Is there a change you know you need to make?
Something you’ve been putting off, because it just doesn’t feel that urgent?
How much better would your life be if you simply made that change right now? Today. Right now. In this moment.
It’s okay to let something go if it no longer interests you.
Because you gain something in the process.
You get time and space to go after what you really want.
What change will you make today?
Autumn is like a new year all its own. A relatively new school year is underway. That brings a fresh start.
Learning is an integral part of the season. And you don’t have to be an official student pursuing a degree to have a learning plan of your own. There are so many engaging and inexpensive ways to learn. Your local library, a local university extension program, or online classes are just a few options.
This week I listened to one of my favorite podcasts, Hello Monday with Jessi Hempel, on LinkedIn. The guest was Laurie Santos. She’s a host of her own podcast, The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos, and the professor for the most popular class at Yale: The Science of Well-Being.
You can take this class for free on Coursera, along with 4 million other people (including me) who are enrolled. Given all the mental health challenges that come with almost 3 years of a global pandemic, along with climate change, economic worries, and more, this course is a much-needed breath of fresh air.
What are you learning this fall?
Not every thought that flits through our heads needs to be expressed. We don’t always need to be right. We don’t always need to point out others’ errors. Why? We can instead assess what purpose it would serve to mention someone else’s error.
Recently I was corresponding with someone and asking why an action had been delayed. It turned out to be a discrepancy, seemingly between an instruction that had been given to me and how I had carried out that instruction. When I went back to confirm the details, I saw I had followed the instructions exactly as provided.
My inclination was to respond that I had, in fact, taken the right steps. And then I paused for a moment and realized it would serve no purpose. I didn’t need to go on record stating that I had done what was asked. Instead, I thanked the person, considered the matter closed, and moved in. This preserved the relationship, which was more important than saying I was right.
What is better left unsaid today?
“What do you do with your laptop?” was an initial question when I took my three-year-old laptop in for a repair.
Some keys were sticking. Others were responding erratically. A handful of keys had the name of the letter worn off.
The conversation led into long work hours of extensive laptop use, and not consistently shutting it down about once a week.
My main takeaway? Even though they aren’t human, machines need rest too. Who knew?
And giving a laptop a rest means a human gets to rest too.
It’s a great time to shut down your laptop. Let the machine rest. And get some rest yourself too.
Do you ever reflect on how you speak to yourself? Are you as kind and caring to yourself as you would be to dear friend? Or are you more harsh and critical? Our inner dialogue is central to how we move through the world. Instead of beating ourselves up over every perceived flaw or misstep, we can acknowledge in each situation what went well and what we would improve the next time. Try it for a week. As a result, how do you feel and how do you show up in the world?
Starting a business, growing a career, nurturing a family – they all take time. Sometimes we don’t give ourselves enough time. We expect overnight success. And why wouldn’t we? That’s what so often appears on news and social media feeds. Everyone else seems to achieve instant success. But what we don’t see are the days, weeks, months, and years of slow, steady work that adds up to success over a longer arc of time. As I reflect on the first three years since launching my business, The Carrelle Company, the momentum is now more evident and growing. My question for you: what step will you take today to make your dream a reality?
James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits posed this question to listeners recently as a guest on Brene Brown’s podcast: what is the unfilled need behind your desire to work so hard?
This powerful question made me pull (swerve) my car to the side of the road when I heard it, so I could write the question down.
It’s one I’ve been pondering for myself. And no doubt I’ll be asking it of some of my coaching clients.
I’m now clear(er) on the answer for me.
How about for you? What’s your answer?
It’s Sunday night. I’m still trying to complete items on my list from last Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. It would probably take a week, with no new inputs, to work through the backlog and feel “caught up.”
Has this ever happened to you?
And what’s wrong with this picture?
What’s wrong is there’s always more that could be done than there is time available.
That’s why it’s so important to do the highest priority work first. Not getting pulled off track with the the reminder emails pinging endlessly in a variety of inboxes. But focusing instead on the activities that will move your life forward. The actions that over time can make your dreams come true.
This gives a whole new perspective on today. I did the most important and highest priority work. And even if I stayed up all night, I wouldn’t complete everything I wanted to do today.
So it’s time to tidy up my desk, start to wind down, and enjoy the rest of the weekend with a good book.
Tomorrow is a new day.
The “new year, new you” hype feels a bit overwhelming at the moment, doesn’t it?
As if we’re supposed to flip a switch on New Year’s Day and completely make over our lives in an instant.
It occurred to me today, grateful to be driving around in Southern California rain, that life is pretty good. Despite Omicron. Despite the state of the world.
If we want to make changes in our lives, the best way to make lasting change is to take small steps toward it, every day.
And it’s also important to see each day as a fresh start, and a new year’s day all of its own.
Here’s to making the most of every day. And enjoying every day. Happy New Year!
Reflection ramps up toward the end of a year. Here we are, almost at the end of a second year of living with the Covid-19 virus. How are you navigating through it all?
Thanksgiving this year felt like a welcome pause, to connect with family and friends and be mindful of the blessings in our lives.
Life threw us another curve that day, with news of a new Covid variant. Called Omicron, the new variant is still elusive enough we don’t know exactly how to proceed. As if we ever did.
Reflecting on Thanksgiving 2020 gave me much-needed perspective. The LA County Health Department was just shutting down outdoor dining for restaurants, as Covid spiked in Los Angeles. It felt like a near-death knell for our family’s fledgling restaurant that opened in the summer of 2020.
A year later, though, much has changed. Vaccines became available soon after last Thanksgiving. Business restrictions eased, and the restaurant is generating momentum. Life returned mostly to normal, albeit wearing masks in public places and managing through supply chain disruptions.
Remembering how quickly a year passes and how much changes resulted in two observations. First, a lot can change in a year. Second, viewed in that context, the present truly is a present. And third, what is possible during the next year?
As the poet Mary Oliver penned: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and previous life?”
Our lives take shape in the minutes, hours, days and years.
What is possible for YOU in the year ahead?
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