you can’t enjoy your life just because someone doesn’t want to see you having a good time. Just be yourself and enjoy the life that you have! Staying in a negative mindset will never do any good for your health or mindset; it will only bring you dow...

Regret is useless. It accomplishes nothing of value in your life except making you feel guilty or otherwise bad about yourself or your decisions. Regret will never change the past; the best thing that you can do for your own health and wellbeing is to move forward with the knowledge that you have built from your past experiences. Your past is there to be learned from, not dwelled on with feelings of guilt and sadness. There are often going to be conflicting or complicated situations that arise in your life that will lead you to feel happy in the moment. It’s later that you realize the situation was only hurting you in the end. You shouldn’t regret those situations or people that made you smile or made you happy, even if they didn’t work out. They’re learning lessons for your future self, so you know better for next time. It can be easy to look back on your past and feel guilt or even shame for the things that you have done, but I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to. You don’t nee...

I want to let you all in on a secret: the “right time” is a lie and nonexistent; there is only time and what you choose to do with it. Life moves too fast for you to waste your time preparing yourself for the “right time,” especially when you could be using that time to do the things that you want to achieve right now in the moment. Be like Nike and “Just Do It!” Every day, you have the choice to move one step closer to your goals; waiting for the right time won’t get you any closer to achieving your dreams. Waiting for the right moment doesn’t bring you any closer to where you want to be. It can provide a sense of security for when or if you reach that far-off “right time,” but it won’t actually bring you closer to your goals any faster. What good is a dream if it stays a dream? The point of your dreams is to make them a reality; take action and take the necessary steps to get to where you want to be. You don’t need to wait for the right time in order to accomplish your dreams. Your g...

Imagine if you will, you live in a world where you didn’t care about what other people thought of you, where you were unashamedly yourself, and where it didn’t matter whether or not other people liked you. Guess what? You can live in that world right now! I live in it every single day! It’s quite easy, really; you just ignore the haters and move on with your life. Who cares if you’re weird? Everyone is weird! There will come a time in your life when you need to accept that not everyone is going to like you. You won’t always be everyone’s cup of tea, but you’ll for sure be someone’s shot of whiskey. Just remember that it’s okay to not fit in or to be a part of the “in” crowd. You’re allowed to simply be yourself and to enjoy being yourself without worrying about what anyone else has to say. It takes courage to live your truth, unashamed of who you are or how weird you are. There’s nothing wrong with being weird or strange in a world where society will try to tame you to get you to fit i...

We can all strive to do our best every day, but what does that best look like? The truth is that your best is going to fluctuate; it’s going to change with every passing day. You could reach all of your goals one day, but then only achieve several the next, and that’s okay! No two days were meant to be the same, so if you don’t check off everything today, there’s always tomorrow. Sometimes, you are going to have different energy levels day-to-day as well, so just because you did more than usual yesterday doesn’t mean that you’re going to have the energy to do that again today. Whatever you got done yesterday was your best, and whatever you get done today is going to be your best. Remember that you won’t always be able to get everything done every day. You’ll have good days, and you’ll have bad days, but what matters is that you try your best, despite your circumstances. No matter what life throws at you, the way that you respond to it should always be with a positive mindset and a posi...

Welcome to the fourth month of the year! April is finally upon us, and with it comes the promise of warmer weather, blooming flowers, and spring air all around. Fun fact about April: it actually gets its name from the Latin word aperio , which means “to open” or “to bud.” The first day of April, of course, is April Fools’ Day, so expect a few pranks here and there. We’re not really sure how April Fools’ Day got its start, but there are a few theories. Some say it goes back to ancient Rome and a festival held at the end of March called Hilaria, which was when people would dress in costume and mock others.  Others, however, believe that it started in the 16th century—in France, to be specific. Charles IX, at the time, declared that the new year would be held on January 1st. The new year had been celebrated around Easter before this. With the coming of spring and all, it made sense for the new year to start around the time that the Earth wakes up. Problems arose when some people were ...