(Can’t see the video? Then try watching it at Work Happy Now - The Hard, The Fun and The Beautiful – Holiday Hangover Edition)
Last week Thanksgiving came and went. There was family, almost half a work week and now I’m back to a grueling full week.
It’s not easy to transition from so much fun back to full steam ahead.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy challenging myself. It’s fun to reflect on my accomplishments, but it’s also fun to do nothing for a whole day except for eating, napping and hanging out with family.
Let’s begin:
Hard
Midway through last week I hit a wall. On Wednesday I felt like I was carrying a sack of potatoes all day long.
I know it’s all mental, but it felt like a Friday. I wanted to go home and go to bed.
At the end of the week, it was interesting to watch my struggle. I found it hard to transition into going on vacation.
It sounds weird, but going away causes me a lot of anxiety. However, that’s for a whole new week of reflection.
Fun
I’m really diving into my drawing. Oh how I missed it so.
Yes, I’ve been dabbling, but lately I’ve really let the creative side of me come out. I think there is a lot of potential to help people work happier.
One of my drawings made my wife blurt out a laugh. She wasn’t expecting the image to stimulate her funny bone and that’s what made it so cool.
If there was a pie graph comparing my ability to learn visually vs. auditorily, There would be only a tiny sliver reserved for “auditorily” out of that pie.
How do you prefer to learn?
Beautiful
I love reflecting about the beauty that I see and hear. Since I talked so much about the visual side of how I process information, now I’ll focus a little on the audio.
I want to talk about my favorite classical artist.
Johann Sebastian Bach is my favorite. His mental limberness is amazing to have on my iPod. It’s like a little whisper from God to my ears.
What about you?
What has been hard, fun and beautiful in your life? I’ll see you in the comment section.
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Darren Rowse of Problogger wrote a really cool post on his personal site. It's called Ping. I'll give you a hint. It involves birds and laptops.
If you enjoyed this post then you will probably like this one too:
Hi Karl
Well here is my favorite part of the week - your Hard, Fun and Beautiful Edition 🙂
Glad to hear you had nice holidays! As for me, well no holidays here in Canada for us at this time of year, so here is how this week went:
HARD: Thinking how I could restructure my time to fit in writing an e-book. In one way I have all the time in the world and yet writing and web activities seem to chew it all up very quickly.
FUN: Going to yoga this week for the first time, and the kind that you do in the heat of a sauna. Oh it was so much fun, can't wait for next time!
BEAUTIFUL: Lance @ The Jungle of Life's post on Beauty - it was one of those moments and things that makes me realize how much beauty there really is in people in the world!
I remember those days at work when a Wednesday felt like a Friday... Ughd. I'm glad for your sake that today IS Friday!
For me, I like to learn in a few different ways. I can hear something and be moved by it, but I have to back it up with reading about it, as well. But I can't do two things at once, so handouts never served me well with a speaker. I'd start reading ahead and not listening to the speaker as he/she did their thing. I like visuals, though, but only as support for the written or spoken word.
Hard: I was in a slumpy mood on Sunday. Bah! And I felt it from my head to my toes. Yikes, I don't appreciate those moods.
Fun: An interview I went on yesterday. WOW! I laughed so many times, it was fabulous, and the president of the company commented on how nice my laugh was. It was just a really good time talking with that man for an hour and a half. All interviews should be THAT good.
Beautiful: The bond of soul-sisterhood. I have some of the best female friends a girl could ask for --- some close, and some far away, but today I realized just how beautiful that bond of sisterhood is. Nothing can break us apart, and we're rocks for each other when needed.
Hi Karl,
Aha--now we know what that cartoon character you posted the other day was doing with the hammer: He was trying to chip away at the post-holiday low energy wall that caught up with you! 🙂 It's always tough to go back to a full work week after a really long weekend.
In answer to your question to your readers about preferred learning style, I find it really depends on what I'm learning. I do best with a combination of visual, auditory and kinesthetic and often the remembered learning cross-pollinates-- for lack of a better description. For example, dancing is very obviously kinesthetic, yet once I've learned the choreography, if I hear the piece of music I can see the choreography in my mind's eye and I can sense it in my muscles. On the subject of music, yes Bach does indeed have some beautiful pieces--I like the Goldberg variations. I find the type of music I listen to really depends on the mood/energy level I want to experience.
Anyway here's my hard, fun and beautiful update for the week.
Hard: Staying mindful about not getting caught up in ruminating around the uncertainties and transitions going on right now. It's easy to start getting sucked in, bogged down and overwhelmed by the anxieties and unhelpful thinking and a real challenge to climb out once mired. I'm getting better at being able to acknowledge this stuff without getting caught up in it then returning my attention toward more helpful lines of thinking and feeling, but it definitely takes practice and compassion.
Fun: Going to a wonderful birthday celebration for my spiritual teacher on Wednesday night. It was so much fun to be part of that celebration and to catch up with some of my friends in that community. Also, I love the "challenge" of seeing how my poetic muse will translate the appreciation and respect I feel onto the page as a birthday poem.
Beautiful: Quite in addition to being a shining example of living his purpose and being in integrity, my teacher Jeffrey has an amazing capacity to awaken and nurture the creative passions and expressiveness in his students. I've seen and heard people's creativity and talents really blossom over the years--often just because they have been provided with the encouragement and a safe space in which to do so. It was really beautiful and amazing to hear and see how other students had also incorporated their creativity into their gifts and expressions of appreciation.
On that note, I shall sign off and wish everyone a great weekend and many opportunities to express creativity in a multitude of ways.
Hi Karl,
For me:
Hard: I'm trying to write a memoir - very new to me and getting my head around the structure has been challenging.
Fun: I became a Big Sister again a few months ago and today we're going out for breakfast - it's always fun to spend time with my "little"
Beautiful - every day I get two feet on the ground is a beautiful day. 🙂
How can it be Saturday and I missed reading this yesterday?!
The Hard: Business growing at warp speed, which is good, just the growing part takes a lot of calmness and balance...which can be a good challenge.
The Fun: um...I might be interviewed for the New Yorker for the Levity project? That feels fun....and exciting as TLP gets aoff the ground with our events.
The Beautiful: Driving to meet a friend for coffee in the enxt town over, driving rain, some fog, and passing over bridges with ocean views and lighthouses glowing. I love Maine in all seasons.
Yahoooooooo.....this is brilliant I love the hard the fun and the beautiful
Hi Evita, Making time to write an ebook is hard, but block a little time each day and you'll get it done. Good luck.
Hi Megan, Sounds like you got the job.
Hi Sue, Staying mindful in the midst of change is difficult. Just giving yourself daily doses of compassion.
Hi Stacey, Wow, a memoir. That is exciting. It's completely different than a blog. Just keep plugging.
Hi Katie, Business growing at warp speed is awesome. Delivering a ton of value is the key.