Life is like…?
February 3, 2011 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Pursuit of Happiness
Not too long ago I was listening to Anthony Robbins (I cringe a little to admit it but there you go) and the one thing that truly caught my attention was the implication that we live by metaphor. However you personally finish the sentence ‘life is like…” is how you approach the world, which in turn determines how the world responds to you. Or at least that’s the theory.
I thought about it for awhile, came up with my answer, and put it away since I couldn’t see any practical application for it.
Then recently – in the last few days I’ve across two people that defined life as ‘a struggle’ – both were successful, driven, and professional speakers. Somehow that metaphor sounds so very boring; Sisiphus endlessly pushing a boulder upwards – who would sign up for that? How could that motivate anyone? Of course they had a deeper point in that analogy, but still it’s missing something for me (and maybe for you too?)
The easy metaphors – a bowl of cherries, a box of chocolates, are too flat. There’s no sense of time or journey to them at all. So do those folks lack goals or a sense of purpose? I don’t know. I’m not sure if the metaphor really does anything other than define our personal values and style.
My metaphor? Life is a hike in the woods – some flat places, some switchbacks where I huff and puff and wish I’d gone to the gym, unexpected showers, surprising meadows of wildflowers and always interesting people coming and going. The metaphor sits fine with me – I can’t imagine anything happier than a long day in the woods with a good picnic and friends along. I’m still trying to see if that really does change my approach to life or not. Would I be more productive if I changed it to a battle? a reality show? Somehow I doubt it.
Do you have a metaphor you live by?
The power of connection
February 1, 2011 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Pursuit of Happiness
I came across this not too long ago and thoroughly enjoyed it – it’s a well spent 20 minutes if you feel like you could use more connection in your life.
What questions do you ask?
November 3, 2010 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Pursuit of Happiness
I was reading something recently that pointed out that you can’t evaluate something without asking a question. In thinking about that I think it’s true – I certainly can’t think of an example where you don’t ask at least one question; will this car keep me safe, can I afford it, will he make me bored, does he like me and so on.
So when you evaluate things in your life are you asking positive questions or negative ones? why me? or how can I make this work for me? Start by just noticing that you are asking questions – then delve deeper!
Why things take so long
May 25, 2010 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Pursuit of Happiness
It seems like the “experts” keep telling us it’s easy – whatever it is they’re talking about. Even if you know it’s not, a little bit of that thinking can creep in, particularly if the message seems to be coming from all directions. Not too long ago I was reading an article on the Launch Coach totally an another topic but it brought home the point that we’ve become conditioned to believe that life is supposed to operate on a push button. Life is difficult when you have to write something out by hand and impossible beyond that. No wonder so many people stop in their tracks.
And yet studies are starting to show that what truly makes people happy are challenges, and the accomplishing thereof. We aren’t wired to have life be easy. So if you’re stumped by something that seems impossibly long and hard maybe it’s time to reset the scale.
Self promotion for the inherently shy
March 9, 2010 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Pursuit of Happiness
It’s possible to be both extroverted and shy, or just shy in person but not in email – there are all kinds of combinations. Shyness isn’t something necessarily to overcome, the usual advice of the non-shy to those afflicted but neither is it a good excuse to do nothing. Self promotion seems to just keep getting more and more important as the world gets larger through all the points of connection. If you have been challenged with this lately, here’s some suggestions that just might help move your goals forward.
The power of three in the art of happiness
January 5, 2010 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Pursuit of Happiness
There is an implied stability in anything with three legs that is not present in anything with either two or four. In 
Jungian philosophy the number three is associated with creativity, self-expression, and optimism. By default a third option will get you out of either/or, black/white thinking and take you into the ambiguous area of maybe’s and shades of gray. It’s not a bad place to be and may take you places you had no idea you would get to.
I find it interesting that my solstice tradition (borrowed and adapted from the one in Write It Down, Make It Happen) involves three things I want to come into my life in the coming year and Chris Brogan’s personal New Year’s tradition involves three key words for the year. I don’t believe it’s accidental. The number three provides both balance and something that is still manageable.
If you are working on resolutions, or breaking things down into manageable steps, try for groupings of three. I think you’ll find it’s a technique that will get you thinking more than you may realize – for some things it’s hard to limit and for others you’ll scratch your head trying to find a third category. Sooner or later you discover some overlooked detail that will add clarity.
On New Year’s restrospectives and resolutions
December 31, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Pursuit of Happiness, Uncategorized
I almost don’t want to add to the mess of blog posts on the topic of New Year’s, they tend to be a bit exhausting to read not to mention depressing if you haven’t published a best seller while having a child, been mentioned by Time magazine with the word “most” in the title, or scaled some other mountain.
I hope 2009 was a great year for you but if it wasn’t I’ll go out on a limb here and say you’re probably in pretty good company. For myself I’d have to label it as interesting and educational but I’d just as soon not repeat it, thank you very much. And while I could write up a list of the most popular posts from this site (How to get motivated quickly tops the list) I’d rather save that for its first birthday on Feb. 20th.
Which brings me to resolutions. I’ve nothing against them but I don’t do them on New Year’s. For the winter solstice on Dec. 21 I write up three things I want to exit from my life (like feeling anxious) and three things I want to come into my life (confidence). There’s a whole silly ritual involving cocoa powder and bonfires that I’ll save for later and I’m pretty sure that the powers of the Universe won’t object too much if want to try it in January instead of December. Chinese New Year usually comes around fairly quickly and I think all that red and gold, not to mention the dragons, helps get me a little more motivated. And then my birthday comes in a few more weeks which is also an excellent time to set goals and new trajectories – at least for me! So there are a great many fresh starts in about a six week period and New Year’s Day is one of the least interesting!
I’m also a big fan of picking an otherwise unnoteworthy day, devoid of public or personal holidays, to do something really big like stop smoking or start training for a marathon. Not as an excuse to delay mind you, but rather so you really have something to celebrate later that is truly personal and not attached to something else that appears bigger. Would you rather tell the story of how you quit on New Year’s Day or how you quit on January 17th?
If you do have a big goal in mind for either 2010 or another annual cycle, I highly recommend reading This Year I Will…: How to Finally Change a Habit, Keep a Resolution, or Make a Dream Come True (affiliate link.) Particularly if you’ve tried and failed in the past, this book might just help you avoid the same pitfalls and come out smiling more broadly at the year’s end.
Give yourself permission to take your time
November 17, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Pursuit of Happiness
Maybe it’s just because I’ve been so immersed in the virtual world lately that it seems like the pressure has increased to be incredibly witty, insightful, and on topic at the drop of a hat. ‘If you’re not twittering, you’re not succeedding’ seems to be a popular mantra. I’m not wired that way – if I read something thought provoking I like to mull it over for a day or two before making a comment about it. When I get a Facebook invite from someone I don’t recognize I pull out my high-school yearbook to see if that rings any bells before I accept it (it’s amazing what 20+ years changes or doesn’t change!) But maybe it’s not so necessary to be the first voice or the loudest voice, even on the Internet. It just seems that way.
I’ve noticed that some of the bigger blogs, like zenhabits have removed the comment feature lately and I came across an article about a top gadget reviewer, David Pogue’s secret weapon, that attributes a large portion of his popularity to the fact that he never rushes in at the first opportunity, but actually waits quite a while before reviewing gadgets and technology – long past the point when geeks consider it new.
Most of the people out there that are giving advice on how not to miss out on the party (or the millions) are most likely a bit worried that they’ve missed out themselves. Maybe the party is actually behind them and if they just turned around and headed in a different direction things would be different. That doesn’t mean you get to use it as an excuse not to take action but absolutely do give yourself permission to go at your pace and not the Internet’s.
Are you letting your inner Oscar out?
November 10, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Pursuit of Happiness
It’s hard to miss the references to Sesame Street’s 40th birthday this week – I’m just thrilled that there’s something out there still that’s older than I am;-) I did see one article that I thought was thought provoking, The Oscar the Grouch Guide to Building a More Remarkable Blog. While it’s theoretically talking about blogging, the concept is relevant to just about anything where there is interaction between you and potential customers of “you” whether that’s writing or jewelry, dancing, or cooking. The less you edit yourself to fit ‘mainstream’ the more loyal your fans will be, even if that number is significantly smaller. And who doesn’t want loyal fans?
It can be a hard thing to remember because so much is reported in terms of large numbers – albums sold, books sold, apps downloaded but love, while harder to quantify, tends to last a lot longer. Oscar the Grouch definitely does things his way and is happy in his own unique way in the process. How else will new friends and fans find you
The natural order of chaos is to organize
October 27, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Pursuit of Happiness
There are days when I feel like the Queen of Starting New Things. Particularly this last year as I’ve tried to find the right entrepreneurial threads to tug. From blogging (now up to six) to jewelry to the brief bread enterprise and so on. I’ve filled out online profiles for contract jobs that never materialized and researched how to be an information broker. There have been times when it felt like nothing could possibly rise to the surface because there was too much floating there already. I don’t expect this to be the last time I feel that chaos has reign in my life, either.
But about a month ago I noticed things were changing – the chaos of all those possibilities had gradually begun to sift out into three main categories: photography, jewelry, and writing. Sure, there are some subcategories there – blogging and writing a novel are two different beasts, but at least they’re on the same family tree. And better yet, I’m happy with this trifecta; it feels right and it feels stable. All three areas have room to grow and require different conditions to flourish – meaning I don’t get bored and there is always something that is right to be doing wherever I am.
So if the first part sounds at all familiar, take a deep breath and just start experiencing. Let the things that don’t feel like they are moving you forward to something go. You don’t have to know what the something is, just that there is positive movement. Then see what categories start to emerge, you may find some very interesting patterns!
