Are you tired of being in the decision parade? 

Every day we make decisions about:
What clothes to wear; should we walk or bike to work or school; do we stop to get coffee and once there do we want coffee, latte, cappuccino, one shot, two shots, decaf or regular; what meetings do we attend; which project do we work on; which applicants do we hire; which emails do we respond to; which Facebook posts do we read; and should we Tweet?

Take a breath.  And then. . .

After work do we exercise and what does that look like?  A walk, Yoga, do we use a home gym, do we join a gym, do we Bow Flex, CrossFit, or go straight to Insanity?

And then it is time for dinner, but wait!  Are we Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw, Atkins, Paleo, South Beach, Keto, or should we be in the Zone?

After all that we just want to relax and watch T.V., but how do we decide between the 800+ channels, thousands of movies, and hundreds of shows available at the push of a button.

Take another breath.  And then…

If all that doesn’t give us decision fatigue, step back and look at the big picture of life decisions:
What school to attend; what degree to get; what career path to take; who to date; should we get married or stay single; should we have kids and how many; should we buy a house- which house or should we rent; what car to drive; what friends to associate with; which charity to support; which sport to like and which team to cheer for; how much money to save and how- 401K, bonds, stock, mutual funds, CD’s, banks, or under our mattress?

When we accomplish all of that, where should we retire?

WHEW!

No wonder we live with our minds swirling so fast that we need small computers that fit in our hands to keep all of these decisions organized. And yes, we must decide which one of those smartphone computers will work the best for us!

No wonder we live in a perpetual state of exhaustion. This type of nonstop decision-making creates a mental fatigue that can be more harmful to our health than physical fatigue. It wears on our nervous system and pushes our emotional well-being to the limit.

STOP! 
What if we just stopped?
Sit still.
Sit quietly.
Don’t make one decision.
 
Close your eyes.  Your body will breathe on its own- no decision necessary. When that breath is complete, your body will take another and another. It requires no thinking on your part. You just need to allow yourself the time to break free from the chaos that captures your mind and spins it into the cycle of what, who, why, where, and when questions.

Instead of a question, give your mind a word. A word that you say with every breath. Peace. Calm. Quiet. Love. These are all words that work well. Breathe in your word. Breathe out your word.

Give yourself permission to relax and restore. Give yourself a break to disengage from the decision parade. Be at peace for five minutes or an hour. You may just decide to make this part of your day.

Pennie's Life Lesson:
         "Allow yourself to disengage from the decisions of life
                 and breathe in the presence of being here now.”​

YOUR TURN...        
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
 [email protected]. 
                                                Thank you!  ​
                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                         All Rights Reserved
                                          Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward and share this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information. ​

You may have taken a career test to see what occupation would be best for you. You may have taken a personality assessment as part of a job interview or filled out a profile on a dating site.
 
All these tests and assessments are trying to find out one thing… 
                             What are you looking for?
Do you know the answer to that simple question? It is harder than you think. A version of this question is repeated throughout your lifetime.

It begins at an early age in school when you are asked, - what do you want to be when you grow up? When you register for college, you are expected to pick a school of study that will lead to your future career. Job interviews ask what you are qualified for. Salesclerks in a shopping mall might ask if they can help you. Questionnaires, people, and institutions, are always asking questions without getting to the core issue… What are you looking for?
 
Many people wander through life - browsing, sampling, and testing the water. When asked the magic question, most people can immediately come up with a list of things they DON’T want or are NOT looking for. These answers come from past hurt and disappointments. Many of us go through our entire life searching without knowing what we are looking for. Without a map, a guide, a list of wants and needs, we will never know what we are looking for. If we don’t know what we are looking for, we will never find it.
 
What are you looking for in a career, a lifestyle, and an income?
What are you looking for in a life partner, a family, and a future?
What are you looking for in retirement?
 
Instead of following a career path because it is what your parents did or what they expect you to do, visualize what you want in life. What are you looking for?
 
Instead of finding a partner through happenstance, you should be clear on what your definition of a perfect spouse or partner would be. What are you looking for?
 
Instead of assuming retirement means you are old or not of value, you should be clear on your own expectations of what you have left to accomplish and enjoy in the famous golden years. Decide what you are looking for without allowing the number of candles on a birthday cake to limit your vision.  
 
We need to ask ourselves the right question – What am I looking for?
Sure, there are non-negotiables that you will not settle for or allow into your life.
But until you flip the mindset from what you don’t want to the positive side of what you do want you will never have a clear understanding of where you are going.
 
We all need to know what we are looking for. Until then we continue to wander.
                                                    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie's Life Lesson: If you don’t know what you are looking for, you will never find it. 
​                                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

YOUR TURN...        
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
 [email protected]. 
                                                Thank you!  ​
                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                         All Rights Reserved
                                          Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward and share this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information. ​

I opened the door and the assortment fell on my head. I picked them up off the floor, grabbed the step stool, and climbed up to shove them all back into the overflowing cabinet like I had done hundreds of times.

As I jostled and pushed the bowls, pitchers, and pickle containers back into the black hole of plastic, it occurred to me –WHY don’t I let go of the Tupperware?

Thirty years ago Tupperware parties were the acceptable girls-night-out. We all took turns hosting the gatherings where we listened to the sales pitch, ate cake, drank coffee, and shared the secrets (okay, gossip) of the day. Then we ordered the obligatory plastic items.

At the time it seemed expensive, but the justification came with the durability of it, the perceived usefulness of it, the cool factor of the new products, AND the lifetime guarantee. It was virtually indestructible, but if some major mishap did occur it would be replaced.

Along with this came a free add-on with every item - guilt. I am convinced it was molded into each piece during the factory creation. It was an unwritten code that you WOULD keep it forever. After all, the investment... the lifetime guarantee…and someday you will need it!

What do you have in your home that you won’t let go of? What ties up the space in your heart and mind that is bound with the guilt of investment and a someday but, never-to-be-used promise or guarantee? 

Is your closet overflowing with clothes? Is there an unhealthy relationship in your life? Are you in a job you hate? Do you hold a victim story in your heart that you retell over and over?

The Tupperware of our lives comes in all forms. We invest in all of them with time, money, and energy in the hope of a future payoff.
And then there is the elusive guarantee of need –someday,
of weight loss – someday,
of love – someday,
of a promotion – someday, 
​and someday this victim story is going to explain why everything happens to me. 

Maybe it was the 700th time of having a load of hard plastic fall on my head that finally spurred me to make a change. Maybe it was the recognition that it will never wear out, so the guarantee doesn’t matter. Maybe it was the realization that I will never use it – not even someday. The 'why' doesn’t matter. Now it is packed in a box ready to be donated. My cabinet is organized, clean, and clear. My guilt is gone. I feel free!
What is the Tupperware in your life? When will you let go of it? 
                                                 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie's Life Lesson:
                         We have things in our closets, hearts, and minds
                                  that we hold on to in hopes of "someday."  ​

YOUR TURN...        
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
 [email protected]. 
                                                Thank you!  ​
                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                         All Rights Reserved
                                          Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward and share this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information. ​

I have been called Pollyanna, Susie Sunshine, optimistic, positive, and perky throughout my life. I accept all of those as terms of endearment, when actually at times they have been said in a teasing way.

I will admit to being a glass-is-full kind of girl.  You know that saying, “Walk a mile in my shoes?” Well, I am asking you to, “Walk a Mile in My Smile.” 

I am far from perfect, and I am not perky and positive every minute of every day. I have down times, sad days and occasionally become angry. But I am asking you to join me in the upside of walking in my shoes. 

I will admit to having the advantage of being blessed with a high happiness set point. This means I seem to keep a fairly high stance of happiness no matter what. When I do have the occasional gloomy, sad, inner rain, my body fights to regain its natural value of happiness. 

But above that, I have learned to live with the habit of happiness. I have several rituals that I have used over the years to support this habit and they enable me to stay fairly true to my happiness set point. Here are just a few of these happiness enhancers that you may like to try. 

Begin each day with gratitude. When your eyes open in the morning, take some time to lay there and be grateful for waking another day, for the bed you slept in, for the sleep you enjoyed, and for the day ahead. 

As you swing your feet off the bed for that first step of the day, say “Thank” as you place one foot down and “You” as you place the other foot. As you walk throughout your day, say “Thank you” with your steps. Subconsciously your mind will begin to fill in the blank of thank you for _____.  

As you are driving to work or to a meeting say, “Thank you” out loud for the meeting you are about to have, for the successful outcome, and for the positive interaction you will have with those involved. 

When you go to bed at night, instead of lying there running through the list of things you didn't get done or should have done differently, go through a mental list of thank-yous for all the people, places, and things that enriched your day.
An added bonus to this is if you have problems sleeping this will help with that too. Why would you count sheep- that you don’t even know – when you can count the people, places, and things that you love?

I bet you are noticing a pattern here. Yes, I believe the secret to my glass-is-always-full outlook is appreciation. If we appreciate every step we make, every breath we take, and every interaction we have there will be little space left for negativity and anger.

Even if you have little to appreciate – begin there. Appreciate that. Be grateful for that. Say thank you for that.

As your appreciation grows so will your happiness. As your happiness grows the love you hold on the inside will spill to the outside and soon you will be walking miles in your own smile. 
               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie's Life Lesson: “​“As your appreciation and gratitude grow so will your happiness!”

YOUR TURN...        
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
 [email protected]. 
                                                Thank you!  ​
                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                         All Rights Reserved
                                          Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward and share this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information. ​

YOUR TURN...        
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
 [email protected]. 
                                                Thank you!  ​
                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                         All Rights Reserved
                                          Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward and share this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information. ​