Day 3795: Confidence

In my Coping and Healing groups, people often talk about ways to increase confidence.

Yesterday, the group talked about “fake it til you make it” — practicing confidence even when we’re not feeling it. It’s difficult to feel confidence when we’re doing something new, and everything we’re doing is new in one way or another.

Today, I have confidence that this post will adequately cover the topic of “confidence.”

Lest I let the Daily Bitch have the last word on confidence, here’s a wonderful Ted talk I find on YouTube when I search for “confidence.”

Thanks to all who help me have the confidence to embrace every new day, including YOU!

Day 3784: Awareness

Until today, I wasn’t aware of this amazing quote about awareness:

My awareness tells me there are pros and cons of everything, including empathy.

When a surprising and upsetting poll about the 2024 USA presidential election was brought to my awareness yesterday, it focused my awareness on the negative. However, my awareness that it is now 2023, not 2024, helped broaden my awareness.

Do you see awareness in the rest of my images for today?

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Because of my family’s awareness of Mother’s Day and also scheduling conflicts for this Sunday, they took me out for dinner last night, but I didn’t have the awareness to take any photos. Instead, I was focusing on the awareness of how lucky I am to have these people I love in my life.

Here’s what I find when I search YouTube for “awareness.”

Since I now have the awareness that it’s Limerick Day (as well as several awareness days), here’s a limerick for you:

A human whose first name is Ann,

Tries to blog every day as she can,

She shares photos and quotes

And sometimes pictures of boats,

And she’s grateful that you’re here again.

Day 3771: A sense of purpose

As a group therapist, I’ve learned that a sense of purpose is essential for people’s mental health.

Yesterday, I saw my sense of purpose in an online word game.

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Do you see a sense of purpose in my other images for today?

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On World Healing Day, I’m glad to be writing about how having a sense of purpose is healing (even if it sounds exhausting).

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for a sense of purpose:

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Thanks to all who help sustain my sense of purpose every day, including YOU!

Day 3766: Taking a chance

I’m taking a chance that there will be some good quotes about taking a chance out there.

Next week I’ll be taking a chance and going on a river cruise in Europe for the first time. I don’t want to take a chance with my health so I’ll be packing my INR monitoring device and additional medicine in case my INR goes too low. I don’t want to take a chance of having another Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) like I did when I was traveling in September.

I also don’t want to take a chance with our cat Joan’s eye problem which is not getting better, so I’m going to call the vet today.

Am I taking a chance with any of my other images for today?

Looks like the Daily Bitch is taking a chance with pizza.

I hope you’ll be taking a chance to hear this great song about taking a chance on love.

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Thanks to all who are taking a chance, including YOU!

Day 3754: Miracles

Yesterday, after I watched Jimmy Kimmel Live! and was surprised by the miracle of Jeremy Renner‘s incredible recovery from his snow plow accident , I asked this question about miracles on Twitter:

Here’s the interview that inspired my question about miracles:

Do you see miracles in my other images for today?

Cancelling our noisy and unhelpful thoughts might be a miracle.

Today, after I witness miracles in my therapy group, we’re taking our cat Joan to the vet. If she doesn’t need medicated eye drops, that would be a miracle, and if we can apply eye drops easily, that would be a miracle, too.

What are your thoughts and feelings about miracles?

Thanks to all who help me believe in miracles, including YOU!

Day 3744: Money

Because I pay money to the New York Times, yesterday they sent me an email about money:

Here is a quote from that NYT article about money:

Try not to repress the emotions that come up as you read these quotes about money.

I love blogging and after ten years, the money has yet to follow.

Do you see money (or other things of value) in my images for today?

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for money.

Here’s another money song from the Beatles.

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Thanks to all who give me riches more valuable than money, including YOU!

Day 3743: Bragging

Maybe it’s bragging to say that I’m good at finding things on the internet, including definitions of “bragging.”

It doesn’t surprise me that bragging is defined in a negative way. However, I think there’s something to be said for bragging, especially if you tend to squelch or disbelieve positive things about yourself.

Personally, I grew up in a family where saying anything positive about oneself — much less bragging — was discouraged. Whenever I said something that came close to bragging, I was told “don’t give a kanahari” because that would attract the evil eye.

As a result, I’ve always had some fear about promoting myself, naming my talents, owning my skills, and doing anything else that might attract the evil eye. This is so ingrained that last September, when I fearlessly shared one of my original songs with strangers and then had a mini-stroke the next day, this thought came into my head: “That’s what you get for bragging about yourself.”

Rationally, I know that’s not true. Also, I’ve witnessed the healing power of bragging when I’ve encouraged people in my therapy groups to say something positive about themselves. Last week, I said, “let’s hear some bragging” and witnessed people, who usually put themselves down, allowing themselves to acknowledge and own their positive attributes and accomplishments.

Let’s see if there’s any bragging in my images for today.

Is it bragging, on National Fun Day, to say that I’m really fun? Is it also bragging to say that I made many great decisions about our shower remodel, that I’m an excellent group therapist, or that I write good songs?

Here’s hoping something terrible doesn’t happen to me because of all that bragging.

Here’s the song I was bragging about in September:

Let’s see some bragging in those comments, below!

Is it bragging to say that I have the best readers for my blog, including you?

Day 3672: Other people’s opinions

One thousand, six hundred, and ninety-five days ago (but who’s counting?), I wrote about other people’s opinions. I don’t know what your opinion is about that, but here are some opinions about other people’s opinions:

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Do you see other people’s opinions in my other images for today?

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The Daily Bitch always has opinions and here’s what I find when I search for “other people’s opinions” on YouTube.

I look forward to reading other people’s opinions about this post and thanks to all who helped me write it, including YOU!

Day 3668: Flexibility

Flexibility is something I cherish in myself and others. Can you see flexibility in my images for today?

This blog post has the flexibility to include a speech by Martin Luther King Jr on MLK Day…

… and a number from a musical about Rachmaninov, Preludes:

What are your thoughts and feelings about flexibility, here and now?

Thanks to all who exhibit flexibility, including YOU.

Day 3637: Advice

Because I’ve been struggling with some decisions lately, I’ve been asking for advice.

Advice can be confusing, as we might see in these quotes about advice:

My advice is that we look for advice in my images for today.

My advice is to not get chocolate on your ugly Christmas sweater today.

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “advice.”

One last piece of advice: express gratitude whenever you can.