Have you ever passed the salt and pepper?

Have you ever?
Have you ever?

Boo!

Yes, I’m still here. The Emerson-inspired navel-gazing was too much for me to handle. Very repetitive and really not as inspiring as I’d hoped. The good news is that I’m on to new and more fulfilling challenges. Namely, I’ve given up Diet Coke for 30 days (and likely for good). This study was the one that pushed me over the edge. Now that I’m looking, there are many more horrid studies out there about how harmful aspartame and diet soft drinks are than I expected. Pretty tragic really. Only one headache so far. To help with my breakup, I’ve asked friends and family on Facebook to come along for the ride. There are nine members of our group (a few are former soft drink addicts there to offer support). So far I think we’re still all on the wagon.

Oh Happy Day Goes to Paris

Oh Happy Day Goes to Paris and I soooo want to go with her. How cool would it be to win a weeklong trip for two to Paris?!

Plan a Mental Health Weekend – 5 Steps to De-stress Your Life | PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement

Hm… A nice complement to my latest “solution”.

Plan a Mental Health Weekend – 5 Steps to De-stress Your Life |PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement.

Ralph Waldo Emerson – Day 1

I have pledged to complete the Ralph Waldo Emerson 30-Day Self-Reliance Writing Challenge. The prompt and my entry for Day 10:

These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world. Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Is fear holding you back from living your fullest life and being truly self expressed? Put yourself in the shoes of the you who’s already lived your dream and write out the answers to the following:
Is the insecurity you’re defending worth the dream you’ll never realize? or the love you’ll never venture? or the joy you’ll never feel?
Will the blunder matter in 10 years? Or 10 weeks? Or 10 days? Or 10 minutes?
Can you be happy being anything less than who you really are?
Now Do. The Thing. You Fear. (Author: Lachlan Cotter)

Someone once told me that he thinks I fear getting a new job. I think that I’ve gotten over that fear and am ready for change. Well, more than ready actually. I just need to continue to push push push myself to find one that’s right.

Day 11: 
I will not hide my tastes or aversions. I will so trust that what is deep is holy, if we follow the truth, it will bring us out safe at last. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Think of a time when you didn’t think you were capable of doing something, but then surprised yourself.  How will you surprise yourself this week? (Author: Ashley Ambirge)

This week I will surprise myself by not over-committing to events. There is so much to do and I would love to experience so much of it. Unfortunately, when I over-commit myself I’m not able to really enjoy being where I am. I have to keep an eye on the clock to be sure that I’m giving myself enough time to get to the next event. And go go go go go… So, yes. This week I will practice saying, “No, thank you. I have plans.”

Playing catch up

Catching up a bit. I was very frustrated with this project when the “what should the real you be doing right now?” theme ran for a few days. It didn’t help that it was happening during my org’s annual staff teambuilding and  planning meetings. (This is the time of year that I especially resent being in this position at this org and am really ready for change.) So, to catch up:

Day 6
Life wastes itself while we are preparing to live. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
If you had one week left to live, would you still be doing what you’re doing now? In what areas of your life are you preparing to live? Take them off your To Do list and add them to a To Stop list. Resolve to only do what makes you come alive.
Bonus: How can your goals improve the present and not keep you in a perpetual “always something better” spiral?  (Author: Jonathan Mead)
- I must continue to look for the positive in every day. I must keep my chin up and my mouth closed when I cannot change the situation. I must also remember that I can change the situation or remove myself from it in most cases.

Day 7
Our arts, our occupations, our marriages, our religion, we have not chosen, but society has chosen for us. We are parlour soldiers. We shun the rugged battle of fate, where strength is born. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Next to Resistance, rational thought is the artist or entrepreneurs worst enemy. Bad things happen when we employ rational thought, because rational thought comes from the ego. Instead, we want to work from the Self, that is, from instinct and intuition, from the unconscious.
A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. Its only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.” - Steven Pressfield, Do the Work
The idea of “being realistic” holds all of us back. From starting a business or quitting a job to dating someone who may not be our type or moving to a new place – getting “real” often means putting your dreams on hold.
Today, let’s take a step away from rational thought and dare to be bold. What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to accomplish but have been afraid to pursue? Write it down. Also write down the obstacles in your way of reaching your goal. Finally, write down a tangible plan to overcome each obstacle.
The only thing left is to, you know, actually go make it happen. What are you waiting for? (Author: Matt Cheuvront)

- Again, not the best question in the midst of our annual planning meeting. Especially when I’m the de facto second in command. The goal is to find a new gig. I need to network, apply, network and network. Perhaps I will post my resume to several friends and share my qualifications. I must know people who know people, right?

Day 8
There will be an agreement in whatever variety of actions, so they be each honest and natural in their hour. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
What would you say to the person you were five years ago? What will you say to the person you’ll be in five years? (Author: Corbett Barr)
- To my five years ago self: Do it! Tuition will be much less expensive when you’re ready to go back for your degree. (I don’t regret this decision and very rarely consider “what would have been”, though when faced with this question, I immediately go to April.
- To my five years in the future self: Remember that quote you read a few years ago? “You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things: the books you read and the people you meet.” – Charlie “Tremendous” Jones
What have you read and who have you met since 2011?

Day 9
To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
What is burning deep inside of you? If you could spread your personal message RIGHT NOW to 1 million people, what would you say? (Author: Eric Handler)
- Hire me! Okay, maybe not. But I’d be tempted. I think I’d likely say something along the lines of “Be what you’re like. Be like yourself. There are too many people trying too hard to fit in. It takes all kinds and our differences are what makes this world of ours an interesting place to live.” Something like that, but a little more eloquent.

 

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson – Day 5

I have pledged to complete the Ralph Waldo Emerson 30-Day Self-Reliance Writing Challenge. The prompt and my entry for Day 5:

If we live truly, we shall see truly. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Not everyone wants to travel the world, but most people can identify at least one place in the world they’d like to visit before they die. Where is that place for you, and what will you do to make sure you get there?
(Author: Chris Guillebeau)

My place is Stonehenge (on my Summer Solstice birthday). I will continue to receive emails from the English Heritage Foundation and I will continue to drool. Perhaps this would be a good 40th birthday gift-to-self. A lot can change between now and then, but I will keep this in mind as I move forward and as I continue to receive those emails.