2 Chicks and a blog

Flip Flopping Frustrations

March 27, 2020 2chicksandapen

This morning my frustrations were mounting. The workouts I decided on weren’t what I expected. My home gym equipment kept failing or falling over. I wasn’t sweating enough. The scale was up. My morning reading time didn’t settle my mind as it usually does. Another day of staring at a computer screen (aka working from home) was about to begin. Anger, irritation, all of it piling up, no end in sight.

Woe is me.

I had a come to Jesus with myself and told myself to quit griping. Yes, a lot of the pandemic pandemonium sucks but we are making it work. I told myself to make a list of my frustrations then flip them into reasons to be grateful. Some remind me to be grateful for what I have now, others remind me to be grateful for what I used to have and will hopefully return to. Here it is:

It’s in the notebook I’ve set aside to chronicle this crazy time. I’ve read in several places that journaling, while always important, is especially valuable now, for mental health as well as historical reasons. We are living history. I know I will add more pages of frustration as this time wears on. I’ll keep reading it and reminding myself to flip my frustrations into appreciation.

Spring break begins today. What would have been sweet relief and possibly getting out of town is not a shelter-in-place order that will last two weeks. Our one week off of school will be followed by at least three more of learning from home. I will spend time preparing my mind for these challenges this week. I’ll also devote some time to gratitude to friends, family, and those who are serving on the front lines of this crisis. And hopefully get out into the sunshine and nature often with those who are closest to me.

When you start to get stuck or go down the path of anxiety, see if you can flip your thinking. Focus on gratitude and what you can control. What switch can you flip today?

challenges, dare to be different

5 Words Fast

March 25, 2020 2chicksandapen

Find 5 words quick that sum up your identity. Do the exercise quickly. If you are not done yet, you took too long.

Now that you have five words, drop 2. I bet that was hard.

Drop another word off the list. I bet that was harder.

Now you reached the crossroad! You have two words left. You must drop one more word. What did you choose? Is it accurate?

This a great activity for a family, a work group, a group of lifetime friends, or just your spouse.

I did this within a business setting for a work activity. It was interesting. My word was experience. I liked my outcome. My life experience defines me. These same experiences shape me. This activity was a good one and this why I am sharing.

I did this with my daughter who is a teen. It was confirmation of how she views herself in that awkward life time. I did the exercise with a few others and the outcomes were eye opening for some and predictable for others.

No matter what the outcome, I encourage you to try this exercise on yourself. Pass it on to somebody new. You may learn something cool about yourself and others.

Embrace the awkward and go for it. 5 words. Just five words. Now remind yourself on a calendar for one year from now. See if your five words change.

When you are cooped up for a while and the board games get boring try this activity to shake it up. You can also change the five words to five things you can’t live without given the state we live in currently. Be flexible and remember to revisit this exercise in a year. It will be great to see how your mind may shift in time.

Good luck!

balance, challenges

Abundance

March 24, 2020 2chicksandapen

It was my fourth trip to the grocery store in the past ten days.

Even in that long time, the scene was mostly the same. Fruits and veggies were pretty well stocked.

But, canned goods were basically empty. Same with the pasta aisle. Fresh meat cases completely bare. Bread was hit or miss. Toilet paper shelves had tumbleweeds on them once again…ten days later. Ten days!?!

It’s enough to make me anxious. People walking around the store, shopping with masks and gloves, looks of mistrust.

Where did everything go? Why is there nothing left?

Early on in this coronavirus crisis, I listened to a podcast by Lewis Howes. I was still going in to my job at that point, so it was only a week ago (but wow it seems like so much has happened in that week). I was listening to “8 Ways to be Calm and Prepared During a Crisis.” It was number 8 that stood out to me the most: Keep giving. Howes talks about how important it is to stay in an abundant mindset, even when (maybe especially when) things are scarce.

But it’s not just an abundance of things he is talking about. He talks about time, energy, effort, love for people we know and even people we don’t. He told a story about an exchange with a stranger in an elevator. Instead of ignoring the person at this awkward time, he made the effort to talk to them and share just a word or two of general encouragement. We are all in this mess together (even if we have to stay physically separated from most).

I took his advice this week. Every morning as I was out riding my bike or running, I made it a point to say a clear “good morning” to everyone I passed. I looked them in the eye. Many were surprised, but most responded. During the day, I reached out to colleagues just to check in and say hello. I tried to text my gym friends, since many of us have stopped going and I want to encourage them to stay active and connected. I had longer talks with both of my brothers than I have had in months. I wrote letters and started creating artwork to send to people I can’t see or who might need a lift.

Abundance happens to be a common theme in the book I am reading right now, too: “You Are a Badass” by Jen Sincero. More on that later, but continuing to work on my inner dialogue about what my purpose is and what is available to me is a big challenge. I do think I happen to be reading this book right now for a reason. I have never had an abundance mindset, which is reflected in my home, my income, how much I eat, how much I spend, and all kinds of other ways. I have always been worried I will run out of things. But, as I have been working on for years, I am rewriting my story toward a more magnificent ending. This is one doozy of a chapter for me, and for many of us.

How about you? How can you come from a place of abundance when we are faced with possibly having less, earning less, even trusting less and connecting less? What do you have to give abundantly? We all have something, even many things. Who can you lift today? Share your story in the comments.

friendship, health

My Photo Reel is Real

March 23, 2020 2chicksandapen

Recently I looked back on my photo reel for multiple reasons. I needed to showcase a moment. I needed to cherish a memory. I needed proof of something with a date stamp. So many reasons with purpose.

Having a photo reel is as real as it gets. It’s a book of pictures. My memory reel. Having this at my fingertips on Instagram, Facebook or my iPhone is confirmation of the digital age but also purposeful.

No need to dig through boxes to find the right year and month. I can just scroll online. Such a time saver. Such a space saver too. Then the assembling of photos to make a tribute is equally amazing. With today’s digital age we can add music and edit as we wish.

For those out there that say too many pictures are annoying I say screw you. My online catalog of photos is my photo reel for my real life. I plan to use these photos when the need arises.

Everyone has a purpose. In my purpose work I connect on many levels. Photos and videos are part of my connection. As I wrote about taking the class and read the book in the past, I am choosing to add one more dare: TAKE THE PICTURE!

Capture the moments. Save them your way (public or private). Use them when you need them most. Don’t be shy. I loved polaroid pics back in the day and the instant gratification they provided. Today my thrill rolls ahead with time and is captured in my growing photo reel(s). I also love that my friends know how I much I like pics (see above).

My life is worth sharing. I choose to share my photo reel or a portion of it. Say cheese!

In today’s turbulent times, make sure you capture the time you are spending in isolation. Create a virtual friend group and connect with photos and videos. I know I am actively doing this with my private groups to foster community and share smiles. It’s very therapeutic and may be vital to some in isolation.

Use technology to your advantage today, tomorrow and the next day. See the clip below from a recent friend share:

perspective

Misty Morning Ride

March 22, 2020 2chicksandapen

I rode along in the wee hours of the morning. I had been waiting for the sun to rise forever. When it was still dark, I cruised along through the parking lots, near empty at that hour, hazy streetlights diffusing a bit of light over a few jogging shadows.

The thick fog delayed the sun’s long-awaited entrance. Finally, it was light enough to go around the trails.

Still early, still quiet, I zipped through the trees, making my way along the wide path when I noticed them. White gauzy splotches hanging from the trees. At first I thought it must be some kind of infestation. A caterpillar nest, like the ones that cover our side yard pecan tree some years. Maybe some other insect.

Then I noticed more of the white patches as I rode along the more-than-a-mile route. And more. And then even more. Seemed to be no rhyme or reason. They were between grasses and next to ponds ponds, resting on leaves and spread between branches. High and low, big and small, many and few.

Kind of eerie, if you ask me. Sort of like white cotton candy, but more like someone took little gobs of that white webbing they bring out on Halloween and placed millions of little patches of it everywhere. On a foggy March morning, it was jarring as I pedaled by.

Then I realized, it was only spider webs. Hundreds of them, scattered in the woods. The heavy fog gathered on them, tiny little droplets, making them appear white in morning’s misty haze.

And then I thought, these webs were there all along, sitting there, doing their job. The work of hundreds of spiders, usually invisible, now illuminated by a simple change in the weather.

It made me think about what’s happening right now. This coronavirus crisis. I think of the stories I hear of people sewing masks, people sharing supplies they have, shopping for elderly and at-risk neighbors, companies opening up content to those in need, people sharing talents online to lift others up.

I’ve also heard stories of anger, of stress, of disregard and racism and unkindness. The ugly side.

As this disease washes over us, like the mist on those spider webs, what will it bring to light about us that was always already there? Will it be the best of us? Kindness, generosity, patience? Or will it be something else, something scary? Hoarding? Selfishness?

There’s no doubt this crisis will reveal who we are. What will it reveal about you? About me?

Like a web, we are all connected. May this change in weather show us how we are bound together in strong and positive ways. Another opportunity to choose daily.