Tag Archives: Circus of Life

Structure for Well-Being

Why you can’t remember what you had for dinner last night!

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How many times have you said, “I can’t even remember what I had for dinner last night!”? You might worry that your memory is failing; worry that you are becoming absent-minded; worry that you have too much going on…

…it is actually much simpler than that and it is easy to fix.

Phone in to Dinner

You don’t remember what you had for dinner because you were barely present there in the first place! You were absent (thus, absent-minded) or thinking about other things (thus, scatter-brained) and missing the moment…

“How can you expect to remember something that you barely experienced the first time?!”

Slow down, take a breath before dinner or any other important moment with loved ones. Take a break from texting, emailing, phones, mail, TV, internet, regret (about the past), worry (about the future) and simply BE PRESENT. It is the best advice for each of us – busy executives, soccer moms, parents, young adults, and teenagers… take a breath, get in touch with your surroundings, your senses, realize you are in control of your mind.

Be Present at DinnerIf you need a reminder, write “BREATHE” at your place setting so you can sit and take two deep breaths before your meal. It is amazing what two deep cleansing breaths can do to clear your head, get in touch with your body, and focus your mind on the present moment. Life doesn’t happen in the past or in the future; life happens NOW so be aware and present in the moment!

Here is your challenge – and it is completely in your control:

For the next seven days, before each meal take a few slow breaths and stay present throughout the meal. You will have more meaningful conversations, time to reflect, will make better choices, and you will experience simple moments worth remembering — every day!

We live in The Circus of Life — and you are the ringmaster — it is time to take control!

MyLife2.0 - The Journey and Journal, Updates

Breaking the Paradox of Retirement

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Some people pursue early retirement and realize they feel a twinge of guilt (I did). They may experience a loss of identity (I did); they may be searching for purpose, community, and structure (I did); they may be feeling fickle as they flirt with one interest or another (I did); and as they hear people say, “I could never retire…” they may wonder, have I done the right thing? Does this feel right to me? Why am I feeling guilty?! (I did — and that felt like a ridiculous paradox!).

I know I felt that twinge of guilt the other day while I was at a coaching seminar. I was re-exploring my personal purpose and values when I realized I was feeling guilty about what I deemed a non-committal attitude. It has been just over one year since I retired from the corporate world and I was starting to feel a bit guilty for not truly committing to a new path or big endeavor. Ironically, I was feeling guilty for enjoying the lack of stress, the new-found freedom, the sense of satisfaction of not flying, not wearing suits, not being tied to email…

I realized I had been defining myself but what I DIDN’T want to be (i.e. corporate) but I wasn’t driving much clarity on who I DID want to be (?). Historically, I needed to make a commitment to something big to help define me… but what was that to be? I had always had a big commitment, a big goal, at the center of my being — I had been feeling a void in its place.

Someone said, “Maybe you need to commit to not committing?” It was a good try but it didn’t satisfy me. It was still defining myself through a negative, what I would NOT commit to…

Turning this corner inspired me to dive in and pursue "The Circus of Life!"
Turning this corner inspired me to dive in and pursue “The Circus of Life!”

I let my eyes drift to  a picture in the corner, actually two pictures, and suddenly saw an enlightening representation of what I was experiencing in my life transformation. The picture on the right represented my corporate experience. While I had greatly enjoyed my corporate career, it was only one or two dimensional; while it had sparks of color, it wasn’t truly vibrant or unleashed…
When I looked at the picture to the left in contrast, I suddenly felt joy, fun, energetic, dynamic, creative, movement, anything goes. I got sucked into the picture and said, “I commit to THAT picture. I commit to pursuing The Circus of Life!”

Circus of Life - 3D AwesomeWhat does this commitment to “The Circus of Life” mean to me? It means I can fully commit to exploring life in all aspects:

  • new learnings, new experiences, new adventures, new hobbies…
  • no judgements, no regrets, no hesitations, no boundaries…
  • endless creativity, endless fun, endless possibilities, endless joy…

The simple paradigm shift suddenly solved the paradox I had been facing. That nagging sense of guilt in my early retirement from a lack of commitment was suddenly transformed into an energizing commitment that inspires me without constraint. To pursue “The Circus of Life” to its fullest and help others do so is a great commitment – perhaps a new life purpose. Along the way, I will explore new hobbies, new adventures, new humor, new stories, perhaps some other new commitments as I discover them — and I will paint my new picture of life. From now on, my life will always resemble a bit of a circus – some chaos, some balance, and a lot of fun – The Circus of Life. The truth is, it has always been a bit of a circus — it just took me looking in a new way to see it!

What does “The Circus of Life” mean to you?! In what way does it inspire you?