Promise #76: Delete seven crappy hours of your life in 11 steps or less

My boys tell me that SCHOOL is an acronym for Seven Crappy Hours Of Our Life. Honestly? They have no idea what seven crappy hours of life are.  Plus their math is totally wrong. It’s not seven crappy hours, it’s seven crappy hours every day—that’s not SCHOOL that’s SCHOOLED. We all know that being schooled on anything is never fun.

Seven hours can add up quickly. Nine to four. Ten to five. Midnight to seven. You can almost see the mojo flushing down the drain each hour.

I’m a little jealous that kids, students I should say, get to stand at the edge of a new school year ready to embrace a fresh start. A whole new group of friends. A new batch of teachers. New teams. New subjects. New opportunities. All for the taking.

Wouldn’t it be great to stand on that edge nine months after January’s (re)solution for hope and change has come and (possibly) gone?

My advice? Start small. Dream big. Delete one of seven crappy hours by doing something new, embracing the unknown, showing up (new shoes and all) to wrap your arms around J-O-Y.

Here’s a short list of 10 ways you can get a little mojo pumping through your veins:

• Sign up for an online e-course. Amanda’s Be Gentle Be Love course is full of awesomeness and pressure-free (no grading, work at your own inspired pace).

• Attend a networking event in your area. Connect with brilliant, like-minded people and prospects. Go on, shoo.

• Get involved in your community. Join a group that meets once a month (art, writing, photography, gardening, whatever YOU love to do in your uncopious free time).

• Volunteer one hour a week to a cause that you’re passionate about. Someone needs your help just as much as you need theirs. Guaranteed.

• Get social: start tweeting, get on facebook, enjoy Google+. Connect with that long-lost friend, reach out to a guru. You might be surprised at the new friends you’ll make.

• Join a gym. Buffing those muscles actually buffs your brain, too.

• Start looking for a new job. If you were shaking your head at enduring the full seven crappy hours then it’s time to consider a career change.  If you weren’t doing THAT job then what would job would it be? Three words: go-for-it.

• Plan a party. Attend a party. Be the party.

• Write yourself a love note. Celebrate your awesomeness. Read it when life is dragging you down.
• Watch a (chick/guy) flick…with a big, fat tub of buttered popcorn and a (regular) soda. You can circle back to the gym suggestion tomorrow.

What can you add to this list? Share, share, share in the comments.

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Promise #75: Life is full of promise

A reminder that even on the worst of days, life is full of promise.

If you’re having trouble viewing the video please click here.

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Enormous thanks to Anneliza Humlen for sharing this video.

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Promise #74: Iffy is no friend of yours

Do you know Iffy?

Iffy stops you in your tracks. She drains your energy. Depletes your drive. Iffy forces you to wonder about wonderless things.

She weighs heavy on your beautiful mind. Should you leave that miserable job? Eat that chocolate cupcake? Should you take that leap? Risk it all? Should you peel that wad of gum holding your soul in place?

Iffy says: think about it a little bit longer. Ask your family. Confide in your friends. Let that fear inside you boil over until there’s not ounce of umph left to propel you to forward.

I say: f*ck Iffy.

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Promise #73: Keep authority in the palm of your hand

Are you clamoring for a slice of authority pie? Longing to be large and in charge? Wishing to command the room with a leader’s presence and ease?

It’s not as difficult as you think.

You don’t really need to invest in countless hours of training. You don’t need a degree. It doesn’t matter if you have one recommendation or thirty. You know what you need? A clipboard.

Yes, a freaking clipboard.

Make sure it’s not too fancy. You don’t want anyone thinking you invest in fancy clipboards. Authority can’t be bothered with such things.

Buy a traditional clipboard with brown hardboard and an aluminum clip. It would be smart to toss it around a bit.  You know, muddy it up. Let the world think you didn’t just remove the cellophane wrap and become an authority figure overnight.

Ponder the magic for just a second. Recall how many times you blindly gravitated toward the person holding that prize. How many times did you ask:

“Can you tell me who’s in charge?”

Only to be told:

“The guy with the clipboard. He’s over there?”

It’s true, my friend: clipboard = authority. Office Depot is practically giving it away—$2.99 for a pack of two. That’s one for you and one to spare. Consider it a back up. After all, the only thing worse than not having authority is allowing it to slip from your grip.

photo by Lainebird5000

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Promise #72: Cruise through life

The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.

-C. G. Jung

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This may be the most interesting street in the world. It’s as smooth as it is rough, as light as it is dark. It’s full of twists and dips, peaks and potholes. There are rumble strips and yellow lights, tire-worn paint and shoulder-hugging rails. But for all there is, there are no turns. You can travel one mile or a million and the trip will change your life.

Friend street is funny like that: you need to buckle up and enjoy the ride or search for the nearest exit ramp.

I traveled the ramp a few times. Sometimes I was the driver, sometimes not. Regardless, I always managed to find a little extra energy at the end of it, no doubt the result of leaving a soul-sucking ride in the dust.

It’s the soul-feeding experience that’s worth finding.

I’m talking about the comfort of knowing the beauty of conversation matches the strength of a long silence;  of realizing that when your battery starts to fade, it will be jumped with a smile; of stoking your life with the high-octane juice pure, honest, loving friends provide; of trusting you’ll get where you’re going, not on a wing and a prayer, but on the pumped up wheels of support we all need to thrive.

Sometimes it’s difficult to remember the easiest way to cruise through life is to just make the time for a joy ride.

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