Me & My Quite Contrary Life

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...

NUDGED:  "Compliment a stranger" BACKSTORY:  I am okay with talking to strangers, but don't compliment people often that I don't know. In fact, I don't compliment people often at all. This nudge will encourage me to look for good aspects or qualities in other people to compliment them, and then say it! I am excited to see the reactions!  QUOTE:  "Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." - Leo Buscaglia HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: The easiest, most natural way for me to compliment someone is to notice a Jackrabbit or SDSU logo on clothing and then compliment them on having good taste for a good school. In fact, as I was pondering how to complete this nudge, I had several strangers compliment me on my new SDSU purse this week. I had to wait until a good opportunity came up, until I spotted somethi...

NUDGED: "Research a topic (be an expert!) in a specialized area" BACKSTORY: I am a curious person who knows a little bit about a lot of things. I am trained as a journalist, so I have a wide range of study but lack depth in a specialized (niche) area like other professions. I find myself doing web searches often to learn new things. I am quickly satisfied when I find an answer that seems plausible and move on, lacking depth. With this nudge, I really want to take time to research and go deep into a topic of interest. QUOTE: "If you are not learning, you are stuck. It doesn't matter whether you are 25 or 70 years old. We were not put on earth for a few years to learn in high school or college, then just float through the rest of our lives. Learning today is becoming easier and harder for many reasons, but in the end, if you don't make it a life mission to learn something valuable every day, why are you still here? Learn something new today." - Tim Conn...

Winter marches on here and I am enjoying all the warm things during these cold days. My favorites include hot chocolate, a little space heater under my desk at work, and an electric blanket at home. The snow looks really beautiful when it is falling and you can stay home and be warm. It loses its appeal pretty quickly when you are forced to go out in it!   My year’s theme of connecting is always in the back of my mind. It takes on many forms, from connecting with friends and strangers, to connecting with my inner most self, and even connecting with any heat sources too. I stumbled across a website that encourages participants to write a letter and mail/hand deliver it each day in February. I was intrigued by this idea initially and thought seriously about participating. It would be a good way to connect with different people daily, and incorporates my love of written words. I ultimately decided against participating as I don’t want the pressure on myself to write each day, a...