The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020 Somehow it feels like more than a year and less than a year. Amirite? What’s better and what’s worse in your life? So many people have lost work and more than 500,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. Even those of us who are healthy and employed have seen changes…
Would you decide where you’re going on a road trip, drive until you get there, then just zoom on past without even getting out of the car?
Or would you take time to enjoy the destination?
Welcome to the new home of my blog, Newvine Growing! For a decade now, I’ve written about what I describe as evolution, revolution and living life intentionally.
When I was in business school, we joked that cleaning the bathroom never sounds as good as when you have an exam to study for. Usually cleaning the bathroom sounds tedious and dirty, but compared to feeling confused or overwhelmed by difficult material, scrubbing the toilet feels like safe harbor.
If you work full time, a Mayo Clinic study suggests you might lower your stress level by spending the equivalent of just one day a week doing work you find meaningful. So four days a week can still be filled with tedious meetings and administrative bureaucracy for you to feel good about your work.
Here’s a recap of 2018’s most popular posts about living life intentionally.
My life vision spells out what I want and my to-do list is how I’ll get there. My values clarify why I’m choosing that vision.
Is wanting to change our behavior any more phony than wearing glasses, getting braces or going to the gym? What’s wrong with deciding you’d like to be a happier, healthier version of yourself who treats people better?
Imagine a coach talking to a losing team in the locker room at halftime. Is it more motivating if he says, “You’re a bunch of no-talent losers and it’s no wonder you’re getting killed out there!” or “I know you can win this, so let’s turn it around and show them what you’re made of!”
We’ve taken extended trips to New Orleans and San Francisco. We also lived in New York for a month before ultimately moving.
Because so many people have asked how we’re able to pick up and live elsewhere for a few weeks, I’m starting work on an e-book answering that question.
In the final chapter of the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Deepak Chopra suggests asking yourself:
1. If money was of no concern, what would I do?
2. How am I best suited to serve humanity?
“People don’t learn from experiences, they learn from the reflection on their experiences.”
After hosting a goal-setting session for about a dozen women, with career coach Lauree Ostrofsky facilitating, my heart feels full recalling the enthusiastic support these ladies gave each other all day.
My college newspaper adviser, Jim Wojcik, gave me a pep talk during my first job after I graduated. Woj told me everyone’s first job is hard. Think of it as boot camp. You’re there to get real world experience. Tough it out for a year. If you hate it after a year, you move on to the next place up the career ladder.
James Reindl worked for 31 years for The Associated Press in roles from journalist to corporate staff. He and his wife, Graca, decided in 2012 to change their lives by applying for the United States Peace Corps. They have been serving as agri-business volunteers in rural Ghana since October 2014 and will finish their Peace Corps service in December.
Writer and artist Emilie Wapnick says you’re not a quitter or flaky or waiting for your real passion to show itself. Instead, if you’re a polymath or Renaissance man, you bring three superpowers to your multiple interests.
Amanda Enayati tells us that when it comes to stress, it’s less about what’s actually happening to you and more about how you think about what’s happening. Perception is everything.
If you aren’t a morning person, you’re like about 40 percent of people who aren’t the early bird that catches the worm. Research says your body clock is unlikely to change, so best to embrace your night owl preferences.
A recent visit to my hometown had me reminiscing about one of my favorite high school jobs. As a teenager, I lucked into a surreal collection of work experiences. My first job, if you don’t count baby-sitting in middle school, was as a clown. I hosted children’s birthday parties, painting kids’ faces, making balloon animals and running a series of loud,…
I’m planning a day-long marketing workshop with a friend who is, among other things, an improv actress. If you know nothing else about improvisation, you might recognize the foundational concept of “Yes, and,” which encourages actors to accept what others do on stage and build on it. Everything about the creation of this marketing workshop we’re calling “Learning to market yourself…
Michael Carroll, business coach and author of Awake At Work, suggested five ways to create balance at work, making work a more pleasant environment as an important part of our lives instead of only something to be shoved back to make room for life.
I’ve been listening to Deepak Chopra’s “Seven Spiritual Laws of Success” on repeat lately — when I’m at the gym or on the subway, I pick up wherever I left off and get a dose of Deepak. A few ideas stop me every time they loop back. One of them is his notion that there is one thing that you are better…
