Thriving or Surviving

Please note: Links in this post may include affiliate links which could result in small commissions to me at no cost to you if you purchase through these links. Thank you in advance! My health has never been great. As a child, I frequently had ear and respiratory infections and other ailments.  As an adult? I'm also still sick often--more in the last two years than usual. As I write this, I am on my sixth (or seventh?) round of having Covid-19 right on the heels of a non-Covid respiratory infection that triggered some asthma symptoms. On top of that, I've also got a hip injury to contend with and mystery tummy ailments that are getting worse.  Over the past two years, I've also experienced a worsening of my vertigo and balance issues, had numerous random falls, and an episode of low enough iron reserves to warrant an iron infusion. I'm currently on more meds and supplements than I ever have been in my life as well, and they all feel essential.  That said, I am a lot hea...

I recently wrote THIS blog post about getting lots of little tasks done around my home. The key is that each task was *small* and *defined*. As much as a good friend and I want to say we will clean and organize our ENTIRE homes, we both find that to be overwhelming. Even saying, "I'm going to clean my living room" is frequently too much! So, what do we do instead?  We create small and measurable goals that are easy to accomplish. And, we do that over and over throughout the day. You could argue that we are simply making to do lists, but I think that over simplifies things. We don't make a complete list of everything we plan to accomplish for the day as that can feel overwhelming. Instead, we list out just a handful of tiny tasks and micro-goals, accomplish those, and then repeat the process. When I wrote the post linked above (and linked  here ), I did set a larger goal, but I broke it down into micro-goals. The larger goal was to clean up the living room, dining are...

I love the idea of a weekly or monthly reset, but they don't work when everything feels chaotic all the time.  Due to some chronic health issues, I've not been keeping up on a lot around my home for months. Thus, piles have grown here and there. Dustbunnies have also grown here and there. No surface is clear or clean. My home is stressing me out right now. This is not how I want to live. I've started some new meds recently, and while there are some unpleasant side effects, overall, I do feel about 80% of normal. My energy is improving, as are my strength and overall stamina. So, today seemed like a good day to get lots of little things done.  If you've been feeling stuck and need a body double, then feel free to work alongside the tasks I list in this post!  My first step to any project that could be overwhelming is to text one of my dearest friends with my thoughts ("I don't want to do this. I hate this. Why is everything so messy all the time?"). Then, I...

Something interesting happened this weekend.  With only two work days left before my job is eliminated, I expected to be going into this week panicked, worried, and freaking out.  Instead, something else entirely happened. First, I started to feel calm -- calmer than I've felt in a very long time.  Second, I started to feel excited and curious about the possibilities of hours not spent at a job working for someone else.  I've spent the last two months growing increasingly anxious and depressed about my layoff, to a degree that I started to see a new therapist and have considered trying an antidepressant. Through working with my therapist and facing the elimination of my job, I've been considering what I really want out of life. Am I just pursuing certain paths because I feel like I should or because I think it's expected?  I am still looking for a new job and have had several promising interviews, but this mental shift and the possibilities raised by not having ...

I spend far too much time on social media, particularly Facebook and Instagram. As of today, I've decided to scale way back on both.  In the past, I've occasionally taken a day off of social media here and there, but haven't taken a break of longer than a full day. I have challenged myself to stay off of my personal Facebook and Instagram accounts through Thanksgiving day in the United States. I am allowing myself to still read direct messages and to take part in a specific Facebook group that I'm in with a tiny group of long-term friends. Beyond that, the only times I plan to use Facebook and Instagram will be to post to business related accounts -- and I plan to batch and schedule those. Today, I took the following steps towards scaling back my social media use and consumption: Decided on a timeframe: through Thanksgiving day Personal account posts: posted that I am taking a social media break Business related accounts: I will batch and schedule posts related to busin...

We all go through natural phases where life feels more or less intense and more or less overwhelming. Currently, I am in a phase of overwhelm, and I have been for a couple of months. And, life for the last six years or so has felt overwhelming more often than not. Don't get me wrong -- there have been periods where life has felt terrific and balanced, but not as often as I would like . . . not often enough for me to feel like I am thriving. This past weekend, I had a friendship come to an end in an extraordinarily emotionally painful manner. I will admit, I made some mistakes and said some things to the other person that I shouldn't have, but it was a mutually destructive situation. I wish the other person a healthy, happy, joy filled life and I will miss them, but the experience prompted me to look inward and to examine how I've been living life, what I have been prioritizing, and what I might want to do differently in the future.  As of today, I've decided to embark o...