Triple Inspiration in a Single Minute

So ... Sunday again. You know what that means! You get some inspiration for the week ahead!
If you're looking for more than the three quotes offered here, you can always check out the whole series through this link.

Get Productive!

"Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action."
(Benjamin Disraeli)

Get Happy!

"I can only say that whatever my life and work have been, I'm not envious of anyone-and this is my biggest satisfaction."
(Roman Polanski) 

 

Get Inspired!

"In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher."
  (Dalai Lama)

Worry Work

Picture by Brian Rosen

I'm a bit of a worrywart. I try to be carefree and casual, but in the end I can't stop myself from imagining worst case scenarios. The hubby is 20 minutes late? He must have gotten hit by a bus (not an unlikely scenario in China), and of course, if he didn't get killed instantly, he doesn't have a phone and speaks no Chinese, so he's probably in a coma and in a hospital somewhere in the city where I will never find him.
I've gotten better over the years, but it's still difficult to quiet those voices in my head. So I've stopped trying. Now, I just try to calm myself by using my worrying to my advantage.

I know I'm going to worry, there's no going around it. But why do we do it? Maybe because we're afraid of something that is so devastating and unexpected, it would destroy our life. Completely. If something would ever happen to my hubby, I can't imagine what I would do!


Or wait ... . Maybe that's the problem. What if I use this worrying impulse to find out what I would do in case something did happen.
You can use your worst case scenarios in your mind to plan for possible emergencies. Using your worrying instinct this way makes sure that it isn't a complete waste of energy. And you get the reassurance of realizing that, just in case, life wouldn't come to an end if the unthinkable happened.


WARNING: In case you're not someone to worry much, and imagining these scenarios completely freaks you out, take it in small steps (or don't do this at all). It's much less stressing to imagine your undies turning pink due to a red sock in your machine than your house catching fire. But it's good to have a plan in either case.

We worry because we care. And that is all the more reason to make sure we're prepared for any situation that may arise. Doesn't knowing what you should do when the plane goes down make you feel safer already?
What is something you worry about? What would you do if the worst possible scenario came true?

Summer Projects

Picture by Pam Ramsey

If you are like most people (statistically speaking that's very likely), you probably have some hobbies that you loved at some point in your life, but don't really perform anymore. If you're anything like me, you could make a page-long list of former hobbies and interests that you discontinued a couple of months into them.

When I stop doing something I am (or was) really interested in, it's always with the fullest intention to go back to it someday. Someday I'll play harp again. Someday I'll pick up Spanish again (and French, German, Chinese and Italian for that matter). Someday I'll get into dancing again. Sounds familiar?
I think summer (or any season you happen to have an extended holiday) is a great time to relive some of your old passions.

Take 5 minutes to rummage through your attic. Get out those boxes, and dust them off. See if you can rekindle your previous passion, and if not, at least you can cross it off your list of unfulfilled intentions.
Summers carry a risk for me. I don't have to teach (or a lot less) so my days tend to get filled doing rather pointless stuff. An example? Yesterday I spent the entire day watching sitcom episodes, so in the end I had to write a Minutes Worth Hours post 30 minutes before it was due to be published. Not really the way I like to work. 

Finding something different to focus on, especially something that you are excited about but haven't done for a while, is a great way to stay energetic and feel like you're making full use of your time. It's finally the moment you can invest in doing what you love. 
If what you love is lying in the sun and reading a book, that's great! If you love watching the Tour de France, that's awesome! But make sure you choose how you spend your time, don't let it just slip by unnoticed, or in a couple of weeks, you'll wonder where the summer went.

What kind of things do you do on your free summer days? Do you take a lot of time to relax? Do you do stuff you can't do during the year? I always love to get some inspiration for a meaningful way to spend my free time!

Save Electricity by Adaptation

Chinese kids cooling down - Chengdu 2011

I got back from my trip through China last night, and as I arrived in Yantai the heat and humidity got to me pretty much instantly. This city isn't so bad in summer (compared to cities like Beijing and Shanghai), but I'm still only a Belgian girl, so not used to higher temperatures for extended periods of time.

So, as you can probably guess, the air conditioning system is my personal savior at this time. It's not something I am proud of, however. A/C and other cooling systems take up a lot of energy. And all of that just so that I can live at my maximum comfort level? Do I really need it? I've found that if I give my body time, it will adjust to higher or lower temperatures just fine. Therefore, I've started limiting the time I use air conditioning, and how high I put it, so that slowly, over time, I get used to the warmth.

When I visited Los Angeles in 2007 (for the second time) it was the middle of July. It was scorching hot, most of the days. The concrete streets and buildings did nothing to absorb the sun, it only got worse. But it didn't bother me at all. In fact, I was too COLD most of the time. Why? I spent most of my time indoors, in buildings that are kept at a cool 65°F (18°C). Sure, it's nice and cool when you come in, but coming from 100°, a balmy 80° would've sufficed just as well.

So when you get too hot (or too cold in winter) try to adjust the thermostat a couple of degrees in whatever direction that will save energy (and your money). Alternatively, set a timer so that the system is running long enough to cool things down for a bit, but not running while you're out and don't need it.

I hope you all have the luxury of feeling too hot at some time this summer. Enjoy it while it lasts, and remember it's only a couple of months before you'll be wishing you could feel this way again.

Worth Every Minute

Every Wednesday, I share quality information of another great blogger out there on the web.
You can find the complete set of articles here.

This week, the article is about productivity, or rather lack thereof, and one of its reasons. It may be a counter-intuitive one to you, but Jonathan Fields shows that spending every minute keeping up to date with every on-line conversation may be killing your productivity and creativity instead of increasing it.

Creative Kryptonite and the Death of Productivity by Jonathan Fields.

This may be the reason people can get such a boost from going to places where they are completely disconnected from the social media, and have no opportunity to 'stay in touch' 24/7.