All in Healthy Family
For Thoughtful Pinch, March 2020 started off with Blogiversary give aways PLUS two descriptions of thoughtfulness styles. I have curated a total of ten thoughtfulness styles and each week for the month of March, I am going to go over in detail, two styles at a time.
I’m kicking off the month of March by reviewing for some and introducing to others, ten thoughtfulness styles. I have curated ten common styles that pertain to being thoughtful. Each letter in the word “P-I-N-C-H” represents two styles. If you find yourself relating to more than one style, that is perfectly normal! In fact, it’s a good indicator that you tend to be flexible. We all have our own way of being thoughtful. Comparing ourselves to others is very common but it’s not a productive way for us to use our time and energy. Instead, let’s own our style(s) and celebrate how unique we are when it comes to being thoughtful.
Writing thank you notes is something thoughtful that I am constantly encouraging. I am also frequently bringing up not-so-easy situations like suffering the loss of a loved one. I’m Here. You’re There and Return to Sender are two posts that I share thoughtful gestures and/or pinches for those situations.
My goal this year is to be more compassionate when I’m with my kids and the hub. I need to be careful about what I ask for because I’m being put to the test left, right and 24/7. For instance, last week when my daughter yelled at me for not toasting a bagel for her - my compassion was no where to be found. In fact, I probably wouldn’t talk to my worst enemy the same way that I spoke to her. After I dropped her off at school, I screamed my head off. What a great way to start the day!
Just a couple of weeks ago, on MLK Jr. Day, I got a call from Ms. Ruth, our piano teacher. She told me that she had about 3-4 weeks to live because she was dying from ovarian cancer. I could sense that she had more calls to make because she didn’t give me much time to get over the shock. She offered up three options: 1. I tell the kids that she’s dying, 2. She could tell the kids or 3. We don’t tell the kids and she just rides off into the sunset. I chose to tell the kids and they decided that they wanted to see her before she died.
Last Fall, a group of five students from the Carlson Business School at the University of Minnesota asked if they could do their semester assignment about my company Thoughtful Pinch. The plan was for me to give them information about my start up and in turn, they would treat the information as a case study. I was both honored and hopeful. How cool that they chose my company? And my hope was that this group would give me a thoughtful pinch in the form of feedback, advice, detailed information and/or constructive criticism.
By the time I went to Oprah’s 2020 Vision event in St. Paul, I had been meditating for at least 5 minutes a day for 10 days in row because that is my 365 (366 for Leap Year) for 2020. I often heard that the benefits of mediation were immediate but I wasn’t expecting it to be truly… immediate. The Oprah event exceeded all of my expectations because: 1. I didn’t have any expectations except to see her live on stage and 2. meditating cleared up some junk just in time to see this show. My mind was so open that it soaked up every morsel of wisdom that Oprah had to offer.
In 2019, when all of the New Year parties were over, I remember the buzz words were VISION BOARD. Everyone decided that they needed their vision to be in print and 2019 was the year to do it. It was vision board parties and workshops galore! Even though I wasn’t invited to any vision board events and I have FOMO, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have gone to an event anyway. I was too busy working on my goals.
In Scott Stump’s article, “Navy Seal’s Advice to Grads” he writes about U.S. Navy Admiral William H. McCraven’s advice to his alma mater in 2014. McCraven said, "If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that the little things in life matter.
I have this feeling. So far, during this holiday season, I can’t decipher if it’s a feeling of guilt, anxiety or envy. Just so you know, I’m not looking for solutions. More importantly, I am not offering any solutions either. What I am looking for are awareness and validation. Let’s break it down.
I’m really feeling the effects of this year’s late Thanksgiving. People are skipping right over this holiday and they are already getting Christmas trees. Even my kids have been pleading for me to get our tree now - sharing some statistic that claims, “Those who get their Christmas trees early are happier people.” Well, I prefer to be unhappy thank you very much. I will wait until Black Friday.
