What I Carry – Jennifer Longo
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 Year of Yes – 31
After taking almost all of January off, hubby and I went climbing again today. The rock we usually climb on has three faces (at least if you don’t want to be near anyone, which we don’t). One face is super easy, and we did it many times last year, the other one is our most recent route that we’ve done 3-4 times and the third we’d never done before today. When we got there, others were already doing the route we usually do, so we got adventurous and did the third face we’d never done. This required taking our shoes off and crossing a small river. Very cold water. It also required just going for it and seeing what we could do since we had no idea what the rating was and if we would be able to climb it. But we did. Several times. It was hard, refreshing, invigorating. On the way home, we got to see an incredible sunset and I was feeling a deep sense of contentment and joy. Fresh air, new adventures, exercise, and time with my husband. A perfect afternoon. Yes to adventures. Yes to trying new things and taking chances. Yes to time together. Yes to nature. #yearofyes #karenikayearofyes  100 Days of Radical Wellness – Day 1
And here we go! Day one of the 100 day project. I really wasn’t sure what I was going to do this year but then this idea of radical wellness came and wouldn’t let go. So I did some journaling I did some testing and here we are. My plan is here is to focus on five areas to help me walk towards practicing radical wellness: movement, nutrition, mind, body and soul. I have a list of items in each area that I track daily in a spreadsheet but really the goal is to move at least 45 mins a day, eat more veggies+protein+fiber and drink more water, take care of my skin and teeth and spend time reflecting, learning, connecting and being creative. The goal is not to do everything every day, it’s to do more of these things each week. So the tracking is to help me get a variety and have discipline but it’s not there to make me feel shame or blame. We’ll see how it feels a few weeks in and I know it might be too complicated but I am super excited about it and that’s all that matters to me! 100 days of Radical Wellness here we go! #100dayproject, #the100dayproject, #karenikaradicalwellness January 31, 2021 | Tags: #100dayproject, #karenikaradicalwellness, #the100dayproject | 100 Days of Radical Wellness | Leave a comment
 
“Here is my thesis, and it will not be the last time that I tell you this: You are going to die. I will, too. We have to make choices about time because we have the nite gift of one existence. You should make your art.” This book is written for artists. Even though the author does an excellent job defining what an artist, I couldn’t decide if I was one or not (which maybe means I am not), but I decided to put that aside and just enjoy her solid advice. “The more you give time and resources to your art, the more you’ll understand paid employment as something that supports your art and life. We get this backward, thinking that we are on the planet to work and earn money. Let’s ip it—we earn a living to pay for our lives.” The book is divided into different sections that cover different areas of worry: time, work, asking, money, fear, grief, other people, education, thinking+feeling, isolation, marketing, death+god. Each section dives deep into that area and explores what is holding the artist back and gives ways to shift that thinking. “It is said that we are not responsible for our first thought. We are responsible for our second thought and our first action…Our first thought could be steeped in fear, judgment, old thought patterns, and stories; perhaps it’s distinctly someone else’s voice—an ex, a family member, an authority figure from long ago. We’re not responsible for that first bullshit thought. We are responsible for our next thought, the second thought, which we consciously conjure in response to that first thought. Then, we’re responsible for our first action.” There is so much gold in this book. Regardless of if you’re artist or not, I am convinced you will get solid value out of this book. And if you’re an artist, you might get even more. Above all, the author makes this excellent reminder (you can substitute “your art” with anything else that’s meaningful to you): “Your life is finite, and you should make your art. Things will get in the way and you should still make your art.” with gratitude to netgalley and chronicle books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is a cute book that’s a super fast read and is full of scientific studies that highlight specific habits that would help you be happier. Here’s one of my favorite ones: The whole book is full of little gems like this. with gratitude to netgalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I love this “Love Poems for…” series so much! If you have worked in an office, I recommend this one wholeheartedly, I laughed and laughed and laughed as I listened to it. Absolutely joyful.
I am most definitely not the target audience for this book and really should have done more of my due diligence on the author before I requested it. Even reading the introduction would have been enough to see that the author is personally interested in a start-up/VC culture and even though she often says the book is meant to be used for any kind of career journey, as a person who lives and works in Silicon Valley, there’s a lot of the jargon and mentality of that culture in this book. Which I certainly am exposed to plenty and didn’t really need more of. While I liked the idea of the framework the author puts on the process of figuring out the next steps for your career, so much of this book is just not viable for you unless you’re in your twenties or single. Or at least not viable if you have responsibilities like kids and a mortgage and cannot leave your day job to “shadow” other jobs. There’s nothing wrong with this book. I think the framework the author lays out might be totally viable for others but just not the right thing for me with where I am in my life/career. I do want to highlight one major caveat however. There are a lot of references to people who “made it” despite not finishing a degree, or not starting out in a job with secure paycheck, etc etc in this book. Oprah and Steve Jobs, and Zuckerberg are exceptions. There are way more people who drop out of school and don’t become billionaires or people who take risks that derail their lives in ways that aren’t easily recoverable. I do think taking calculated/thoughtful risks, especially early in your life, is a good thing, but I am weary when all the examples all the time are the exceptions and not a full picture. But then again I’m a parent so maybe I am optimizing on being safe. with gratitude to netgalley and Dundurn Press for an advanced copy in return for an honest review. Ps: I will not rate this book on goodreads because I don’t want to skew the rating since I am the first review and it’s not the author’s fault that I am not the target audience for this book.
“The skills in this workbook will increase the flexibility of your emotional system and, in the This is a fantastic and practical book if you suffer from anxiety or depression. The book is full of specific techniques you can use to move through different ways in which you’re emotionally inflexible as the authors frame it. Once you get clear on your values and set goals, the book is divided into different sections to help you build flexible attention, thinking, action, and tolerance. There’s also a section on gratitude and self-compassion. “Ultimately, your recovery depends on having both meaningful goals that are in the service of your values, as well as a clear plan to achieve those goals. A goal is not the same as a plan. The goal is the destination you hope to reach; the plan is the set of distinct steps you’ll take to reach the goal. Most important, your recovery depends on your willingness to change your behaviors or actions— and connecting your actions to your values will help you do this.” As the authors introduce each technique, they give examples of different characters who each have different anxiety/depression-related problems and they show how the character uses that technique so you can see it in action and then they have an empty form for you to fill with your own data. This makes it really easy to understand the technique and see it applied. “Deep and lasting change—the kind of change that transforms your life—begins by building your tolerance to your intense anxious and depressed feelings” I really liked this book and will be using several of these techniques throughout my life. with gratitude to netgalley and New Harbinger for an advanced copy in return for an honest review  Year of Yes – 30
I’m finding that so much of saying yes is about letting things go. Especially my thoughts and random attachments to things having to be a certain way. I’m paying attention to the judgemental, worried, and angry voices in my head. And then instead of reacting because I assume they must be right, I am choosing to slow down and notice them. And then, if I can do that, then I can question them. Do I really believe that? Is that really true? Must it be that way? Questioning these assumptions, judgements, default states has been very enlightening. I am noticing all sorts of things about myself. And then I am gently trying to let them go. One at a time. I am more successful with some than others but I am still grateful for the noticing. One step at a time. Yes to letting things go. Yes to paying attention. Yes to grace. Yes yes yes. #yearofyes #karenikayearofyes  100 Days of Radical Wellness – end of testing
Ok so here we are, a week of testing done. I haven’t really thought through all of my reflections yet. But here are some thoughts. Movement: the amount of movement I’ve chosen appears to be too much. I will have to play around with it. But the way it encourages me to stretch daily and do a variety of exercises throughout the week is excellent. Nutrition: fantastic encouragement to get more fiber, protein and veggies in. Not doing well with water but love the encouragement. Body: the cold showers might be a nonstarter, but otherwise I’ve done more for my body this week than all of last year! Soul: will have to solve the meditation and journaling situation but I am loving the encouragement to connect more, to do art and to learn. So far so good. I am looking forward to seeing what 100 days of this will do for my life. There’s a lot here so I plan to give myself plenty of grace along the way, too. #100dayproject, #the100dayproject, #karenikaradicalwellness January 30, 2021 | Tags: #100dayproject, #karenikaradicalwellness, #the100dayproject | 100 Days of Radical Wellness | Leave a comment
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