Better Than Shoes

A to do list on the fridge, a 2009 diary next to the bed, a few old agendas inside the drawers, a beautiful pet calendar behind the door, a personal memo on your laptop’s desktop, and post-it notes everywhere in your bathroom mirror. These are only a few of the methods women use to organize themselves. If only they worked…

Organizing your life is no easy task at hand. The more you have in life, the more difficult it gets. The better you become at being yourself, the more organizing methods you need. Sometimes it feels like being a woman is about having no control whatsoever! And to top it off, just as an extra bit of salt to our pain, there’s the famous PMS…

The only way we can succeed in having control of everything in life at the same time is by committing everything in God’s Hands. And though we may think we’ve done that at times, most of the times, we haven’t. We think we can do everything on our own and when we find out we can’t, we feel frustrated and with that same diminishing thought ‘I’m never the best I can be!’

The fact is, if we’re organized spiritually, we’re organized everywhere else in life. If we often pray, we often do well to others. If we always read the Bible, we always know what to do. If we keep our hearts clean on a daily basis, we also keep our relationships well on a daily basis.

If we can only realize that we cannot do it on our own, we’ll consequently depend on God and He will surely help us through. That’s when we have control. That’s when we know what to do first. That’s when we finish what we started.

Then our homes will be in order, our husbands happy, our children in peace, our work progressing, our talents invested on, our beauty on show, and our faith on high.

When we’re well spiritually, we’re well everywhere else in life. Think about that. You can invite PMS in but there won’t be a place for it to rest. You can still use to do lists here and there but you won’t depend on them. You’ll be in control, not only of your responsibilities, but most importantly, your emotions.

26. Learn how to be a multi-task woman. Women who can't do too many things at once are often the ones left behind carrying the bags. In this day and age, we need to be able to do a lot at once so we can get somewhere soon. Be there for your family and friends and at the same time, be busy. Take care of your house and at the same time, of yourself. Don't just do one or the other - it's just not pleasant at all.

27. Mind your own business. What the person did last weekend, where she went, where she's traveling to is really none of your business unless she gladly offers it to you... You may not think this is relevant for you but think about the times you've asked people where they bought something they were wearing... it's not pleasant nor discreet at all. If you like something you saw someone wear, look for it yourself and try to avoid buying the exact same thing, have some personality.

28. When answering the phone, make sure you do it in a soft pleasant voice. Don't ever go 'YES' or 'WHO IS THIS?' at first. Say 'Hello', let the person introduce herself and then make sure you go 'Hello, how are you?' or 'Good morning!'.

29. Don't avoid being home. Your home should never ever be avoided, no matter what you do in life. Learn how to love your home. Every woman needs to understand that she's also a homemaker. We can be a homemaker or a home-breaker. You can work the whole day and still take good care of your home. It's so pleasant to be with women who know how to cook, clean, and be a homemaker. They know how to decorate anywhere they go, they're always so clean and tidy, and often admired by other women.

30. Be happy for others' success. If you're truly not, pray that God changes your heart as this is one of the most basic Christian traits.

21. Have a sense of style. People who don't know how to dress their body type will often feel inferior to those who do and because of their inferiority, they won't feel so free to be who they are. Work on your own style, create an image for yourself. Are you fun? Wear colors. Are you cute, wear flowers. Are you creative? wear mixed things. Show your personality by the way you dress, that's a very pleasant sight to look at.

22. Never make yourself the center of attention, and that includes when you're on Facebook. Don't post a picture of yourself posing to the camera just to show everyone how beautiful you looked that day. If you're going to post a picture, post pictures with others and of others. You should enjoy celebrating others more than celebrating yourself.

23. If you say you'll do something, do it right away. If you borrow something from someone, return it as soon as possible. Don't owe anyone anything, that's one of the most unpleasant ways of dealing with others.

24. Think of others whenever you do anything. Put yourself in their shoes. If you're removing your car from the parking lot and there's someone waiting for you, don't take your time to put on the seatbelt, look yourself in the mirror, see where you left the cellphone, or call someone. It's never pleasant to leave others waiting on you and for you.

25. Don't be too quick to dismiss other people's opinions. If you don't like someone's opinion, you can say you'll need to think about it more, don't just say you don't like it and that's it. A pleasant person listens and thinks. Always remember that.

5 last tips tomorrow, enjoy!

16. Be careful when talking about yourself. People are easily annoyed whenever others keep on boasting about things they've done and achieved. If you're not giving advice on something you've done, ask yourself if it's really necessary to talk about your achievements.

17. It's good to be quiet, but not all the time. There are times when we need to pleasant in conversations. One of the most awkward conversations I've had were with people who wouldn't talk back, I felt like I was alone in that conversation and the thought of avoiding them in the future did cross my mind.

18. Don't be a tick. If you enjoy someone's presence, don't let your enjoyment turn into an obsession. Give the person some space, don't glue on her every move.

19. Be a giver. Giver of time and giver of gifts. If you want to be pleasant but you hardly give anything to anyone, you'll have a hard time ever being considered a pleasant person. Think about the people that you love and admire so much, why do you do so? Because they gave you something without asking anything in return. Do the same to others.

20. Don't talk about others and don't share things that are not relevant to everyone you know. A pleasant person speaks about relevant things.

11. Don't be too quick to defend yourself whenever someone is rebuking you. Listen, think about what that person is saying, try to make sense of it. More often than not, that person is right if you only understand where he or she is coming from. Sometimes we make mistakes without realizing and without meaning to - that doesn't mean they're not mistakes.

12. Be a pleasant hostess. Whenever you receive anyone in your house, make sure you offer that person something to drink, have some biscuits and snacks available, and invite the person to sit down. If she's staying over, have everything prepared for her before hand. Clean sheets and towels, some basic toiletries, and perhaps a box of chocolate with a bottle of water at her bedside table just to show her how much you enjoy having her around.

13. You don't have to always be in the mood, but make sure you always go out of your way to make others feel welcomed around you. It's not their fault that you're having PMS or that a friend of yours said some things she shouldn't have said.

14. Be clean. If you're looking clean but your desk is not, what's the use? Your house, your office, your room says a lot about you. So it's not enough to look beautiful, the place where you stay, live, study, and work must also look beautiful.

15. Don't be quick to ask advice. Sometimes all you need to do is pray and ask God for an answer. If you keep on asking everyone everything all the time, you're showing your lack of dependence on God. If however you pray and time is running out and you need an answer, then by all means, go to someone capable to help you.