Tag Archives: laugh more

Degrees of Darkness

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CalmUp® photo I of Degrees of Darkness

I tweeted my CalmUp® “How can I…” question of the day:

How can I hang on to this feeling?

It was Friday, and I woke up feeling great—enthusiastic, peaceful, and joyful. Those feelings were short-lived.

ANNOYED. A week ago Friday, I went to the Social Security Office to address a concern about possible identity theft. Seeing a full house, I asked the guard about how long I could expect to wait. After the anticipated wait time of 30–45 minutes, I chose to leave. I had already rescheduled one appointment, and I didn’t want to miss another.

FRUSTRATED. I left the building with a phone number to call the Social Security Office and schedule my next appointment so that I wouldn’t have to wait in line again. I placed the call the following Friday. Due to their long wait time, I requested a call back. When I received the call, I responded according to their computerized prompts, and the system hung up on me. Great.

ANGRY. After three phone calls, I finally got to speak with a live person and was told that I wouldn’t be able to schedule an appointment, since my issue didn’t fit one of their primary topics. I could, however, return to the Social Security Office and wait in line. Are you kidding me?  Continue reading...

On or Off?

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CalmUp® photo of yoga mat

THIS MORNING I was on my yoga mat. I enjoy doing yoga from the comfort of my living room. The challenge of a yoga video, however, is that there are no fellow yogis to motivate me to stay on the mat.

I was about halfway through my routine when I started thinking about some of the other things I could be doing. I silently told myself, Stay on the mat. I knew I could do it. The next pose was one of my favorites.

It’s so easy to be seduced away from the moment—so many important things to be done. I’m proud to share that I stuck it out. I stayed on the mat, and I feel great.

LAST WEEK I was on my yoga mat. I’m not a serious yogi—I maintain a flexible schedule. Believe me, I accept food offers over down dog.

I was about 15 minutes into the routine when I started thinking about sitting with my son who was watching The Big Bang Theory in the other room. I silently told myself, Stay on the mat. Nah, I’d rather chill out with my boy.  Continue reading...

Lighten Up!

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I noticed the other day that one of my mentors wrote a newsletter this month with the same title. Is this a coincidence? I considered coming up with a new topic and title. Wait, I told myself, maybe it’s an important enough message to be told in more than one way.

I got the idea to write about the topic after my husband heard my last interview of “Regular Folks With a Noteworthy Story” and told me that I sounded too serious and needed to “lighten up.” My interpretation is that I need to laugh more, I could use more fun in my life, and I ought to mellow out. Yes, I had to admit that “lighten up” was good advice.

How can I lighten up?

Here comes full disclosure… On more than one occasion, even prior to my husband’s recommendation, I’ve questioned on the CalmUp® Journey how I could lighten up a bit. Here are a handful of suggestions I’ve integrated:

•    Schedule fun first
•    Spend more time in the hot tub
•    Take more naps
•    Bake
•    When your kid asks you to go sledding, say yes  Continue reading...