Tag: self-improvement

you are the author of your life, so what’s next?

I’ve recently been thinking about writing short stories, and I also recently wrote about eating cookies to make your day better, and I combined those thoughts for the perspective of how you are the author of your own life.

Imagine your life as a story — which it is, except no one is writing it all down. Humans have used stories to remember history for as long as there has been history. You summarize your day into stories based on expectations and your worldview, some of it subconsciously, but it happens.

Now consider your day, maybe it’s a less-than-pleasant day. You wouldn’t think of it in short story form, but for the sake of this exercise, let’s try it:

Burford was late to work due to bad drivers and a traffic jam, and his boss gave him a glare as he walked in, so he wondered if that will affect his reputation and future raises. His boss doesn’t seem to recognize his value to the company. He did his daily work the best he could, but got sleepy in the afternoon because he didn’t get enough sleep last night. His lunch was boring. Leaving work, he was frustrated because there’s so much to do and there’s simply not enough time for it all. He sighed as he got into his old car that he would like to replace but can’t afford to. He was glad that work was through, but not excited about the rest of the evening.

It hasn’t been a great day for poor Burford. But what happens next? Does he let the rest of the day be “blah” or frustrating? Or does he change the script? What happens next hasn’t been written yet. There might be some required activities to do later, but what can he do to make his day better?

So many of us get into a routine with our daily habits and just let life happen to us. But you are the author of your life. What can you do to make your day better? Eat cookies. Drink sweet tea. Get outside to walk or play a sport. Listen to your favorite songs. Read something funny. (You could subscribe to this blog if you haven’t already). 🙂 Sit down to do absolutely nothing for a few minutes to clear your mind and relax. Text a friend who is funny and/or encouraging. Listen to a podcast about self-improvement. Pray. Whatever it is, there are options you can do to make your day better. And wherever you are right now, you get to write the rest of today’s chapter. What will happen?

Being outdoors in nature helps. Studies have shown that even just a couple of breaks in nature per week affects your mood the whole week. Take some time to be alone with your thoughts and be present where you are, with no distractions. Ignore your phone for 30 minutes.

using cookies to make your day better

We all occasionally have days that are meh, blah, or downright bad. That’s just part of life. But there are things we can do to make our day better. Consider this:

If you are having a bad day, have a couple cookies and I bet your day will instantly get better. ~ Chris Lowry

You might think, “Well, duh, of course a cookie makes things better.” Everyone knows that! But when you’re having a bad day, do you actually do something to make your day better? Sometimes we get so busy and/or so stressed that we just go along with it and don’t take a few minutes to improve our day. It doesn’t have to be cookies (although they are effective, as my research has proven*). It could be a text message to a friend who will likely respond with encouragement or humor. It could be listening to your favorite songs instead of whatever happens to be on the radio. It could be turning off the news. Lying down and stretching out, maybe taking a nap. Dancing, reading, writing, walking outside, brewing some sweet tea, etc. Whatever works might vary for you, but think of ways you can improve your day. And even if it’s not a bad day, why not make it a little more awesome?

* I ate cookies.

176 tips to simplify your life

I happened to see the cover of some self-improvement magazine recently, and it said something on the front that made me look twice.   Look at the title of this article:

176 Tips to Simplify Your Life

Is that for real?  I’m all for simplifying life when possible and practical, but does it really take 176 tips?   While there may be that many aspects / facets of my life that could be addressed, that’s a LOT to consider at one time.   Perhaps they’d be better off putting just 5 tips per issue.   (And that way they wouldn’t run out of stuff to write on for a loooong time.)

Isn’t it really ironic that the quest to simplify your life can be so big and overwhelming?   It sounds more like an April Fools article than a legitimate self-improvement one.

the special days of September, pt 1

As we’ve done in previous months, we’re going to look at the special days and holidays of this month.   As usual, this is not a complete list — those can be found elsewhere.   But I guarantee you will not find another list like this one.   This is not a mere list, because we add our own unique commentary and analysis.  In other words, we try to make it more fun.   And you are welcome to add to the discussion in the comments section.

Let’s get started with the month-long celebrations and observances in September:

  • Classical Music Month — I know, some people equate classical music with elevator music or new age music or Yanni, and that’s not accurate at all.   Some of it jams.   I’ve heard someone say, “People who don’t like classical music just don’t listen to it loud enough.”  There might be some truth to that.   Also, don’t forget that a lot of your action movies have classical music in them.  Take notice next time…
  • International Square Dancing Month — I’m not much into square dancing, but if it’s your thing, more power to ya.  But I do have one bit of advice which I heard on Lester “Roadhog” Moran’s album Live at the Johnny Mack Brown High School: if you change partners, be sure to change back!  Failure to revert to your original partner can cause some “disagreements”, as evidenced on Roadhog’s album.  AWW-RIGHT!
  • National Courtesy Month — Courtesy can be applied to many areas, so this is a good idea.  If there’s only one piece of fried chicken left, it’s good courtesy to offer it to me.   Or if you’re in a multi-stall public bathroom, a courtesy flush is much appreciated.  I could go on, but you get the idea…
  • National Chicken Month — Speaking of fried chicken…  There’s a lot of ways to cook chicken that is excellent.   Of course, you can’t go wrong with fried chicken.  There’s also Mexican Chicken, which is my favorite dish.   Mmm…
  • National Piano Month — More focus on music — I like it!  The piano is my favorite musical instrument.  This would be a good month to go hear a live performance, like at a local college or university, or if a professional artist is in the state.  Or if you’ve always wanted to play, start taking lessons.  (I do offer lessons, but even if you don’t learn from me, it’s a great skill to develop.)
  • National Honey Month — Supposedly honey is the only food that never spoils.   Whether that’s true or not, I just know that I like honey, especially on some warm rolls…  Mmm…
  • Self Improvement Month — Here at Buffet o’ Blog, we encourage people to laugh more, which is a form of self-improvement.  The world really needs more laughter.   If you want more meaty forms of self-improvement, check out my other blog.
  • Better Breakfast Month — I’m all for this!  Now, some health nuts may argue that this means eating a healthier breakfast, but that’s not the case here.  If that’s what the holiday’s creator wanted, he/she should’ve called it Healthier Breakfast Month.  But it’s “better”.   And the definition of “better” includes “superior to another in desirability”, which for me, would mean more bacon, sausage, eggs, biscuits and gravy, chocolate milk, etc.  There’s no need to even debate this, as far as I’m concerned.   🙂
  • National Rice Month — Most of the world eats rice on a regular basis, particularly those in poverty.  So please take a few minutes to play the Free Rice game to donate rice to those in need.   Remember, it costs you nothing but a few minutes.
  • Read-A-New-Book Month — If you don’t like reading, you just haven’t found the right books.  Even if you read humor or comic books or scientific books or historical books, there’s got to be something you’d enjoy.  Plus, reading is good for you: it stimulates (exercises) your brain, plus you learn things you didn’t know before.   And it’s good to learn, so you’ll be less ignorant.   🙂

Now let’s look at the week-long observances in September:

  • 2nd Week: International Housekeepers Week — I wish I had a housekeeper, so I didn’t have to ever do dishes and clean the bathrooms…
  • 3rd Week: National Farm Animals Awareness Week — Most of us don’t see farm animals very often anymore, at least in live form.   So when you’re eating farm animals this week, be thankful and appreciate of how tasty they are.
  • 3rd Week: National Flower Week — I know who this is for…  🙂
  • 4th Week: National Dog Week — Dogs are much better than flowers, at least to most guys…  🙂  With women, that might be debatable, although it shouldn’t be.

This list is getting considerably long, so I’m going to break it up into several posts.  Click here to search for the other posts on the special days of September.