General Interest Archives - Page 4 of 20

Balloons of Happiness

December 1, 2017March 27, 2017 by Debi Simons

White and Yellow Balloons Most of the time, I have more ideas for posts on the IH blog than I can actually use. Things come to me, or I read something, or I hear something, and I think, ‘That would make a great post.’ Once in awhile, though, I find myself a little stuck, asking myself, ‘What should I write about today?’ So it was this morning, the start of a new work week.

So I think this post is going to be about Victor Frankl, because I had a great quotation from him in my Evernote “blog ideas” notebook. (Evernote is a great, great tool which I need to use more.)

The Joys of Delegating

December 16, 2017March 13, 2017 by Debi Simons

Finger pointing to 6 arrows going in different directions Well, the March concert of the Cherry Creek Chorale is over. Didn’t make it? You can still get in on our last concert of the season in May. I’ll be posting about that music over on the “Behind the Music” blog and giving links to buy tickets. I have to say, this concert ended up being truly great. It wasn’t until Thursday night’s rehearsal, when the drummer and bass player showed up, that I really fell in love with the second half of the program, all classic tunes from old movies. The first half was great, too.

Procrastination Regrets

December 16, 2017March 6, 2017 by Debi Simons

woodwork in need of refinishing This post is going to be in the “I should have known better” category. As I wrote last week, we have put our house on the market, and we started showing it this past weekend. The realtor had scheduled the first appointment for noon on Saturday. Oh man! As I said to Gideon, “You wouldn’t think that getting a house ready to show would be so much work when I really try to keep it in good shape all of the time.” Jim was still finishing up the basement ceiling which had had to be repaired because of this mysterious leak that turned out to be caused by water overflowing from a plant pot in our entryway.

Two Tools I Use

December 17, 2017February 23, 2017 by Debi Simons

Hammer, pliers, and chisel on a workbench

If you’re a regular reader of this blog you’ll know that I’m always getting excited about one tool or another that is going to be The Greatest Thing Ever to help me be more productive. So at one point I was touting something called a Pomodoro, a little online timer that has you work for 25 minutes without any interruption and then take a break for 5, with a 15-minute break every fourth section. It was supposed to make your productivity explode, as you’d have all these pre-set distraction-free periods. But it didn’t really work for me very well, because if I really got going on something I didn’t want to have that timer going off at the 25-minute mark. And,to be honest, I found the restriction on breaks to be annoying. So I took it off my phone. Other tools, probably too numerous to list, have met the same fate.

Do you ever say, “I don’t feel like it”?

December 17, 2017February 22, 2017 by Debi Simons

Spiral market by hours

I do—all the time. This is a blog about choosing to be happy, so you’d think I’d be advocating for following those feelings. Hey, just do what you want and let the rest slide!

I make the distinction in my book between “self-indulgent happiness” and “self-disciplined happiness.” (See the sidebar for ordering information; this section is in the first chapter.) The first rarely leads to anything lasting, although there may be a brief flare of enjoyment. So, let’s see—what have I done to waste time since starting to write this post? (Which doesn’t include what I did to waste time before I started this post):

Went ahead and finished up our subscription to The Denver Post. We had decided not to renew this year, but then they kept

Don’t Say, “Why Didn’t You?”

December 17, 2017February 16, 2017 by Debi Simons

figure looking at a giant question mark

If you think about it, “why didn’t you do so-and-so?” is a supremely useless question. Irritating, too. I was reminded of this idea Sunday when I met up with my husband in downtown Denver. Parking was problematic, to say the least. Jim ended up parking in a pretty expensive lot across the Convention Center. I started to say, “Why didn’t you just park on the street?” And then I stopped myself. Why ask? Obviously if there had been a spot he’d have grabbed it. But what if there had been a plum spot right in front? (Which there wasn’t.) So what? He’d already parked in a paid lot. The deed was done. At that point it was moot.

Practical Wisdom from a Politician

December 18, 2017February 9, 2017 by Debi Simons

James Baker, civil servant — photo credit: Wikipedia

It’s actually from a statesman, but that’s not as alliterative. The politician/statesman in question is James Baker, who was White House Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Treasury under Ronald Reagan and Chief of Staff and Secretary of State under George H. W. Bush. This isn’t a political post; I do puh-lenty of that sort of thing over on my “Personal and Political” page. That’s not this.

So I was listening to a new podcast called “The Global Politico” in which Baker was being interviewed. (I have fallen off the cliff about reading/listening to books these days; I’ve switched over almost totally to podcasts and news articles. I’m sure at some point I’ll get back to books. Follow the link if you’d like to listen to the podcast episode and/or read the accompanying article.) Anyway, he’s a wily old fox, I must say, and a fascinating person in his own right. He started out with a bang, discussing some recent controversies, and had this to say:

Do You Berate Yourself or Encourage Yourself?

December 18, 2017February 8, 2017 by Debi Simons

Right now my husband and I are transferring my website over to a new server. (I think I may have mentioned this before.) Anyway, one project I’m having to accomplish is the re-doing of my recipes, putting them into the new recipe plugin. (I may have mentioned this, too.) Honestly! What a pain! It’s very hard to get all ginned up about re-doing stuff when it’s much more fun to do new stuff. So I’ll say, or put on my to-do list, “I’m going to re-do six recipes today.” And then I get involved in checking my e-mail, or reading yet another political article, or whatever, and

Super Bowl Thoughts

December 18, 2017February 6, 2017 by Debi Simons

Well, you know I have to write something about the Super Bowl. I had quite a few posts last season since the Broncos WON, and I haven’t been very involved this year once we sort of dropped off the map. (Next year will be different! I know it!)

Anyway, I was a total ANTI TOM BRADY person. I DON’T LIKE HIM AT ALL. So I was sitting there, totally enjoying his discomfiture, for the first three quarters. But I did think,’Hey, it can’t be this easy. The Patriots aren’t pushovers, whatever else I might think of them.’ And I wondered what was going on in Tom Brady’s mind. Much as I DISLIKE him, he is a master strategist and he stays cool. There he was, throwing incomplete passes all over the place and that interception that led to an 80+-yard touchdown by the Falcons, and he just kept it together. (My

If You Can’t Get Out of It, Get Into It

December 17, 2017February 2, 2017 by Debi Simons

2 people putting a sail together The source of this quotation may be Outward Bound, the program that helps people gain confidence through adventure. Or someone named Patricia Ryan Madison, a leading teacher in improvisational theater. Or Gretchen Rubin’s mother. Whoever! I will quote my friend Cecelia here again, who said about a youth group trip to the Six Flags amusement park during the heat and humidity of a Virginia summer, “No one can make me miserable.”

Okay, we’re now launched into the rehearsals for the March concert of the Cherry Creek Chorale. Usually I say about the current concert, “This is the best one ever!” which is a good attitude. I get into it.