November 16, 2016
My Thoughts:
I wrote this message on November 14 in honor of ‘Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day’. (Thanks to my perennially good humored friend, Michael Kerr, for bringing these special days to our attention.)
A number of recent events (your list here…) might have prompted you to do just the opposite – to tighten up, flip out, or tilt to the dark side.
What if we could find a few ways to loosen our grip and lighten our mood? Well, here’s a handful of starter actions to lead you down that road: (more…)
November 9, 2016
Reflection: If you’ve been following some of the work I’ve shared over the last year with respect to Spark & Malaise, you’ll recall me mentioning Bonnie Ware’s findings on the regrets people express near the ends of their lives.
In her research, the number one regret Ware heard repeatedly was that ‘people wished they’d had the courage to live a life true to themselves instead of the lives that others expected of them.’
That top finding is echoed in more recent research by Kathy Caprino.
In Caprino’s survey of those at an earlier stage in their lives (middle age and mid-career), she found the following top five regrets: (more…)
October 26, 2016
Reflection: If you’re familiar with the long-running television series, Seinfeld, you may remember Kramer as one of the wackiest characters on the show.
Both physically and socially awkward, Kramer specialized in dramatic entrances. Charging into the room at high speed and skidding full-tilt to a dead stop, Kramer often declared, “Jerry, it’s a hair straight back day!”
And then, in his frantic way, Kramer would blurt out his dilemma of the day.
Maybe you are ‘blessed’ with a Kramer or two in your world – at work, at home or in your circle of friends.
That’s someone who is always in a hurry, often in a panic, and constantly tied up in knots over frequently inconsequential things.
Like Jerry, who stayed calm in the face of Kramer’s commotion, we too can stay cool, and maybe even help talk our frantic friends down from the ledge.
Consider your ability to stay calm a public service to others and a gift to yourself.
Action: When the ‘Kramers’ of your world invade and spew in every direction, don’t let yourself be blown over or swept away by the commotion. (more…)
September 14, 2016
My Thoughts:
The inspiration for this image was the Provencale village of Gordes. Although the buildings of Gordes do sprawl across the hillside, they’re built from neutral colored stone with pale weathered terra cotta tiles. They’re nothing like the bright colors you see here.
One of the things that painting has taught me is that you don’t have to stick with what you see or what you know. You don’t have to be locked in to ‘do this-don’t do that’ rules.
You can step out in new directions, color outside the lines, and things will be okay! Or, surprise, even better than okay!
Your Thoughts:
What lines and rules might be holding you back?
Where could you step around, hop over, or slide under a line to add more freedom and energy to your world?
News Notes:
Add Spark To Your Next Conference
I’ve just booked another keynote and follow up session on the topic of Rekindling Spark – Navigating Malaise for a spring 2017 provincial conference of nurses. This topic is hitting home for many different people in many different walks of life. The experience of ‘rusting out’, feeling ‘meh, bleh, blah’ seems to know no boundaries.
I’d love to bring my strategies for dealing with this issue to your professional association, too. Do keep that possibility in mind and pass the idea along to those in charge of professional development activities for your association. This link gives an overview.
Plein Air Show
During the month of September, you can see samples of the work of various Saskatoon artists who share an interest in painting in the great outdoors – including three pieces by yours truly. You’ll find the show gracing the gallery walls at HUES Art Supply, 1818 Lorne Ave here in Saskatoon.
September 7, 2016
Reflection: We had the great joy of closing out the summer by hosting our 9 year old grandson for a couple of days at Waskesiu Lake.
The weather on the front end was less than ideal. Too cold to swim. To rough to take out a canoe, a paddleboat or a kayak. No matter.
It was perfect for beach combing – given all the flotsam and jetsam that the gale force winds tossed up on shore.
And, as Ethan walked along the beach, eyes glued to the sand, each of his discoveries was accompanied by an expression of delight.
Snail shells. Fish hooks. Odd rocks. Dead minnows.
“Heh, look over here! How cool is this? Is that awesome or what?”
And, of course, each find had to be picked up and closely examined before being added to the collection of treasures to be hauled back to the cabin. Two dead minnows included!
Unfavorable conditions – in this case, the weather – were NOT going to put a damper on this young fellow’s spirits, or interfere with his ability to find delight at every turn. (more…)
August 31, 2016
Reflection & Action: Attention over-extended, over-achievers.
Yeah, you! If you’re the one with the endless list of things to do. The one who always volunteers for that last minute job, chairs the committees, works the extra shifts, hauls the kids, hosts the socials, and generally goes the extra mile!
Yeah, you! If you’re the one who puts yourself at the bottom of those lists in invisible ink. The one who makes sure everybody else leaves on time, remembers their vitamins, books their vacations, and gets those pats on the back.
Might you be feeling just a tad overwhelmed by all you’ve undertaken or a tad under-valued from being taken for granted?
Well, stop right there! It’s time for a glance in the mirror and a heart to heart chat!
Whether you realize it or not, you matter! And not just because of all you do in support of those around you. You matter simply because you are who you are and you’re here. And, by the way, in case you missed the memo – you are enough!
Whether you hear it from others or not – you do make a difference in the lives of those around you. Just don’t be making that contribution from a feeling of lack, an overactive sense of duty, nor at the expense of your own wellbeing! Take care of you, too! Take time to be with you, too.
What to do with this reminder? (more…)
August 17, 2016
Reflection & Action If you’re reading this on Wednesday morning, you still have time to make a date for lunch. Why do I mention it? Because it turns out that an astounding number of folks are eating Al Desko and not Al Fresko.
A recent poll found that 60 percent of workers eat lunch at their desks every day, while two thirds take less than half their entitled lunch hour. A quick math check shows those people are working (or at least sitting in front of their computers) an extra 128 hours (or 16 eight hour days) a year.
We’re discovering more all the time about the physical risks of too much sitting and too much desk time. When we closet ourselves away – brain glued to screen and bum to chair – we end up numb on both ends.
Move around mid-day and you clear out the mental cobwebs and top the energy tank. You’ll return to your afternoon tasks with a fresh mind and body.
What’s keeping us glued to our chairs? (more…)
August 10, 2016
Reflection & Action: There’s nothing like a good question to draw attention to what makes life worthwhile. And, for the record, that question is NOT: “So, are you busy?”
Far too many conversations in our stressed out, revved up world start just that way. We connect with a colleague at work, bump into an old friend at the grocery store, or meet a neighbor on the street. Before we even think about it, we’re automatically asking, “So, are you busy?”
It’s a question that usually generates a lengthy recounting of activities done and undone. Recounting the proverbial to do list seems to be a common way to establish our value and justify our existence on the planet.
Oddly enough, when you ask people to consider what really matters in life, the things that show up most frequently tend not to be the things that populate their to do lists.
What’s most meaningful and energizing relates more to the big picture issues: relationships and adventures, or a deep sense of connectedness and purpose.
If that is where more meaning lives, why not change the focus of our conversations? Why not start asking each other these questions instead: (more…)
August 3, 2016
Reflection & Action: I’d had a busy couple of weeks with projects, commitments and deadlines on every front. When the calendar cleared one day last week, I decided to pause and step away for a mental wealth day. That’s the kind of day when you focus on making a few sizable deposits in the sanity bank account.
I spent ten minutes in the office, cleared a few urgent messages, put an away message on my phone, and settled in to enjoy the open space.
As the day unfolded, I puttered in the garden, visited on the street with several of the neighbors, lunched in the sun on the back deck, napped in the hammock, chatted by phone with several family members, and enjoyed the fish in the pond and the birds in the trees.
A greeting card from my sister arrived in the mail that morning and set the tone for the day. The front cover featured a figure reclining in a hammock under a palm tree with these words: “Nowhere to go and all day to get there….” That became my mantra for the day!
I love that sentiment, it’s such a contrast to what we are more likely to experience in our everyday lives: “Everywhere to go and no time to get there!”
One of the most popular delusions in today’s world is the belief that we cannot step away from our responsibilities – that without our constant vigilance the world will come to a grinding halt. It just ain’t so! (more…)
June 22, 2016
Reflection: Better focus? Greater health and well-being? More creative thoughts? Could you use more of these?
According to recent research by the Energy Project and Harvard Business Review, they’re easier to access than you might think. Just step away from the work.
The study showed that employees who break every 90 minutes to pulse between work and renewal report:
This is just one more in a long series of research findings that confirm this fact: time out delivers a significant return on investment!
Action: Adopting this practice and reaping the rewards takes shifting from intention to action.
It’s easy to get caught up in the flow and frenzy of the work, and overlook the breaks. Use a timer reminder on your calendar. Set it to ring at 90 minute intervals. Add software to your computer that will interrupt you on a schedule of your choice to invite you to stretch and move.
Then choose a renewing pause – one that honors what you need at the time:
Build in the breaks. Choose a contrasting experience. And, you’ll be well on your way to experiencing the powerful impact of powering down. (more…)
Copyright © 2026
Patricia Katz
Optimus Consulting
