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PAUSE GEM #52 – The Burden of Bundling & Art 150.9

Editor’s Note: As they have for the last couple of years, your summer Pause messages will feature the ‘Best of Pause. These GEMS are readers’ favorite messages from earlier years. Whether you are a long time subscriber, or new to our list, I hope you enjoy them all. After Labor Day, your Pause messages will once again feature all new info and resources.

P.S. – Also, be sure to scan right to the end of this message. You’ll want to be sure to catch the details on my Canada 150 Summer Art Project and the unique Provinces of Canada paintings on offer each week. This week – Quebec.

REFLECTION & ACTION: These days, merchandisers are pretty adept at bundling goods and services together in the hopes of extending one purchase into a bigger payday. A telecom will sell you a phone line and then bundle in internet service, cell phone, and unlimited long distance. At our Canadian Tim Horton’s you can purchase chili and a bun with coffee – and for another 14 cents Tim tosses in a donut. Bundle! Bundle! Bundle!

Bundling CAN create good deals. And yet, as much of a bargain as it may be financially, bundling can also bring you more than you need or want, more than you bargained for, or, literally, more than you can chew.

The concept of bundling popped to mind as I recently listened to a colleague fret about a complicated workplace problem. It was clear that by taking one issue and bundling it together with others she was making the situation more difficult and overwhelming than it needed to be. On top of the precipitating problem with Employee A, she had layered an ongoing performance concern about Colleague B, and was already anticipating having to deal with the fallout of the situation on Employees C & D.

Truly, she had legitimate concerns in all three areas; and all would have to be addressed at some point. However, bundling them together in the moment had sent her into a tail spin. It made things much more difficult than they needed to be in dealing with the single precipitating issue. And, the resulting confusion of thoughts caused a crisis of confidence.

Once we unbundled the issues – clarified her approach to the immediate problem, identified a first step in addressing the ongoing issue, and set the third issue aside for later – calm and confidence were restored. I know she’ll excel at handling everything. She just didn’t need to worry it all at once.

It’s so easy for related issues to bounce around our minds, bumping into each other, bruising our ability to see clearly and think straight.

That’s when and where it’s helpful to divvy the whole mess into more manageable chunks, and determine a thoughtful order of approach.

Another mind or another person’s point of view – especially that of someone not directly involved in the situation – can be helpful.

The next time you find yourself caught up in a burdensome bundle of confusion, pause. Take a step back. Call for help. And together have a go at unbundling the situation into its much more manageable pieces.

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once. – Jennifer Yane

 

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK: You might enjoy Kathy Gulrich’s article, Overwhelm: Love It Or Leave It.

 

CANADA 150 SUMMER ART PROJECT: In honor of our country’s 2017 anniversary celebrations, I’m delighted to introduce my very own Canada 150 Art Project. I’ve created one painting to honor each province – all ten of which I’ve had the joy of visiting over the years.

One unique provincial landscape, seascape or streetscape will be featured here at the end of the each of the summer GEMS messages. Ten paintings are up for grabs – one for each province – and one each week.

This week’s offering features Quebec. Read on for what you need to know to make this painting yours.

 

 

Each painting is 8” x 10” in size and although it’s not shown here, each one will arrive mounted in a double white mat bringing the outer dimensions to 11” x 14” – ready to pop into a standard frame of your own choosing.

The price for each painting will be $150 (taxes included) plus $15 for shipping to anywhere in Canada.

Each painting will arrive with a written commentary on a few of my memories of that particular province.

If you are looking for a unique remembrance of Canada 150, and you’ve always wanted to buy an original watercolor from the Pauseworks Studio, here’s your chance.

Just send me an email message with the words ‘Canada 150 – I’ll Take It’ in the subject line. The first reader to call dibs on each week’s masterpiece takes it.  Good luck and Happy Canada 150.

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Category:
Artwork, Life Balance, Life in General, Overload & Overwhelm, Pause E-zines

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