Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Pinterest and Contentment

     We are enjoying a quite Spring break at home this week and I'm still trying to get my navigation bar to work. I'm not there yet. :(  In the mean time I thought I'd share something that's been on my mind lately.

     Recently I was asked the question, "how can you be content when you are seeing all this great stuff on pinterest?". The person I was talking to wasn't on pinterest and had made the decision that she couldn't be content and be on pinterest. This is a really great question and provoked a lot of thought on my part. 


     For me, being discontent wasn't even on my radar. Seriously! {Stick with me and I will explain!} Living a life of contentment is all about being thankful for what you do have and making the most of it. Period!

     That being said, I totally get how you could struggle with being discontent {and this is where I started}. Seeing all of those beautiful images can cause you to question if you are good enough, pretty enough, skilled enough....and on and on!

     If this is you, let me help to shift your perspective.

     For me, pinterest is now a tool in my toolbox. Pinterest allows you to collect images with links to recipes, rugs you are interested in purchasing at Lowes {or any other store}, inspiring quotes, how-to articles, directions on how to fix that toilet that's been bugging you, sewing projects you might like to attempt, wall colors to help you decide what to do in your bedroom, chore ideas for your kids, home organization ideas, weight loss tips and recipes, emergency preparedness, gardening tips, oh, and I could go on and on.

     The point is, use it as a tool, not just a boredom buster! {although its great for that too} :)

     If you get a little overwhelmed by all the great pictures and get sucked into those ugly feelings of discontentment, use that search box! Decide what you need to use pinterest for. If its to find a recipe for brownies, type 'brownie recipes' in the box and see what comes up. If you are looking for some organizing ideas for your kitchen look past that beautiful back splash and focus on what you are looking for. 



What I'm saying is if being on pinterest is making you feel discontent then in that moment you need to walk away!

Use it as the tool that it was intended for. Catalog your upcoming project ideas on your own boards and search only for what you need! 

I found that with all the great ideas and resources I am better able to use what I have and stretch things further. For example, all those great outfits help me to think about what similar pieces I might have that I never thought about putting together. And using up that gray paint was a whole lot easier when I could visualize it in a space. Not to mention the great changes we've made to our monthly menu!

I hope this helps! Living a life of contentment is a conscious choice that we have to make moment by moment, and its not easy! 


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