Category Archives: psychology

psychology

Be Mildly Rebellious

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Today I am wearing the t-shirt I slept in!  Rebellious, I know.  Maybe tomorrow it will be “no bra” day.  Ha!

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I try very hard to “be” a woman who stands by her word, that does what she says she will do and live by the guidelines of the culture I live in.  But I have been inspired lately to be a bit more rebellious towards these cultural guidelines.

Thank you Tim Ferris and his book The Four Hour Work Week. 

[Sidenote: Last year, my book club gave me the award Actionator 2012 because I really do try and put into to practice what I read and am inspired by.]

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In The Four Hour Work Week, Tim Ferris gives the reader what he calls “Comfort Challenges”.  One comfort challenge that spoke very personally to me was the “Relax in Public” challenge.  My understanding of the activity is that you find a busy sidewalk and lie down.  Don’t explain yourself, just take a rest.  Hmmm… thought provoking isn’t it.  Why is this not culturally acceptable?  If I am tired, why not lie down? As a mom of three boys under five, I think I am going to instill this into my daily life.  I am going to give it a try next week.

Here is my last thought from Tim’s book: “It isn’t enough to think outside the box.  Thinking is passive.  Get used to acting outside the box.”  Well said Tim.  I am a good thinker, but now I am going to aim to be a better Actionator!

Parenting, psychology

Be Proud

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My son is almost fifteen months old. He cannot walk, but he sure can climb! He climbs his brothers’ bunk bed ladder, onto kitchen chairs. Today, he climbed up on the couch in between his big brothers. He was so proud!

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This proud moment made me think of judgement for some reason and my judgement in particular.

It would be easy to judge the fact that my son isn’t walking as the ‘norm’ is 12 months.

It is easy for me to judge, myself especially. But I need to learn to be proud of the little things and let the other things go! My inner dialogue could probably burn a house down. I am very hard on myself.

My children have become my teachers in many ways. Thank you baby boy for my lesson today,

Joanna be proud!

Flexibility, psychology

Be Stretched

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I’ve never been known for my ability to stretch. I have never been called Gumby! On my University volleyball team, I remember we used to laugh at my inability to touch my toes. I was called peg legged!

I know that I am not physically flexible, but I didn’t know how mentally inflexible I am!

I have been stretched. In the last six week, my husband has been injured, my physically home has changed, my boys have been sick and I have been holding onto to Jesus’ cloak asking for help.

Yesterday, my husband returned to the hospital because his suture was red and hot. Yes, he has an infection. He is now back on the couch at our house. We didn’t move back down the lake closer to his work. He can’t work for a few days.

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This sent me into an emotional tailspin – okay what now? Who goes where? Who is doing what and how can I get back to my yoga class?

It all “worked out”! But not before I almost had a meltdown because my expectations weren’t meeting up with reality. Boy have I been stretched!

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I may be able to touch my toes if this continues! I pray that I can!

psychology, Self-help

Be “Acting Consciously Not Reacting Habitually”

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This is an old photo from 2007 when I was in labour with my first son. I thought of it this week because in my “new life” in our little basement suite 60 kilometres down the lake from our house.

I love exercising and doing yoga makes me feel a re-connection with my body and slows down my sometimes “frenzied” mind.

In the last two weeks, I have attended 5 yoga classes. This is more classes of any type that I have been present at in the last 2 years. In each of these yoga classes, I have experienced the emotions of sadness (yes, I did cry in class), anger, surrender, and learning to trust. Hey, is this the grieving process?

Anyways, last night at yoga, the teacher came out with this comment that we need to “act consciously not react habitually”. Oh man, I am a woman of habit.

I come from a long line of habitual people.

Perfect example: Both of my parents had the same barber/hairdresser for over 30 years! Yup… they both have great hair, but this is a wonderful? habit of going to the same place over and over. The other great? habit that has been handed down to me is being a “Yes” person. My parents try very hard to be good people, to help out and to say “Yes”.

For me in this journey of the last 3 weeks, of moving our family of five, has reinforced to me that not all my habits are healthy and that it is okay to shake things up. I commit to acting more consciously in my life back at home.

And hopefully I can get back into yoga/life shape so that at least I can touch my toes!

psychology

Be Teary

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I have shed a few days in the last seven days!

I went to a yoga class where I was the only student. I asked the teacher if it was okay if I went home. She responded, “I am here and let this be a gift to yourself!”. I cried because it was incredible to focus on my health with a personal class.

Today, I found out some great news about a very close friend: she’s moving! I can’t imagine not being happy for her and her family, but I am also teary because I will miss her in my daily life. There are so many things I will miss, but that is a post for another day.

Lastly, I am profoundly, pit of my stomach sad with tears in my eyes. My friend’s five year old daughter is in Kindergarten and two Mondays ago she was shown a video where a raven turned into a scary looking baby. She cried! Did the teacher turn off the video? NO! What is more important than a child’s tears?

This week, I am going to listen to my tears and connect to my inner child. I think children are more emotionally connected and I need to tap into that!

Hairdressing, psychology, Self-help

Be a Hairdresser

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There is something therapeutic about going to the hairdressers. I enjoy a fresh start, a new look and a nice relaxing shampoo. I love salons, the mind candy magazines and sitting for longer than five minutes.

I am not sure if it is the new hair cut I am sporting or the Aveda products that I am using, but my boys love playing hairdresser. They love getting out their combs and chopsticks (scissors), then “do” my hair.

It is a beautiful time. I love having hairdressers in my own home, as long as they aren’t using real scissors!

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Flexibility, psychology

Be Inconvenienced

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Isn’t this a strange photo today? This symbolizes my life at this particular moment.

Another symbol that I am reminded of is the verse in Luke where the woman had been bleeding for twelve years (I have been living in my current town for 12 years!!!), anyways, she came up behind Jesus and touched his cloak and immediately her bleeding stopped.

I am bleeding with my need to control the future and relive the mistakes of my past! I think things are going to go a certain way, but then “inconvenient” things happen – Sexy Neck tears his Achilles, my son is up all night, another son gets sick, someone says something negative to me and we uproot our entire life to move closer to my husband’s work. (These are just a few ‘recent’ events!)

The photo above was a symbol of my difficulty towards facing inconvenient events and my need to reach for Jesus’s cloak on this very day!

Last night, I put my purse on the brown chair. This morning, I could not find it anywhere. I relived every moment of yesterday trying to figure out if it was lost or stolen. I felt sick and was almost in tears all morning, as my Freitag purse is very sentimental but also contained many valuable things.

I waited til I picked up Sexy Neck from work then shared that I thought I lost my purse. How inconvenient! He simply responded – I think I put it up on a cupboard so that the boys wouldn’t get in it. Checkout the photo. Whew!

I realized that losing my purse was no big deal, but my response sure was! When inconvenient things happen, I need to keep my eyes UP to Jesus who can heal me and help me.

I need to realize that “Inconveniences are opportunities!”

P.S. Did you notice the little white toilet screw cover on the shelf? Our wee baby loves to take them off all and move them all over the house – inconvenient or opportunity?