Getting In Gear

The calendar still says February but the warm temperatures this weekend offered me hope that Spring is close to arriving in my area of the world.

I think my neighbors felt the same way because all weekend I saw them emerging from their homes of hibernation, waving hellos and walking around their yards picking up recently fallen branches and small sticks and checking out winter's damages.  It was also nice to see the baby brigade out and about with strollers and young toddlers in tow.  While doing my errands, everyone seemed to be energized by the warm and shining sun.  Coats disappeared and even some shorts and flip flops appeared on a few righteous teenagers.  

 

Stretching and breathing in fresh air was the order of the day and it just felt great all around.  Even though I felt the tug of the next episode of "House of Cards" mentally calling me to the computer, I ignored it's mesmerizing pull and instead went for a long walk for at least a mile or two.  It's definitely a good walk when I lose track of time and distance and it's also definitely amazing how a walk can reset your outlook and change your mood.

 

 

We've gotten a lot of snow this season so it's been harder to go outside and exercise but I try to remind myself that I always feel better when I get myself in gear and do some sort of exercise whether it's walking, bicycling, dancing or running.  I tell myself myself that exercising offsets the bad effects of sitting in front of the computer for hours a time but unfortunately that doesn't seem to be true according to some recent news stories. 

 

It's a fact of life that I spend a lot of time in front of the computer.  Hours and hours.  When I am at my full-time job five days a week, I try to periodically get up and walk around the office to squeeze in some exercise time and then I try to do the same when I am at home writing Cry Laugh Heal which is not work at all but truly a passion for me.

It's a constant battle and as I get older I can see that activity truly is the key to having and maintaining good health.  I like to sometimes follow these three simple suggestions from The American Diabetes Association on how to increase physical activity in your daily routine: 

 

--Take the stairs, not the elevator.
--Park further away from your destination, so you have to walk more.
--At home, make several trips upstairs to building extra cardio into such things as putting away laundry or other household chores.

Good luck with your personal fitness and here is the link to the National Public Radio story that made me think differently about sitting around and vegging out:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/02/19/279460759/sit-more-and-youre-more-likely-to-be-disabled-after-age-60?utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=20140223&utm_source=mostemailed

Be More Awesome!

I'm usually pretty good at motivating myself but this morning I needed Kid President to give me a good kick in the butt to push me out the door.

Kid President.  Just looking at his cute little face makes me want to smile.

But he's more than a cute face. 

Kid President

Kid President says this video is for teachers and students but really it's for all of us. 

We all have it going on.  Brains.  Ideas.  Energy.  Emotions.  Work Ethic.  Sense of Humor.

We just need to believe it.  No matter what is going on today in your life, you are beautiful!!

So let's start the work week with a positive vibe.  Go out there and do what you do best.

Be more awesome!!

Put your A Game out there today and show the world just how awesome you are!!

This YouTube link below will take you to Kid President's sweet Pep Talk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwlhUcSGqgs

Delaying The Inevitable

I'm scared of things.  Lots of things.  And there are things that I really don't want to do.

 

But I usually force myself to do them.  Because eventually I know I will probably have to do them all by myself.

 

I could ask other people to do things for me but I always feel silly doing that because I know I can do it for myself.  Besides, by the time I ask someone else to do something for me and I explain what it is that I need done, I could have done it for myself.

 

I try to live my life by making choices that I feel good about but still there are situations I find myself in that I really don't like.  At all.

 

I don't like certain things that happen when I am at home and I don't like certain situations at work.  However, I don't have control over the majority of things I don't like or am scared of so I end up talking to myself and trying to work my way through these potential walls that could possibly make my life very narrow if I let them.

 

Everyone has something they're scared about; it's just that I don't want my "scary things" to stop me from enjoying spontaneous times with friends and family.  I listen to my "scarys" but I try never to act on them.  Last week I was invited to join some friends for dinner in a place I was not familiar with at all and I almost didn't go.

All I could imagine was that I was going to get lost and not know how to get out of where I was or I would make a wrong turn anf find myself driving on 95 heading south towards Richmond.  I really hate getting lost when I am by myself.  I talked to myself about the whole situation and how ridiculous it was to feel that way and then Google mapped my directions and then talked to myself again.

 

And then I went to dinner and had a great time!

 

Life is full of choices.  It's up to you which ones you decide to make.

 

You've got the power!!

 

A Dancing Spirit

In a former life, many many years ago, my life's ambition was to be a dancer.

 

I just loved it and could think of doing nothing else.  So much so that I would take my younger sister and go to the record department in our local five and ten and dance in front of anyone who was there no matter what music was playing.  Hours and hours were spent studying ballet, modern dance, character dancing and just dancing for fun! I attended the Boston Conservatory for a short period of time before I had to drop out to have two operations and rehabilitation on both of my legs.  

 

Dancing keeps you in great shape but it is not as easy as some people make it look.  If it looks easy to you, then that is a measure of the dancer's talent, discipline and determination to get it right and make it look flawless. 

 

 

 

I write of dancers and dancing today because I still love it and still do it whenever I can.  It makes me feel free and careless and it's just a blast!  It reboots my inner spirit and renews me for whatever is coming up next. 

 

I never had the opportunity to take Irish dancing but would love to try it out.  I just discovered this video yesterday of two Irish guys who make up a group called Tap Tronic and all I can say is WOWSA!  You will definitely be hearing more about these two dancers.

 

Check out their cutting-edge technique:

 

 

Good Friday

Today is Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, and many Christians will spend the day praying, fasting and reflecting on the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.

I am working today so I will try to reflect and pray but I will be squeezing it in between my office projects and the usual running around I do in order to keep all the balls in the air.

Good Friday signals that Easter is almost here and that means that the end of Lent is also almost here.

 

That's good news for me because this year for Lent, I gave up chocolate which I totally love, especially when it's been sitting in the refrigerator.

 

 

 

 

I have not eaten chocolate for 45 days.

 

I can't believe it myself.  I didn't think I would make it this long.  I thought I would break my Lenten promise not to eat chocolate and that somewhere in those days before Easter I would eat a bag of M and M's. 

But I didn't.  And I feel a lot better for it. 

A few days before the beginning of Lent, I was beginning to feel powerless over chocolate.  I would eat it and then tell myself that that was it, chocolate wasn't good for me and I wasn't going to eat anymore.

But it didn't work.  The chocolate was talking to me.

Whether it was a chocolate chip cookie or chocolate candies in the kitchen at work, I realized I couldn't keep it up.  I had to put the brakes on the chocolate.  Luckily, Lent came along at just the right time.

 

I have to admit that chocolate did come close to my mouth one or two times.  I was at a party and there was a bowl of wrapped chocolates just sitting there.  Automatically, I put my hand out to take one (or two) and then that little voice inside me said, "You gave it up, remember?  Don't even think about it."

 

Another time I was at my parents and my father loves to nibble on trail mix.  When I was pouring it into a small bowl for him, I did the same thing.  I automatically went for some and then realized there were bits of chocolate mixed in to the nuts and raisins.

 

The idea of giving something up for Lent is symbolic.  Jesus gave up his life for us and the least I can do is try to change a small habit during Lent, right?  You can be creative about Lent.  You don't have to give something up.  Instead, you can try to do something positive such as being more patient or thinking twice before making an unnecessary comment.

 

Whether it's chocolate or kindness, I am glad to have stepped back, reset my actions and taken a break from a bad habit.

 

Who knows. . . Maybe I even earned a little grace along the way, which is always a good thing!

 

 

 

                                                                                      

Future Dream -- Pip

Pip Singing

Ouch!  Is it really Monday?

 

Four days off from work have been so great, can I repeat so great, for my mind and my soul!!  I went for some walks, did some yard work, caught up on my sleep, saw family and friends on Thanksgiving Day, did a little Christmas shopping and went to the movies and saw the new James Bond movie, "Skyfall."  It is excellent!! You really must see it if you haven't already.

 

But now I have Monday staring me in the face along with a brand new work week.  How do I get motivated to get out the door? 

 

Music, my dear friends, music! 

My cousin, Gina, posted a new song on her Facebook page that her nephew, Pip, wrote and sings.  He has a great voice!  Do you remember Pip?  He was a finalist on the second season of NBC's prime-time hit show, "The Voice."  Pip was on Adam Levine's team and since leaving the show he has been very busy in the recording studio.

His new song is called Future Dream and it features Pip singing and rockin' to some major drum beats.  I've listened to this a few times already this morning and I think I'm just about ready to groove out the door and face the week.

If you feel so inclined to spread the word of Pip's new song, please share this post/link.

Many thanks!  Go Pip!

Jesuit Motivation

When my son was in the midst of deciding where he wanted to go to college, Fordham University was near the top of his list.  But he was stuck between Fordham and another school and couldn't make a decision.

Trying to help him, I played the role of Devil's Advocate:  "You are getting ready to graduate from a Jesuit high school and now you are thinking of attending a Jesuit university?  Aren't you sick of the Jesuits?  Don't you want to get out of the box and spread your wings in a different atmosphere?"

My son didn't miss a beat and replied, "Mom, the Jesuits are so smart.  You have no idea how great it is to be in their classrooms.  They are always saying to us: 'Don't tell me what you think I want to hear.  Tell me what you think.'  I love that challenge and they make you really think about an issue, not regurgitate it, when you start to talk about it."

Needless to say, he choose Fordham and had another excellent educational experience of being taught by the Jesuits, only this time in the Bronx and in Manhattan.  I hold the Jesuits in a special place in my heart for their leadership in education as well as their community outreach and social justice work. 

Whether you are Catholic or not, I hope the following quote from the founder of the Jesuits will motivate you (and me) to do our best today and to think about what is happening in our world and what we can do to improve our global community or our neighborhoods and work places:

"GO FORTH AND SET THE WORLD ON FIRE"

                      ~ ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA

Keep it Simple -- John Wooden

I have no shame.  I look for inspiration any place I can get it.  This time I found it in a sports book.

A guy in my office had this book sitting on his desk titled, "Wooden."  Hmmm, I thought, this name sounds familiar but I couldn't place it.  I opened the book and started reading about Coach John Wooden and his historic UCLA basketball dynasty winning 10 NCAA championships in 12 years, including 88 straight games.

I sortof remember hearing my Dad talk about John Wooden and as I paged through the book I realized this is a guy who definitely knows something about motivation, so I decided to find out more about John Wooden and how he was able to get all these big guys to listen to him and win so many games.

John Wooden, who was 99 when he died in 2010, was raised on a small farm in south-central Indiana and he says in the book that the lessons he learned from his parents served him extremely well on and off the basketball court.  His priorities were steadfast: family, faith and friends.

John Wooden's book is now a go-to source of strength for me.  Yes, he was a basketball coach and many of his thoughts are directed to male athletes, but I still draw from the essence of what he is saying.  He is definitely an old school straight shooter but that's not easy to find these days and you can't argue with the results of his philosophy. 

Here is one of my favorites in a book that is chock full of John Wooden's wise observations about life.  I find this one in particular helps me keep things in perspective and move forward when I find that I am dealing with a particularly stressful situation:

Make Each Day Your Masterpiece

When I was teaching basketball, I urged my players to try their hardest to improve on that very day, to make that practice a masterpiece.

Too often we get distracted by what is outside our control.  You can't do anything about yesterday.  The door to the past has been shut and the key thrown away.  You can do nothing about tomorrow.  It is yet to come.  However, tomorrow is in large part determined by what you do today.  So make today a masterpiece.  You have control over that.

This rule is even more important in life than basketball.  You have to apply yourself each day to become a little better.  By applying yourself to the task of becoming a little better each and every day over a period of time, you will become a lot better.  Only then will you be able to approach being the best you can be.  It begins by trying to make every day count and knowing you can never make up for a lost day.

If a player appeared to be taking it easy in practice, I told him, "Don't think you can make up for it by working twice as hard tomorrow.  If you have it within your power to work twice as hard, why aren't you doing it now?"

If you sincerely try to do your best to make each day a masterpiece, angels can do no better.