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Gone Loafing

PattiAnn — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:01:09 +0000

A week ago I wrote about the 5 Signs That it’s Time to Take Time for You – largely because I am feeling in need of a break. So, what was the major event in my life last week? Adopting a kitten. To be honest, the two just don’t go together. Although he’s a sweetie, he’s very demanding, and like all very young creatures, in need of attention – the attention he would have gotten from his mother, but which now falls to us to provide. Admittedly, this is a short-term requirement, but it feels like a lot more than it is because I already felt that I needed a break.

Mixed Blessings

Malibu (that’s the name that was picked by the neighborhood because he was found in the engine compartment of a Chevy Malibu) may be the classic definition of ...Continue reading » Gone Loafing

Kick Up Your Heels and Celebrate: Wins, Contributions, Automagicals & Uncontrollables!

Ellie — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 07:01:47 +0000

As I meandered through this week of annoyingly half-finished tasks, keenly concentrating on celebrating small wins, I stumbled upon a delightful and off-the-wall blog site run by Torley who tells us he’s “a happy human being.” About “micro-wins” he happily recommends:

...Continue reading » Kick Up Your Heels and Celebrate: Wins, Contributions, Automagicals & Uncontrollables!

You Deserve a Break Today

PattiAnn — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:01:10 +0000

On Saturday, I saw a story in the Washington Post about a couple who met on eHarmony, dated and after a year, married last month. The groom is a paraplegic and my first thought was, “Wow, I could never do that.” My second thought was “but I SHOULD be open to it.” This story had nothing to do with me and upon reflection it occurs to me that I could never do that now because my plate is overflowing with today’s challenges. Another one would feel like just a bit too much. But none of that precludes the fact that I went from an initial gut reaction to a judgment. I believe that for some of us, this is the core of our struggle with resiliency and it all starts with our judging ourselves. ...Continue reading » You Deserve a Break Today

Morphing Into Persistent Perseverance While Looking for Many Right Answers

PattiAnn — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 07:01:22 +0000

I was really pleased when Ellie used a picture of Eeyore on her post because I’ve always liked Eeyore. I guess that’s because he was soooo gray that he seemed funny to me. I never really thought of him as being depressed or depressing. He was so extreme that he was endearing, though I wouldn’t actually want to have to work or live with him. ...Continue reading » Morphing Into Persistent Perseverance While Looking for Many Right Answers

Worst Case Planning Got You Down?

Ellie — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 07:01:17 +0000

I think many of us, especially me, live our lives acting as though Murphy’s Law and its corollaries predict our future:

Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Nothing is as easy as it looks. Everything takes longer than you think…

And that, I’m guessing, is what leads us to build “Worst Case Scenarios”. I myself think it’s a good thing to do. And so does Julie Norem, who gives a name to the process in her book, The Positive Power of Negative Thinking: Using Defensive Pessimism to Harness Anxiety and Perform at Your Peak. She calls it “‘defensive pessimism’ … a process that allows anxious people to do good planning.” ...Continue reading » Worst Case Planning Got You Down?

Ending The Happiness Deficit

PattiAnn — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 07:01:32 +0000

Are you happy? Think about it – ARE YOU HAPPY? If not, why not? Puhlease, don’t tell me about your bad hair day, or your flat tire, or the dog didn’t cooperate on your walk, or that your allergies are bad today. Why aren’t you happy? This month our Book Club book is reading The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow. (Get used to it. I belong to a book club, and if what we are reading has any nugget to be passed on, I will find it and deliver it to you.) I had dreaded reading this book because one of our friends had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and another with esophageal cancer within weeks of each other in 2007. ...Continue reading » Ending The Happiness Deficit

Changed Priorities Ahead

Ellie — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 07:01:36 +0000

How have you creatively solved changing priorities in your life? Being able to adapt to change is an important aspect of resiliency. So, what happens when you have to change priorities? Well first of all, we often need a whack on the side of the head to notice that some important aspect in our lives has changed. Once we get that message, then what? ...Continue reading » Changed Priorities Ahead