You are complete and whole as you are.
You are complete and whole as you are.
Day 226: The Power of Transformation
The paradox of our lives is that we both are the same person but grow along the way. Not sure what I mean? Take a look at a picture of yourself from when you were a kid and look at yourself now. You might see hints of what you looked like then in your present look, but maybe not.
You’re still the same “you” but you’ve transformed in someone more mature.
Day 225: When You Hit a Bump in the Road
Yesterday the company I worked for the last eight years laid me off via a video conference call on Zoom. I was told that my position had been eliminated.
What a surreal moment to be talking to people via a video screen and to learn of such news! I’ve never been laid off before in my 25 years of working.
Day 224: Perseverance
Back in high school, my girlfriend’s coworker was dating a guy who had joined Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). I met him and remember him showing me the plastic key chains that he had collected for each month of sobriety. He had been sober for six months and he showed me his key chains with pride.
At the time, I didn’t really understand how important those key chains were to him, and only later in life did I meet others who had similar achievements in AA.
Day 223: Be Positive
Day 222: Check in with Yourself
Day 221: It's So Easy!
Day 220: Picture the Arc
At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, my daughter and I took a few minutes each day to learn how to shoot a basketball. I watched a YouTube video that taught us how to stand, hold our arms, and then shoot for the net. I can’t remember if my daughter said it first, or I did, but we started saying “picture the arc” to the other person when it was their turn to shoot.
Day 219: Loneliness and Choosing to Be Alone
I’ve gone through bouts of loneliness in my life in which I felt as though no one cared for me or could understand me. But I’ve also have had times where I chose to be alone.
As a child of an alcoholic/functional family, I wanted nothing more than to be loved and to find people who could understand me. I feared abandonment and did anything I could to not to be alone. As an adult, I hated not being in a relationship. I didn’t want to be a third wheel when out with friends and longed to find someone who I could talk to and share my life with.
Day 218: When You Feel Overwhelmed
There are going to be times when you wake up and you might feel overwhelmed with a bunch of problems. The challenge during times like these is seeing outside what’s all around you.
We all go through rough times in life, but sometimes it feels like the world is against us. Months before my son’s birth, I lost my grandfather in January, grandmother in March, and father-in-law in May. Late that summer my son came into the world and the months prior to his birth hit my family hard.
Day 217: What If No One Else Wants to Change?
One of the difficult challenges to deal with being on a self-discovery journey is that you might need to go on the journey alone. Your family, friends, and even your spouse might choose to not want to accept that you’re trying to change.
They might treat you the same way and could even give you a difficult time for wanting to change.
Day 216: Living in a VUCA World
When we look back at 2020, I’ll wonder what we’ll think. We started out the year with the US attacking Iran and for a few short days, we thought war would break out. Then we saw the Australian brushfires spread across the continent down under and how people became sick from how thick the smoke was from the fires. Next the coronavirus pandemic spread across the world and as I write this in June, protests have broken out across America as various groups march against police brutality and the death of George Floyd. The protests are spreading and growing to encompass people wishing to ban the confederate flag and pull down statues of former slave owners all across America.
Day 215: Make a Commitment to Yourself
I make time for my family, work, for volunteering, watching TV, writing books, and a whole host of other things. But am I making time to commit to myself? For today, are we making time to commit to do the work we need to do to help us live a healthier life?
How much time and effort do we spend on others?
Do we focus on our family and work, but have so little time for ourselves?
Day 214: Own Your Story
Day 213: Brainwashed
Today we live in a polarized world. One side is yelling at the other side and there are problems everywhere you look. For today, take time to look yourself in the mirror and ask: Is it true?
I have seen and lived through people’s behaviors that are unhealthy and wrong. But I found that no one else would say anything and people would just act normally.