Tag Archives: Nudged

Nudged: Do something that scares me

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Backstory: I love this nudge. It can present in so many ways.

Maybe this is the week I wrap up something I really need to do, but dread doing (updating our estate planning paperwork, or catch up on my accounting and seeing just how much I have/don’t have in savings). Maybe this is the week I take a BIG but exciting RISK (ask for a raise, or call a company I would love to work with and ask if they’re hiring). Or maybe I get creative and literal and watch a super-scary classic movie (Exorcist, The Shining)…in the dark! 😉

I hope you’ll share with me what you end up doing with this nudge.

P.S. This week we’re celebrating Thanksgiving in the U.S. I want to take this opportunity to thank YOU for supporting me and my 52Nudges journey. Wishing you a safe and happy holiday!

What Happened: As I considered what I might do for this nudge, I did a bit of accounting of some of what I’ve been through in the past couple of months, including:

  • Ending a contract with a long-time and much-loved client. (It was time.)
  • “Firing” a bully from a social group. (It was waaay past time.)
  • Recovering from an accident. (I’m fine-ish, though the physical healing takes time and PTSD is no joke.)

All of the above were scary in their own way, and I’m proud of myself for how I faced and handled them. Maybe for this nudge I can give myself a pass?

Then, midweek, amid all the buildup of the stress for the events above + work deadlines + holidays + general stress, I received an urgent notice about a utility bill being past due. What?!? I checked my records and noted I’d paid this bill in person well before the due date. I dropped everything else I was doing, called the company, waited on hold for-what-felt-like-ever, then spoke with a very calm person who informed me they had no record of the payment. I was able to pull together the funds and cover the late and current payments, so it got handled. But by the time I got off the phone, I was drained.

“I’m done,” I thought to myself. “I have no fight left in me.”

I have nothing left to give, no extra energy to devote to worries, no strength to carry on stressing over the many challenges that are truly out of my control. So I did the thing that scares me the most: I gave it all up.

A little more specifically, I handed it all over to God. (Feel free to substitute Universe or Nature or whatever term is most comfortable for you.) “You take care of it,” I said out loud. “Thanks.”

The Ah-Hahs: When I lived and commuted in Los Angeles (90 minutes to travel 14 miles, each way), I learned that there’s no point getting stressed when you’re stuck in traffic. You’re not going anywhere. There’s no alternate route that’s going to get you to your destination any faster. So, sure, you could drive your blood pressure up, launch an ulcer, beat your fists on the steering wheel, rage at the unfairness of it all. Still won’t get you there. So, you call the person you’re meeting to tell them you’re running late, and you wait it out.

I see a life lesson in this, and it’s one I’m working on applying to other areas: Don’t stress over things you can’t control.

It’s hard for me, it’s a little scary, but, with some practice, I believe I will be a happier human.

 

 

Nudged: Create a chalk message

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Background: This Nudge is one of my favorites. I did it during my first round, and it was so much fun, I’m doing it again. (Also, I need to keep nudging myself until I just do it without prompting.)

The actual backstory is this is one of those activities that came out of my explorations of “Things I loved doing when I was a kid.” What made you smile when you had no limitations (as in, “you can’t draw…you’re not artisitic…”)? What tickled your creative muse? What did you get lost in? What activity simply filled you with joy?

This is the week to do it. 🙂

What Happened: Took a couple of days to think about what I wanted to write/draw. Finally, Wednesday morning, I grabbed my basket of colored chalks and wrote a love letter of sorts on my driveway.

I am no great artist, and I have no aspirations of painting/drawing anything legit. This, for me, is just fun. (And we all need need more fun in our lives.)

 

The Ah-Hahs: I know, this is all so silly, but it isn’t. Every time I came home and left, or just looked out the window, I smiled.

Mission accomplished.

 

P.S. After I post this, I’m heading out to join friends in greeting trick-or-treaters. I love love LOVE Halloween! It’s always been my favorite holiday (yes, more than Christmas), because it’s the one day when slightly weird creative kids (like me) shine. Can’t wait to see what this generation of ghouls has come up with.

Tonight also marks a tender milestone. Today was the last day at work for several of my long-time colleagues. At 5:30, I will be pouring some bubbly and toasting them, us, the great work we did together over the past 20 years. A big door is closing tonight, and I trust portals to fabulous new adventures will be opening for all of us soon. Cheers, my friends!

Nudged: See the top of my desk

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Backstory: I feel like I’ve done this Nudge before. Or maybe that’s because this task seems to have a permanent spot on my To Do List.

Before.

Work projects, personal projects, receipts to be entered, reminders scribbled on scraps of paper, multiple versions of To Do Lists, articles to be read, notes for articles to be written…. No wonder my poor brain feels scrambled!

This week I want to clear space both physically and mentally. I hope I can post a lovely “After” photo soon.

What Happened: OMG, I did it. Seriously, I’m impressed with myself because Monday morning, as I got my work week started, as I looked at the To Do List, I thought, Screw this. I’ll just put everything on the floor or move it to the dining room table and cheat.

Instead, every day I devoted at least 20 minutes to tackling the top of any stack and getting things handled. At the risk of sounding like our mothers, I’ll also confess that I practiced putting items (file folders, calculator, pens, sticky notepads) away in their places as soon as I was done using them.  Step by step, piece by piece.

The Ah-Hahs: This morning when I came into the office, this is what greeted me:

After.

For the first time in ages, I started a day not stressed, not in total overwhelm, but calm.

This feels sooooooo good. 🙂