Me & My Quite Contrary Life

NUDGED:  "Watch my shoulds " BACKSTORY: The nudge this week came from a friend's suggestion. We were chatting over coffee, and she noticed I often said I "should" do things but it sounded like I really didn't want to. She suggested this nudge as a way to assess my true feelings. Does my "should" actually mean "have to" or was it optional?  QUOTE: "Our greatest danger in life is in permitting the urgent things to crowd out the important." - Charles E. Hummel HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: I was very aware of my words again this week, and paid careful attention to every time I used the word "should". I didn't use it as often as I initially thought I would, but that may be because I was careful to use a different word instead! I made a list of my commitments (obligations) and a list of my wants (optional). Seeing it all listed out on paper made it so easy to clearly see what should be the priorities in my life. I re...

NUDGED:  "Write my own story" BACKSTORY:  I have loved to write all my life. I would tell my mom stories when I was three years old and insist that she write them down. My love of writing continued with taking advanced English classes in school, then earning a degree in Journalism in college. I wrote for my high school and college newspapers, and loved writing feature stories. Today, I still write life stories for hospice patients, something I really enjoy doing. But, it has been easy for me to hide behind the pen and paper and let MY story go untold. My challenge this week was to tell my story. QUOTE:  "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." - Maya Angelou HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:  I was excited for the challenge this week but also nervous. I wanted to get it right and didn't know where to start. I decided to trust the timing of this nudge and pursue the obvious personal story. This nudge was drawn on "Pivot Day", th...

NUDGED:  "No complaining for 5 days" BACKSTORY: I read the book "A Complaint Free World" by Will Bowen and was really convicted by how much complaining negatively affects our world. Bowen states in the book,"We are obsessed with what is wrong. We complain about anything and everything, and as a result we keep focusing on our problems. Contrary to popular belief, complaining does not lead to solving our problems. Rather it concretizes our challenges and justifies our inaction in doing anything to make things better." The book opened my eyes (and ears!) to how much negativity and complaining happens every day, especially statements that come out of my mouth. I worked on the author's challenge of having 21 consecutive days without complaining to live a happier life, but never made it more than a few days at a time (so hard!!). This nudge was yet another opportunity for me to try: no complaining for 5 days (Monday-Friday)!  QUOTE:  "If you don...

NUDGED: "Complete a random act of kindness, anonymously" BACKSTORY: I love hearing stories of random acts of kindness. It's encouraging to hear that there are good people in the world being kind to others. When I turned 30, I made a list of 30 random acts of kindness that I worked on during my birthday month. All 30 were completed! I really enjoyed focusing on good deeds, and thought it was time to try it again. The challenge this time would be to keep it completely anonymous - doing good for others without any recognition or appreciation. The other part of the challenge is to not spend much money on this per my rules. How can I make a difference without being known or spending much money? QUOTE: "Together we can change the world, just one random act of kindness at a time." - Ron Hall HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: This is a tough one to blog on as I want what I did to be completely anonymous. Without giving any specific details, I completed this nudge by per...

NUDGED: "Be present and enjoy the moment" BACKSTORY: This was vacation week for us! My husband and I went on a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean last week that we had been planning and preparing for for months. We left winter and all our responsibilities behind, and embraced adventure and quality time together. It was amazing! I decided ahead of time that I would work on a special nudge during our trip. I challenged myself to stay in the present moment throughout our travels. I didn't want to be worrying about what was happening next or rehashing the past. I wanted to be flexible and open-minded. My nudge for this week was to "be present and enjoy". QUOTES: "With enlightenment comes the realization that the natural foe to life is not a distant death, but a detachment from living... Reality is only here, now, and we must learn to face it, feel it, and form it." - Brendon Burchard in "The Motivation Manifesto" and "Therefore, do n...