Being back in my hometown after so many years is very strange. While some of the streets, stores, and faces are of course familiar, there has been A LOT which has changed. The city has definitely been in growth mode over the past 10+ years and my once or twice annual pilgrimages hardly gave me the opportunity to see all that was new each year, not to mention the cumulative effect. Everything is familiar, but little is the same. Grand Rapids is all grown up now. And although I kind
Future Discounting :: Why Getting Started is the Hardest Part
For me, and many others as I understand it, getting started really is half the battle. Whether it's due to perfectionistic tendencies and anxiety about making a wrong first step (me) or some other variety of procrastination, just getting going can be a big hurdle to overcome. I have written a few times (here and here) about what is referred to as "tomorrow" logic or our tendency to discount what we do today because we are going to do XYZ tomorrow. When we think about our future selves, we typically see them as more virtuous and superior to who and what we are today, which t
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!! As one of thosetypes of people who always loves any chance for a fresh start, I especially love a brand new year and usually try to capitalize on the psychological advantages that the blank slate provides. And in light of all that's going on this year with the big move back across the pond, becoming homeowners and settling into life in Grand Rapids - it feels like this year is especially turbocharged! However, although I am a resolutions and habit fanatic, I know that many others are decidedly not. And because there are as many different perspectives on goal setting and resolutions as there are individuals out…
Superpowers and a Super Easy Whole30 Tuna Zoodle Casserole
If you could have any superpower what would it be? According to a quick Google search - the most common responses are usually superhuman agility, the ability to fly, being able to read minds, invisibility, superhuman intelligence or immortality. On a slightly more practical level, many people seem to wish that they were blessed with the ability to be in more than one place at the same time or that they always had the right words to say. As a general rule, I'm not a big fan of these kinds of questions (which is the reason why the daily brainstorming sessions are still going strong to stimulate my creativity and levity!),…
Gratitude and a Whole30 Fall Chicken and Butternut Squash Salad
Happy Thanksgiving - one of my favorite holidays of all! It's one that brings people together simply for the purpose of being together and reflecting on the many things that we have to be grateful for. In light of our rapidly approaching date of departure, we celebrated our third annual Irish Friendsgiving a little early this year and today I am enjoying a less hectic day of work with a lot of packing on the side. Moving, as stressful and onerous as it can be, always presents a great opportunity to reassess one's possessions and eliminate or reduce clutter - something I genuinely enjoy. And it provides the opportunity to…
Dealing with Seasons of Stress and a Whole30 Fajita Chicken Protein Salad
Stress is a crazy thing. There are million and one proverbs, clichés and admonitions about how going through times of trial and tribulation bring out one's true colors or show what someone is made of. And while that's all true, valuable, and potentially reassuring - it often doesn't feel like it (or like it matters) in the moment, nor do I always like to be reminded of that fact. I've mentioned before that my own personal, very unattractive natural tendency when I am out of time, patience, or energy is to become a "dictatorial steamroller." Since I am aware of this proclivity, I try to pay attention to the times…
Broaden-and-Build, the Benefits of Positivity, and a Whole30 Chicken Chili
I would consider one of my strengths to be my ability to both formulate and execute a plan. I LOVE planning - everything from meal plans to barre choreography, from vacations to my wedding, and everything in between. I would consider one of my weaknesses to be my strong distaste for not knowing what to expect. I'm not great at "going with the flow" and just seeing what happens when it happens. In fact, "not great" hardly scratches the surface. I loathe being in the dark and thus ill-prepared for anything of importance. Thus the logistics of moving and such a big transition have my anxiety levels above optimum at…
What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? (and a Whole30 Smoked Salmon and Peach Salad)
So my latest obsession is learning about all things personality related. It was something which I felt it would be interesting to look into in more detail based on my experiences with my Happiness Project. In short, a major finding is that although we can all move the needle in a more positive direction, what exactly leads to a happier life for me is probably not identical to what would for you due to our individual differences. Starting out that project, I remember reading Gretchen Rubin's argument that one of the keys to happiness is self-knowledge, and she says that "we can build a happy life only on the foundation…
Consistency > Perfectionism :: Whole30 Avocado Compound Butter
Originally I had planned to write about the topic of perfectionism today in light of some of the recent internal dialogue I have been having on the subject after recently reading Brene Brown's, I Thought It Was Just Me (But It's Not). I have been someone who has struggled with some relatively serious maladaptive levels of perfectionism for probably my whole life. In her typical penetrating style, Brown's insight on the topic was a bit deeper and more nuanced than the usual on the perils of perfectionism and it's been something which I have kept coming back to over the past few weeks. But as I sat down several times to try…
Learning How to Stay in Touch With Ourselves and a Whole30 Chicken Broccoli Casserole
Much has been written demonstrating the value of investing in experiences as opposed to things when it comes to boosting our satisfaction with life. And I know from personal experience I rarely regret spending money on meaningful or unique experiences which is especially true when they include the company of friends or family, a fact I was reminded of when my parents came to visit over the summer. Although we had many very memorable experiences together, one that I was considering lately was our night out in the West End to see Wicked. The production was fantastic. And it was fun to see it together because none of us were at…
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