Me & My Quite Contrary Life

NUDGED: "Go to a new place in my city" BACKSTORY: I decided to add this nudge a few months ago after my patriotic week. That week in July, I went to two new local places that I had never been to before, even though I have lived in this same city for most of my life. I realized that there are other places within my city that I haven't been to yet. Time to try a new place again! QUOTE: "You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do." - Eleanor Roosevelt HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: In some ways, this was not a new and scary challenge for me. My husband and I have a list of restaurants in our city that are new or places we haven't eaten at yet. It is a long list! We try out new places about once a week, to show our support to new restaurants and find new favorite places. We have been doing this for years now. Incredibly enough, our list continues t...

NUDGED: "Learn the capitals of every state" BACKSTORY:  This may sound too easy for some people, but it is something I didn't learn (or retain!) from my school days. I can recite all the 50 states in alphabetical order, but I can't name more than a few capitals. It bothers me. It feels like something I should know. It will be a challenge to see how well I can learn and retain information! To continue, please step inside my personal learning center. It is a judgment free zone! QUOTE: "Commit yourself to lifelong learning. The most valuable asset you'll ever have is your mind and what you put into it." - Brian Tracy HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: Memorization, repetition and flash cards are what my week included. I haven't made flash cards since I was in college (a long time ago!) and I actually enjoyed making them! I'm weird....oh wait, no judgment! I am a visual learner so they really helped me to memorize the 50 cities. I also wrote the fu...

NUDGE: "Ask for something big and face rejection" BACKSTORY: I was inspired by a TED Talk from a man who did 100 Days of Rejection Therapy to desensitize himself from the pain of rejection and to overcome his fear. He asked for BIG things and anticipated getting a "no" response, although many times people surprised him and said yes to his outrageous requests! I don't like rejection (who does?!) so I knew this would be a good challenge for me to try!  QUOTE: "My rejection therapy taught me that 'the worst they can say is no' is actually not true. In fact, the worst they can say is 'you didn't even ask'. It implies I said 'no' to myself before others could reject me." - Jia Jiang, founder of above referenced 100 Days of Rejection Therapy HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: I first decided to adopt Jiang's same criteria to set guidelines for making a big request: it would be ethical (no lying), legal, and doesn't defy th...

NUDGE: "Wear nice jewelry" BACKSTORY: I have a large collection of necklaces, bracelets and rings, most of which have been given to me over the years as gifts or are heirlooms from family members who have passed away. These pieces are special to me or are too flashy, so I never wear them. They spend their days in my dark jewelry box. Never worn....until this week! Instead of wearing the same necklaces and rings, for this nudge, I will try wearing other pieces. How will it feel? Will other people notice? Why don't I wear these special pieces more? QUOTE: "Jewelry has the power to be this one little thing that can make you feel unique." - Jennie Kwon HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:  I wore my gold necklace that has the word "Brave" printed on it. I bought this necklace in 2018 in preparation for my 2019 theme of "Brave". I thought I would wear it all the time to remind myself of my intentions.....but I have only worn it a few times in almost ...

NUDGE: "Focus on my posture" BACKSTORY: Let's try this again (second week)! I've always known posture is important, but I seem to be more aware of it as I age. My job requires me to sit in front of a computer at a desk 95% of the work day. All that sitting takes wears on my body, but it is worse when my posture is bad. I  slump in my chair or sit with my chin rested on my left hand while my right hand is using the mouse. I have been having back pain, which I'm sure is partially caused by bad sitting all day. This week, I wanted to be super aware of my posture and work to correct it. Would it make any difference? Would some of the pain go away? Are there ways to help my back feel better after so much sitting? QUOTE: "Posture is important! Look less like a comma and more like an exclamation mark!" - Taylor-Kevin Isaacs HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: I knew my posture was not good, so I focused on what I could do to improve it. I made sure to sit up straig...