Posts by Pat:
That list thing…
Rather than stressing over our 2024 “To-Do” lists, let’s use this time of the year to create our “Ta-Da” list! (It’s much more fun)
When it seems like we are too busy, on overload, scattered and ineffective, we can take this opportunity to change our feelings by changing our perspective.
We can look back at our week. When we are braver we can look at this past month, and (gasp!) even the whole year and make a list of what we really did.
Okay, maybe it was just baby steps towards our big goal, but instead of feeling like we were just treading water we can feel like we were making progress. We were kicking the ball further down the road.
Alright, maybe I didn’t get all the closets cleaned out, but I
- got the big one started,
- found a top I love that had gone missing, and
- started a bag of things to take to the thrift store.
Ta-Da!
Acknowledging the steps we’ve taken feels good and feeling good about our list and life is an awesome goal!
What if one of your last year’s projects was to “get in shape” and you aren’t there? Well, what did you do? Did you…
- start parking your car further and further away from the store and thus got more walking in?
- share that gift box of chocolates with the folks at work instead of eating it all by yourself?
- try a new salad at the restaurant instead of just ordering your usual cheeseburger?
Give yourself credit and pat yourself on the back! You took some steps in the direction you want to go. Celebration is positive reinforcement and we need all we can get.
Our daily life can throw us some curves and it doesn’t always (sometimes/ever?) go as planned. But…it is wonderful to wake up each morning, to be alive and see all the possibilities in our new day!
Have you ever done a “Ta-Da” list?
How did it make YOU feel?
Let’s lighten up in 2024!
Let’s enjoy the combination of common sense and the sense of humor from the pictures below! We know that a good laugh, a wry smile, a knowing eye-rolling, an exasperating head shake are all signs of a light heart. (something we can all use as we start 2024!) I have found the following thoughts both […]
Christmas and books!
I think Iceland is on to something with their Christmas Book Flood idea. A 2013 study showed that 50% of Icelandics read more than 8 books in a year and 93% read at least one in a year. And…when you add chocolate to the mix like they do, well, count me in! Growing up in […]
The darkness goes, even if slowly
We celebrate this coming Thursday as Winter Solstice, the turning point in our calendar as the daylight begins to increase each day. December 21 has the shortest period of daylight and also the longest night of the year. Yes, the light begins, ever so slowly, to return. The light and the dark move to equalize, […]
“Why” is the wrong question!
Our brain loves to solve problems. It functions beautifully to figure out how to make a pumpkin pie, sail across oceans, or build a house. It’s a wonderful tool for creativity. But if we are trying to understand ourselves, to find a way out of suffering, it can derail us because our minds get caught […]
a family story plus!
The holiday season often brings family back together…and here’s a familiar story about family, told in a way that only an ex-English teacher would tell it! Can you wrap your head/tongue around this tongue twister version? See if you can read/say it without stumbling! Feeling footloose and frisky, a featherbrained fellow forced his fond father […]
A head start on 2024?
December is a somewhat crazy month…a month of highs and lows, stress and relaxation, endings and beginnings. But…we could also use it to get a headstart on 2024! Here’s an idea that we can wrap up as a gift certificate to give ourselves as an early Christmas present… “You have hereby received from yourself, the […]
Skewed Gratitude again..!
(I am revisiting this topic from a 2019 post ’cause it just makes sense to me!) I’m feeling grateful for stuff that never happened! I spilled the hot chocolate all over the counter. At least it didn’t go into the silverware drawer. And there was the leaking roof in that August. At least it was […]
That half glass…
Remember that “half full, half empty glass” question? And did you ever realize how many different perspectives you could have on it? I guess it all depends on which half we are focused on, which half we are giving our attention to, which half we have chosen to measure! I really like this idea about […]
Change the clocks…again?
Well, did you “fall back” today? After all, it’s the end of Daylight Savings Time for this year. I love this image as it questions our “logical” minds! (How long is your blanket?) Did we really gain an hour of daylight this year? Is it just a metal illusion, a trick we play on ourselves? […]