Changing a loved habit!

Coffee is my thing. I like it, I look forward to the morning so I can sit and sip as

I surf the web. I experiment with all sorts of coffee brands, usually coming back

to my favorite Caribou Coffee. Coffee is also my problem. As I move through my

day I often think I should have a cup of coffee, it will give me the pick me up I need,

making a pot at work gives me a break from what feels like a daunting task. If I am

at home it gives me the opportunity to leave the computer, an opportunity to walk

away from something, my diversion. It is not always a good thing, some would

call this ADD kicking in, I would call it a brain shut down. I just don’t want to

push through any further. The biggest problem with these afternoon coffee breaks

is not that I am stepping away from work, but that I am putting too much caffeine

into my body. Where this really becomes a problem is when I lay in bed for an hour

or more trying to get my mind to shut down.

Time to make a change! This change means more water, more tea and less caffeine

in the afternoons. Who’s with me on this one?

Change is hard, change is good.

Be Brave and Be Grateful in 2018

After one day of work,  you are solidly into the new year. How are you feeling? Like you have one foot
in 2017? Or you are anticipating the changes you might be facing this year?

Shortly after lunch yesterday I was walking the steps to the second floor to get a few extra steps in
during the day when I found myself smiling. I had just finished working on a particularly daunting project.
A quick check on the weather outside as I round the corner from the 1st floor, the clouds have rolled in,
it looks cold and damp, but I found a smile on my face. As I marched up each step I thought to myself,
I am lucky. I am lucky I have a good job and working on projects I enjoy. I have great coworkers and
freedom to do my job without constant worry of losing the job or of someone questioning my work.
I am inside, I am warm and really on January 2nd, I am in a good place. Today I am grateful.

As I had those thoughts, I also thought, I need to recall this very moment next time I am feeling
overwhelmed. Often as my email box is filling up in mid afternoon, I am stressed, wanting to eat
something or better yet run away, I have a good job. I am in a good place most of the time. Relax,
push through the tougher times and be grateful.

Does that mean I stop trying to better myself? I have a tendency to always be looking for a new even
if I am content in my job, no matter the company I work for. I want to think that is because I always think
there might be something better and I might want to pursue it. I don’t want to change that. It does not
mean that I am not content. As a matter of fact I don’t want to think it means anything other than I am
aware.

With a mantra of Be Brave in 2018, I will be brave enough to keep looking while I am grateful for the
current position I have. Some days I might just sit back and Be Brave enough to relax right where I am at.

Changing the Calendar, Changing life?

Today we go back to work, the holidays are over and today is day two of the New Year’s resolutions.
The Christmas that covered your house may be neatly wrapped up until another year, the holiday
now in the memory column. Now you can dream about the new year and how it is going to lay out
for you. What would you change over last year if you could? What wouldn’t you do in the new year
if you didn’t have to?


I want you to think about this a bit, if there is something you wouldn’t do, is it important enough that
you need to make a change in that area of your life? If you say, I wouldn’t do the job I am doing if I
didn’t have to? Can you change your job? Can you change the position within your company? Work
through those steps and what they might look like.

Maybe you would spend more time with family. How are you going to accomplish that?
Can you schedule a once a month family time? What changes to do you need to make when
you come home from work so you can play with your kids? Do you need to do meal planning
so you aren’t running to the grocery store every other day, how much free time do you need
and what are the time wasters that are sucking that away.

Sometimes change feels hard, usually it’s not as hard as we make it. What can you do today to make
the changes you need to make 2018 your best year yet?

The holiday season is a mere memory; except at Byerlys and Lunds. The beautiful gingerbread village still stands on January 2nd. The Baker in the background concentrates on a new creation for 2017. Photo 2 of 365.

This is what 2017 looks like

2017 goal is to post the year in photos. This was taken on my way to 7:30 AM Mass.  January 1, 2017

1/365

Procrastination

It's a funny long word that makes you ask; did I spell that correctly? Sometimes procrastination is what we do. I am on my last paper of my second to last class in my MBA program. Instead of working on that paper I came here. I notice I haven't posted here since last September when I vowed to keep up on the Blog at least weekly. Procrastination at it's finest. My paper is due tomorrow. I would say I have a strong start; nearly half done but truth be told it was due yesterday, I asked for an extension and I have had 2 weeks to complete the paper. Daily I have been known to say; "I need to work on my paper today", daily I have left it sitting untouched.

So now...I sit working on this silly last paper of my second to the last class of my MBA when I would rather be doing just about anything else. Now to check Facebook just one last time....

52 Weeks

It seems more popular to say "I am NOT making a New Years Resolution this year"; then to say you are. Seems it is no longer popular to set a goal and then fail miserably in the coming weeks.

I do think we can all look at the calendar in the next few days and feel like we get a refresh on our lives. With the busy Holiday season in the rear view mirror we can look ahead to the possibilities of the upcoming year. We all get the same amount of time; or at least we hope we do. 52 weeks, that's 365 days minus one so far; to rethink what we want to do with our lives.

If you are vowing to eat better, get more exercise, get more sleep or you promise yourself you will finish that project or even search for a new job in 2015, I wish you the best. If we stop dreaming about possibilities we are just moving through life. With that being said don't forget to stop and enjoy the moment along the way. It's a tough balance, but with thoughtful resolve it can be accomplished.

Here's to a delightful new set of 52 weeks. May it be all you wish for.

Happy New Year!