An A to Z Gratitude List
November is traditionally a month for gratitude. Some people create a daily gratitude post for social media. Others use prompts and write in a gratitude journal every day. Others wait until they are gathered around the Thanksgiving table to share things they are grateful for with their friends and family. How do you share your gratitude during November? I haven’t been as focused this year on gratitude as I have been in the past. For the past year, every night I write down 5 specific things from that day that I am grateful for and that seems to have filled a need. But, in general, there are things that I…
10 Things to be Happy About
I’m sure you’ve heard that song by Pharrell Williams from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack—Happy. It’s a peppy, upbeat song all about nothing being able to drag him down because he’s happy. No matter what happens in his life, he chooses to be happy. It’s a good message. Happiness is a choice. The people over at Lifehack give a few tips for choosing happiness. Figure out what happiness means to YOU. Choose to be around the right people. Help others. Take care of your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. What makes you happy? Sometimes creating lists helps remind you that there is a lot to be happy about. Here…
My Educational Vehicle
There are many different kinds of vehicles—cars, trucks, and vans; bicycles and motorcycles; and boats, planes, and trains. Each vehicle also has a different purpose. Some are just for transportation while others are more for enjoyment. Some vehicles are fast, others are slow. Some vehicles provide access to places you would otherwise not be able to get to. Similar to the various types, speeds and purposes of vehicles, my educational journey has had a variety of methods and destinations. My favorite type of vehicle is one I don’t have to drive. I’d rather go along for the ride than be the driver. My high school education was much the same.…
Call to Adventure
Are you familiar with the Hero’s Journey? The hero’s journey is a cycle or pattern that every hero goes through and where the hero ends up changed or transformed. Joseph Campbell studied myths from all over the world and published a book about his findings explaining how each story represents the hero’s journey. Check out this short video to learn more about the cycle. Our homeschool group is focusing on the hero’s journey this year. We kicked off the year learning about the call to adventure. The call to adventure often comes with a threat or a challenge to overcome or a problem to solve. Sometimes the hero stumbles on…
The Last 90 Days Challenge 2019
2019 is almost over, which means the New Year will be here sooner than you think. For most people, a new year means new goals and intentions. It sometimes also means spending the last few months of the year doing whatever you want. Have you ever decided that your diet would start on Monday then unintentionally (or intentionally) eaten everything unhealthy you could get your hands on because you knew it would be the last time you would be able to eat it? The end of the year is like that—eating junk because you’ll set healthy eating goal in January, moving less because you’ll set an exercise goal in January,…
What is Say Go Be Do?
Years ago I listened to an audio by Tiffany Earl entitled “Say Go Be Do”. I’ve actually listened to it several times over the years. It’s one of those classics that you can get something different out of every time you hear it. Recently I found the book that Tiffany wrote based on the same concept. She shared a lot of the same concepts and ideas in the book that she shared in the audio, but expands on them and gives more examples. It’s a short book and worth the read. What is Say Go Be Do? Tiffany got the concept from reading a book about Suzuki, a Japanese violin…
15 Things I am Grateful For
Part of my nighttime routine is to write a list of things that I am grateful for. I’ve been consistently writing in my gratitude journal for almost a year. I first heard of the idea years ago in “The Slight Edge” by Jeff Olson. He says that writing down 3 different things you’re grateful every day will, over time, make you happier. Through the process of searching for the positive, you begin to rewire your brain to see the world in a different way. You become more aware of the good. I more recently heard about the importance of being thankful from Rachel Hollis when I participated in her last…
{Series Part 6}–The Ant and the Elephant: Control the Response to Any Situation
Today is the last day of our series on “The Ant and the Elephant”. We’ve talked about CLARIFYING YOUR VISION, COMMITTING TO CULTIVATING POSITIVE DOMINANT THOUGHTS, CONSISTENTLY FOCUSING ON PERFORMANCE, and STRENGTHENING CONFIDENCE. Today we will learn how to CONTROL THE RESPONSE TO ANY SITUATION. Whenever you are running for a worthwhile goal, you will come up against obstacles. Brio the owl taught his mentee Adir the ant to expect the unexpected and anticipate his response. He suggested that Adir come up with 10 worst-case scenarios and write each on a flashcard. Write down situations or circumstances that, if happened, would cause anxiety or make you feel like you couldn’t…
{Series Part 5}–The Ant and the Elephant: Strengthen Confidence
We are almost done with this series on “The Ant and the Elephant”. I hope you have been learning (and applying) some new ways to chase your dream. So far we have learned to CLARIFY OUR VISION, COMMIT TO CULTIVATING POSITIVE DOMINANT THOUGHTS, and CONSISTENTLY FOCUS ON PERFORMANCE. Today we will focus on the next to last step—STRENGTHEN CONFIDENCE. Imagine you have been hard at work. You’ve attached an emotion to your dream and visualize it throughout the day. And you understand that change is gradual, but you know you are making progress. You’re feeling good and everything seems to be going great, when you happen across a couple of…
{Series Part 4}–The Ant and the Elephant: Consistently Focus on Performance
Welcome back to “The Ant and the Elephant” series on chasing your dream. We’ve talked about CLARIFYING YOUR VISION and CULTIVATING POSITIVE THOUGHTS, and now we are ready to learn how to CONSISTENTLY FOCUS ON PERFORMANCE. Adir the ant now knows that goals and dreams take time and effort. He knows that he needs to spend time each day visualizing his dream, and he is learning that he needs a tool to help him keep his focus on his dream. He discovered that the more often he feels the elephant buzz—the emotion that ignites the vision—the more likely he will be able to keep his actions in line with his…
