PAUSE 16.08 – PAT ANSWERS VIDEO: Malaise – Meeting The Challenge
March 23, 2016
Welcome to the fourth in a six part series of short (3 minute) videos that explore the new topic I’ve been developing: Rekindling The Spark – Navigating Mid-Life Malaise.
Presentation Topics:
This reminder is for those of you who may be planning professional development activities and serving on conference planning committees.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been featuring a lot of the ideas from the programming I’m delivering on the Rekindling The Spark/Navigating Mid Life Malaise topic.
In addition to that topic, I continue to provide keynotes, concurrents and workshops in these two areas:
Wellness/Stress/Balance/Self Care/ Renewal
Appreciation/Encouragement/Recognition
Do keep me in mind if you have needs or interests that fall in any of these areas. At several upcoming conferences, I’m delivering multiple sessions on different topics at the same event.
Simple Pleasures Art Show Update
The Spring Thing Art Show & Sale held March 20th was a great success. Half of the images in the series found new homes – either with those who attended in person or those who made offers at a distance.
If you missed the event, know that it’s not too late. The remaining 13 images are still available. You can check them out at this link.
Thanks for all the live and virtual support for my art.
PAUSE 16.04 – PAT ANSWERS VIDEO: Malaise – Who Cares? Why Does It Matter?
February 24, 2016
Welcome to the second in a six part series of short (3 minute) videos that explore the new topic I’ve been developing: Rekindling The Spark – Navigating Mid-Life Malaise.
New Art Website In The Works: If you enjoy the art from the Pauseworks Studio, you might be interested to learn that I’m working on the design for a new fine art website and blog, featuring new works as well as stories from behind the scenes.
I’ve been challenged as I navigate the wordpress software. But, heh, a little stretching and a lot of learning can be very good things. I’ll let you know when it goes live.
Last Call: Are you one of the 134 Pause readers who have already entered your name in the draw to celebrate my 30 years in biz? If not, you’ll find the scoop on the three prizes and entry details at Celebrating The Leap. Draws will be made February 29th.
PAUSE – 16.03 – A Better Way To Bounce Right Back
February 17, 2016
Reflection: Loss of opportunity – imagined or real – small, medium or large – can be a stressful thing. More than once in my life I’ve been frustrated by an outcome – or lack thereof – only to discover that what ended up happening was just as good or better. Maybe that’s happened to you, too.
I recently ‘lost’ a potential speaking engagement that I was eager to undertake and thought was a sure thing. As it turned out, on the scheduled day of the event, the weather delivered freezing rain and ice-glazed roads.
Had the contract come through, I would have been facing a treacherous drive or a tough decision about whether to go or not. In the end, I was content to be spending the day in my office, safe and dry.
We recently made a special trip for breakfast to a top chef’s restaurant. Featured attraction: eggs benny on a salmon cake. Mmmmm. My mouth watered in anticipation and then soured in disappointment. A glance at the menu and a word from the server confirmed that this was a weekend brunch special. We’d missed it by a day.
After a brief pout, I reset my expectations and ordered another breakfast specialty: carbonara flatbread. It turned out to be a delicious treat I would otherwise have missed.
I could go on – as could you – with examples of disappointments far more serious and far more trivial. But, I’m sure you get the drift.
Action: The ability to make peace with disappointment and embrace what arrives in its place is a keystone of resilience and an antidote to stress. Too strong an attachment to preconceived notions about how things were supposed to go (or should have been) will keep you stuck every time. (more…)
PAUSE 16.02 – PAT ANSWERS VIDEO: What Is Malaise Anyway?
February 10, 2016
Welcome to the first in a six part series of short (3 minute) videos that explore the new topic I’ve been developing: Rekindling The Spark – Navigating Mid-Life Malaise.
Today’s focus: Malaise – What Is It Anyway? Other topics in this series will be released in the weeks ahead. For details on what’s coming up, see below.
Just click on the image below to access the video for this episode. Enjoy!
Watch for upcoming PAT ANSWERS Videos in this series:
Episode #2: Malaise – Who cares? Why does it matter?
Episode #3: Malaise – Isn’t it just an ‘old folks’ problem?
Episode #4: Malaise – How do people deal with the challenge?
Episode #5: Malaise – What can you do to find your way through?
Episode #6: Malaise – How do you help those caught in the grip?
NEWS NOTES:
Engagement Series – I’m partnering with the Edwards School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan to deliver three spring sessions as part of a brand new Engagement Series. Sessions include: Fueling Enthusiasm, Boosting Energy & Tapping Passion. Sign up for one or save a bundle by registering for all three. This link takes you to the Engagement Series Info.
Pick Me – Are you one of the 94 Pause readers who have already entered your name in the draw to celebrate my 30 years in biz? If not, you’ll find the scoop on the three prizes and entry details at Celebrating The Leap.
PAUSE – 15.38 – Try Being More Curious And Less Certain
December 9, 2015
Reflection: Sometimes it seems to me that the more we ‘know’, the tougher life gets. Our certainty about situations can lead to a hardening of the ‘heart-eries’, and ultimately more stress and frustration.
Certainty says: This is good and that is bad, or I am right and you are wrong.
Certainty can lead us to repeat the same actions with greater force and speed, exhausting ourselves as we create ever more disappointing results.
If you’ve ever been stuck in a snowbank and continued to step on the gas, certain that just a few more spins of the tires will be sure to get you out, you know what I mean. It doesn’t work. You simply dig yourself a deeper hole. Things get worse, not better.
A more helpful way of ‘c’-ing can be to substitute curiosity for certainty.
Curiosity leads us to look more closely at what’s happening or not happening and invites us to experiment in new ways with the potential for better – or at least different – outcomes.
Action: The next time you find yourself rooted in certainty, try being more curious about other ideas and ways of being. (more…)
PAUSE – 15.35 – There’s More To Life Than Choosing Happy
November 18, 2015
My Thoughts: I’m all for optimism and uplifting thoughts, but sometimes they don’t come easy, and sometimes simply choosing happy may not serve us well in the long run.
As we’ve seen with the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and so many other places in the world, frightening and unexpected events drop into people’s lives with no warning and dire consequences.
Those experiences fuel reactions and feelings that aren’t easily sidelined by substituting light and uplifting thoughts. Nor should we expect that to be the case.
A wise friend recently reminded me that sometimes we need to pause in the shadows to touch a fear that is all too real and oh so present. It matters that we take the time to be with those tougher emotions and not just speed through them or try to avoid them on our way to a lighter, brighter place.
A deeper understanding of what matters most to us springs from being present to both the dark and the light. (more…)
PAUSE – 15.34 – Ditch the Digital Dipsy-Doodling
November 11, 2015
Reflection: When I deliver sessions on overload and overwhelm at work and in life, these are questions that often arise. Maybe you’ve asked them yourself!
Why can’t I focus in the midst of distractions?
Why do I keep interrupting myself, even when I’m on a roll?
Why do I feel exhausted at the end of my day?
The answers vary. But there is one modern habit that definitely contributes to these experiences – our 3D habit of Digital-Dipsy-Doodling. (I love that phrase – and wish I could take credit for it, but I can’t. See resources of the week for the origin and two articles that say more about this experience.)
You may well be familiar with 3D behavior, yourself. It’s the practice of jumping around between email, twitter, facebook, instagram, and the many other diversions of the web at large.
Why do we do it? It could be FOMO – fear of missing out. Or, it could be (as neuroscience suggests) that fresh doses of info send zingers of dopamine to the brain. Dopamine feels good. And, so, we Dipsy-Doodle – again and again – moving ever further away from what we had initially set out to accomplish.
While we are busy jumping around like grasshoppers on Red Bull, we may not even be aware that all this switching takes energy. The more we leapfrog, the less we accomplish, and the more exhausted we feel.
Doped up and depleted was probably not how any of us envisioned our days unfolding. Welcome to the downward spiral of digital distraction!
PAUSE – 15.32 – Let Life Flow When You Don’t Quite Know
October 28, 2015
Reflection: One of the most frequently referenced sources of advice about how to live your life is Stephen Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. ‘Start with the end in mind’ is one of those habits.
It’s a laser-beamed and focused approach that’s not without its challenges. Most notably you have to come up with the ‘end’ – the big idea or the grand life purpose – depending on the scale you’re working on. And, you risk overlooking opportunities of iinterest that lie closer at hand.
There’s another approach we could take as well – that of simply being more aware of our current state and the call or appeal of the opportunities that sit directly in front of us.
Those choices are echoed in author Stephen King’s observation that there are two ways to write a book. You either start with your outcome in mind and write in that direction, or you come up with a situation that has tension and see where your imagination takes you. You let the characters respond and the plot unfold. (more…)
PAUSE – 15.31 – Move It Out And Move Along
October 21, 2015
My Thoughts:
In her Ted Talk on successful aging, 71 year old author and activist, Isabelle Allende, remarked, “It’s great to let go. I should have started sooner.”
That comment made me laugh. I, too, know the relief that comes from letting go – whether it’s an outdated goal, a long held grudge, or as you see in the poster image featured here, possessions that have outlived their usefulness.
A couple of months ago, I actually purged these books from my office. 125 books and seven cardboard boxes later, they were off the shelves, off my mind, and headed into the hands of others who were ready to welcome them aboard. What a relief to lighten up in this way! (more…)
PAUSE – 15.29 – Give Thanks And Get Relief
October 7, 2015
My Thoughts:
A recent weekend was chuck full of responsibilities, errands, duties, tasks, tidying, scrubbing, chores, jobs and more jobs. You name it, we did it! With a full life of your own, I’m sure you know what I mean.
It would have been easy to spend those hours in a state of irritation. I’ve done that in the past.
However, this time around, I decided to switch it up. I held this idea in mind instead: I’m grateful that I have a home to clean, a garden to maintain, and the strength to do both.
Same number of hours – totally different experience! (more…)
