The Blog

A New Season Gives Reason to… Change?

03/19/2014 By Nancy Borg With 4 comments

Spring flowerAfter a brutal Winter, most of us are all too happy to embrace the Spring. We are ready to climb out of our ruts and spring forward into a new rhythm. As this warmer cycle unfolds, I think a revealing positive energy sprouts too. The days are longer and brighter and we sense the excitement of the warmer season yet ahead of us. Change is in the air.  Do you feel it?

I write frequently about seasonal change as a natural motivator for personal change because I’m continually struck with its powerful impression.  It wakes us up in a very organic way and pokes us to take another look at where we are.  For those who are “self-reflect-ers,” we feel this very deeply.

Spring is my favorite time of year because along with its glorious bloom, it is filled with hope and promise and opportunities not yet realized.  Every season has its unique beauty, but the contrast from bare naked trees to lush green lawns is as drastic as black and white is to color.  The delightful fragrances of spring flowers like lilacs, hyacinth, and freesia are intoxicating. It simply cannot go unnoticed.

In just a matter of weeks, we will open the windows again and allow the fresh air to revitalize our homes. Our senses will be heightened with the scent of freshly mowed lawns and the cacophony of children’s laughter playing outside once again. Outdoor activities will surge and we will notice more and more people biking, jogging as if it were an ordinary day.

But before you fail to notice these change any longer, and before we take it for granted, take that small window of time to stop. Acknowledge that a new season can open up new possibilities.

Spring cleaning can mean so much more than the “physical” clearing out of our dusty and cluttered spaces.

It can be a great opportunity to re-align ourselves once again.  With so many positive physical changes in the air, it may cause you to feel very different too.  Spring signifies a time of beauty, freshness, bloom, change, and growth. It is the ideal backdrop for inspiration to cultivate and perhaps instigate a shift in thinking about our own personal growth.

In general, any kind of change is hard, and changing bad habits even harder. But if there are but a few things you would care to change, consider the NOW.  The smallest change can make a significant difference;

    • Appearance:  You might think about changing your appearance; a new haircut or change of hair color.  Men have the opportunity to noticeably change their look by growing facial hair or shaving it off.  Modifying appearances can make a huge impact on how a person feels.  Changing up your wardrobe by buying something new can spruce up your look and boost your spirits.
    • Time-management & Productivity:  Adjust your routines and schedules and take advantage of the longer days and warmer nights. Consider the time-wasters. Energy is up and so it’s likely to impact your productivity as well.  In fact, you will probably notice you’ll want to do more.
    • Self-care: Spring may spike your health and fitness goals that may have been otherwise dormant. This is a great time to get fit and eat healthy.  Inspire to look good and feel good.
    • Spring Clean: Give your home a new make-over too. Assess the NOW.   Let go of those things that no longer provide value, any longer.  Start fresh.
    • Try Something “new”: Perhaps this spring will ignite a new passion.  Let it.  Try something new. Plant a garden or take a hike…the possibilities are endless. Challenging yourself promotes self-growth.
    • Gratitude:  Maximize your outdoor activity and embrace the splendor of Spring.  Unfortunately, it is short-lived. Enjoy the NOW. Time fleets from Memorial Day to Labor Day in a blink of the eye.

     

Ought we not “latch on” to this sense of spring awakening and “catch” the fever?

Will spring fever infuse a personal change in you? What kind of changes are you ready for?

 

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Syncing or Sinking with your Busy Life? Is Technology Your Friend or Foe?

03/12/2014 By Nancy Borg With 11 comments

914512389_optManaging our “busy” is a daily challenge for most of us, and how we approach it changes from day-to-day.  Some days it feels like all the stars are aligned and we navigate through our day with seamless effort, right?  Our calendars are synced to our phones, we get to our appointments on time, and our schedules are running according to plan. We are in sync. Our phones are “smart” and life is good.

Living in a high-tech world is the new normal. We’re able to access social media while on the go with no worries. We can receive all of our e-mails, glance at Facebook, and connect with anyone (anywhere) with a simple click, tweet, or “like.”  But if things go awry and in the event that we lose Internet service, battery life, or even the actual phone, we stand to lose more than just a connection.  We are likely to feel off kilter and out of control.

Sometimes the techy world becomes all too consuming and can overwhelm our lives.  The foe rears its ugly head.  Because we are virtually “available ” 24/7, it can invade our personal spaces. We can easily drown in the social media pool, sinking ever so slowly, without realizing that it is robbing us of our leisure time. In a recent blog, I shared my experience of “disconnecting” while on vacation, “The Rules of Disengagement: My Quest for the Ultimate Get-away Vacation.” Imposing a social media break was extremely elevating and eye-opening.

Technology makes our world both simple and complicated. Indeed, it is a double-edged sword. Some of us depend on the cell phone for just about everything, and highly regard it as an alternate brain. Hence, in the event that it’s lost or misplaced, it can be catastrophic.  I can remember a time that a phone was just a phone, not our life GPS, computer, radio, TV, camera or bank.

Managing our busy with the help from our technology works perfectly…until it doesn’t.  We are at its mercy.  When our devices have glitches, we freak out.

I often think about how scary it is to be so dependent on technology that I have implemented certain practices to foster a little more self-sufficiency.  I  love having a smart phone, but I still want to feel smart and in control. Here’s what works for me.

    • Back-up– I’m NOT talking about the obvious virtual back-up onto your pc or the cloud. (Besides, the computer can potentially have a meltdown when you need to access info in that moment) I’m referring to backing up my appointments on paper. I’m old school, and I love paper calendars.  Although I might also sync my schedule with my phone,  I refer to a wall calendar for my personal social life.  I rely on my purse-size calendar to reflect my day-to-day and work schedule.  I take comfort in having a physical hard copy and can edit, without worry of powering up or accidentally deleting (yes, I still use an old-fashioned pencil and erase). I feel in control.

     

    • Memorize important phone #’s–  The phone #’s of the most important people in my life have always been embedded in my memory. Granted, using  the “speed dial” feature for key contacts is so easy, fast, and efficient, but how many of us can recall their numbers by memory? Ask yourself if you lost your phone, how would you recover the contacts?

     

    • Write it down- I’m a huge advocate of writing everything down so having a physical hard copy of important phone #’s, vital documents, passwords, and personal info, is a comfortable habit for me. I store them in a secure location but it is always retrievable.

     

    • Discriminate the data – Personally, I discriminate and limit what personal/private data I send to the cloud. I choose not to relinquish all control to multiple devices.

     

    • Print and preserve photos- It’s super convenient to save photos to your phone and share them when you’re out socializing, but I still prefer having a physical space to capture my memories.  I have always kept organized photo albums and still love turning a page and thumbing through the good times in a photo book, and sharing it together at a family gathering.  I’m so grateful to have them. We can trace our lives through these photos.  It is our timeline.  They rekindle the memories and compel us to retell the stories. For me,  scrolling through hundreds of images on a camera roll is not the same experience.  But that’s just me.

     

So how about you? Have you completely succumbed to technology? Are you 100% in?  Do tell.

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