Today’s post is a continuation of sorts from my last post.
I am an idea guy. I always have a multitude of thoughts jumping through my mind about things to do, places to go, how to make things better, etc., etc., etc. As my former manager used to say, I’m a “blue sky thinker”. The challenge that comes along with these ideas, at least for me, is following through.
Continue reading “Follow Through”
A week ago today, I started my vacation. A trip to Cape Breton to drive the Cabot Trail for the first five days, followed by another six days of downtime at home to read, have fun, eat merrily and just enjoy life. As my previous blog post pointed out, things did not start off as intended. Turns out neither did the rest of the vacation.
Continue reading “The Week That Was(n’t)”
Ever since I was young I have been, at least, a husky individual. Over the course of my lifetime, that descriptor has varied from husky to overweight to healthy(ish), and everything in between.
For a large part of my life, I was self-conscious about my weight. Not necessarily because of how I felt, since, though carrying excess baggage, I was healthy. In truth, I was self-conscious because of the same reason so many other people are – I worried about what others thought of the way I looked.
I was teased for my weight in school. Although I learned how to shrug off the stinging jabs from my schoolmates, the echoes remained. This in turn lead me to use self-deprecating humor as a defense mechanism; sometimes proactively so as to try to “take the power” from the others, but oftentimes no one was thinking or saying anything. Except for me. This pattern stuck around for the rest of my life.
Continue reading “The Weight of Weight Loss”
Welcome to November! The temperature is shifting to cooler weather; the days are getting shorter; pumpkin spice is beginning to shift to more holiday-inspired fare. Most importantly, we are nearing the end of this cycle around the sun. Another year come and gone.
For this November, I’ve decided to do a bit of a mental, physical and spiritual reboot. Let’s discuss!
Continue reading “Reboot Time”
Social media is ever-present in most of our lives. No matter where you go, you’ve always got that handy little device in your pocket or close at hand. How many times a day do you hear that familiar notification sound and reflexively glance at your screen to see what’s going on? Pavlovian responses. It’s something that we do so unconsciously now that we usually don’t even notice how frequently we’re doing it. I’ve been absent over the past few days from my social media platforms. I decided that I needed a bit of a break, and boy did it do some good!
Continue reading “Social Media Break”
In yesterday’s post, I wrote about feeling like my batteries were drained. I’ve spent the past few months not really doing anything to help my state, so it was time to make a change.
After taking some time to reflect, I’ve opted to use the month of February as a recharging month. What do I mean by a recharging month? Let me share with you my plan for this month.
Continue reading “Re-energize”
Through much of 2019, I’d noted that I had light bulbs acting weirdly around me. They would frequently start flickering for a few minutes then stop. We had a number of bulbs that just stopped working. (Yes, I realize that happens with light bulbs, but some of these were replaced and died again on us shortly afterwards) We even had one light bulb that burned out 3 times in the past two years. Each time, it would be out for a day or two, I’d touch it to take it out and then it would light up again and last months before happening again. After the third “resurrection”, I was forced to replace the bulb.
Continue reading “*Batteries Not Included”
If you were able to heal yourself, would you do it? What if that meant you had to believe in yourself and love yourself, unconditionally? Are you still game? Or does the spectre of doubt start to creep back into your mind?
Continue reading “Do You Believe in Magic?”
Everyone has their own moments of doubt and self-criticism. For some people, the voice is hard to tune out, or to turn off. Even the most successful and well-grounded people have that little voice that creeps up from time to time and makes them question themselves and their abilities.
Over recent months, that little voice of mine has been resurfacing more regularly, more insistently. It’s definitely caused me more than a few moments of mental downward spiraling. I get caught up in the negative self-talk, which causes even more negative self-talk, which leads to moments of crushing panic and despair.
Continue reading “Silencing the Critic”
*As a disclaimer, I need to emphasize that I am not a mental health expert. I am not trained to identify, treat, or support mental health challenges. If you feel that you are in, or heading into a burnout, please see a professional for help.
Over the past 12-18 months (maybe more, it’s really hard for me to know), I’ve been in a slump. I’m not motivated. I’m not overly engaged. I have no drive or ambition. I’ve come to recognize that I’d essentially hit a burnout. Continue reading “The Gift of a Burnout”
Musings of A Boxhead 