Wednesday Wisdom: Chillax

A former boss once told me that I am a great worker, and very even keel, but (yes a but!) one of the things that I need is to feel respected. (I feel like what was implied is that I make waves when I feel I am being disrespected, and that’s not a good thing. sigh.).

I called my hubby to repeat the conversation and said, it’s not like that should be too much to ask…am I expecting too much of others? Please don’t tell me I’m overly needy because I feel every one should be respected. I just want people to show they have some “home training”.

Then it hit me, everyone has different upbringings, and something as simply courteous as saying hello in the hallway may not be on someone’s radar. (I am still shaking my head in disbelief as I typed that) But the reality is, what’s most important is my reaction to the perceived slight at work, at home, or by a neighbor.

Getting upset and giving away my joy is sooo what I need to work on…I need to realize not everyone was raised like me and that by putting my standards on others does nothing to them, but ruins my day and shortens my life.

“A relaxed attitude lengthens life” (Proverbs 14:30)

Chillaxin,

A.G.

Wednesday Wisdom: Get High!

I’ll pause for a minute and let you guess what I’m going to talk about…(hehehe)

When I suggest getting high, it’s not about drugs, or bungee jumping, or sky diving. It’s about a state of being.

One of my favorite books, The Power by Rhonda Byrne, quotes Rene Descartes (French Mathematician)

“Whenever anyone has offended me, I try to raise my soul so high that the offense cannot reach it.”

Recently, I was involved in a situation where I felt I was being lied on and it’s been hard for me to deal with. Although I believe I was vindicated, I was hurt and offended.

I am determined, however, to do whatever I need to do: pray, meditate, praise, dance, sing to make sure my mind and soul are lifted so high that the raging waters of offense can’t reach them.

Gettin’ high,

A.G

Wednesday Wisdom: Wrestling with Pigs

Source: Wednesday Wisdom: Wrestling with Pigs

Wednesday Wisdom: Wrestling with Pigs

“Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.”

― George Bernard Shaw

I first saw this quote on twitter last week, and in full disclosure when I did my research, I found it attributed to several different people, but Mr. Shaw had the most votes, so he’s who I ended up going with.

So when I saw quote it spoke to me loud and clear. When someone is going through an injustice (that’s small to them, but big to you) everyone likes to say “pick your battles”, but that gives me little consolation when I know I am being wronged/mistreated and it’s making my everyday very challenging.

However, this quote shifts the focus from being wronged to avoiding joining a mess. It gave me a palatable alternative to jumping in there and setting the record straight (or really telling someone off, let’s be honest). If I don’t engage in gossip and backbiting, my character stays in tact, but if I chose to engage with challenging people, I will inevitably stoop to their level and I will reek of their character. So by “picking my battles” I’ll stay out of the mud and stay clean. Although I won’t have the satisfaction of engaging with certain people the way I’d love to, I’ll also be able to wear a metaphorical white outfit and keep it clean, in other words, keeping my integrity and character in tact.

Pretty Blue Style: All in white by genise308

Also, this quote helped me to realize that there is no way I could engage with challenging people and stay clean. I may start out clean (with good intentions), but by the nature of who they are, and how they play, I am bound to get really really dirty. And I don’t want that.

Wearing all white,

A.G.

Wednesday Wisdom: Stop Auditioning

Source: Wednesday Wisdom: Stop Auditioning

Today’s Inspiration: Peace Be Still

 

Sometimes we need to be still. Let the dust settle, let the mud settle, and the chaotic-ness of the situation will clear up.

Stay inspired and move forward with your limitless possibilities!

 

A.G.

 

 

Wednesday Wisdom: Make sure they are laughing

 

If people aren’t laughing at your dreams then they aren’t big enough
Grayson Marshall

I am not saying you should tell everyone your dreams, because they are precious, especially in the beginning. Protect your dreams, but make sure they are big enough so when you do tell people, they laugh–or at least raise their eyebrows in surprise. Your life matches your expectations. If you have small dreams, you’ll achieve small things. My hope for you is that you reignite your dreams and then go after them.

Keeping ’em laughing (including myself),

A.G.

 

 

 

Wednesday Wisdom: Get rid of that But

Before you go look in the mirror or get annoyed with me because you think I am talking  about your weight,  notice but is spelled with one “t”, so I am talking about the conjunction.

 

On Memorial Day, I was chillin by the pool watching my daughter swim. The weather was perfect, there was a slight breeze in the air– not too humid or hot. So as I took a deep breath and looked around, I thought: Ahhh this is such a great place to live. The pool, the weather, I have a great life. But no sooner then that thought came out, another one followed…but you have to work tomorrow.  (boo!)

Can y’all relate? As soon as you finally relax or compliment yourself on something, negative Nancy (sorry Nancy) comes along and negates your positivity.

Here’s a few of my negative Nancy thoughts:
Yes, I got some writing in,  but I binge watched a dance show all weekend, so I should be way further along.

Yes I lost two pounds this week, but it should’ve been more had I not indulged in those brownies. 

Yes, I walked a 1/2 mile to the pool to get in some exercise, but I need to do some more to offset those brownies.

Yes, I finished my blog post early, but I should try to post twice this week.

Yes, I folded and put away some laundry, but I need to weed out my daughter’s drawers and give away what is too small.

It’s the BUT that ruins everything.
So on my walk back from the pool, I wrote this post in my head. I had just caught myself negating the wonderful day… it’s like I needed to find something negative to finish off a positive thought. BUT that’s not so! I could have ended the thought with something positive, point blank period.

Listen to your thoughts and make sure you are ending on a positive note!

A.G.

 

 

Just Coast

I like cars way more than I care to admit. I still think cars are a guy thing, but I’d love a sexy white Audi (Q7 or Q5 please) or a white Volvo XC 90.

 

So I won’t say if this is about my job (wink wink) but I may have been going through my house this weekend fussing in my head about how things are playing out. When I am supervising people, I try very hard to give them grace. If we’ve worked hard, then we can catch our breath before the next challenge.  But not everyone has this philosophy. When you force people to “gas it” 100 percent of the time, you burn people out– plain and simple. Yes it’s good to gun it sometimes, but you have to know when to rest. If you’ve accelerated up a hill, you can let up on the gas on the way down.  This is a good lesson in the workplace, especially if you supervise people, but it’s good philosophy for life.

I am ambitious and I have big goals, no secret. But as I become wiser, I realize keeping the pedal to the metal all the time is a recipe for disaster. Stop for a little bit, look around,  Netflix and chill, or walk away and come back.  All of those things help you to refresh. Eagles do it, cars can do it, and so should people. Allow yourself some days or even weeks to just coast.

Ahhh,

A.G.

 

 

Wednesday Wisdom: Forward Momentum

 

(Not so) Secretly I am a big physics geek, specifically particle physics. I love learning about strange and charm quarks and other elementary particles. I love understanding that the “God Particle” was really a marketing term for the Higgs Boson and it was an anticipated, but missing piece of the Standard Model until it was confirmed in 2013. Professor Sean Carroll has taught me about Large Hadron Collider (largest man made machine in the world) and Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson has walked me through the beautiful Cosmos (on Netflix). Morgan Freeman takes me Through the Wormhole on the science channel, and I’ll read just about anything dark matter… but I digress. The truth is I almost failed physics in high school and any physics-related math makes my eyes glaze over and my ears hurt. Nonetheless, I find the laws of physics useful for life.

So on Mother’s Day,  my daughter rode her bike while my husband and I jogged behind/beside her (well…I was beside her because I was keeping up, the husband was behind–hehehe). I knew I would be eating well that day, and wanted to preemptively burn some calories.

 

Ok so, back to the bike ride…my daughter is pretty good at riding her bike without training wheels, but we always need to remind her to pedal, especially when she’s taking off.  When she starts off, because she is moving slow, she starts swerving… badly!

Bikes are stable when they are moving forward because it allows the bike’s points of support under the center of gravity to keep it balanced. That’s just jibber jabber for moving forward keeps you upright, which allows you to keep moving forward.

On days when it’s hard, or when you are just starting off in pursuit of your dreams, don’t look around, don’t try to ease into it, just keep pedaling forward because the  swerving will cease and momentum will take over. I don’t always believe this, but sometimes it’s true…the hardest part is getting started.

Pedaling forward,

A.G.