Today I’m sharing my interview for the Sunshine Blogger Award, along with my favorite tips on how to make positivity your superpower.
How to Make Positivity Your Superpower (Plus, Sunshine Blogger Award!)
I’m switching things up a bit today, and I’m SO excited about it. I’m sharing my favorite ways to shape a positive outlook. It’s the most powerful tool at your disposal, but it also needs a little maintenance every now and then.
It seems like everyone has a reason that you can’t do something. They collect all those reasons like pebbles and carry them around in their pockets. When you say you want to achieve something, someone will toss a can’t pebble straight at your head.
That type of negativity can make you think things like, “What’s the point?” and “I guess I should just give up.”
That’s why a positive attitude is the most powerful tool at your disposal. It helps you block out all the can’t in the world so you can focus on achieving your goals.
Today, I’m sharing 5 big tips for how to make positivity your superpower (at the end of this post). But first, I have some very exciting news…
Sunshine Blogger Award
I was recently nominated by Leah of My Cup of Cocoa for the Sunshine Blogger Award! The Sunshine blogger award is given to blogs that are inspiring, positive, and creative. You can read her post nominating me here. This was an especially big honor coming from Leah, whose blog is full of uplifting content on mindfulness, journaling, and living a better life. I especially loved her discussion of why mindfulness doesn’t have to be time consuming or expensive.
Here’s How the Award Works:
- Thank the blogger that nominated them and add a link back to their blog.
- Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated them.
- Nominate some new blogs and give them 11 new questions to answer.
- Notify your nominees and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post.
When I set out to create Page Flutter, I wasn’t sure what it would turn into. I did, however, know I wanted people to feel welcome, happy, and inspired when they visited my website.
Receiving this award is a great honor, not only because a fellow blogger sees value in my work, but it also means I’m achieving what I intended. I’m grateful and flattered that Leah thought to nominate me. I also can’t overstate how much my readers (Hey, that’s you!) influence what happens here on Page Flutter. You make this crazy blogging world go round.
Leah put together some interview questions for me. Since I don’t often talk at length about myself on Page Flutter, this should give you some cool insights into my life.
Why did you start a blog and what has been your best and worst experience with blogging?
I think it all started with my writing group. I had just finished my master’s in creative writing, and I was workshopping with an incredibly talented group of women. We got talking about the state of publishing today and how unknown authors need a platforms. Of course, we landed on blogs. Within the same week, another friend of mine encouraged me to start a blog. I thought, “Sure, I’ll start a little book blog or something.” I discovered quickly that book blogging wasn’t for me, but the name Page Flutter stuck. Now, my blog is much more than a means to an end. It’s a real business.
I’ve been very fortunate with my blogging experience. I rarely get negative comments, and I think it’s because of the type of people who are attracted to my niche. They’re a positive bunch! Any negatives I could bring up probably boil down to technical issues. The war of Megan vs. The Machines is ongoing.
If you had three wishes, what would they be and why? (no wishes for more wishes!)
Oh, man, straight for the tough questions! Let’s see…I love to travel, so I wouldn’t mind a device that would instantly drop me into the location of my choosing. Maybe Amazon is developing one.
My second wish would be for a personal chef. I’m a decent cook, but there are so many things I would rather do with my time.
For my third wish…I would have to wish for a more peaceful and sustainable world. I know that might sound like a canned “world peace” answer, but there are so many areas of our world today that need fixing. If I had to power to fix it all in one wish, how could I pass that up?
What inspires you?
It depends what I’m working on. I often look to the world around me. I find people especially interesting, and I like to imagine their back stories, their likes, favorite colors, vacation spots, and so on.. The weather also fascinates me. I think back to events in history where the weather could have changed everything, and I can’t help diving into a few “what if…” scenarios.
For the blog, I usually find digging into a project will help me find inspiration. Once I get started, one idea leads to the next. Obviously, I keep a journal. When I encounter something fun and interesting I want to work into a blog post, I jot it down. That usually leads to 10 more ideas!
Do you have any pets? Tell us about them.
I do have pets! I don’t often get a chance to talk about them on the blog, but they’re a big part of my family’s life. Lola is a brindle boxer. My husband and I adopted her as a puppy shortly after we were married. She’s very affectionate, patient, and gentle. She’s getting old now, but she still likes to jump in piles of leaves, play soccer, and chase a laser pointer.
Tasha is a calico cat, and LET. ME. TELL. YOU. She is the boss in our house. She begs for food all day, loves to hear me sing (she comes running whenever it’s time to sing the kids to bed), and absolutely adores Lola. Tasha was my cat before Mr. Page Flutter and I got married. So, first I bring a man into her house, then this dog… In retrospect, I’m surprised at how nicely Tasha accepted Lola into the family.
What is your favorite comfort food and why?
Even though I almost never eat it, I’d have to say raclette. It’s not very common in the U.S., but raclette is a salty cheese that you melt and pour over potatoes. It’s also served with quail eggs, sausage, deli cuts, and pickles.
It used to be our Christmas Eve meal when I was a kid. My mom had to run to imported food stores all over town to find the ingredients. It was chaos, but also really special. We shared great family memories over those meals.
What are three things you can’t live without?
Besides the obvious food, water, and shelter, I don’t really need much. The older I get, the less I want extra things in my life. My big 3 are:
- My family, of course. My husband is the best friend I’ve ever had, and he gives me a lot of strength. My kids are hilarious and keep me from taking life too seriously.
- Coffee. I can barely function with out it! Some mornings I’m practically indignant that the coffee pot didn’t make the coffee by itself. I mean, how long have you lived here? Come on, Coffee Pot, you know I want my coffee FIRST. THING.
- Something to write with. Even if I don’t have my notebook (for whatever reason), at least I could write things down on my hand.
Do you believe in miracles? Why or why not?
I do believe in miracles. I’m not sure if they’re always wearing a miracle sandwich board, though. Everyday miracles might not be big and flashy and worthy of stone tablets, but they’re still remarkable. Watch a baby’s eyes when he sees rain for the first time, then try to convince me it’s not miraculous.
That being said, some people do experience BIG miracles. Sometimes we have experiences that are unexplainable, and I think we should value the mysteries within those, even while we continue to search for answers. We’re a curious species, so we’ll always search for explanations. Not everyone will come to the same conclusions. I hope we find the answers we’re looking for, but I also hope we find more questions. And more miracles.
If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?
I move around every couple of years. I’ve learned the location doesn’t matter as much as the people you’re with. That being said, Poland is the furthest east I’ve ever traveled, so I’d love to spend some time exploring the many different cultures in Asia. It’s a big world, and I want to see as much as I can.
Describe the perfect day.
Ha ha! Honestly? I run a business from home and have two active boys. I dream of a day I can sleep past 6 a.m. and spend more than 10 minutes in a room by myself. But since we’re going for a perfect day: a brisk morning run (preferably in the fall), a cup of coffee and breakfast on the porch, spend the day realxing with a good book, have a nice dinner out with my husband, and tuck my kids into bed. That sounds like an awesome day to me.
What are your creative outlets?
I love to draw, write, take photos, and paint (although I’m not very good at it). Journaling has allowed me to dabble in hand lettering, scrap-journaling, and watercolors. I also like to crochet and knit in the winter. It’s something to keep my hands busy. I love to color, and I’m definitely not too cool to lay down some Crayola in my kids’ coloring books.
What advice would you give to a new blogger?
I tend to think there are too many blogging “experts” out there telling people there’s a right way to do things. Take all their advice with a grain of salt, and remember THEIR journey is not YOUR journey. Also, pick a niche you love. Blogging is a long game, so it’s important to have a topic you can stick with.
Lastly, be consistent. Show up. Do the work. It’s easy to envy another blogger’s growth, but you don’t necessarily see the late nights and weekends they’re putting in. Don’t compare yourself to the big dogs, but also realize that people who do the work (and do it consistently) will get results.
I hope you guys enjoyed my Sunshine Blogger Award interview!
In choosing my nominees for the Sunshine Blogger Award, I picked blogs that are very different from one another. It just goes to show how 3 people can be positive, uplifting, and creative while still being true to themselves.
Here are my nominees:
- Emily from Two Purple Couches
- Alicia from Sew What Alicia
- Shelby from Little Coffee Fox
My Questions for them are:
- How did you get into blogging?
- What are your biggest joys/challenges with blogging?
- If you could wake up tomorrow with 3 new skills, what would they be?
- Who do you turn to for advice, inspiration, or consolation?
- Describe a lesson your learned the hard way. If you had to do it over again, would you still take the hard way?
- Name a fictional character you would like to have dinner with. Why?
- Describe your dream vacation.
- Tell us something not many people know about you.
- What is your favorite family tradition?
- If Hollywood made a move about your life, what would the title be? Why?
- What advice would you offer to new bloggers?
Make sure you check out these inspiring ladies and watch their blogs for their interviews. In the meantime, here are some ways to bring more positivity to your life.
How to Make Positivity Your Superpower
1. Practice Gratitude
Keep a journal, jar, or list full of things you’re grateful for. Don’t be shy, here. You can be grateful for any little thing in your life, from your home to your socks and the dew on the grass. It might feel a little silly at first, but over time your can reshape the way you think about the world.
2. Avoid Toxic People
Remember those people who like to throw can’t pebbles? Yeah, you don’t need that. The easiest way to remove negativity from your life is to minimize the amount of time you spend with people who are routing for you to be miserable. Examine how you feel about yourself after spending time with people, and gravitate toward those who leave you full of confidence.
3. Collect Happy Quotes
Affirmations and quotes are a great way to add positivity to your thinking (and they’re free!). You don’t have to memorize them. Use dry erase markers to put them on your bathroom mirror. You can also work quotes into a sketch or painting. Practice hand-lettering with fun quotes and hang them in your house. When every corner of your life is shouting “Life is good!” you’ll start to believe it, too. To get you started, check out 25 (+1) Inspiring Quotes for Your Bullet Journal.
4. Observe Everyday Miracles
We live in a busy world that tends to be loud, fast, and flashy. In the midst of all that noise, it can be easy to overlook the quiet things that make life so amazing. Embrace the little gifts life gives you each day: a ray of sun breaking through a cloud, the perfect breeze in the trees, or the kindness of a stranger. Try to make note of the details.
5. Keep a Journal
This one goes without saying. You know how I feel about journaling! This is also great for keeping your affirmations and quotes handy. You probably won’t be able to come up with a positive thought when you’re feeling blue. Keep the list in your journal, and you’ll always have cheerful words when you need them.
6. Remember How Far You’ve Come
When you feel like giving up, try to remember where you started. You’ve learned things along the way, and each failure brings you one step closer to reaching your goals. No matter what your goal is, keep a running list of things you’ve accomplished (no matter how small). It will remind you that you CAN do hard things.
Your turn to share! Tell me all about your favorite ways to add positivity to your life. How do you confront negativity? Comment below.
Brainstorm with me!
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I love raclette too! My kids always ask for it. Love your advice to bloggers and your positive outlook. Thanks for participating.
No, thank you! It was such a joy to be a part of this. 🙂