Have you noticed that there haven’t been many posts on this blog of late? It’s not that I’ve retreated into some cave, nor is it that I’m tired of writing about my opinions. What happened was . . . I got back from our big trip to France, during which I had had every intention of posting at least some but that never happened, sat down at my laptop, and thought, ‘I don’t know that this is how I really want to spend my time.’ I’ve enjoyed blathering on about events in my life and how I see their significance. It’s been a good way for me to keep writing on a regular basis, sort of like a journal. But now I find myself much more interested in specific topics, ones that I hope can make a real difference in my readers’ lives, and it’s those areas where I’ve been concentrating during the past few weeks. Here are some current/upcoming projects:
Goals
Goal-Setting Gladness
I don’t post many of my own photographs on this blog as I’m just not that good at it and not at all interested in getting better, but the whole point of today’s post is the fact that yesterday was the deadline I had set for getting our patio cleared off. So did I fail? It sure looks like it! But there’s a plan for everything that needs to go, and those plans were made by EOB yesterday, so I’m counting it as a win. Everything should be gone by the end of the week. A mason is coming this morning to give us an estimate for repairing the area where the patio had to be excavated to repair the sewer pipe. I plan to post photos throughout the summer to document how this cluttered space gets turned into an oasis of order and beauty.
Keep Your Ears On Stage.
One of the joys of my participation in The Magic Flute over the past weeks, culminating with the performances on April 21 & 22, was the great privilege of just being around a whole group of talented people and getting to overhear things they said and did. I told one of the other MF chorus performers that I’d be willing to crawl over broken glass to be able to sing Mozart and work with Devin Patrick Hughes, the conductor of the Arapahoe Symphony.
The New Rule: 5 Seconds to Act
I wrote a post some time ago called “Fifteen Minutes a Day Can Change Your Life.” This was a quotation from a former pastor, who may have gotten it from the book Success Is Not an Accident: Change Your Choices, Change Your Life by Tommy Newberry. (I just googled the phrase and this book came up—it looks good! I now have it checked out from that great library service Hoopla.) Anyway, the window of opportunity has now narrowed from 15 minutes to 5 seconds. Very efficient, no? I found out yesterday about this totally, insanely motivating woman named Mel Robbins through a rather circuitous route that started with my usual Thursday listening of the “Happier in Hollywood” podcast hosted by Sarah Fain and Liz Craft. They were interviewing someone who had interviewed Mel on her own podcast, so I went over and listened to that episode (language warning) and then watched Mel’s TED talk (access below) and a video or two or her on her own. Now I’m a Mel Robbins fan.
Living Up to Your “Best Self”
Every once in a while I get an image of myself as I’d like to be: admirably self-controlled, unruffled, good-humored, respectful of others and therefore eliciting respect for herself, setting high standards for myself but being tolerant of others . . . the list goes on. It’s a picture of my so-called “best self.” That person doesn’t actually exist, unfortunately, but I find that picturing her is helpful. Last night, for example, we were at a restaurant celebrating a family birthday and I had ordered chili rellenos. Very, very good. But there were two of them, and I knew after finishing one that I didn’t need any more. I could save the rest for today. But that second one, with its crispy crust (always get the crispy rellenos! it’s a rule of life) was very tempting. I looked at it; it looked at me. And I thought, ‘My ideal self wouldn’t eat it. She’d stick to what she decided to do.’ So, while I did cut off one corner, the rest came home with me and is sitting in the fridge even now, waiting to be consumed for lunch.
Don’t Be Too Proud to Do Your Job.
I listen to a wide range of podcasts, some on politics, some about mysteries of the past, and some that I’ll call, for want of a better term, “lifestyle” podcasts, dealing with everything from home décor to finances to happiness. Last week I heard the same idea coming from two very different parts of this spectrum, that the way to get ahead in your career when you’re just starting out is to be willing to get things done, even if those things are tasks you might consider below you. The classic example is that of getting coffee for people.
I Enter the Wonderful World of Podcasting Myself
I’m so excited! Jim has just posted my first podcast episode on my political-commentary website, “Intentional Conservative.” Those of you who get my weekly newsletter will perhaps remember that said newsletter came out late last time because we were trying to get the podcast up and running so that I could announce it. Such was not to be, so I went ahead and sent out the newsletter on Wednesday, telling my subscribers that the next one would be this coming Friday, March 16. But since I’m planning to do the podcast weekly, I’d be publicizing two of them at once. So I’m going ahead and sending out this two-post newsletter today. (Note that we’re not yet up on all of the podcast platforms, so you’ll be listening to this first episode directly from the website. But when we do get uploaded or downloaded or whatever, I hope you’ll subscribe in one of the feeds. I’ll notify you through this website when that happens.)
Wear “Real Clothes” in February
How well I remember the morning that the tree crew arrived to do some work on our 75-foot oak tree at our house back in Virginia. Gideon was little, and I was home with him. I hadn’t planned on going anywhere that day, so I had on my grungy “at-home” outfit, an old t-shirt dress that was frayed around the edges. It was easy to pop on. I think I had taken a shower but hadn’t done anything to my hair, a sure recipe for the Wild Woman of Borneo look. (No disrespect intended to the real women of Borneo!)
Just Keep Plugging Away
Hurtling is the word, dear friends, hurtling towards 2018. I’m reminded of how I felt several years ago during a five-day visit to New York City. We took the subway quite a bit, and the rushing by of the trains seemed a metaphor for now quickly our precious vacation time was passing. That image returns to me often: So much to do, so many goals to be accomplished, and so little time.
But once in awhile I step back and inhale loudly. I remind myself that what really
Ignore the Fear—and Press on to the Finish Line.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before:
My psychology is very weird.
Or maybe not. Maybe you’ve had this experience too: You’re chugging along, making real progress on a project, and then you think, ‘But what will I do with myself when this is finished?’ I used to say this about our various landscaping endeavors at our house in Virginia. What would we do on Saturdays when we got all of that stuff done?