Me & My Quite Contrary Life

NUDGED: "Learn something new from a Youtube video" BACKSTORY:  I used to love watching Reading Rainbow, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, and Sesame Street. These shows, along with many others, combined visuals and lessons that stuck with me. I still love learning new things, but I don't often use online videos for help. I get information in many other ways and forget to try it as a resource. This week, I wanted to check it out and see what I could learn from online videos. What kinds of things could I learn about? Would the information be reliable and accurate? QUOTE: "Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow." - Anthony J. D'Angelo HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: I watched three videos on Youtube this week. Each were different from the others in what I learned. It gave me a good perspective on the types of information available on the internet (spoiler alert - EVERYTHING can be found online). 1) I watched a TedTalk on how to be...

NUDGED: "Do something I hate doing" BACKSTORY: I saw this idea on another person's nudges list and really liked it. There are so many items on my to-do list that I never get to because I don't really WANT to. Unfortunately, these dreaded tasks need to get done some time. This was the week to do it! Time to "like" what I hate doing. QUOTE: "The hardest part of any important task is getting started on it in the first place. Once you actually begin work on a valuable task, you seem to be naturally motivated to continue." - Brian Tracy in Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: It wasn't a very fun week, but it was a productive one. I finally did the tasks that I really don't like doing, including pulling weeds from the flower beds, cleaning a dirty toilet, cleaning mold spots off the bathroom ceiling, picking up dog poop in the backyard, and vacuuming our bedroom...

NUDGED: "Go to the gym 3 times this week" BACKSTORY: Great timing for this nudge! I had been going to the gym regularly and really enjoyed it, but then life happened and I haven't been able to get back on track (or treadmill!). Once you miss going to the gym for a few weeks, it is so easy to keep not going and find other things to do instead. It was time to stop "forgetting" to go and make it a priority in my life again. I hope it will set me up to continue going to the gym regularly after this week is over. QUOTE: "True enjoyment comes from activity of the mind and exercise of the body; the two are ever united." - Wilhelm von Humboldt HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: On Sunday evening, I wrote a list of reasons why I want to go to the gym and why fitness is important to me. I used this list all week to be motivated to go. My list of reasons included stress relief, to be strong and lift heavy things as life required, to maintain my strength as I age, ke...

NUDGED: "Master the messy bun/top knot" BACKSTORY: I really like this hairstyle and always wanted to try it myself. I tried it once before but it looked too messy (ha!) and fell out right away so I gave up (perfectionist!) and never tried again. Still, I continue seeing other women ROCKING the messy bun but the style eluded me. When I decided to make a list of nudges/challenges to try, this was the top item on my list. It is something I really wanted to work on repeatedly until I figured it out and this nudge gave me that opportunity. QUOTE: "A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying." - B. F. Skinner HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: This week took lots of practice and I worked on the nudge over the entire week. I watched multiple online videos and followed the steps of each one as I did it (most had "super easy" in the title = HAHA!). Some worked better than others, bu...

NUDGED: "Give in to an impulse that gives me joy" BACKSTORY: It is not a coincidence that so many of my nudge challenges relate to joy in some way. That is one of the major goals of this project - to find greater joy in life and to get out of my comfort zone. This nudge gave me permission to follow joy whenever an idea came to me.  Going in to the week, I had no idea when or where or what form this nudge would take....but I was excited to find out! QUOTE: "When you follow your bliss, doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors; and where there wouldn't be a door for anyone else." - Joseph Campbell HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: Implementing this nudge was highly dependent on what I was feeling on a certain week. I decided to "go with the flow" for whatever my mind was interested in this week, which would be totally different on any given week. I gave myself permission to be engrossed in whatever it was that gave me joy. It didn...