I grew up in a fairly rural area in the hills around a lake, or as others would call it, the boonies. It took 45 minutes to get to town, which made for some quality car conversation time. One time we were driving to town and I asked my dad a really random, off the wall but sort of deep question. I do not recall the question. But, I remember that he looked at me, befuddled, and asked, “Does your mind ever stop thinking?” No. The answer is no, the wheels are constantly in motion, Dad.
I’ve been doing a lot of internal reflection and I’ve had a writer’s block lately. I think the two go hand in hand. I have a million ideas running through my head. I think of an idea and say oh that’ll be a great blog post, then 5 minutes later another idea comes to my head that gets to the top of the list. Instead of choosing a topic and writing a thoughtful post on it (that’s just not in the cards right now), I’m going to briefly share some of thoughts bouncing around in my head. Hopefully this will help me work through this mess in my head.
Holding Ourselves Back– I would say that I have a”let’s do it!” attitude…most of the time. I have a relatively high level of self-efficacy and am not afraid of a challenge. That doesn’t mean I don’t hold myself back though. I think we can be ourselves’ biggest motivators and biggest downers. It’s really easy to tell yourself why you shouldn’t or can’t do something then believe it. I have been overly conscious of this lately and have actively been trying to question that doubtful voice in my head. It makes for some very interesting internal conversations up there…
Taking the Reins of Your Future
I was recently inspired by some individuals in my life that recognized they weren’t content with their career and took the steps to change their path. I currently love my job and don’t plan on changing it anytime soon. However, I can’t expect the future I want to just… happen. I have to take the necessary steps to make it happen, to make my vision come to fruition. I realize that I don’t have control of everything, but I can take the reins and create a future that makes me content and fulfilled. Sure, life will throw me curve balls along the way, but I don’t plan to sit by and let life passively happen to me. These thoughts led me to create a 5-year plan, and I will share it with you soon.
Self-Love vs. Self-Appreciation
I’ve been listening to a lot podcasts about self-love, body image, etc. I think the concept of self-love is amazing and an incredible thing to strive for, but it isn’t easy. Self-love is especially difficult for girls and women that have been sent incessant messages related to changing their bodies since they were in diapers. Currently, self-appreciation sounds much more doable to me. I appreciate what my body can do and am thankful for it on a daily basis.
The Social Media Struggle
I decided that I need to bump up my social media game by posting on a more regular basis. As someone who consciously tries to limit my social media time, this has proven to be a struggle for me. I find myself thinking about social media frequently, and I can’t say that I enjoy it. At the same time, I realize that it’s important to increase my social media presence if I want to get my voice out there.
Reframing
My motto about difficult situations is that “you can’t control the situation, but you can control your reaction.” Unfortunately, things are going to happen that aren’t ideal. That doesn’t mean we have a make the situation even worse with a negative reaction. I recently took my dad to a baseball game and the ferry leaving the game was full. We had to walk back to the ferry building and wait 1.5 hours for the next ferry to take us back to our car. Was this ideal? Not at all. Instead of being bummed about it and letting it ruin my day, I reframed my situation. I decided that it meant I got to spend more quality time with my dad and I should soak that time up. Next time you find yourself heading down the Negative Nancy route, I challenge you to reframe the situation and become a Positive Peter, or at least a Content Cathy.
Embracing the Future While Staying Present
It has been overwhelmingly hot here and I’ve found myself dreaming of cooler weather. I am usually the last person to want summer to end, but I am so ready for some comfy clothes and fall leaves. We still have a lot of fun summer activities ahead of us though, so I am trying to remain present and soak up these final days of summer. I promise I will not start buying holiday decorations yet, but I am still going to fantasize about making soups and cuddling up under a blanket.
Did any of my random thoughts resonate with you? I’d love to hear about it in the comments section below. Let’s hope this brain of mine can figure itself out and I can get some focused attention soon.
lowering the bar 