Writing Off the Grid

In the run-up to my birthday last year, life was pretty good. I’d quit my job and had most of the summer off until I started my current one. I was running, writing, and doing many of the things I loved to do. Two days before my birthday, I was out for a run when, afterwards, I started to experience a dull pain in my chest. I thought I pulled a muscle and didn’t think anything of it. The pain didn’t really go away, I just ignored it. I kept running. I went kayaking. And two days after my birthday, I finally listened to that still small voice and took myself to the Urgent Care Clinic at Toronto Western Hospital. [Read more…] about That Still Small Voice

When I decided back in April of this year that my life had to change—that I had to change—I was determined and focused. Even before that, I’d been making small changes to my routine, habits, and mindset that I thought would bring about change in my life. As I was dealing with a challenging work situation and fatigue, the positive changes I had made didn’t stick. I was slowly, but consistently, sliding back into the bad habits that kept me stuck in life. That was when I knew I had to ask for help. [Read more…] about Reminder: It’s Okay to Ask for Help

I like quiet. And solitude. And when you work in an environment surrounded by extroverts, that gets a lot of raised eyebrows. I don’t participate in the idle chitchat that often transcends into gossip. Over the years, I’ve discovered that the best thing to do—for me—is to keep to myself. That makes me self-contained. It doesn’t matter what others think or say. And that brings me to this reminder: be yourself. [Read more…] about Reminder: Be Yourself

I’m not sure if it’s because I turned fifty in August 2023, but I’m thinking more and reflecting more about life—what I’m doing, where I am, and where I want to go. And with another birthday looming less than three weeks away, I’m feeling a renewed sense of urgency. To do IT now. Write. Run a marathon. Take a cake decorating class. Go kayaking. It doesn’t matter what the IT is. The important thing is this: do not wait. [Read more…] about Reminder: Do Not Wait

Recently, I’ve been rereading Brendon Burchard’s High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become that Way. It’s a fitting read as I work to figure out (again) what it is I want in life. How do I spend more time doing what I love? Where do I want to be twelve months from now? Five years from now? As I reread Burchard’s book, I realize I’m not only working to become—for myself—one of those extraordinary people doing extraordinary things. I’m really just trying to figure out the art of happiness now. [Read more…] about The Art of Happiness