Tag: shelBEinspired

Happy Go Listy

“Happiness is in your nature; It is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside.” 

I mentioned in my last blog that for me happiness started with a pen and a piece of paper.. well its been a while since I’ve made my h a p p y list, so I thought while encouraging you all to make your yours,  I’d refresh mine. 

*sunshine, soft sheets, hugs, TRAVELing, grocery shopping with Sean, meaningful conversation, a good book, a cold Dos XX with the family, puppy licks, moonlight, baby giggles, listening to music, taking creative photos, concerts, hugs (did I already say that), giving gifts, fireworks. 


As you may have noticed, I’m a fan of lists. I think they are beneficial for so many reasons but mostly because they help hold me accountable, and the obvious – they’re a great reminder.  Alright, so how will creating a list of the things that make you happy change your mind-set and result in a happier, healthier you? 

There are 3 qualities that I believe make someone wildly successful 

  1. HARD work 
  2. No excuses 
  3. Accomplishing the “to do’s” 

Number 3 represents everything from making your kids lunch to turning in those data reports you’re probably a day late on. Number 3 is also what makes us feel like there are never enough hours in the day. The to-do’s begin to pile up and without a reminder they’d probably swallow you whole. The days get long and busy and its hard to keep track, so naturally – you jot them down on a sticky note, in your phone, or make a calendar reminder. If you are one that manages life without reminders, you’re what I call a unicorn alien. Imagine how many accomplishments you would have in a week without a single reminder – mine would be a hard Z E R O.
^^ Same can be said for all of the things that make you happy. It is easy to put the mental happiness list in the back of your mind and let it fall into the 12-foot black hole of priorities. Remember, you are your longest commitment and your biggest investment, so putting happy in front of the priority line is necessary. 

C H A L L E N G E
Create a list of things that make you happy, small or big doesn’t matter. Some may include other people or maybe something you have only done once, but what you’ll notice is every single day there is opportunity to create happiness for yourself.  Keep it somewhere you can see it at least once a day, and you’ll find yourself making more room for what makes your soul shine!

Write down your list, work hard, and hold yourself accountable. One day you’ll notice yourself smiling at that list for no apparent reason [a k a, success]. And on the hard days when happy seems out of reach, check your list – it’s full of self-help and free therapy. 

Keep it private, share it {happy list} in the comments or send it under the “Talk to Me” tab. Hearing what makes you happy, makes me happy 🙂

&& don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE!

First Slice

“Being happy is a very personal thing, it really has nothing to do with anyone else.” 

– My Why, First blog post 

I am going to start off with a little [forewarning] – if honesty isn’t really your thing, I’m probably not your gal and this is probably not the blog for you. Now that I have that out of the way, lets talk inspiration. 

Do you ever look in the mirror and ask yourself why me? Or sit at your desk scrolling through social media feeling like you’re in the middle of WWIII, meanwhile the rest of the world is passing you by? Don’t worry, we’ve all been there.

If only Adam and Eve would have stuck to the dang deal, everything would be a lot different, but unfortunately here we are. We need to first realize that only about 20% of life is out of your control. There is nothing and no one, not even you, that can shield life’s natural ability to screw you over and wear you down.  So how do we find happiness in a world where money is “everything”, cancer is constantly taking lives of the ones we love, the divorce rate is 50%, and judgement is passed at even the smallest glance?

Lets face it, life is so hard, and I am not here to tell you it is not. Being happy doesn’t come over night, it takes dedication, hard work and a little risk. 

Not that long ago I basically had an A+ in self-pity parties. I was constantly making excuses as to why I was always 5 steps behind the golden life I wanted. In January 2016 I decided to drop the excuses and go after happiness (whatever that was). Defining happiness for me started with a piece of paper and a pen on the most cliché day of the year [drum roll..] NEW YEARS. As corny as that sounds, it actually worked for me because I came to the conclusion that I really had nothing to lose, except everything I had ever worked for. There will be many “get to knows”, but one of the first is that I am a control freak. I have always had my life completely figured out and anything interrupting that plan was just not acceptable. This is one of the first realizations that I had that January. To be happy I had to let go of feeling the need to control every aspect of my life because quite frankly “having it figured out” does not add up to being happy. So on this day, I made my list – not a list of do’s and don’ts but a list of things that make me happy. This is another thing I learned that day, happiness is a feeling, which can relate to both tangible [coffee, puppies, books]  and non-tangible [rain, music, travel] things. When I say tangible I don’t mean a shopping spree to Nordstrom on a maxed out credit card. Now don’t get me wrong, when “20% off your entire purchase” at ULTA pops into my inbox, that still falls into my definition of happiness. However, we are talking something a little deeper than that – We are talking about fulfillment, not just something temporary. Temporary happiness is such an easy thing to achieve because it’s normally just around the corner to your house or on the other side of a text message, but that will last you an all of 5 minutes. Being happy starts and ends with Y O U and your mindset. So much of life is within your control, it’s just finding the willpower to take the reins. 

I created ShelBEinspired in hopes of helping people find the right mind-set and  e n c o u r a g e them to take the r i s k, put the reins in hand and take that leap of f a i t h to find happiness. I will write about my personal journey, best tips, relationships, travel, life, courage and self-love. I have somehow managed to create a life filled with happiness and if there is the slightest chance I can help even one person do the same, I’d say that’s a win. This world is temporary, but while we are here, might as well get your mind right and live it your best. 

Please feel free to let me know any suggestions on topics you would like me to write about (under contact me^^) and subscribe to my page to get my latest posts. I also believe that you only regret the pictures you didn’t take, so find me on instagram @shelbygehrels.