Permission

Tags

acceptance, decisions, growth, justification, permission, self-awareness

Permission is a funny thing. We often think it’s something others give or that we seek. Reflecting on the last few years, some of my most profound moments of growth came when I gave myself permission.

• Permission not to take on extra responsibility, problems or concerns that weren’t mine.
• Permission to embrace my personality, strengths and weaknesses.
• Permission to fail while pursuing better.
• Permission to be real.
• Permission to say “no” when hanging out wasn’t going to be fun for me.
• Permission to read, play the piano and sing.
• Permission to dance without abandon in my kitchen by myself or at a wedding.
• Permission to invest financially in important things.
• Permission to have adventures that didn’t have a known ending.

Permission isn’t the same as justification. Know yourself well enough to know when you’re pulling the wrong card out.

Soundtrack for your life?

Tags

ethic, personality, song, soundtrack, understanding, work

Have you ever listened to a song and thought it was a perfect soundtrack to your personality? Your life? Your work ethic?

If you haven’t done so yet, discover this song and share it. Amazing clarity comes to others through hearing your personality from a piece of music.

A little more often

Tags

brave, coward, dissatisfied, honesty, integrity, job, obligations, subscribe

Have you ever been in the midst of something you’re excellent at and thought, “why am I doing this? I don’t even like it.”

If this thought occurred at our job, it’s downright scary and gallons of fuel for a mid-life crisis. If it pertains to a hobby, we feel indebted to the money and time we’ve already spent. If it’s a family tradition, we feel disloyal. Most of the time we think it easier to deal with our feelings of dissatisfaction than to change our environment.

From personal experience, cowards deal with life this way. It’s difficult not to live in a state of obligation because it swarms around us every day. I’ve had a few brave moments in my life that have set me free and changed my course. My only regret is that I’m not brave more often.

Here’s to being brave more often; choosing tasks and environments that make us come alive!

Sidenote: I’d love to have you along for other thoughts about life that I share. Feel free to join the thought process by subscribing to the blog!

Twirling Skirt

Tags

ballerina, daughter, dress, girl, little, magic, niece, princess, skirt, twirl

She was twirling in her dress, floating between a ballerina performing before a crowd and a princess dancing at the ball.

I had a perfect view from my piano bench. It wasn’t long before I realized I was the accompaniment for this little love’s performance. Front row seats to such a genuine performance are rare so I relished the moments and didn’t dare stop playing.

There is magic in a little girl’s “twirly skirt.” I had twirly skirts and I’m sure many of you did too. They made us feel beautiful and empowered to be anything we dreamed.

Somewhere along the way we grew up and thought twirling was childish, but after this show with a front row seat I’m quite sure the grownups are amiss. Ladies, time to put our twirly skirts back on… which may be a real skirt or it may be the thing that brings the magic and belief back into your life.

Best of twirling to you,

Amy

Defined by “no”

Tags

busy, committees, defined, overbooked, stressed

Music would be a constant drone if it weren’t for the vacancies of sound created by changing rhythms. Paintings would be ink blobs except for the empty space created by artists which help us to clearly define the characters and objects. This space is defined as “negative space” in the art world…the space around and between the subject of an image.

Common thought:  we are defined by what we say “yes” to. (Yes to the committee, instrument, job, clique, line of fashion etc)

We should give a good bit of weight to the idea that we’re defined by what we say “no” to rather than “yes.”

Have a think on it and feel free to share any thoughts.

Hypothetically

Tags

creation, funny, hypothetical, idea, movie

My experience with the word “hypothetically” is that any conversation thereafter is hilarious. I’m sure others have experienced this word with bad news ensuing but that hasn’t been my experience.

I’ve come to enjoy and anticipate the use of this word, and as soon as I hear it I want to settle in with popcorn like a good flick is beginning any second. “Hypothetical” means that something hasn’t actually occurred but the mind of the sharer is dancing with ideas and options of the future.

Idea creation is a fabulous quality.

 

***This post compliments of Carrie (CMH) who started a funny conversation with “Hypothetically.”

Turkish get up

Tags

exercise, get up, turkish, wrestling

This is a Turkish get up. Starting position is laying on the back, arm extended straight up. Through a series of specific steps this guy will stand up with the bar directly overhead and head back down to lay on his back (1 rep). Lots of strength, balance, coordination and determination. (Note face above)

It’s an old exercise dating back 200 years in Turkish wrestling. As a rite of passage, a beginner wasn’t allowed to move on in their next level of training until they were able to lie down next to a heavy kettlebell and gracefully move to a standing position with the weight overhead using total control.

No Turkish get up – no Turkish move up.

Some of us want to be the manager and boss of our department but we don’t have the fundamentals mastered. If we’re not where we want to be we probably need to head back to the gym for some Turkish get ups. If we’re “too good” for this exercise we’ve identified our first problem.

Dream check

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dreams, goals, inspiration, lethargic, motivation

We’ve all had those mornings when we wake up in the zone, turbo charged, jacked up and ready to take on the world. It feels SO good, doesn’t it?!

We’ve also had those mornings when we need a construction crane to extract us from bed. We slog to the bathroom and hope the shower has magical powers. We can’t imagine why we feel so lethargic. (I got a good amount of sleep last night. I’m not really stressed about anything etc.)

Eating, sleeping and exercise aside, it’s possible the mornings we wake up in the zone are mornings we have something invigorating on our agenda. Why wouldn’t we go wild waking up to tackle the project or cause we’re passionate about? The same dreams and goals that keep us up at night are the ones that REALLY wake us up in the morning.

Time for a dream check if we’re slogging around during daylight.

 

Whenever, every now and then

Tags

excellence, management, productive, time

Every now and then isn’t the same as whenever.

Did you catch that?

Every now and then ISN’T THE SAME as whenever.

A handful of M&M’s, texting our BFF or creeping around on Facebook “every now and then” doesn’t produce hours of unaccounted and unproductive time day after day just like a handful of M&M’s “every now and then” doesn’t grow an extra inner tube around our waistline.

Let’s be honest… Are we eating a small bite of that delicious dessert almost every time we’re in the kitchen? Are we using crass language as infrequently as we thought?

“Whenever” happens frequently.

First domino

Tags

conflict, domino, priorities

Sometimes it’s easier to sort through priorities if we approach them in new ways.

The question I asked myself yesterday was, what is the ONE domino when tipped over that seems to knock everything else over? This “domino” gone awry or out of sorts will tend to trigger a series of issues.

Maybe it’s sleep. Too little and we can’t cope with change or conflict. Maybe it’s food. Too little and we’re edgy and ready to jump into the fighting ring. Too much and we feel fat and ready to punch someone. Maybe it’s a reading deficiency. Without our daily dose of a good book we feel jarred. Maybe it’s a specific relationship. When the relationship is spot on we feel empowered to take on the world. When things are rocky the world becomes gray and even breathing or washing our hair proves difficult.

The first domino in our life isn’t silly or shallow. (Even if it feels like it) It just is. The benefit of identifying this domino is to position it as a high priority item and give it time, effort and energy to make sure it stays in a good place. Obviously it’s worth keeping this ONE thing in order if it keeps other dominoes standing strong.

What’s your FIRST domino?