This is Day 20 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.

We all know goals are important, and every self-help guru out there will tell you that to get anywhere you have to know where you are going. That they give you a road map to help you navigate life and decisions.

Sure, goals can give you clarity and help you move forward. But they have to be both specific and attainable. Saying “I want to have a million dollars saved by the end of next year” is most likely unattainable for most people. Or “I am going to cure my CRPS.” Sorry, life doesn’t work like that. No matter how many copies of The Secret sold.

But goals like, “I will start saving regularly to prepare for emergencies” or “I am going to seek out new forms of therapy for my CRPS” are perfect. You can measure your progress. You have set realistic expectations. You have something to work toward.

I am not going to set a health goal today, or talk to you about those. Mostly because I am having a rough time with my CRPS lately and it is hard to find a goal that I think is realistic and worthwhile.

I put this goal of mine on paper over the summer when I met Sheryl Sandberg, author of Lean In and all around business woman extraordinaire. I am going to pitch a book this year. I am going to take my struggle with my health and this little project to write a book. I want to share my story, and gosh darn it, it is going to happen.

Share the positivity on Twitter, Instagram and Google+ with the hashtag #100positivedays. Also, you can sign up to be emailed a recap each week of the challenge.

This is Day 19 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.

Music is a powerful force. They say that listening to classical music while you study can help you retain what you read. And that listening to music that you associate with positive feelings can improve your mood.

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This is Day 18 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.

Sunrises and mornings are a reminder that every morning is a new beginning, a new start. Days and lives can have plenty of weight. It is good to remember that each day can be a bit of a clean start.

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This is Day 17 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.

Sure, work can be simply a means to an end. A paycheck. Hours filled. We can use it as a yardstick to measure our success in life or to assign value to our contributions to society or our families. I propose that work is none of that. I propose that good work is an art form. And art saves lives.

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This is Day 16 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.

Stop in the name of love, before you break my heart…

Sorry. I couldn’t help myself. This was supposed to be an easy post. But it wasn’t. Apparently I suffer from an abundance of love in my life. Love from others. Love of life. I could write about my how much I love going to work every day or how much I love my cat. Read more

This is Day 15 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.

Oh our bodies. We love to hate them. For a lot of us, just being born and raised in our society has created plenty of issues. We are never skinny enough, tall enough, blonde enough, tan enough, bootylicious enough. (Yes, I just said bootylicious). Are nose is a little off. Our fingers are too short. Eyes too close together.

And then on top of it some of us have to throw in actually defective parts. And it becomes so very easy to hate the shell that you live in. To wish for new parts. To focus on what is wrong. Read more

This is Day 14 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.

Talents are something we very often take for granted. Often we do not celebrate them for fear that we will be thought of as braggers. But we should. Particularly when there are other circumstances that might make our days a little less bright.

Focusing on what you can do well, rather than on your perceived shortcomings or flaws, can help shape your attitude. It can help you see what makes you special.

 

I make a freaking awesome macaron (with 1 “o”).

For me, baking and writing a food blog helped me deal with both being lonely and living away from my family as well as helped me cope with eating differently than others and gave me something to focus on other than the pain. Along the way, all those days baking with my mamma while growing up turned out to have left me with some killer kitchen skills. And an ability to make fabulous macarons. And cupcakes. And layer cakes.

I am a pretty bad ass web designer

In college, before I was a fashion school drop out, drawing helped me through the chronic migraines and the stress my body was under. Design helped me again after my major car accident in 2008 – I was recently unemployed and had started taking graphic design courses at the local community college. Design saved me a third time. Last summer when I was reeling from a breakup and dealing with a spinal cord stimulator that didn’t work, I started designing a poster series based on little post-it notes I would write myself. I found a dream job because I started focusing on what I was good at, rather than what I thought I should be doing.

Because I focused on what I could do, I was able to use my talents to change my life.

Share the positivity on Twitter, Instagram and Google+ with the hashtag #100positivedays. Also, you can sign up to be emailed a recap each week of the challenge.

This is Day 12 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.

“Family is not an important thing, it’s everything.”– Michael J. Fox

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This is Day 12 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.

Steve Jobs once said “There is no reason not to follow your heart.” My favorite Irish proverb says “Your feet will take you to wherever your heart is.“

Follow your heart, and your feet will take you there.

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This is Day 11 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.

The whole goal of this project is to pass it on. To pass on a sense of positivity. Through posts. Through real life action.

I am passing it on by sharing bits of my story every day. Because there were people there for me when things were their worst. And I intend to help others see that there might just be something on the other side.

So, maybe it is handing out hugs. Or just smiling instead of scowling in the morning. Or posting in a positive manner on social media, rather than ranting about every bad day. Bringing dinner to someone who is sick. Babysitting for a tired parent. Any way  you can make even a small positive impact on someone is a way to pay it forward.

Share the positivity on Twitter, Instagram and Google+ with the hashtag #100positivedays. Also, you can sign up to be emailed a recap each week of the challenge.