Month: April 2020

(2-minute read time)

Weekends have felt more restful lately.  The slower pace has helped me to feel more ready to take on the week when Monday rolls around.     

And yet this sense of enthusiasm often fades, too quickly.  By mid-week, things can start to feel stale and unexciting.  

Sometimes the fade happens when I am reminded of what’s “wrong” with life in a COVID-19 world.  A graduation parade instead of a graduation party.  A birthday video instead of a birthday hug.  Not being able to visit an ill friend in the hospital.  Not getting to go inside the emergency clinic with my sick pet. Not being able to have a celebration of life for a loved one that passed.              

Can you relate?        

It’s easy to explain away demotivation with this virus around. We blame the virus for making us this way. We think when it’s over things will be better and we will feel more motivated.  

But let me ask you this…  Was your motivation level exactly where you’d like it to be before all this?  

If we’re honest, most of us would probably say “no”.

The truth is, our thoughts are always at the root of our feelings.  If you weren’t thinking motivation producing thoughts before, you’re probably not now either.  

Here’s a quick hack to get you moving.

1. Motivation is a bonus, not a requirement – you can still do whatever it is even without feeling like you really want to.  Acknowledge this fact.     
2. Dread is optional – if you are dreading a task, it’s because you’re thinking it will be hard, boring, or otherwise unenjoyable.  Joyce Meyer calls this “planning to not enjoy something”.  Change the narrative in your mind to something that serves you.  
3. Commit to get to Minute 6 – Pick a day and time for the task.  Then, when the time comes, all you have to do is just do it for the first full 5 minutes.  That’s just 300 seconds.  If, by the time you get to the 301st second, you want to stop, go ahead.  

But, by the time Minute 6 arrives, you’ll likely find you don’t want to.  This little hack has gotten me to tackle work projects, clean the house, exercise, and organize spaces that have needed to be decluttered for far too long.  

A 301-second investment for a sense of completion, productivity, and honoring myself?  I’ll take it.  Will you?

What will you accomplish by managing your own motivation levels?  I’m willing to bet you can blow your own mind with what you’re capable of.   

If you can use a hand, I can definitely help, let’s chat. 

(<2 ½ minute read time)

Wowzas there are a wide variety of opinions out there these days right?

Today, we are going to talk about how to deal with those opinions that are so vastly different from your own.   I’m also going to share some of my own thought work that recently helped me feel tremendously better about those who have triggered me.

If you’ve got someone in your life – a relative, a colleague, a friend who’s thinking about the virus situation (or anything) in a very different way than you, well, you’ve come to the right place.  

There’s Three Truths to feeling better about that trigger person.  

When I acknowledge these Three Truths, I gain the power to change things even if the other person never changes at all.  

I do not have to get them to “be reasonable” and see it my way.  

I do not have to conform to a perspective I wholeheartedly disagree with.  

And, I can still maintain a productive relationship with that person while we each have contradicting views.  Sound dreamy? Read on… 

But first, a short note… If you have some fundamental concerns about any of The Three Truths, click on the hyperlinks to explore each at a deeper level.      

Step 1) Other people don’t make me feel anything 

Step 2) I have complete authority of my thoughts and feelings at all times

Step 3) I can allow other people to choose to think and feel whatever way they want to – and their choice does not have to negatively affect me (see Step 1)  

Recently, I’d been thinking about those in my personal life who are angry, irritable and complaining about the way life is right now.  I was feeling super frustrated by this kind of response to the virus implications. I thought “They just want to be angry & resentful”.  Which, even if true, only perpetuated my frustration… And, it ultimately led me to complaining about the complainers!      

As I applied the three truths I was reminded that we are all “human-ing” right now.  Their response to this is as human as mine. Neither of us is doing things perfectly.  From there I chose to ask myself a great question and now I’m using it every single time I feel “triggered”…  “What can I give to this situation other than my staunch opinion?”

Ultimately, it’s about being able to make decisions we feel good about without creating unnecessary angst when others make a different decision.  It’s allowing them to be who they are, which people are going to do anyway – with or without our permission.

Perhaps you are in a similar situation?  Maybe you’re even spending a LOT more time with a person who sees things very differently.  I can definitely help, let’s chat.

(<2-minute read time)

About 12 years ago I took my first stab at making a gratitude list.  I sat at a coffee shop, pondering, for what seemed like a LONG time. I wrote down as much as I could think of.  I don’t recall exactly how many I came up with, but it was definitely less than 10.      

With the current situation in our world maybe gratitude is not exactly the predominant emotion you’re feeling.  Maybe you feel like I did at the coffee shop where I just could not think of much to be grateful for.  

Since then, things have changed significantly.  Gratitude is much easier to come by. I have been flexing that muscle for some time now and not surprisingly, it has gotten stronger.

Today, I’m feeling extra grateful.  Today marks my 100th blog post! For the last year and half, I have delivered you short 2- 3 minute blog posts with practical solutions.  In honor of this milestone, I sat down to write a list of 100 things I am grateful for.  

Here’s the catch though, I only allowed myself to consider the last 30 days.  Thirty days ago is really when life started changing for me with coronavirus implications.    

I gotta admit, I was a little nervous at first… Could I come up with ONE HUNDRED things??  All within the last 30 days? Turns out it was not as hard as I thought… I decided to share this list with you to inspire you in case you aren’t feeling grateful and you’d like to (‘cause it does feel pretty awesome, I gotta say).  

Enjoy! And, thank you for being a part of this 100 blog journey, I’m grateful for YOU.  I even put you on the list 🙂   

If you could use a hand feeling more grateful or you just want to feel differently than you do right now, let’s chat. 

A hot cup of tea at night

An unclogged toilet!

Apologizing & being ok with myself even though I was wrong

Audible

Barefoot dreams socks

Being pen pals with nieces, nephews & cousins

Being present in the moment

Being proactive

Birds in the yard

Blistex (it’s been super dry y’all!)

Blow up pool

BOGO’s @ Publix

Books & literacy

Chaise lounge chairs

Church bells

Clean drinking water

Coffee & Quiet time in the morning

Comfy Leggings (seriously been wearing them just about every day!)

Corny jokes

Cozy couch

Ctrl + Z (and other live saving keyboard shortcuts)

Electricity – hot water & cool air – AMEN!

Experiencing peace when peace is uncommon

Faith

Family

Finding bleach

Finding the lost dog brush

Flexible schedule

Free shipping

Free time

Fresh sheets on the bed

Friends

Funny memes

Gentle breeze

Good news for those going through tough times

GPS

Grocery delivery

Hand sanitizer

Having purchased the protection plan for my phone

Health

Home

Home cooked meals

Homework for Life

Honoring my calendar

Internet access

Kindness of strangers

Laughter

Light traffic

Local businesses donating to those in need (way to go Urban Brew & BBQ and Beans & Barlour)

Long, hot showers

Me. For taking the time to make this list.

Memories

Motivation

Music

My car (and a shout out to Geico for dropping the rates!)

My career

My education & experiences

My teachers & coaches

My veterinarian

My work & being able to do some of it from home

Nailed It! Coronavirus cake challenge – so fun.

Neighbors

Netflix binge

Old pictures

Patience

Pest Control (NBK – you guys are so awesome, thank you!!)

Pets

Photo walks

Planning a vacation

Podcasts

Porch swing

Pretty smelling candles

Reconnecting with those I haven’t been in touch with

Red wine & dark chocolate

Seeing possibility in a challenging situation

Sewing machine & the ability to sew

Short meditations

Sleeping in/A good night’s sleep

Spring breeze

Starry nights

Sunsets

Sunshine!

The benefits of investing in my mental health

The commitment to get to Minute 6 when I am not feeling motivated

The funny things kids say

The Model

The portrait option on my cell phone camera

The smell of freshly cleaned laundry

Those working on the front lines

Thought Downloads

Toilet paper (honorable mention goes to paper towels)

Virtual Happy Hour with friends

Virtual Networking groups & learning opportunities

Vitamins

Volunteering

Washi tape

Weekends

Windchimes

Yoga by Adrienne You Tube channel

You, my readers and clients and friends!

(<2-minute read time)

“I can’t wait until this is over” 

“Once this ends, I’ll be happy”   

“I’ll be glad when things get back to normal”

How often have you heard or said these kinds of statements lately?  

I get it.  I know things are different.  And, in many ways, harder.

In addition to the many adjustments we’ve had to make, lots of things have been cancelled or postponed.  

And, at the same time, there’s a lot that has not been cancelled or postponed.  

This moment, the one where you are reading this, has not been cancelled.

Good for you for taking some time to fill your mind with something other than scary headlines and the subsequent fear and worry.  

Yes, read the news.  Yes, stay informed.   

And, balance it out with embracing the moments we have.  Even though life isn’t what we expected it to be like right now, each moment we have is still ours to fill as we choose.  

Please don’t wish them away.  You can’t get them back…    

When you look back on this time, what do you want to say about it?  

For me, I want to say I made the absolute most of it.  I want to say I turned up the amount of gratitude, generosity, kindness, hope, encouragement, and love – at a time when people need it the most.  

Coincidentally, I have found that the more I focus on being IN the moment I actually have, the faster the next one comes.  So, if you really want to get through this “more quickly” then dive in and embrace what you can.  

Laugh, listen to music, read a book, enjoy a walk, look for ways to help, video chat (some more) with friends and family.  And when you do talk to those loved ones, maybe encourage them to not wish their moments away either.   

Life has not been cancelled, it’s just different.  

What will you do differently?  I can help. Just click here.