A Big World

The world is really big. I know that people say it is getting smaller, what with technology and all that, but it is really really big. So how do you navigate it? A big world means lots of options. Lots of options for work, for fun, for relationships, for mistakes, for joy, for pain – lots of options.

I often find myself musing in my apartment alone, or even sometimes in a crowded room, about how to know if the options I am choosing are the right ones. Be a good person, work hard, be successful, give back, don’t regret – these are all values I hear constantly. And don’t get me wrong, I think they are good values. But what if we have the definitions wrong? What if the idea of “be successful” or “work hard” or any of the others are incorrect. What if I am choosing options based on the wrong premise?

I often use the phrase, “give me the box so I know where I need to be.” This is something I use mainly at work and it helps to give me some boundaries to the different tasks I complete. But if I am being honest, I use it in my personal life as well. I often determine where the box is, or others determine it for me, and then I operate within that box. Sometimes the lines of the box are expectations, sometimes a line is fear and sometimes a line is simply a societal norm. But what if the box (aka my schema) is wrong, what if I drew the lines in the wrong place and I’m operating within a box, choosing all my options based upon the confines of that box, and really I am meant for something different?

The world is a big place. It scares me to realize that the box I have drawn for myself is so small and all the options I choose fall within that box. This post has nothing to do with creativity and thinking outside the box – it has to do with perspective and evaluating the way a single, small life is being lived out in a big world.

Just Do It

Oh Nike. How can those three little words be so difficult?!

I want to go work out. Really, I do! Well… okay, no I really don’t, but I want to want to. Urgh!

Working out has never been something I looked forward to. Sure, after a good workout I feel great. I have a lot of energy, I feel productive, it gets my endorphins pumping – all that good stuff. But the motivation is harder to come by…for example, if I was going to go work out right now, I would have to get up off my bed, get dressed, drive to the gym, stretch, work out, stretch, shower, drive home, change clothes and then crawl back into bed and go to sleep. Seems like an awful lot of work for something I don’t really want to do in the first place.

But of course, I want to be fit. I have no desire to be super skinny or lose a bunch of weight, I am happy with how I look and feel comfortable in my body. However, being healthy and staying active are things that I like to say are important to me. It’s definitely true that talk is easier than action.

So I have set a goal for myself. It has nothing to do with numbers on a scale or calories in the food I eat – I just want to be active. I am going to take the stairs more often, park further away, and GO WORK OUT at least 2-3 times a week. Shouldn’t be hard, right?

I will start tomorrow.

Moving On

Moving on is never easy. Moving on from a relationship, moving on after finishing a level of education, or literally moving on to a new city. Why is it that we are so tied to the familiar – let me make this more personal – why am I so attached to the familiar? Is it perhaps that the familiar makes me feel safe? Or maybe the familiar holds minimal risk. Either way, neither of these ideas takes into account an important aspect of being tied to the familiar – then you do not change.

Change is good. What a phrase. Change is synonymous with evolution, innovation, and progress. This is something I believe. Something I embrace in the professional realm of my life. In fact, I claim to be a change agent (in training).

So then why is it so hard to embrace change personally? Something I want to consider within this blog – you know, put some of the change into action?