Monthly Archives: August 2013

Take it on the Road

Take it on the road!

Hard to believe that it is Labor Day weekend!  Where did the time go?

This morning instead of going to the gym and doing my usual stair climb, or my imaginary walk on the treadmill to nowhere, I decided to grab my new bicycle and take it on the road.

Now mind you I already had a bicycle.   It is state of the art and totally awesome!  I bought it when I had my temporary bout with insanity and thought a great way to spend the weekend was to mountain biking up sharp terrain.  Each trip was a near death experience.  I also must mention that I have a total fear of heights.  Understandably, I have since given up that hobby. I was however, left with a bicycle that I could not operate.

My new bicycle is also totally awesome.  It has two wheels, a seat, and not that many speeds. All I need to do is get on it and ride.  It is a fabulous, and freeing, feeling.

I am almost tempted to dust off my roller blades and give them a whirl. Now that my son lives in Philadelphia the coast is clear.  He has still not forgiven me for rolling  past his high school bus.  He would always hide his head and duck, as his friends would ask “Isn’t that your mother”?!!

There is no better feeling than starting the day with a bike ride, or hike on my local trail.  I have all winter to take it inside and catch up on my reading and re-runs of my favorite TV shows.  Before you know it, it will be cold and dark early in the morning, so take advantage while you can.

Whatever exercise method you choose, biking, running,  rollerblading or walking; take a deep breath and exhale.  It is probably going to be the highlight of your day.

Mountain Biking

Why I Love Planes

I love planes because of both the serenity and the opportunity they provide for being productive.

Although these adjectives are diametrically opposed, they are both totally necessary for survival on the road.

Planes are the one place where I can be totally unplugged. I do not believe in in-flight Internet; like at 5 am (my other favorite unplugged time), I can send an e-mail and not get an immediate response! I can clean out my inbox, catch up on old e-mails, and always save a project or two which require total silence and focus for long trips.

Planes are also great to decompress. Sometimes I do not work at all.  I read my book, and catch up on old magazines and newspaper articles. I download re-runs of TV shows, and catch up on my favorite series. On occasions, I just listen to great music. I am also not ashamed to admit that I pick up copies of People magazine at the airport and devour them! (I know, but it is my guilty pleasure)

When I land I am always running to a meeting, meeting a teammate and in most instances, will not have any downtime till the way home.

The good news is, whichever path I choose, Serenity or Productivity, I reach my destination re-charged and ready to face the challenge ahead.

Repeat on the way home …………

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It’s Not About You

Sometimes when things do not go our way, or people do not behave or react as we think they should we find ourselves looking within and asking “What did we do” or “What went wrong”?

Perhaps we got passed up for a promotion or our position has been changed, outsourced or eliminated.  Maybe we go on what we think was a great date, yet never get asked out a second time.  Possibly, a lifelong friend stops calling us out of the blue, or, lastly, we put in a bid on a dream house and the deal falls through at the last minute.

In these and many other similar situations we scratch our heads and try to figure out “What we could have done differently?” When in most of these cases it was just out of our control.

With the promotion, position downsizing or elimination, it could have been office politics, a new direction for the company, or maybe it’s just not our time.

Our great date could be going through something personal, not be on the same page, or maybe saving us from realizing down the road that they were a bad fit.

The friend that stopped calling might be going through a hard time; could have out grown you, or is just plain holding you back from making more appropriate friends for this stage of your life.

Lastly, the dream house fell through right before your realtor pulled up in front of the perfect one!

In all of these cases we were left pondering “What could I have done differently?” Then we come to realize it was “Not about you”.

I have a “Not about you” partner.  This is a trusted friend, and colleague that is there to offer me a reality check.  They remind me not to personalize, put things in perspective, and just move on.  I highly recommend getting one.

After all, they remind you next best thing is often right around the corner.

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Start Somewhere

For me starting a project is always the hardest part.  My blog is a great example.

I have been thinking about starting my blog for at least three years, and have been talking about it truly seriously for a year.  Nevertheless, I have not put pen to paper until today (or took my first key stroke).

It is like this for me and many others for many things.  We often find ourselves saying we want to take a course in cooking, social media or any similar topic, but never do the research to get started.  We say we are going to clean out the garage or closet getting rid of the old roller blades or those size six pants that we know we will never, I repeat never, use or fit into again. Yet we never seem to get around to it.  Even more paramount, we have a big project which is mission critical for our company, or want to put our name in the hat for the next big promotion.  Yet we don’t bother to take the steps or acquire the skill sets necessary to get this accomplished.

In these situations the best thing to do is start somewhere! It is often that one little step toward your goal that is all you need to put the ball in motion.

Last week I found myself sitting in a hotel room in Chicago once again saying to myself, I really want to start my blog, so I started somewhere.  I bought the URL, “Dessert Diva Chronicles”.  I had absolutely no idea what to do with this URL once I bought it, but I knew I would figure it out.

I encourage you all today to take one small step toward whatever goal or task you have been thinking about or avoiding.  This small step is often all you need to get the ball rolling to accomplish your dream.

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