Tag: mental-health

Inertia and Life

Have you ever felt stuck? Let’s explore how to overcome stagnation with support from others. Seek supportive environments for motivation and action. Once you get moving, the momentum gained is amazing.

Stick with me today as I geek out on science today.

I’ve been thinking about inertia.  If you aren’t familiar with this term, here is a quick definition:  Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion.  You know, an object in motion tends to stay in motion and an object at rest tends to stay at rest.

Think of a golf ball sitting on a tee.  It will just sit there forever until some force, like a golf club, acts on it and forces it to move.  Once it starts flying, if there wasn’t gravity to act upon the ball, it would just sail off into space.  

Sometimes I am a golf ball! I need a little nudge, or occasionally a big “thwack”, to get me moving.

I had been looking at and talking about a project that I wanted to do at home for a couple of years now.  I didn’t know where to start and I didn’t have the skills to move it forward. I was stuck.  After a year of dreaming of the completed project, I received the nudge that I needed to get moving on it.  The outside force was my dad.  He had the skills needed for the project and was willing to teach me as we worked side-by-side to complete the work.  That outside force made all of the difference.

Have you ever let inertia take hold of you?  Maybe there’s a mess you need to clean up, a garden you need to weed, an apology you need to give, a room you need to paint, a doctor’s appointment you need to make.  Big or small, whatever it is, you know you need to get going, but for whatever reason, you are stuck. 

Here is a gentle nudge to get you going. Ask yourself why this thing you want to do is important to you! Then look around. Are you surrounding yourself with people or situations that are keeping you where you are, or are you surrounded by people and situations that will help you grow and move forward? Being around people in motion can be a great influence and help you get moving.

If you want to get moving on your health, are you associating with people that are also interested in improving their health? If you want to learn something new, are you around people that are also interested in learning? Do you surround yourself with people that are willing to encourage and support your dreams? Do you do the same for others?

Remember, every golf ball needs a golf club to help it get going!

The good news is, that once you get moving, inertia is also on your side. An object (or person) in motion tends to stay in motion until another force acts upon them.

Now get going!

A Hopeful Time of Year!

May is a hopeful time of year as we start to plant our gardens in Southern Minnesota. Planting represents hope for a positive future. The act reflects a commitment to nurture growth, fostering qualities like kindness and love for a better world.

At work today, the hot topic was planting gardens. No, I do not work in a garden center, but I do work with many people that enjoy the possibilities that spring planting brings. In Southern Minnesota, Mother’s Day is the magic day that we wait for (May 11th this year). After Mother’s Day, it is safe (supposedly) to plant our gardens. Side note: This is also the same weekend as the MN Walleye opener (May 10th). I choose planting – the Walleye can wait!

Planting is an act of Hope. Hope is the desire that something good is going to come in the future. Hope is that belief that the effort you are putting in now is going to pay off in the way you want some time in the future. Hope is an acknowledgement that you are looking forward to a future that is different from today.

When you plant, you hold in your hand the tiniest of seeds. You place it in the ground and gently cover it with dirt. Maybe you’re like me and you return each day to see if anything is sprouting yet, hoping for something that looks like what you planted and not another weed. You watch the rainfall, making sure that the little seed is getting enough water. You keep an eye on the critters, making sure they aren’t digging in your garden. You do what you can to protect and nurture that little seed, hoping all along that at some point a little sprout will pop through the dirt.

My experience is that about 50% of the vegetable plants that I start from seed successfully make it to harvest. Some vegetables do much better than others, and a lot of it depends on what the deer eat! But every year I enter this season with the same hope of creating something beautiful in my garden. It is a hopeful time of year!

Let is be a hopeful time of year for you too! Start planting seeds right now. Seeds can grow more than plants. Sow seeds of courage, generosity, kindness, love. And live in the hope that we can make this world better each day!

Spring – A Time for Renewal

The arrival of spring brings a sense of renewal, as nature awakens from winter. Birdsong returns, and life reemerges with flourishing greenery and active wildlife. This season inspires a mood of optimism, reflecting on the cyclical nature of life.

Earlier this week, as I was practicing yoga, I heard something beautiful. It was early in the morning; the sun was just peeking over the horizon. I almost couldn’t believe my ears.  Bird song!  Their back!  Spring has arrived!

April is the month of rebirth in the northern states.  When April showers arrive, they wash away the sand and salt from the roads and sidewalks.  The earth begins to thaw. Showers and warming temperatures signal to the grass and trees to start their journey back from their winter slumber.  New growth begins to show through the mulch and leaves on the flower beds.  Animals that have been sleeping through the winter begin to emerge.

My mood cheers as I see these events taking place.  I find myself wandering through my yard seeking out the signs of renewed life.  I actually look forward to spring cleaning, both outside and inside. It is time to shake off the winter and feel the freshness of spring.

This season reminds me of one of my favorite bible passages:  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV)

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

    a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,

    a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,

    a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,

    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

    a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,

    a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak, 

    a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

May the rebirth of spring refresh you in body, mind, and spirit.

Buried Rocks, Beautiful Potential

Just as hidden rocks hinder plant growth, buried past struggles can affect our lives. Embracing and transforming these challenges can lead to growth, empathy, and the ability to uplift others, ultimately creating a beautiful foundation.

Remember that flower bed I wrote about in my first post? I mentioned that the soil was hard and rocky. That was a bit of an understatement. This flower bed has layers of rocks laid down by previous owners as they made improvements over the years. One owner covering up the landscape left by the previous one. Digging in this soil is nearly impossible, every plunge of the shovel hits – you guessed it – rocks.

When we bought this home, that flower bed was covered with a spreading evergreen bush. It was nice looking, and there was no way of knowing that all of these rocks were hiding under it before we pulled the bush out. Now, I keep trying to plant flowers and bushes into that rocky soil. I shouldn’t be surprised that they aren’t growing well or achieving their full beautiful potential.

We are the same. Everyone has a past and many of us have rocks that we try to bury in the dirt and plant over as we keep trudging forward. Eventually, though, even as we are trying to plant something new, the rocks in the soil prevent it from really taking root. Discouragement sets in.

But rocks can also be turned into something positive. They can be used to create foundations and build up something beautiful. Rocks can become homes and provide shelter. Rocks can become beautiful walls in the landscape. They can become a work of art.

Looks at the rocks from your past, instead of trying to cover them up, maybe even layering rocks on top of rocks, and planting over them, use them to create a firm foundation for building something better. Even our worst or most embarrassing life experiences can become a thing of beauty when we acknowledge them and learn from them. They can create in us a feeling of empathy for others and bring us alongside others in their times of struggle. We can offer them a kind word and supporting hand because we have already walked where they now stand. Our life experiences are not meant to be covered and hidden by a false smile or sarcastic comment. They are meant to be used to lift others up.

If you have buried rocks in your garden of life, don’t waste your energy trying to hide them. I encourage you to seek out someone that you trust, maybe even a professional, explore those rocks and use them to create a foundation to build something beautiful.

This Moment

The author shares her connection to Jeremy Camp’s song “Keep Me in the Moment,” emphasizing its relevance during times of distraction and overwhelm. She illustrates how distractions can hinder living intentionally. The message urges the importance of being present in life.

One of my favorite songs is by Christian singer/songwriter Jeremy Camp. It is called “Keep Me in the Moment” (you can listen to it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb1bx3hYfzg).

This song speaks directly to me. It is my go-to song whenever I feel like I am becoming distracted or overwhelmed. Have you ever been so distracted in the present moment that you miss something big? Maybe you are worrying about the future or stewing on the past. Maybe you are deep in a book and not giving attention to those around you. I’ll give you one example from my own life.

I typically don’t go on road trips longer than 2 hours by myself, but I had a meeting in the other corner of the state and a 4-hour journey ahead of me. The trip up to this town in the Northwest of Minnesota went fine, and the meeting was great. The next morning at 5am I started the drive home. I had downloaded an audio book and was listening to it on the drive home. Once I turned onto the Interstate (and familiar territory) I turned off the GPS on my phone and listened to the book as I cruised along for the final hour of the drive. Suddenly, I realized that while I was still on the Interstate, I didn’t recognize my surroundings. I was still headed south, but the landscape was unfamiliar to me. I had been driving on “auto pilot” as I listened to the book. When I saw the sign for the next exit, I realized I had overshot my exit by some 15 miles! I exited, turned around, and headed home.

In this example, I was the only one impacted. There have been other times in my life where my level of distraction impacted those around me. I couldn’t show up as the wife, mother, or friend that I wanted to be. I was not living in the moment. My thoughts were consumed by concerns for the future or regrets of the past.

When we don’t stay in the present moment for whatever reason we are missing out on the opportunity to live our lives intentionally, engaging with those around us. I’m not saying that we should stop thinking about the impacts of our actions and throw caution to the wind. What I am saying is that we can’t let those thoughts get out of control and become all consuming. At some point, we have to go out and live.

Take a listen to the song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb1bx3hYfzg). Does it speak to you too? Remember, this life matters! This time matters! Be present.

Enjoying the View

As the year comes to a close, I’ve been thinking about how best to reflect on this year before I jump into the new one. I spent many years as a project manager and one of the keys to wrapping up a project was the “Lessons Learned” activity. If you aren’t familiar with this, here is a brief outline of the concept.

Get all of the project stakeholders together and ask the following questions:

  1. What did we do well?
  2. What could we do better?
  3. What should we keep doing on future projects?
  4. What should we change going forward?

Seems simple, right? You might be surprised at the conversation these questions can drive. Everyone gets to share their opinion, and many times there is a group that feels something was done well while another group sees it as a miss. It all depends on your perspective. The end goal is to help the next project be more successful than the one that was just completed.

Now, these aren’t the exact questions I’m thinking about, and I am certainly not planning to get a group together to ask what I did well and what I could have done better. This isn’t a 360-performance review of my year; this is my internal reflection. That being said, here are some questions I am reflecting on myself as I close out the year.

  1. What am I proud of accomplishing this year?
  2. What surprised me this year?
  3. What is one book/movie/article that impacted the way I think about life? Why?
  4. What new things did I try this year?
  5. What did I let go of / stop doing that I would like to re-establish?
  6. What did I let go of this year that lifted a weight off my shoulders?
  7. What did I start doing this year that I need to let go of?
  8. What did I start doing this year that made a positive difference in my life?
  9. Who were 5 important people that influenced my life on a personal level?
  10. What am I leaving unresolved and why?

Now, look back at those answers. Is there a word or sentence that sums up the theme of the year?

I’m not going to share my answers now, as it will take me a few days to work through this. I encourage you to take this list, make it your own, and work through it as the year comes to a close. Then, check back on January 1st as we start the process of setting intentions (NOT RESOLUTIONS) for the new year!

Changing Seasons …… and Perspectives

Fall is finally here! Last weekend, I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. This week, out come the flannel lined pants and the winter hat. Seasons change. How we view that change is all about perspective.

In the past, I hated flipping my calendar to November and then December. I am not a lover of the coming cold weather that these two months point to. Nor do I love the shortened days. As a matter of fact, I had declared the winter solstice, the shortest day of year, my least favorite day of the year. Really? Can you have a least favorite day of the year? In hindsight, that seems pretty petty.

A couple of years ago, I made a deliberate effort to change my perspective on the fall and winter months to focus on the positive.

Now….

Fall holds my favorite colors. The trees in my neighborhood look like brilliant fireworks in the fall. I use this color pallet throughout my home. The trees may lose their leaves and look dead, but they are welcoming an opportunity to sleep and ready themselves for the spring.

The winter solstice may be the shortest day of the year, but it is also the gateway to the light as the days begin to lengthen starting the next morning. When we turn that corner, I know that spring is once again coming, even if it is still three months away.

Sometimes life needs a little reframing too. Maybe you are afraid to try something new because you don’t want to embarrass yourself. Can you reframe your perspective?

Can you reframe anxiety into excitement? For me, it was: “I’m afraid to speak in front of others!” to “I’m excited to share what I know.”

Can you reframe frustration with others into an opportunity to understand their opinions better?

I know, it’s definitely not as easy as it sounds, but maybe, just maybe, a little change in perspective in one area of your life will open doors for other changes as well. Perhaps you can inspire others with your actions.

Good luck and enjoy the changing seasons!