Inspiration And Motivation With Gwen Nickel

We need to do all we can for ourselves We need to learn to ask for and accept help when we need it. I need to learn to weigh the risks vs the benefits of doing things myself. I don’t need to apologize for my illness. I need to see the accomplishments I’ve made instead […]

I don’t have to explain, validate, or justify my illness to those who don’t understand it. Most people do care. Those who don’t aren’t your problem. A smile opens many doors to communication. We are each so much more than a diagnosis. If I am willing to educate people on how I want to be […]

By simply adding a description of praise when we introduce others we can greatly influence their day, our own attitude, and that of the person making the acquaintance. We have the power to use our words to build people up or tear them down – lets build them up!

A friend recently pointed out to me that often I seem to be so preoccupied with my phone that it feels like I’m not present. That it feels like the conversation around me isn’t enough to be focused on. I apparently made my friend feel like what he/she was telling me was not my priority. […]

We all face times where we are sure we aren’t enough. It can take effort to remind ourselves that we are, each of us is, enough. The basis for today’s talk is from a quote I found from Holstee. It reads: Hello, I don’t know everything about you, but I know what you are not.You […]

It’s been quite a week! From falling again, to knowing I needed to make a huge change in an interpersonal relationship of mine, to connecting with a friend, getting a new knee, learning again how vital my friends, family, and others are to me and just all in all making my way through a week […]

Today is a shout out to all the people who show up, do what they do, do it to the best of their ability and make a difference. No matter what you do, where you are, or who you are there are things you can do that are going to impact someone else’s life for […]

Today would be my dad’s 79th birthday. He loved his work. He loved he people, the challenges, the places, and the success it brought into his life. Whether we work at a job we love or not, we have the choice to love what we do, and to do what we love in life. How […]

I fell a few days ago. This experience reminded me of how easy it is to talk about a good attitude and to promote positive thinking but how hard it is to put into practice when life throws us a curve. I was challenged to reassess my attitude and reflect on the many reasons I […]

Last post for the challenge! Acknowledge something you’ve done that was hard but you achieved it. Something you once, perhaps, couldn’t do and now you can. Acknowledge how good growth feels! Be thankful for your personal growth and celebrate it!

The challenges for days 28 and 29 are very similar. Plan a coffee Date with a friend: It’s easy to get busy but we never want people to feel like we are to busy to their friend. Taking that time for a friend to go out and visit reminds us how much we love each […]

Children wear their hearts for the whole world to see! Watch a happy kid, learn from the joy of children. When we embark on a journey to celebrate the little things like a child does we automatically become more grateful. Today’s challenge is to think like a child, to feel the awareness of joy like […]

So often when things go wrong we catastophize over it and make it into a huge deal. Then, with the passing of time we can look back and realize all the good that came of it, how it helped us grow, it shaped us, and how it enabled us to become stronger people. Sometimes things […]

Campfires are among my happy places. They are soothing, and they bring people together. Some of my best memories have been made around a campfire. Today’s challenge is to build a campfire, or do something that speaks to your heart in a similar way, and reflect on, and celebrate the good that is in your […]

Pause to give thanks before a meal. The challenge is to offer up thanks for the food, the preparation, the kitchen it was prepared in. Give thanks for the farmer who grew the food, the animal who supplied food, or gave his life for us to eat. Give thanks for the environment where we can […]

Do Someone a favor. Do favors for the people you love and who help you. Then challenge yourself to do a favor for someone who isn’t quite on your list of favorite people. You’ll be as blessed as they are.

Invite people over!

Paying it forward or performing a random act of kindness is today’s challenge. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking: Pay for the person behind you in the drive through line. Mow someone’s grass. Pick up a shut in person’s mail or groceries. Deliver some baking to a new neighbor’s house. Walk a […]

Stand up for others. Standing up for others can mean defending them when they are wrongfully accused, standing beside them when they make mistakes, protecting their dignity, defending their honor, believing in them…. There’s so much we can do to stand up for others and it starts right here, in our own hearts.

Lets go into the weekend speaking kindness! Build someone up. Share a pleasant thought. Tell someone what you appreciate. Speak truth. Speak gently. Speak kindness!

When we choose to be part of another person’s support system we impart knowledge, empathy and strength. We build relationships that are strong in both the good and bad times. While sharing in another person’s life struggles and victories we continue to build stronger healthier relationships and communities.

Share another person’s praise! Build your team up, share the joy they’ve helped you create! Spread good words about each other! Acknowledge publicly that we all need each other and that the contributions of many people go into making our success stories! If you would like to reach out to me I’d love to hear […]

When we celebrate the victories of others it creates joy in both our own life, and theirs. By being happy for another person when he/she achieves something great we eliminate the contest mentality and we can live in the moment of joy that comes from celebrating with another. If you would like to reach out […]

Today’s challenge is about being gracious when challenged. When we are challenged our first reaction is generally to become defensive. Today we’ll talk about ways to deal with another person challenging us that are respectful and gracious, and about ways to use the challenge of others to help us grow. If you would like to […]

Active listening is powerful. It communicates value and it shows you really are there for the people in your life. Taking time to listen is sometimes difficult; today we will explore the value of listening! Reach out to me on Facebook at searching for the good, as well as on instagram. Or you can listen […]

This one is really hard for me, but it’s getting easier. I’m sure we all struggle to make a list of the qualities, strengths, gifts, talents etc that we possess. As we learn to embrace our own areas of strength we can hone in on where we can most effectively give back to our families, […]

Another great way to express your gratitude is to buy a small gift for someone. It doesn’t need to be expensive or big, but just take the time to buy something small and personal so you can convey to someone else that you appreciate them in your life. Reach out to me on Facebook at […]

Tell someone you love them. This isn’t necessarily a romantic thing. There are so many types of love; we will explore them briefly in today’s podcast. If you want to reach out to me I’d love to hear from you on facebook at Searching For The Good, on Instagram, or on at www.searchingforthegood.com.

Today’s gratitude challenge is to call a friend. As easy as it is, it’s something I struggle to do. I often come up with great excuses why I shouldn’t call people, but we all love to hear from a friend. It lifts up both the caller and the one being called. Take time today to […]

Make a positive post on social media. Express, in your own words, something you very much appreciate about a business, person, organization and why it means so much to you. Use your voice on social media to build up another person or group! If you want to reach out to me you can do so […]

Volunteering is a very meaningful and tangible way to express how much we have and how we can give back. It makes life easier for many people who are being helped by the volunteer; from the organization having more time and resources to the person directly impacted by your efforts. It also validates the volunteer […]

Compliments are an easy way to express gratitude and make others feel it because they highlight things we enjoy about other people and they build people up. Compliments should always be sincere, they should be a reflection of something you really do appreciate. There are different levels in this challenge; from superficial compliments to the […]

Today’s gratitude challenge is to smile. Take note of how it makes you feel to actively smile throughout your day. Take note of how other people respond when you smile at them. Smiling is such a simple thing to do to convey to ourselves and to the world around us that there really are countless […]

When we share our possessions it reveals our gratitude by saying what we have is enough and we will gladly share it with others. It liberates us from materialism, it says we believe that our needs will continue to be met, and it enriches the life of another.

Give a handmade gift. Today we will explore briefly ideas about hand made gifts we can give that are sure to touch the heart of the recipient and convey our appreciation of them.

Journal. Journalling gives us a reference to look back on and reminds us of the good things in life. I’ve addressed 3 areas to start with but you can add as many categories as you like. This is a 3 week challenge but it can be as long or as short as you see fit. […]

Write a letter or a note. Often the process of writing a letter or note of appreciation makes you feel more grateful and allows you to celebrate, again, the part someone else has played in you life. Be specific about what you are grateful for and why.

Say thank you! Words are the most powerful and simplest way to express gratitude. Be specific; clearly express what you’re grateful for and how it has impacted your life.

Building your team, your support system is an essential step to finding clarity, peace and strength when life gets overwhelming. Today’s focus is on small steps you can take to build the team you need.

3 more steps to help us overcome feeling overwhelmed, each broken down into several steps to help pick out the things that may help. While we all feel overwhelmed at times we often feel overwhelmed in different areas so hopefully there is at least one take home for each of us in this segment.

Today’s episode is focused on practical steps to overcome feelings of being overwhelmed. We’ll talk about caring for yourself physically, accepting what you feel, being good to yourself (kinder, gentler), pausing, and how multi-tasking negatively affects you.

We have talked about accepting that we all have a past and some of it is good, while some of it not so much! We have talked about forgiving ourselves, and learning from our mistakes. Today we will wrap up this little series by talking about releasing other people from their past mistakes and cheering […]

Mistakes, the teacher. Mistakes and the past can teach us so many things. In today’s podcast I’ve touched on a few of these things. I want to credit lifehack.org for the article I found there that helped me articulate a few of the thoughts I was having trouble finding the words for. Quote: “Don’t live […]

One of the most crucial and difficult steps to putting the past behind us and learning from it is to forgive ourselves. Here we will explore practical steps in the process of self-forgiveness and healing. Quote “Free yourself from your past mistakes, by forgiving yourself for what you have done or went through. Every day […]

We all have a past; some good, some bad. It doesn’t have to define us, but if allowed to, it will influence us to become better, stronger, braver people! Quote: “Nobody’s perfect. Everyone has a past. For some people they let their past control them. Everyone has gone through tough times in their life, some […]

Quote of the day: When you can’t control what’s happening, challenge yourself to control the way you respond to what is happening. That’s where your power is!

Spring is finally upon us here in northeast Saskatchewan! As we enjoy springtime its a good time to reflect on the joy and beauty it brings; the renewal and the hope, and to explore what season we are in emotionally as we take inventory. Quote of the day “An optimist is the human personification of […]

Inspiration from some of the people I’ve known in my life, and some of the experiences I’ve had to help us find hope, strength and joy when we are tempted to quit. When the load seems to heavy to carry there are things we can do to make it lighter.

It’s so easy to say things like “I will never do that” or “I will always feel this way” but when we are faced with the unexpected we often react in ways we never thought we would. Let’s be honest about those times, lets show grace to others who make bold statements, and lets empower […]

Why do we put so much effort into planning, organizing and attending reunions and homecomings? I think it’s because it gives us connectedness and a chance to reflect on the people and events that shaped us into who we are today. I think they are a chance to let the negative parts of our past […]