Fully appreciating the present moment has always been a major struggle for me.
It’s an area I grapple with—even after years of working on it. Continue Reading
The Importance of Energy Chargers Each Day
I was recently reminded of the importance of energy chargers each day. Ironically this was during a time that was full of excitement.
The past week has been a blur. My husband and I were in Portland for a conference called the World Domination Summit. While it’s been super great to connect with other likeminded people, I found myself extremely drained as an introvert. To add to the craziness, I wasn’t getting as much sleep with the later nights and so much more going on.Continue Reading
Everything Will Be Okay
Through shifting changes, we occasionally forget everything will be okay.
We tend to highlight what’s still not resolved, what’s imperfect, or what may or may not be coming. We underrate the blessings in our lives, and become overly impacted by what still hasn’t fallen into place. It’s easy to lose perspective on how good we have it when our focus is on what’s lacking.
Sometimes the fluctuating parts of our lives feel too great. We’re simply not sure what’s going to happen or what we’re going to do in a situation. We feel frozen between the different paths, sit on the sidelines in our indecision and become inundated by fear.
But consider this.Continue Reading
The Real Energy Drainer During the Day
At first I didn’t think this applied to me. I didn’t realize I was expending more energy than I needed to—in more ways than one.
I tend to focus my eyes intently when I’m reading, writing, watching or talking—and especially more so when I’m working or concentrating on something. Sometimes, I inadvertently furrow my eyebrows and squint, which increases the pressure. It’s become a habit—a mannerism done unconsciously.
No big deal right? Well, let’s just say it’s actually a bigger deal than I thought.
Our Experience Playing Minsgame Multiple Times
My husband and I have played multiple rounds of minsgame. This past July was our fourth time.
How the game works is like this: you remove an item from your home (by selling, donating, giving or throwing away) on the first day, two items on the second day and so forth. Each item can be as big as an appliance or as small as a button. It all depends on you. With both of us playing in a month with 31 days, that equates to nearly a thousand items (992) gone from our home.
It’s been challenging this fourth time around. Frankly, I wasn’t able to find 496 physical items. I only found about 78, a much lower number than I needed. That certainly wasn’t the case when we first started down the minimalism path.Continue Reading
The Damaging Effects of Worry
The worry we experience is never driven by external factors. It’s taken me a long time to truly understand this.
As tempting as it might be to blame the situation, the weather or someone else, what’s going on externally is never truly the culprit of what’s going on inside. Outside factors may contribute, but they’re never the main source of the angst.
I used to think my unhappiness and stress were solely driven from my full-time job in finance. While my disinterest in the field certainly didn’t help, working in finance wasn’t the main reason for my stress.
Really, the issue was within me.Continue Reading
3 Tips for Minimalist Packing
Packing for travel used to be a big ordeal.
Luggage space was a precious resource, even for a weekend trip. With my luggage stretched at the seams, I’d pack three to four times more clothing than I’d need. The luggage was carry-on sized, but it’d feel as if there were also several large bricks packed inside.
It was embarrassing—getting on the plane with my overstuffed carry-on. My upper body strength wasn’t as strong back then, so I’d dread the task of putting my bag in the overhead container. Often I’d be unable to lift my luggage without assistance from someone. The anticipation was a downside to the otherwise fun parts of travel.Continue Reading
Growing on the Uncertain Path
I recently learned about the Enneagram of Personality and discovered I’m the number five personality type. Type five is known as the thinker, observer, investigator—among other similar names. Like the other eight types, it comes with its strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies.
It all began with a library book on the subject. I was then guided to an assessment from the book. I wasn’t entirely swayed by the summary I initially read after receiving my results. Yet the more I read, the more I realized the patterns described have played out similarly in my life. Continue Reading
5 Tips on Living a More Minimalist Lifestyle
There’s a staggering excess of things we don’t need.
Piles of junk mail show up in our mailboxes each day. Thousands of products are promoted in stores and on screen, and hundreds of promotional swag are given out for “free.” Every item has an additional hidden cost. Every item takes from our limited reserves of time, energy and attention.
In a world of such excess, I’ve found it essential to pare down and embrace a minimalist lifestyle.Continue Reading
The Difficulty of Resisting Busyness
The past couple weeks, I’ve been sporadic in my meditation and gratitude practice. It’s usually something I try to do regularly.
I feel the impacts of when it’s been awhile. There’s an underlying fluster and distractibility that’s more pronounced. I’m more easily overwhelmed and susceptible to the desire of wanting to do a little bit of everything that often results in nothing of significance being done. Continue Reading