There is a cyber stress epidemic that is greatly contributing to Adultitis. Checking email. How many times do you check your email in one day? In one hour? Be honest! Are you excessive? Who isn't, right?! You just never know who might have some interesting or good news for you. You better check. It's like when you were little and always wanted to be the one to go get the mail from the mailbox. Maybe three out of 365 days you'd actually receive mail, but it was still fun to check. That childlike optimism and curiousity can actually get you into trouble in the world of email. …
Maintain Perspective
Get Up Faster
It's been twelve days since the first cardboard box made its way through the door of our new office. The vast majority of the boxes are gone, but we still have no Internet. Or phones. Urgghh. I'll spare you the grisly play-by-play of the false promises, unmet expectations, and flat out ineptitude, but suffice it to say, I have not been this frustrated, angry, or exhausted in a long, long time. Maybe we'll have everything up and running in the next day or two. Maybe. The details to the story really don't matter, because it's a story you've no doubt lived, perhaps many times. Let me put …
Step Back to Move Ahead
"If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any talent." - Sir Issac Newton Are you experiencing patient attention? Humor me for a few minutes with this analogy. Put your hand in front of your face, with your palm about a 1/2 inch from your nose. (Thank you to my cooperative husband for being my model today.) …
The Best Day Ever
Imagine standing in front of a room full of one hundred people. You tell them to raise their hand if they consider themselves optimistic. How many people have their hands raised? Yep, all of them. Everybody thinks of themselves as optimistic; nobody will admit that they are pessimistic. When pressed by someone who knows them and thinks otherwise, they might admit, "I'm not pessimistic. I'm realistic." You'll never hear anyone say, "Yeah, that's me, pessimistic. I see the worst in every situation, my best days are way behind me, yesterday will always be better than tomorrow, and if …
Five Things I Remember About Home
I remember packing for a full day of outdoor adventure, exploring the ravine next to our house. It's funny how small it looks now, but back then it was the size of the Amazon rain forest. I learned that you are only limited by the size of your imagination. I remember falling to sleep on cool summer nights to a chorus of locusts and various other nighttime bugs. I learned that nature makes the best music. …
The Ice Cream Man
Top 5 reasons why being an "Ice Cream Man" would be the BEST job in the world. 1. Free ice cream treats aplenty. (Tip: Get your free ice cream here, without having to make it your career.) 2. The jolly tunes. 3. Making kids smile all day long. 4. The freedom to drive around, wherever you want, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. 5. Living the "American Dream," and embracing the entreprenial mindset. Top 5 reasons why being an "Ice Cream Man" would be the absolute WORST job in the world. …
While You Were Busy, Life Passed By
Last week I enjoyed a nice vacation in Door County with the fam. We rented a house that was just big enough for the eleven of us: me, Kim, Mom, Dad, and my brothers' families. We roasted marshmallows, fished for salmon, gazed at the stars, played mini golf, sampled wine, sat on the beach, and ate lots of cherry-related products (thumbs up on the cherry barbecue sauce). I also did something I haven't done in years: I didn't check e-mail or surf the internet once. Somehow, the world continued to rotate on its 23 degree axis. …
The Price of Losing Free Play
In the "Adults Are Ruining Everything" department, it seems that parents, colleges, and even the federal government are passing on their proclivity for busyness and stress to children. How? By threatening free play and unscheduled time. …
Living Naturally
You ever see a four-year-old walk into a room and declare, "Man! I am soooooo stressed out!" Me neither. There are a multitude of reasons that little kids aren't stressed-out and inches away from little heart attacks, but one of them is because they tend to listen to their bodies. Mind you, this doesn't happen consciously. Rather, they have the tendency to go with the flow; letting their bodies dictate when to go and when to crash. Fiction author Robin Brande calls this "living naturally." In a recent blog post, she painted a wonderful picture of a friend's daughter as an atom: pure …
39 Ways To Slow Down Summer
1. Start the day with an early morning energizing walk. 2. Sleep under the stars. 3. Turn your cell phone off on the evenings and weekends. 4. Find water and sit by it. (It’s that simple.) 5. Dine outside at the local eatery. 6. Walk barefoot in the grass. 7. Send a card or write a letter to a friend (not an email). 8. Go for ice cream after dinner. 9. Invite your colleagues to an impromptu lunch in the grass. 10. Go fishing. …