Failing Forward

     Have you ever felt like a failure because you set out to achieve something and things just didn't quite work out as smoothly as you imagined? Have you ever stopped just short of your goal because of wrong thinking? Have you considered that just because you fail at something doesn't mean YOU are a failure? Well, me too! Certainly we are in good company! Lots of successful people fail their way to the top...but what separates the "failures" from those who reach their dreams? Especially when the very same opportunities are given, yet one person fails miserably while the other person flourishes? 

    Mindset. What I have learned so far along my journey may seem elementary to some, but it has been groundbreaking for me! In fact, applying this concept is why I am even writing this blog entry! You see, I started this blog just over a year ago in January 2015, and here it is February 2016 as I sit and write my third entry, from my home office. 

     I couldn't have done this without beating myself up a year ago, and it is just that type of defeated mindset and negative thinking that routinely robbed me of being consistent and disciplined in my goals and in my daily life as recently as last year. But even before the end of January 2015, I began to realize that my thoughts and attitudes were my biggest obstacle, and I set out on a path to begin to change that. In doing so, I had one of the most phenomenal years of my life, seemingly without even trying. In March I restarted my career in real estate, in June we enjoyed our first real family vacation with the kids, in October I celebrated my 20 year high school reunion back home in the state of Michigan. 

Also, in October, was my first solo art venture, selling my handmade jewelry alongside my mom, Susan Swanson, the ceramic artist.(susanswansonceramics.com) 

     Then in November, I was even invited to preach my first sermon, and did so, with a confidence that I had only known as a five year old girl. I even opened an online store on Etsy in November, which I had wanted to do for at least two years! (www.etsy.com/shop/ArtForTheHeartGifts)                                                                                               

     Finally, in December my husband and I enjoyed a cruise to the Bahamas, our first vacay without the kids since our honeymoon in 2007!  

 I know its nothing short of the grace of God, but I can attest to the truth that even with God, you can go around and around the same mountain getting no further to the top, simply because of wrong thought patterns and beliefs. So for me, to do all of these things that at one point in time seemed impossible to my limited thinking, was nothing short of amazing! 

     So what happened? How did the transformation occur? I began to give myself permission to be free. I shifted my thoughts from limitation and lack to abundant possibilities. I purposely made a habit of forcing myself to be thankful when all my old attitude wanted to do was complain. I started down the path of freeing myself from perfectionism and moving into more purposeful action. I'm not going to sit here and pretend like any of this was easy or like it happened overnight, or even like I have it all together now. But in just one year, I was able to realize some personal goals that had taken me almost a decade to manifest simply because of  possessing the wrong mindset. Now, by accepting myself as I am, I am feeling freer and enjoying my life more. 

     What are some areas of your life where you recognize the way you think is getting in your way? Take a moment to acknowledge an area or two of your personal weaknesses that you would like to see change this year and write down at least three of your personal strengths for each weakness. If you are feeling too negative to even come up with any strengths, then you may want to ask a friend or two. (I said a friend. You know, not the critical cousin you have who is always in competition with you or the cutthroat co-worker who smiles in your face and talks behind your back!) Also, take time to close your eyes and use your imagination to really envision and dream about your life the way you truly want it to be. Imagine it in detail, including what it would feel like, taste like, smell like, etc. Live your life by design and empower yourself to be free from what has happened to you by deciding what you are going to do about it! 


Let's manifest our best in 2016!

Lots of love,

Mrs. Sara Harvey

What a great day!

     Yesterday we had a major breakthrough at the Harvey household, my youngest, Zachary, who is two, FINALLY pooped in the toilet!! I know some of you are probably one click away from something else to read, but to those of you who are still in the potty training struggle, you know the first poo in the pot is MAJOR! Especially if you consider all the mishaps we had up to this point. I won’t go there, it’s really crappy. Corny pun, I know, please forgive me. It was so awesome though! And it was a team effort, my oldest  son, Jamal, 23, spotted Zach squatting by the window, making the face. You know the face. So I ran over and said, “You need to go potty!” and escorted him by hand to the “big boy toilet”. About two minutes later, I heard the splash and we had a celebration! Probably over the top a bit, I was concerned I might have scared the crap back in him, but to my surprise, we had a repeat of the whole thing about a half hour later. Except this time I found him squatting behind the recliner in his room. I resisted the urge to post pics all over my social media outlets, but I think it might be okay to post this little video clip here. 

     All in all it was a great day. I was so excited to have my whole family sit down and EVERYONE enjoyed the slow cooker chili that I made. No one seemed to even notice that I completely improvised on some major parts of the recipe. I had already started when I realized I didn’t have the 28 oz. of diced tomatoes it called for. So I lovingly cut up about 30 cherry tomatoes and tossed them in. It didn’t quite look like 28 oz., so about two hours later when I went to pick up my daughter from school, I grabbed an extra 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes and tossed them in.  I served it up over white rice and almost everyone went back for seconds. Oh, well, except for my 2 year old who exclusively eats Honey-Nut Cheerios for dinner. Here is the original recipe, (for the chili, not the Cheerios) and some pics of the process. Thanks Betty Crocker!

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/slow-cooker-family-favorite-chili/c6f4c4e2-8298-4d9d-8f21-d4ca19d35cb7

     With the extra time I saved with the slow cooker, Zach and I painted these little picture frames together. I have had them forever, I picked them up at Michael’s over a year ago wanting to make something artistic I could sell. It was so nice to redeem my failed project simply spending time with my baby. 

     Every day is a gift. Just enjoy the little things today. Even if everything isn’t going great, a great attitude changes everything. Remember that God loves you, and in that is something you can smile about! No matter what you are going through, it will change. Whether it’s good or bad, it will change, so why not focus on the love that never changes? Just food for thought from a gal who has given up on having a bad attitude, and I never really knew just how empowering it could really be! My world has changed for the better! While my family is still not perfect, I am so blessed and thankful to have each one of them and for this time that we are all together, living in Harvey’s Happy Home! 

A New Attitude for 2015!

     HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! It’s a new year, a new month, a new day! I’ve decided to take on a new attitude as well. This attitude is one that does a whole lot less complaining, talking, reminding, and well okay, nagging. It seems that lately my husband’s biggest request after a long day of dealing with complaining clients is for me not to complain. I admit, I can be a whiner when I’m over tired and or too hungry. But of course, to my ears, it doesn’t sound like whining...I’m simply asking for his love, attention, and support, because as a stay at home mom, I’ve been working all day and usually well into the night as well. I deal with some tough clients too! They are very demanding at ages 5 and 2. Not to mention the needs of our 23 year old who recently moved back home and my senior age father who has been living with us for the past three years or so, after having some heart issues.  

     I am by no means intending to keep this new attitude in my own strength, through sheer will power, we all know how those resolutions end up. But I am fully expecting the grace of God to help me. After all, trying to get a verbally gifted (you can laugh) person like myself to keep my mouth shut is going to require some miracle working power! So how am I going to do this in 2015? You have probably already heard the solution, I know I have! But how often does doing what we know to do cleverly elude us? Okay so here it is, the earth shattering, world changing secret, I’m going to pray more. 

     Oh sure, I pray! But in my less spiritual moments it sounds more like this, Please God tell him to...Please God make them stop...you get the idea. So I am simply asking God to help me trust Him more, lean on Him more and already, only five days into the new year, my home is a happier place!!! I love to share with others what works for my family, with no promises that it will work for yours, but as encouragement that comes with a guarantee that if you trust God and continually ask for His help, He doesn’t love our family anymore than He loves yours and this will be your best year yet! So join me on our adventure of loving more, and simply believing that love alone can change even the toughest of circumstances, because after all, God is love, and love never fails!