Inch by Inch, part February

by Dian Reid-Jancic· Follow Dian on

I’m keeping a list in Evernote with the tag “note to self,” which I add to daily and read through weekly. Sometimes I don’t know what the hell I was talking about when I wrote it (perhaps I need a #notetoself to clarify notes to self). Sometimes they’re specific to a task that I don’t do on the regular, and sometimes they relate to my life at a foundational level.

Here are a few I found useful during the month of February:

  • plan your sleep like you plan your study sessions, and stick to that plan as often as possible
  • fuel your day with food that makes you happy on the inside and out
  • be honest with yourself when you’re avoiding someone or something
  • be honest with yourself about why you’re angry with your animals
  • f*** first impressions and focus on the relationship
  • whenever you say to yourself, “just one more…” drop what you’re doing and ask yourself if your top 6 priorities of the day have been addressed yet
  • remember that sleep clears out toxins in the brain so you can think clearer while you’re awake
  • be open to creativity, but only if you’re willing to commit to it
  • you can’t say yes to everything; you’ll turn into an angry beast who resents the things and people you’re saying yes to
  • slow the f*** down; everything will be just fine no matter what happens
  • you can’t say no to everything, you’ll turn into an isolated hermit who doesn’t relate to the real world or the people who live in it
  • don’t hold on to clothes, people, or things that no longer fit you
  • read instructions thoroughly unless you want to waste your time by doing something incorrect or incomplete first (part of slow the f*** down)
  • putting something on a list does not make it a priority, even if you name that list “Top Priorities”

Some of these are a lot easier said than done, but as with all things, I’m still a work in progress. We all are. Progress is made as long as we’re moving forward, whether its by leaps and bounds or step by step, inch by inch.

Speaking of step by step and inch by inch … enjoy this, if you have a few minutes for a laugh, courtesy of Lucile Ball (adapted from Abbott and Costello, of course).

Slow the f*** down

by Dian Reid-Jancic· Follow Dian on

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
—Mary Oliver, The Summer Day

This isn’t a prompt to get anyone thinking about life on a deeper level (of course, let it be whatever it is to you). For me this is a clear and marked reminder to slow the fuck down.

I had a whole post written, complete with a conversation reminding myself to honor the relationship and the rest will fall into place, but it didn’t get to the heart of what I wanted to say:

Slow the fuck down.

That’s really it. We have a choice to be present in life or to rush through it pretending we’re too busy or cool to take notice and be conscious about who we are, not just who we say we are.

So slow the fuck down and make that choice. And then you can take credit for every last second of your one wild and precious life.

 

Starting the year as a Chicagoan

by Dian Reid-Jancic· Follow Dian on

2016 was a year of big change. In April my wife and I picked up and moved from Los Angeles to Chicago (after much discussion about where and when and how to do so). Then as if that huge change weren’t enough for someone who’s lived her whole life in Los Angeles, in November I made the decision to stop talking about going back to school to earn a degree and actually go back to school to earn a degree. While there was some space between these two huge changes I made to my life, they are both intersecting at the beginning of this year.

2017 has me starting my first year as a Chicagoan from the beginning. First January. And now, first February. These months aren’t like any previous Januaries or Februaries in all my forty-plus years. These months are rites of passage of being a Chicagoan. By February most people in Chicago seem to be over the cold weather of the last couple months, and ready for the Spring to be sprung. It’s when we can start thinking about putting away the coats and scarves and beanies and looking forward to days with temperature lows that don’t touch the sub-50º portion of the thermometer. Because when that happens we can start pulling out the shorts and t-shirts and patio furniture, all the better to enjoy the beautiful days of summer in Chicago with. Because that’s one of the great parts about Chicago: surviving the winter to enjoy the summer.

But secretly, I’m not over the cold weather. It’s still my first February, and don’t tell anyone, but I wish it had snowed just a little bit more, and if it snows again in February or March or April I won’t kick it out of bed. I’m enjoying the days I have to check the weather to see if I’m wearing regular jeans or jeans with room for another layer; a short-sleeve shirt and hoodie, or long-sleeve shirt and jacket; a light jacket or the heavy one; tennis shoes or Uggs or rain/snow-proof shoes. This is what I moved to Chicago for, to experience not only the change in seasons but the seasons themselves. And one day I might be over the cold weather in February, or even March, but I don’t think I’ve earned it yet. I haven’t quite survived the winter just yet.

Along with learning about what it means to live in real-live seasons, I’m also learning what it means to manage friendships across state lines and multiple time zones. It means if you want to make time for your friendship with  your BFF, you’re going to need to push dinner a little later, or maybe a little earlier. It means you may go stretches of days without talking, and need to make time for that text you don’t really have time to read or send. It means you relax a little on your expectations of how quickly friends “should” respond because in doing so it gives you a little grace, too (and also, don’t be a dick, it’s just time). It means being flexible because that’s what the relationship needs. 

And so I don’t go forgetting these lessons as I move through this time with you, I’m going to try and include at least 5 notes for my future self that I’ll be referring back to in my monthly reviews.

Notes for my future self:

  • Life will be cold to you sometimes; don’t just grin and bear it–find a way to enjoy at least part of it (it’s there if you look hard enough). The next cold weather pattern might last longer and cut deeper, so you might as well bank some gratitude for when you need it later and can’t bear to think of anything.
  • Not everyone will be available when it’s convenient for you. If it’s important to you to connect with someone, you’ll find convenience matters much less.
  • You won’t be available when it’s convenient for everyone else; it’s okay to say no when you’ve checked in with your priorities.
  • Do what you can with what you have from where you are (stolen from Teddy Roosevelt, of course). If you think you can’t do it, that you don’t have everything you need, that you aren’t where you need to be, then you won’t, you don’t, you aren’t.
  • Putting something on a list does not make it a priority, even if that list is titled, “Top Priorities” — you have to make it so, before it ever appears on said list.

So many more firsts are still on their way. It’s important to be on the lookout for them and graciously welcome these guests into my life while they’re still firsts. These are, after all, the memories I’ll be referring back to for learning, come the second time around and beyond. 

2017 – a new chapter in the book of authentic realities

by Dian Reid-Jancic· Follow Dian on

The New Chapter: Simplicity and Growth in 2017

2017, a new year in a new city. Now that I’ve pulled the shrink wrap off the year and am starting to get the pieces out and play around with 2017 a bit, I want to share some things that are working for me right now.

While I’ve gone back and forth through the years on whether or not to set resolutions or goals for the new year, this year I felt pulled toward holding myself accountable in some way, for what I want for myself and my ecosystem as I move through the year. In December I found these six simple questions, which helped me not only define some of the intentions I wanted to work with in the new year, but also gave me permission to not call them resolutions.

In the name of accountability I also set up a relatively simple weekly and monthly review system. My system looks like this:

  • Weekly Review – spend 10-15 minutes on Sundays reflecting on the previous week
  • Monthly Review – spend 10-15 minutes on the first day of the month reflecting on the previous month

And because I’m notoriously forgetful, I’ve also created weekly and monthly reminders using Wunderlist, which is helping to form a habit around doing these things consistently.

(I use Evernote to track everything, but you might find using another app, or even pen on actual paper works better for you)

In the weekly reviews I write a few words (no more than 10) to capture what I’ve done to move forward toward with each intention, even if that means reporting I’ve done nothing. As an example, one of the experience intentions I set for myself is to cross the finish line in a triathlon, and one week’s bullet point included that I’d signed up for for a triathlon on August 26, but the other three weeks were left blank.

One week I signed up for it, but the other three weeks saw no progress because the triathlon is in August and my goal is to finish, not compete for a top-whatever finish.

This is where the monthly review comes in handy, which lets me take a step back and look at the bigger picture. I see that while I’ve made progress in registering for a triathlon, there hasn’t been any other movement otherwise.

If it were an event in March, I might ask myself a) is this really an intention that’s important to me (and what specifically is important about it); and b) what specifically am I willing to do to create intentional movement here? In this case, a) yes (I want to experience the thrill of competing in three disciplines in a single race and crossing the finish line); and b) I’m willing to swim indoors at least once in February to get the feel for the distance. Micromovements, although small, are still forward progress.

So far I’ve made progress in every intention I’ve set, and I’ve also had to remind myself that forward movement doesn’t mean only doing but also—and more importantly—being.

Something that helps me with being is my phrase for the year:

Honor the relationship and the rest will fall into place.

For me, honoring the relationship is a two-way street. In the example of my intention to complete a triathlon, it means I need to treat both the triathlon and myself with respect. I need to train according to my goal of crossing the finish line, not someone else’s goal of [triath-all-the-lons]. This means proper rest and recovery after training. This means healthy foods in my body to fuel the training and the recovery.

Honoring the relationship is never about just doing the thing. It’s about being the person the relationship needs in order for said relationship to be and remain healthy. I want a lasting relationship, so this doesn’t mean just for today (although sometimes, that’s what even a lasting relationship needs), but also planning for what this relationship might need if it’s going to survive the long haul.

I’m also allowing these intentions to be malleable.  I set these intentions in December with an idea of what I wanted to get out of each intention. If I find it’s not having an impact that makes sense for me or it’s creating anxiety to try and honor the intention, I’m giving myself permission to either tweak or nix the intention altogether.

Case in point, my experiential intention to visit with my CA friends, be it in Chicago or in CA. The intention was set around maintaining the experience of these friendships IRL. It’s an intention that I’m finding is just not realistic for me right now. It’s not realistic for me to travel often enough or stay long enough to make the trips much more than a superficial visit. It’s also unrealistic to expect friends to travel to Chicago simply because I have this intention on my list.

So I’ve changed the intention to: stay connected with my CA friends. The intention was always about staying connected to the experience of friendship with these people who have been an integral part of my life. The simple shift in verbiage allows me to stop feeling guilty for not being able to connect with my friends in person, and start feeling good about experiencing those friendships from our current places and perspectives. And who knows, it may shift again, there are 11 more monthly reviews to go.

I’ll continue sharing my learning with you as I go through it, and I hope you share your own thoughts, learning, and insights with me as well.

Cheers to you and your current chapter.

Thursday Thought – The Problem is…

by Dian Reid-Jancic· Follow Dian on

“The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.”
—Unknown

A few months ago my wife and I were traveling together and our return flight home was delayed due to mechanical issues with the plane. First the delay was 30 minutes, then an hour, then four. Next thing we knew, the flight was canceled and we had a choice in front of us in how we wanted to react to the situation.

There’s no denying we were frustrated and disappointed. We’d rushed to the airport to make sure we were there on time, and then had absolutely no control over being able to get home according to our plans.

We could take that frustration and use it for good or evil. Evil, letting emotions get the best of us, sending us into a tailspin about the meetings we might miss, the extra money we’d spend in pet sitters, the overall inconvenience of every frustrating consequence of missing a flight home; or good, finding a way to be nice to everyone we’d need to speak to as we made new arrangements to get home as quickly as possible.

Luckily the delay was related to the plane itself rather than weather, and in the end we were able to get a later flight home that same night. Rather than go into a tailspin of emotion over a list of things that would never actually come to fruition, we were grateful for the help in getting our flights changed.

“I don’t blame or complain about things like the economy, the government, taxes, employees, gas prices, or any of the external things that I don’t have control over. The only thing I have control over is my response to these things.”
—Jack Canfield

I heard Jack Canfield speak ten years ago on this very thing. When I remember to actively make a choice in how to react to a given situation, I feel pretty damn good. It’s remembering to make that conscious choice before the tailspin of emotion creeps in that gets a bit tricky.

Thursday Thought – What now?

by Dian Reid-Jancic· Follow Dian on

“When you are steadfast in your abstention of thoughts of harm directed toward yourself and others, all living creatures will cease to feel fear in your presence.” – The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Some of us are in pain. Some of us are in elation. Some of us are somewhere in between. We are all human.

Some of us don’t understand how this happened. Some of us understand all too well how this happened. Some of us don’t care how it happened and are seeking ways to move forward now that it has. We are all in this together.

Some of us feel hatred. Some of us feel love. All of us feel.

When we lash out it is because we are in pain. We need to heal the wounds we have and not thrash about, opening them deeper.

This is nothing you do not already know. And still there are these things that we need reminding of:

  • Take deep breaths. They will help when you feel overwhelmed.
  • Be kind. Everyone is going through something we couldn’t possibly imagine. If this feel hard, see above.
  • Share love. Hug your kids, your significant other, a stranger. We could all use it. If this feels hard, see above.

You will find your way forward. It may not be a path without trepidation, pain, and a few steps backward. But it will absolutely be a path with triumph, healing, and many steps forward.

And also, there’s always this.

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