Backstory: I’d forgotten about this one—how fun! I think the idea for this Nudge may have come to me when I checked out a new-to-me bookstore several months ago, when I ended up in a new-to-me neighborhood. Even though I live in a smallish city (San Francisco is roughly 47 square miles; for comparison, Los Angeles is 302 square miles), there is so much here I have yet to explore. Weather permitting, here is my chance to do just that.
Backstory: This Nudge didn’t come from the bowl. This is one I dropped in because I’m struggling today. Maybe it’s the post-holidays blues. Maybe it’s the cold and gloominess of the season. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a real affliction, in case you didn’t know. Maybe it’s the ongoing frustration of not having a clear path, a clear purpose.
I’m not sure what’s up (or down) with me right now, but I feel the need to find something to get me up in the mornings. Something other than piles of laundry that need to be addressed or bills that need to be paid. I am dragging through my days, so much so that yesterday, as I lay in bed dreading my day (and it was a Saturday!), I had a small fantasy about pulling everything off the top of my desk and burning it in the fireplace. Yes, I know that wouldn’t really solve any problems—likely make some worse—but the idea of having a clean start is appealing.
Where is my magic? What happened to my mojo? I need to find it and put it back to work.
P.S. I did check in with myself and know it isn’t chronic depression, lack of sleep, or illness causing my malaise. If your blue mood is lasting longer than is okay, please schedule a checkup with your doctor or reach out to someone for help. xo
What Happened: I started by looking up the definition of “mojo”, and this is some of what I found:
“a quality or some ability that brings good luck or helps you be good at something”
“personal confidence and charisma”
“self-confidence, self-assuredness”
“belief in one’s self”
“a good luck charm to bolster confidence”
“the ability to bounce back from a debilitating trauma or negative attitude”
“magical power”
(Sources: Urban Dictionary, Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary)
This helped me clarify that I am not looking for a thing—a charm or amulet—that will provide me with power, I’m looking for actions that will rekindle the magical power I have inside me, a power that seems to have gone temporarily dormant.
Over the week I set aside some quiet time to think about what makes me feel good, makes me feel energized and calm and happy and me. Here are some of the things that came up:
I then took one step, sort of a new year’s thing, but really exactly the Nudge I needed this week: I cracked open a new notebook and started a gratitude journal. I know this to be such a great tool, but haven’t used it for a while. Now is the perfect time to remind myself—with just three items a day—of how much I have to be thankful for, even on those days when it feels like a stretch. A few of the items on this week’s page:
Ah-Hahs: You know what those actions on my list above are, right? Nudges. I wrote a bunch on strips of paper and added them to the bowl. I believe taking these small steps over time will help me find my mojo and continue to nurture it.
P.S. Just before the Christmas, a friend shared a list of “20 Ways to Be Kind (without spending a dime)”, ideas of actions that could be given instead of purchased things. Take a look and see if any of these inspire you for new additions to your Nudges:
Backstory: This Nudge didn’t come from the bowl. This is one I dropped in because I’m struggling today. Maybe it’s the post-holidays blues. Maybe it’s the cold and gloominess of the season. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a real affliction, in case you didn’t know. Maybe it’s the ongoing frustration of not having a clear path, a clear purpose.
I’m not sure what’s up (or down) with me right now, but I feel the need to find something to get me up in the mornings. Something other than piles of laundry that need to be addressed or bills that need to be paid. I am dragging through my days, so much so that yesterday, as I lay in bed dreading my day (and it was a Saturday!), I had a small fantasy about pulling everything off the top of my desk and burning it in the fireplace. Yes, I know that wouldn’t really solve any problems—likely make some worse—but the idea of having a clean start is appealing.
Where is my magic? What happened to my mojo? I need to find it and put it back to work.
P.S. I did check in with myself and know it isn’t chronic depression, lack of sleep, or illness causing my malaise. If your blue mood is lasting longer than is okay, please schedule a checkup with your doctor or reach out to someone for help. xo
My nudge for this week is to take a break.
Instead, I am going to take some part of this holiday week off to maybe:
I hope you can do the same for yourself. In fact, consider this my very gentle nudge for you to do just this. 🙂
With my best wishes for a happy, healthy, fun new year! ♥ Kathleen
Backstory: I am glee-ful having drawn this Nudge today! Michael’s stores are those big warehouses filled with art and crafts supplies, frames, fun home decorations, and just about everything you need to inspire creativity. I am pumped! Will I pick up paints, stickers, marked-down holiday decorations? Fun! The biggest challenge may be keeping to the $10 limit.
What Happened: I couldn’t wait, so I popped into Michael’s early afternoon on Sunday. Everywhere I looked I found goodies, from artificial flowers I could turn into wreaths and pretty papers on which I could write letters to far-flung friends, to an array of accouterments for baking and cake/cookie decorating. Danger zone! I wandered every aisle in search of creative inspiration and the thing that my whole body said, “I want that!”
A few of the items were over my budget (which I was tempted to blow a couple of times), but I stuck to the confines of the Nudge. Finally I picked up two rolls of pretty ribbon for gift-wrapping—and put one back. I snagged a mold for making pineapple-shaped ice cubes for a friend who is the ultimate hostess (pineapples are a symbol of hospitality) and a sheet of super-cute ladybug stickers for another friend (it has to do with the line Diane Lane says in the movie Under the Tuscan Sun: “Ladybugs, Katherine…lots and lots of ladybugs”). I kept a tally in my head and figured the coupon I had would allow one more small item, so I added some cute gift tags.
My total purchase after discounts and coupon: $10.70. Score!
Ah-Hah: I was really pleased with myself when I left the store. But Monday morning, as I reexamined my modest haul, I noticed a trend. Did you see it?
Every item I purchased is for someone else.
Now, this isn’t all bad. I do love finding “perfect” gifts for friends and I love taking the time to create a beautifully wrapped package. But did I really not find one thing I wanted for myself?
Apparently not.
Actually, the more I thought about it, I realized my motivation was less about picking up something I was excited about and more about how would I fulfill the spending $10 part of the Nudge.
Interesting.
I was tempted to keep for myself the two items I’d purchased as gifts. Sure, I could use both, but then I imagined my friends’ delight upon receiving them, and tucked them away for the next birthday.
I thought back over my wanderings, trying to remember what had caught my eye. Candles. Stickers. Seasonal decorations. Beautiful fake flowers that look quite real. All those cookie cutters and cake-decorating kits.
I’m thinking I may go back in a couple of weeks and take another look. And maybe I’ll return a couple of weeks after that. But instead of going with the intention of spending a certain amount, I think I’ll wait until I see something that I really want, and then buy it for myself.
For those of you who celebrate: I wish you a Happy Kwanzaa! May Light, Happiness, and Peace be yours in the new year.
Backstory: I am glee-ful having drawn this Nudge today! Michael’s stores are those big warehouses filled with art and crafts supplies, frames, fun home decorations, and just about everything you need to inspire creativity. I am pumped! Will I pick up paints, stickers, marked-down holiday decorations? Fun! The biggest challenge may be keeping to the $10 limit.
P.S. Several options for you on this one. Is there a hobby you used to love to do as a kid, or one you’ve always been curious about? Go to that store! Feeling the need to get your green thumb dirty, even though it’s cold outside? Then head to the local nursery and check out what you can plant that will thrive inside. Browse the specialty cookbooks that are in the sale bin, wander a Goodwill or antiques shop, check out the librarian’s picks at your local branch (that one is free, so spend your $10 on a cup o’ tea and a nibble to enjoy while you’re reading). Have fun with this Nudge! I know I will. 🙂
For those of you who celebrate: I wish you a Merry Christmas!
Backstory: I have a small confession. One of my “crazy” dream jobs is to be the person who creates the names on nail polishes. Just imagine: I’d get to research trends, expense mani-pedis, create fun puns all day long—and get paid for it! I’m not sure how to go about putting myself in the running for open positions (Hello, Sally Hansen!), but for now I can spice things up with a hot new color. 🙂
What Happened: While waiting for a prescription to be filled on Monday, I wandered the nail polish aisle. Naturally I was drawn to the peaches and corals, and this season, the reds, but I already have an adequate selection of those in my little basket at home. So I decided to go a different route. Instead of shopping for a color, I shopped for a name, for something I want to live up to. There is one called “Fearless” (perfect!), but it was too similar to reds already in my collection, so I passed.
Alas, I didn’t fall in love with anything I saw in that first shopping excursion. So late Tuesday morning I took myself out for a break from work and walked to another neighborhood drug store. I went back and forth down the aisle, considering names and colors and prices. Did I really want to spend $9 on one bottle? Not really. Did I want to risk spending under $2 on a cheap brand? Not really. I finally narrowed my selection to two options: “Good as Blue” and “Rags to Riches”. Both are outside of my normal palette, and I thought both could be fun to manifest in the days ahead. Which one? I liked the blue color better but the purple name better. Lucky for me, they were on sale, and I got two for about the price of one. Score!
I put the Good for Blue on my nails after lunch. It’s fabulous. It’s out there. I imagine my grandmother, who only wore clear and pale pinks that I can recall, rolling her eyes. Does this make me look younger and hipper, or older and pathetic? I don’t care!
Late Wednesday, just before shutting down for the day, I checked out the Sally Hansen website and found these quotes:
Did you know the company was founded in 1946 by Sally herself? It isn’t just a brand name. She launched with just two nail products, and today over 300 shades are distributed in over 55 countries. Way to go, Sally!
Ah-Hahs: I spent quite a bit of time exploring the Sally Hansen website and learned this on the About page:
What a fascinating woman! She and Estee Lauder and Helena Rubenstein (also real people, not just brand names) were pioneers, trail-blazers, and role models.
I encourage you to read Sally’s full story here and think about how she can inspire you. For me, in the moment, I decided to “go for it.” I couldn’t find a link to job listings or any kind of Careers page on the site, so I emailed them through the general Contact page. Maybe they hire freelancers. Maybe their creative staff works out of San Francisco and they’re looking for someone just like me. Maybe they will ignore me altogether and I’ll never hear back. What matters most to me, though, is that I got up the courage to ask.
I’m opening my own doors, thank you very much. And thank you, Ms. Hansen (Can I call you Sally?) for inspiring me.
My apologies for being a day late on this. I pulled the Nudge, then got distracted by other things in life. (Hello, Holiday Season!). Back on track this morning. Have a great week! xoxo
Backstory: I have a small confession. One of my “crazy” dream jobs is to be the person who creates the names on nail polishes. Just imagine: I’d get to research trends, expense mani-pedis, create fun puns all day long—and get paid for it! I’m not sure how to go about putting myself in the running for open positions (Hello, Sally Hansen!), but for now I can spice things up with a hot new color. 🙂
Backstory: Oooo, this is a good one! It’s creative, it gets me manifesting, it’s fun!
The idea is to pick one of my goals or dreams—any one—and create something that represents to me what it would feel like to have it be my reality. It is putting the Law of Attraction to work for me.
In the past I’ve clipped images from magazines and pasted them onto a poster board in a collage. (If you’re more artistically gifted than I am, you might draw or paint yours.) The resulting vision board is then placed where I will see it every day.
Got my scissors, got my glue stick…let’s do this!
What Happened: Total bust. Utter defeat. Epic failure!
My pathetically empty vision board
I stared at this Nudge all week and couldn’t do it. First, I couldn’t decide on which goal or dream to manifest. So many, and none jumped out as The Big One I wanted to pursue. Second, I didn’t want to spend money on buying a stack of magazines to cut up, and I couldn’t pull from on any stack of old magazines because I’ve successfully decluttered them all. (So maybe there is one drawback to decluttering.) Or maybe I am just feeling burned out this week.
What’s a gal to do?
Get up. Brush myself off. Take a few deep breaths. Regroup.
In a few hours I’m going to draw a fresh new Nudge from my little bowl and dive into it with renewed courage and conviction.
Meanwhile, I’ve written “Create a vision board for one goal” on a new strip of paper and tossed it back into the mix. (If I draw it later today, I’ll just have to go with it, right?)
How did you do? Were you inspired to create something wild for your vision board? Did you manifest something from it? I’d love to hear about it.
The Ah-Hah: See “Get up. Brush myself off. Take a few breaths. Regroup.” Would add “And repeat.”
Or…maybe I need to hang my blank board somewhere, letting it represent my openness to something I can’t yet envision for myself. Hmmm…interesting.
Backstory: Oooo, this is a good one! It’s creative, it gets me manifesting, it’s fun!
The idea is to pick one of my goals or dreams—any one—and create something that represents to me what it would feel like to have it be my reality. It is putting the Law of Attraction to work for me.
In the past I’ve clipped images from magazines and pasted them onto a poster board in a collage. (If you’re more artistically gifted than I am, you might draw or paint yours.) The resulting vision board is then placed where I will see it every day.
Here’s a link with a good explanation and some tips on “How to Create an Empowering Vision Board” from Jack Canfield’s website*.
You might also check out examples in Pinterest.
Got my scissors, got my glue stick…let’s do this!
*Per the site, to use this link in my blog, I need to include the following: “Jack Canfield, America’s #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul® and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you’re ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com.”