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.
As a thoughtfulness curator, I help people collect their thoughts. Did you know that being thoughtful has everything to do with banana bread?
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.
Happy National Dress Up Your Pet Day to all the pet lovers in the country! I cannot wait to see all the posts for this national day which is today - January 14th. In 2009, celebrity Pet Lifestyle Expert and Animal Behaviorist Colleen Paige’s request to have a national day for Dress Up Your Pet was approved by Nationaldaycalendar.com. Who would have guessed that a little over a decade later, that this day would be as popular as it is today?
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.
Some people crinkle up their noses when they hear the words egg nog. For the rest of us, we say, “Bring it!” I suppose many people can’t imagine that drinking eggs can be tasty. However, I believe that any concoction that contains alcohol is worth at least a try.
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.
Remember when iPhones were introduced in 2007? Then, remember in 2008, when Apple came out with OS 2.0, there were approximately 500 apps on that version? What did we do before apps came along? Hunt and gather? Was sliced bread invented before 2008? Did we even have color TV before then? I mean, our lives have changed so much since apps were introduced that the phrase “game changer” is the ultimate understatement.
