Mental health is just as important as physical fitness. There are two sides to mental health, and both are equally important: what weighs heavily on your mind and what puts wind in your sails.

Many of us share common mental stressors – time, money, work, emotions, and relationships. Ironically it can be too little or too much of each of these that causes stress. While we are never going to eliminate stress, we can address what do we do to manage it and its affect on our health.

As many humans as exist in the world, there exists as many combinations of answers to mental health concerns. For most diagnosis, medication and talk therapy has been proven to be the best practice. I am not trained as a mental health professional in any way. The information provided here is simply to be a resource for conversations about what has worked to help manage the stressors above to bring joy and lightness to my life and to hear what works for other. To make the daily grind something not just palatable, but something we can look forward too. Some of these ideas might be meditation, learning, or hobbies.

In Awe of Awe

October is such a beautiful month. I was reminded of that again this year as I spent half in Indiana and half in North Carolina. It truly struck me with awe to see not only the colors of the leaves, but how blue the sky gets and how the particular angle of the sun this time of year hits juuuuust right.

The trees in the above photo are on our daily dog walk. When we are on schedule, the return walk home coincides with the sun coming up across the field to the left. The leaves are stunning, of course the photo barely does it justice.

“Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”

Mary Oliver

The above photo is the view from my dad’s back porch in Indiana. I was sitting inside working on my laptop and the sun came through the window with a piercing brightness. I went to look out the window at the sun off the fountain in the middle of the pond and saw this spectacular view.

Luckily with a new puppy we are getting LOTS of time to spend in nature looking at all of this gorgeous scenery. Its good to take time to look around and appreciate what you see around you – even if it is the same thing you pass every day, multiple times per day.

What if you considered the same about yourself? You live in your own mind and body, but what happens when you look back at how far you have come. Sort of like when you feel fat and ugly, then look back at photos from 15 years ago when you felt fat and ugly. All of a sudden more is revealed and you love what you see and remember.

Be in awe of who you are today, how far you have come. And in awe of what more could be revealed.

By |2023-10-22T12:55:28-04:00October 31st, 2023|Mental Well-being|0 Comments

Value in the “Circle Back”

Let’s take a moment this week to circle back on some topics we covered earlier this year. “Circle back” is one of those corporate buzz words that makes us cringe, roll our eyes or both. But there is some value in revisiting, closing the loop or general follow up. 

How many times do we hear the phrase “circle back” compared to how often we actually do it? I bet the result is not a ratio we would be really excited to publish. This is often a byproduct of busyness. 

Cultivating Relationships

We are going full throttle on the next thing, barely acknowledging or celebrating past accomplishments. We contribute to the meal train when someone has a death in their family, but do we come back the next month – when things get really quiet for them after the funeral rush is over? Or a lighter example, we recommend a book or TV show to a friend, but then don’t every ask if they liked it or not. 

A benefit of the circle back is to create connection with others. Relationships are a component of the Mental Well-being dimension of Sustainable Productivity. Who cares if we have a bright shiny life if we are disconnected from all the people in our lives? 

Some experts say that addiction is partly caused by disconnection and disengagement. Numbing out and escaping your life is also disconnection and disengagement. The antidote for this is connection – the circle back. 

Closure

I wonder if you are like me, making up stories when I don’t have all the details. 

  • Someone does not call me back so I assume they are mad at me (or dead in a car wreck if it is one of my kids). 
  • Silence after applying for a freelance opportunity means either my email is broken or they hate my writing. 
  • Delayed results from the doctor’s office means catastrophic news that they needed to run by another team before breaking to me.

While these are all pretty extreme examples, it demonstrates clearly that the open loops leave room for confusion and chaos at best. Getting in the habit of closing the loop with people can help manage that stress. Surrounding yourself with people who do that for you can help you feel more connected. 

It does not have to be a big hairy deal. Which is what I want to show today with a few follow ups of my own.

Podcast Set up

A few weeks ago I presented a case study on environmental productivity, which showed me podcasting from the floor. I looked on Facebook Marketplace and our local buy nothing group and made the decision to buy new from Target. The price was not going to be much more than what I saw on Marketplace, plus I got what I wanted instead of settling. 

Of course I kept the toy box. Now it is the on deck circle for the next couple craft projects in line. 

Word of the Year 

Next let’s circle back to the word of the year. Oh yeahhh!!!! Remember that? Mine is equanimity, and I have received several opportunities to practice this. Sometimes that has been literally, like the inversions workshop I took and the headstand/handstand practice sessions at home now. 

Sometimes this year equanimity has been more of a figurative approach. Sending our daughter to Italy for study abroad or adjusting to be a single income family were major adjustments that our family has had so far in 2023. I bet with about a quarter of the year left, there will be more um, “opportunities” to practice this mindset. 

Plastic storage containers

Back in February of this year, I was so pleased with myself for overhauling our plastic storage containers. It was such a beautiful results. Well, as we circle back on this one, cue the sad music.

Womp, wommmmmp.

It is again out of control in the drawer. The system for putting away as I unload the dishwasher was not sustainable. I will take a crack at it again this winter probably. But you know what DID work from that exercise? Separating out the to go containers. There have been several times when our young adult kids and their friends came for lunch or dinner. We were able to easily pack up leftovers for them. By re-using these take out containers, it is no big deal if they never make it back to our house (the containers, not the kids).

Those are a few of the circle back items I wanted to share with you today. There is value in revisiting hits and misses. Misses don’t mean the decision was wrong necessarily, just not quite a hit. It just gives us data on where else we might be able to make adjustments. But without that feedback loop that naturally happens with a circle back, we don’t get that data and we blindly stumble along. That is what can lead to frustration and the need to numb out of our lives. 

Sustainable You Reflections

  1. When is the last time you followed up or revisited a goal or decision?
  2. What was your word of the year? It is not too late to resurrect it. Or if it is no longer serving you, let it go.
  3. How can circling back on people, places, things, decisions serve you where you are in life right now?

Until next time remember to create results in a way that you can sustain and that are productive for you. 

By |2023-09-05T10:31:42-04:00October 3rd, 2023|Mental Well-being|0 Comments

Rightsizing the Busyness Thunderdome

Welcome to September, otherwise known as the Busyness Thunderdome. There are approximately 1,269,348 things to do. Plus a fall festival. Which leads to today’s topic:

How to remain whole amidst distractions of life. Let’s rightsize the Busyness Thunderdome.

Current state

If you are like most women in the Sustainable Sue audience, the current state of life looks a little bit like this.

  • The school year is largely underway. At least enough that the newness has worn off and tears have been shed over homework. 
  • Halloween candy and costumes have been out for 2 months already.
  • Thanksgiving decorations and Christmas music are ready to bust through the door. 
  • There are even quiet whispers about New Years Eve plans and your 2024 word of the year

Resist the urge to throw up your hands and declare the year over mid-September. Take a deep breath. There are roughly 100 days left of the year – almost a third of the year left. 

This is not an essay about digging in and sprinting to the finish. It is about staying true to your desires to live a life you don’t need to escape when life gets chaotic and distracting. 

Life is made up of big and little things. The trick is to keep them the size you intend them to be. 

Don’t let the big things shrink and float off. 

Don’t let the little things swell into oversized monsters.

Here are 5 suggestions about adjustments you can make to rightsize your Busyness Thunderdome. 

Reprioritize.

You cannot do everything. And more importantly, your kids cannot do everything just because you want them to. Or you think they want to. If you can identify a pain point, I encourage you to start there – even if it means changing priorities. 

For example, you are a family that prioritizes honoring commitments. Yet Johnny cries every time he comes home from soccer games and practices. His coach yells at him for not doing things right, Johnny knows he is not good at soccer, and no one on his team talks to him because they all know each other from being on the team together last year. You have observed all of this to validate Johnny’s concern. Then you have the invisible load of Johnny’s stomach ache most of the day leading up to practice and games and his sadness for the half day after games and practice. You have choices. One of those choices is to reprioritize and let Johnny quit soccer. If your focus is exercise, maybe the deal is trading the soccer team for soccer in the park or back yard with the siblings. 

Removing one thing – even if it requires a priority shift – can help you rightsize the busyness. This is especially valuable when the busyness is not getting the intended result. 

Move.

I know, I hear it already, “I am living in a Busyness Thunderdome, and you want to ADD something?!” 

Stay with me, friends. 

This is not a big hairy exercise program or challenge. This is moving for 20 minutes. It could be a yoga channel on YouTube before anyone wakes up or a walk during that work Zoom where you only sit and listen anyway. What about riding the elliptical or stationary bike at the office gym during lunch. 

Low volume, lower intensity. This is not your exercise, this is moving for the sake of mental health. 

Be still.

Ah, the flip side to suggestion #2. If you though moving was hard, I bet you think being still is harder. I know I do. 

When a friend of mine was getting sober, she had such a hard time sitting still, her sponsor had her literally sit on her hands for 5 minutes. Monkey mind is a real thing. Our society rewards people – especially women – who are constantly in motion. 

It all serves you until it doesn’t. Rightsize the chaos by checking out for a few minutes each day. It does not have to be meditation, just be still. 

Delegate to the floor.

In the middle of a crazy busy season is not the time for the nice-to-have projects. The ceiling doesn’t HAVE to get painted the week leading up to the Fall Festival you are the chair person for. You don’t have to join the meal train during the week you are also volunteering at the church’s Brunswick stew sale. This is not the time to ask your spouse to pick up slack and delegate to her.  Its the time to cut it loose and delegate to the floor. If it is not a hell yes, it is a no.

Jot it down.

Sometimes there are no strategies that can help you in real time. You are blown, but just need to get through it. I have been there too so I know it feels terrible. My strategy for this is to have Today Burned Out Sue help create Future Sustainable Sue. We all have a time machine at our finger tips and it is your email. I will draft an email to myself to not sign up for an annual committee and schedule it to send around the time the email requesting volunteers goes out. I include ALL of my feelings (this is for my eyes only) so I can be reminded of how it feels to be this drained. 

Sustainable You Reflections

  1. How are you doing right now? No, like really – how are you?
  2. Look at your calendar for this week and next. List the things you are doing out of obligation (i.e., the things that are not a hell yes).
  3. Which of the above strategies might work for one of those obligations. 

If you are not ready to take action to rightsize yet, its ok. This exercise will help get you in the mindset to do it next time. 

Until next time remember to create productive results in a way that you can sustain and that sustain YOU. 

By |2023-09-05T08:12:49-04:00September 19th, 2023|Mental Well-being|0 Comments

Time Accountant

Do you ever feel like you have a Time Accountant that you have to report to? A (probably imaginary) person who whips out a small notebook, licks a pencil tip and makes notes about everything you are doing? Or not doing? Or could be doing better or faster?

No?

Cool, me neither.

Apparently some people do. This essay is for them.

My first instinct is to kick that Time Accountant in the balls and make a run for it. But alas, a healthier and more Sustainably Productive step would be to reframe what you mean when you say, “I did nothing.”

No one says it better than Elsie Owens:

Now that you have a different way to describe it, maybe telling your Time Accountant that you spent 75 minutes recuperating instead of doing nothing will be easier. Maybe that Time Accountant is you and you need to give yourself permission to take a time out.

If you are feeling like you are running on am empty tank, it is time to recover. Consider this your permission slip.

Sustainable You Reflections

  1. Which of the 10 phrases in the above list seems to fit you the best?
  2. Look at your calendar for the next 2-4 weeks. Where can you fit in this recovery time.
  3. Block it off today.

Until next time remember to create productive results in a way that you can sustain and that work for you. 

By |2023-08-23T19:57:38-04:00September 5th, 2023|Mental Well-being|0 Comments

Sustainable Sue Travels for Work

While travel is fun, I love being home so so much. But you know what is rude? Reading a book while eating dinner with your loved ones. Or anyone really. 

Therefore, when I travel alone I indulge all my bookish, introverted habits. Here is a sneak peak into how a Sustainable Sue travels for work.

Coming and Going

It starts in the airport – where no one is in control over anything. I always hit the Read and Return for a book. Sometimes the airport has surprises like this one did with its wall of Jelly Belly candy dispensers. Cotton candy jelly beans and a book? Yes please!

Meals

I often hear people – especially women – say that they would never eat in a restaurant alone. They say that they would feel too weird, like people were staring at them. This is why I take along 4-5 close friends in whatever book I am reading at the moment. Choosing to eat WHATEVER I want, WHENEVER I want it, then reading while I eat? Yes please!

Business of Work

Of course the purpose for the travel is to get work done. While this usually requires onsite at a facility, sometimes since travel spits me out at weird times I have flexibility to work outside of a facility for a block of the day. I cannot be trusted in a hotel room alone with HGTV so I love to find a library to work in. Coffee shops are fun too, but I find larger tables at the library. Library energy and a latte? Yes please!

Sustainable You Reflections

When you know you have a less than comfortable situation coming up (travel or just going to the grocery story – whatever it is for you), what can you do to soften the blow?

Until next time remember to create productive results in a way that you can sustain and that work for you. 

By |2023-07-11T20:22:36-04:00July 25th, 2023|Mental Well-being|0 Comments

Shattered Plans

I was standing in line at a delicious taco joint in Asheville, NC and saw a photo on the wall of a beautiful pottery bowl. It looked like it had gold strands delicately painted in zig zag, meandering lines on the outside. It somehow shimmered in the sunlight coming through the window even though it was a photograph. 

There were words underneath it so of course I made Bixby place our dinner order and I got out of line to investigate. I thought it would be the origin story of the painter or the potter that created the piece. Maybe somehow connected to the restaurant? I am a sucker for a human interest story and had to know more. 

I am also a sucker for a story about serendipity, which leads me to tell you the story of this gold flecked pottery today. 

Shattered Plans

My carefully planned goals are not coming along as planned. I am not sure who is running my life, but she needs to be fired. Time is somehow bending and moving faster than I remember it does. Unless of course it is my body recovering from a long bike ride, then time drags. 

Time I block out to do a Sustainable Sue project is stepped on with a late meeting from my day job (which more often than not lately is turning into an evening and night job). I plan to swim on a Saturday and Sunday only to have lightning close the pool intermittently. Meal plans are torpedoed by the grocery store not having the ONE INGREDIENT we needed for BOTH recipes. 

Truly none of these is a big deal, it is just having to reshuffle a shattered plan repeatedly is tiring. Last weekend I just left the proverbially shattered plan on my desk and read three books. I’m not sorry about it. 

Which is where the serendipity comes back in. The taco stand’s photo of the gorgeous pottery with golden strands streaming through was kintsukuroi (Japanese for “golden repair”) or kintsugi (Japanese for “golden seams”. The technique of kintsukuroi has roots in the 15th century and is making a comeback in today’s world. An artist uses lacquer and gold pigment to repair a shattered piece – sometimes more beautifully than the original creation.

Once I saw that photo and description in Asheville, I saw kintsukuroi everywhere. Most recently on a mindless scroll this weekend after abandoning my shattered plan in my office. If I could play fast and loose with the metaphor here, I used the lacquer of naps and gold pigment of reading to repair a shattered plan into something much more peaceful. 

Instead of feeling wrung out and left with a racing mind on a Sunday night, I actually felt ready to take on a work week. 

Sustainable You Reflections

  1. Think back to a time where it felt like things were going against you. With the benefit of hindsight, was the shattered plan replaced with a better outcome?
  2. In the weeks ahead, when (not if) your plans fall apart, can you purposely hold space for a “golden repair” of your own? 

Let empty space on the calendar take the shape naturally instead of filling it. You might be surprised at the beautiful creation you end up with. 

Until next time remember to create productive results in a way that you can sustain and that work for you. 

By |2023-07-11T09:09:16-04:00July 18th, 2023|Mental Well-being|0 Comments

Gratitude

At the end of each day I spend a couple minutes jotting down a few things that made me happy or grateful. This does not mean that every day is an overflowing pot of rainbows that I have to whittle down into a couple lines. Some days I forget to do it until the reminder on my phone goes off. 

I do this as a reminder that no matter how unraveled I am, there are moments on beauty in each day. There is a breeze in the hottest of days and moments of rest in the most tiring of treks. 

The Bible refers to beauty from ashes and spiritually tells us to look for the message in the mess. Writing down 5 things I am grateful for helps me to make a conscious effort to connect with these moments or consider why these moments were brought in our path in the first place.

A more mainstream way to think of this is gratitude. Anyone who has lived on a planet with Oprah has heard anecdotes of how we should keep a gratitude journal. But there is scientific evidence that Oprah is right – at least about the gratitude stuff. 

What is gratitude

Sure, there is a fancy definition of gratitude and there is the Thanksgiving experience of dinner table gratitude. I like to think of gratitude as the intentional connection with something that brings me positive feelings. 

This does not always mean joy, but often does. It might just be a warm knowing that I noticed what the universe / my Higher Power / Nature / God meant for me to notice. It might mean a solid understanding that I picked up the breadcrumb that assured me I am on the right track. 

The more I notice these breadcrumbs, the more breadcrumbs appear. A self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts. And it is not a coincidence that as these breadcrumbs build up, my health and happiness has improved as well. 

Science of gratitude

Researchers have studied gratitude in all three dimensions of Sustainable Productivity (SusPro) – physical, mental and environmental. They did not know about SusPro specifically, but the research proves that we are on the right track toward a life we don’t need to escape when we intentionally connect with that positivity.

Health & Fitness

A small pilot study of heart failure patients who completed gratitude journaling exercises showed reduced inflammation (an indicator related to morbidity this population). Another study reported better overall physical health was found in grateful individuals – especially in the older adults (50-80 years old) compared to the younger group in the study (20-50 years old). 

Gratitude is also linked to improved ability to fall asleep faster and better quality of sleep once you fall asleep. But it is not just our physical health. Connecting with positivity can also improve several components of mental well-being.

Mental Well-being

Gratitude can extend outside of ourselves as well. Relationships are a key part to our mental well-being. This is for introverts and extroverts. Individuals married or not. Work and personal relationships. 

A study looked at how gratitude impacted romantic relationships. Results showed an increase in relationship connection and satisfaction – so much so that authors described it as “acting as a booster shot for the relationship.” 

But wait! There’s more! Let’s look at the impact of gratitude on our environmental surroundings as well. 

Environmental Surroundings

The link between environmental surroundings and gratitude can be approached a little differently. Let’s start with digital and physical clutter. Gratitude can be the doorway to releasing the digital and physical clutter in a few ways:

Subscribing to Marie Kondo’s theories of thanking items for their usefulness before removing them from your home. 

Finding charities who need items that are just taking up space. For example, my daughter and I were able to donate 2 bags of toiletry samples and half used items this week. It was easy to let go when we knew they would be used by someone in need.

Supporting local “Buy Nothing” groups by posting items you don’t want or need. Giving them away to those who are seeking them in a way that reduces its impact on our wallet can help us loosen the emotional grip on the item. 

Understanding the Yesterday You that acquired these items is different from the Today You who no longer needs them. There is no shame in letting things go if you don’t find them to be loved, beautiful or useful. 

Sustainable You Reflection

Clearly gratitude is more powerful than we ever thought. It is more than warm fuzzies when you hold the door open – although it is that too. It changes our body chemistry. Gratitude can lay down new pathways in our brain. Gratitude can make us more generous with our time and material wealth. 

Let’s unlock more gratitude together. Each day join me in writing down 5 things we are grateful for. This can be in an email to yourself, a leftover notebook you have lying around, in a special journal you buy for this purpose, or an app on your phone. 

Just 5 things. Set a reminder on your phone for a time you are least likely to have something going on. 

Until next time remember to create productive results in a way that you can sustain and that work for you. 

By |2023-07-07T16:15:11-04:00July 11th, 2023|Mental Well-being|1 Comment

Summer Rain

We are entering out fifth consecutive day of rain where I live. Not drizzly, like cute to wear a vest Seattle rain. Deluge. Dumps. Flash foods.

I need the sun. And to be outside not soaking wet. Maybe I am actually solar powered?

Part of recovery is reframing old thought patterns. This worked well for the first few days of rain.

  • “The garden sure needed this rain!”
  • “Saves me from having to do all the watering.”
  • “I guess this is the universe giving me the time off of my bike I didn’t know I needed.”
  • “Lots of time to work on house projects and crafts [Translation: Read Books]!”

I even was embracing this quote I found years ago from Xan Oku:

But now I just want to see sunshine.

Do you ever feel that way? I want what I want when I want it!!!!

When did it get socially unacceptable to throw our bodies on the floor of Target and wail? That is the stage of rain I am in. Luckily my daughter agreed to go buy toilet paper for me this week.

Nope, don’t scroll down looking for the rationale that pulled me out of this skid. This is all I’ve got for you this week. Rain sucks. I am crabby.

Perhaps this will be helpful for someone else. Solidarity that things are not all unicorns and rainbows?

Maybe you have the reframing I need – how do you pull out of a tizzy?

Transparency is important too. Please know that just because I write and podcast does not mean I have it all figured out. They say it is best to write from scars not wounds. I might end up taking this post down, but I wanted to share where I am today.

I am inside watching more rain.

By |2023-06-23T08:12:28-04:00June 27th, 2023|Mental Well-being|0 Comments

If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes

When I want to give someone tough love, one of my favorite phrases is: If nothing changes… Nothing changes.

Ouch, I know, right?!

But this week I want to keep things more on the lighter side. If you listen to the Sustainably Productivity podcast, you know Bixby and I traveled to Italy to see our eldest in the second half of April. I felt such awe for the age, history, and culture of all of the cities we visited. I am still rolling that around in my head.

Today I want to talk about how we are quite similar to the Italians who lived thousands of years ago. It reminded me of the Us Weekly Magazine segment: “Stars – They’re Just Like Us!”

Let’s take a little tongue in cheek tour to see how when nothing changes, nothing changes.

We All Have Unfinished Projects

This is a statue of two children playing a game they invented. There is supposed to be a third child in the empty space on the platform. Sort of reminds me of all of the craft projects I have piled on my desk, waiting on the spare bed, and swirling in my brain. Can you relate?

They Don’t Always Take Care of Their Books

Libreria Acqua Alta is a bookstore in Venice that obviously has books that have not survived the floods there. They turned it into a tourist attraction of sorts (successfully – as you can see). I don’t know about you, but sometimes I put books face down on the table or bed. I have been known to dog ear pages – even in library books in an emergency and if it is a physical book I own, I mark it up as needed. Do you have a book confession?

They are Extra About Their Pets

At the same time we were looking at these incredible statues of greyhounds in the square in the Oltrarno neighborhood of Florence, Lucille was living her best life in a pet boarding place where she swam in a pool every day with other dogs and ended her day with a Frosty Paws before bed. How do you spoil your pet?

They Screw Up on Large Projects

Obviously, the photo above is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. But did you know there is a different tower that actually leans MORE than this famous one? The photo below is the Garisenda in Bologna. It leans twice as much as the debacle in Pisa, yet it is seldom spoken of. We did not know about it until we walked past it on our visit.

The wide open field and beautiful grounds in Pisa sure make for a prettier picture. I guess that is another way this ancient civilization was like us – the valuation of beauty and its photo op. Reading up on the cause and impact of these architectural and construction debacles has been interesting. And makes me feel a little better when I make a mistake at my job. What have you bungled today?

They Dedicated Space for Hobbies

This is the ancient writing space for royalty in ancient Italy. I love that there is a window nearby. Looks very similar to my writing nook. Do you have a dedicated space for your hobbies?

Their Physicians Hated Them

Check out the footgear on this dude in the painting. Looks very similar to the torture device Bixby has from his doctor (picture below) after all the exercises for his bad ankle failed him. I feel that way about some of the appliances, wraps, exercises, and devices I have been prescribed too. How is aging going for you?

They Loved Family

All joking aside, we had an incredible time learning about ancient and current culture. But the most important thing we did was see our eldest thriving in a situation we could never have imagined her in. This is one time I hope that if nothing changes… nothing changes.

By |2023-05-26T05:47:17-04:00May 30th, 2023|Mental Well-being|0 Comments

How to Get What You Want

Assuming you already know what you want, I want to tell you how to now get what you want. 

Ask for it.

Ask for what you want. It is unreasonable to be angry with someone for not doing something you did not tell them you expected them to do. Expectations are pre-meditated resentments. Here is an example from my life. I expected my kids to put their dishes in the dishwasher after dinner. I never asked them to do this – I just expected it. Every time we got up from dinner, they put their plates on the kitchen counter and I put my anger into slamming the kitchen cabinets. See, I had an expectation – an unvoiced request. Once I say my expectation, if they agree – then we have an agreement. If they agree to put their plate in the dishwasher and don’t, then we can have a discussion. But if you don’t ask for what you want, how can you expect people to give it to you?

Ask for it – that is how you get what you want. It is that easy. And yet.

Surface Level Example

I was recently felt like I wanted a little more attention from Bixby and requested a bouquet of flowers from him. Of course I did this in a very efficient, Enneagram 1 manner – I put it on the grocery list before he went to the store. I was very specific in my ask. Here is my verbatim entry on our grocery list app:

Bouquet of flowers for Susan – include sunflowers, but not just sunflowers. 

Lordy we are romantic, aren’t we? But check it out – it worked! It helped me to get what I want!  

<<flower pic>>

A Layer Deeper

I have a three strike rule. When something comes to my attention three times, I do it if at all humanly possible. 

  • After a movie or TV show comes to my awareness three times, I add it to the queue. 
  • If I needed a certain fabric or thread three times, I break down and buy it instead of looking for a different project. 
  • When I was on the fence about whether or not a Subaru was the right car for me, I saw it everywhere – way more than three times. 
  • If a book is discussed in something I am listening to or reading on three different occasions, I add it to my TBR. 

I think this is the way the universe says, OK, Sue, let me help you get what you want. 

This happened to a quote recently. The main character in a fiction book read the quote in his school textbook, then I saw it on social media, then it was the quote of the day in one of my daily devotionals. I give in! I accept this sign that action is needed to get what you want. 

Here is the quote:

And then the day came

when the risk to remain

tight in a bud was

more painful than the

risk to bloom.

Anais Nin  

 It takes courage to make the ask. But that ask is how you get what you want. Which leads me to my next ask. 

The Ask

I want to bloom. Specifically, I want to grow the Sustainable Sue business. I have been afraid to swing for the fences and I believe the universe has sent me this message so I can acknowledge that if I stay tight in this small space, it will keep being not what I want. So here I go:

I want to double my podcast listeners by August 1st and my email subscribers by September 1st. I need your help to do that. 

Will you share the Sustainable Productivity podcast and the Sustainable Sue weekly essay with a friend? Here are a couple ways this could look:

  1. Hey – you know how I was struggling with cleaning the kitchen? I heard this great episode of a podcast my friend hosts. Here is the link – maybe it will help with your garage project?!
    • Link: https://sustainablesue.com/14-2/
  2. A friend of mine is trying to grow her small business. Here is the link to her podcast and blog. Check it out and subscribe if you think it is helpful for you. 
    • Podcast link: https://sustainablesue.com/podcast/
    • Essay link: https://sustainablesue.com/blog/
  3. Maybe this bad thing in your life is actually an opportunity to take advantage of extra time to help recover from the burnout you have. Running on empty, burning the candle at both ends is not something you can continue long term. Check out my friend’s website – she has great messages and resources that can help you. 
    • Website link: https://sustainablesue.com

Thank you for being a supporter of the Sustainable Sue business. Now let’s go get what we want – a life we don’t need to escape!

By |2023-05-16T10:09:14-04:00May 23rd, 2023|Mental Well-being|0 Comments
Go to Top