Me & My Quite Contrary Life

SCHEDULED NUDGE: "Focus on my posture" NEW NUDGE: "Limit the number of emails and work task list to 25 or less items" BACKSTORY:  I tried this week to focus on my posture (the scheduled nudge) but I was much more interested in working to simplify my life per the book I just finished. It only took me a few hours to realize my posture stinks most of the time (ha!) and is something to work on in the future...but not this week. I followed my interests and switched the nudge for the week. It's my project and I can decide the rules for myself! I will focus on my posture next week then. I recently finished reading the book "The Power of Less" by Leo Babauta and it really helped me to reconsider how I use technology. The author recommends setting limits to how much we consume and do, and in doing so, we are happier, less stressed, and more productive. I was convicted and inspired as I read and wanted to try his suggestions to see how they worked in my l...

NUDGED: "Keep a dream log and research what they mean" BACKSTORY: The idea of writing down your dreams to get a glimpse into your subconscious mind fascinates me. I have heard stories of people who write regular dream journals and find a lot of meaning out of it. It has always been something I wanted to try to see if it makes a difference in my life. With the nudge that was selected this week, it was time to try it for myself. QUOTE: "Yet it is in our idleness, in our dreams, that the submerged truth sometimes comes to the top." - Virginia Woolf HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: I had a lot of questions going into the week. Would this prove to be very insightful or boring? What do my recurring dreams mean? Do I dream more when I am really tired or really stressed? Do I even remember my dreams? Do my dreams have meaning or are they random? In short, I found out the answers to the above questions were: mostly boring, something I worry about, no and yes, sometimes, bot...

NUDGED: "What makes me laugh? Laugh out loud this week" BACKSTORY: LOL or "Laugh Out Loud" is a commonly used abbreviation, but am I really laughing out loud anymore? I noticed I laugh less as I get older. I don't know if this is due to aging, or because of the internet which offers MANY, MANY hilarious memes, images and jokes, that I take in on a daily basis. Am I just desensitized to funny now? It was time to get laughing again with the nudge this week! QUOTE: "The person who can bring the spirit of laughter into a room is indeed blessed." - Bennett Cerf HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: I pondered what makes me laugh this week, and came up with many answers. I watched some online videos of comedians that I like and found myself laughing at their material. I also find Pinterest fail pictures funny too (maybe because I can relate!). There are many funny things on the interwebs, but the key is finding things that make YOU smile or laugh. I also revisited...

NUDGED: "Tell the truth - no lying for one week" BACKSTORY: It's so easy to exaggerate or tell a little white lie to save someone's feelings. I wanted to examine how much I do this in my life and to be brave by telling the truth all the time, even when it hurts. I have to admit, I was apprehensive about this week. What if someone asked me what I thought of her new bad haircut? What would I say?! QUOTE: "Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving." - James E. Faust HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: This week turned out to be pretty uneventful for me. I didn't have many ah-ha moments or (luckily!) any moments where the truth hurt someone. Because I was paying attention to it, I did have three moments when I pondered my view of truth: 1) In a casual conversation with a guy about the same age as me, he suggested when people ask me my age to add 10 years instead of lying about being "29 still". ...