analysis paralysis – We Only Get One Chance

NEW

WOW!! Is life crazy or what? It feels all brand new. But not like the super great brand new that we have been wanting and looking forward to, more like a new that hit us smack in the face, shoved our noses into it and said “Here!!! FIGURE IT OUT!!!”

I know we are all in this same kind of boat although we are not navigating the exact same waves, I know that for sure. Some are working from home while also learning to teach school. Some are displaced from life or work or family or whatever it is…but we are all out here doing our very best with the unknows. It literally feels like most of life is filled full of unknowns.

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan Dr Erica Peabody - New

You haven’t heard from me through this format in a long time as navigating it all has pushed blogging to the back burner. One other stumbling block is my laptop was on its last leg for a few months. I would begin writing here or inside of an office newsletter and in the middle, prior to be able to save it, it would kick me all the way back off and discard all that I had written. Life has taken a lot of extra energy lately and so trying to deal with that as well was just plain frustration.

So I ordered a new laptop and braved the curbside pick-up they had set up and honestly it was seamless and rather delightful!! So I now have a brand new machine to communicate with you better. I am excited to move forward with this blog and creating other content as we all learn to navigate this brand new life.

I take solace in writing and sharing in this manner and hopefully it remains interesting and entertaining as I share tips and trick, but probably more brutal honesty as we move through the stories of life: mine, my practice, friends, colleagues, being a dog mom, my family….on and on we will go. Check back here regularly and of course all of these posts will be shared on my social media platforms.

Years ago, I named this blog “We Only Get One Chance” and I still live and eat and breathe by that tagline in my day to day. Maybe now, more than ever before, others have really increased their awareness around that as well, that we really do get only one chance. It is time to make the very best of it!!

New computer, new life, many unknows and a new commitment to sharing and helping in any way I can. Stay tuned!!

BEST YEAR YET!!

Happy New Year!!! It has been pretty busy and hectic start to the year…all good things. Over the past couple years, I have spent a little time brainstorming with a few friends about a “theme” for the year. For example “Life is Zen in 2010” or “There Will be 7 in 2011” or “Life is Heaven in 2011”. So we were talking about 2012 and honestly, besides the word “delve”, not much rhymes with 2012. I was working it out and trying to figure out a cool catch phrase for 2012 and…it is just not happening.

So I look back at the past and I ask myself “Was life really ZEN in 2010?” NO WAY!!! What about 2011…”were there 7 in 2011?” Yes there were 7 this and 7 that, but nothing that was significant that pertained to that number. “Was life HEAVEN in 2011?” NOT EVEN CLOSE!!! I was seeing a pattern and I began to think that though it is super cute and catchy to make something that rhymes, maybe the rhyming part was the problem…limiting.

This past Saturday, I spent the entire day at a Women’s Retreat over in Oxford. It was a day for women, all things women, and lots of local practitioners with interesting topics about things that pertain to women and issues surrounding women’s lives. It was a day to escape normal life, hide out in this great little place tucked back in the woods and get reconnected…and I enjoyed every moment of it! It was such great timing with the beginning of the year and such an awesome time to set an intention for the months to follow. So I began to think about this “phrase of the year” thing again. I was eating lunch and writing a short little note to a real special person and it hit me…THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST YEAR OF MY LIFE!! It just struck me, just like that and I thought “HOW PERFECT!!!”. Since Saturday, that idea has been stuck in my head and resonating in my being. I had to tweak it a little bit to “2012, THIS IS THE BEST YEAR YET!!!” that way I am open to even better years in the future. Actually I think every year is better and better and I think it is a great time to sit for a moment and be grateful for that fact. Each year reveals to me a little more about me, and the more I know about me, the better.

How about you? Have you set any intentions for the year? What kind of a feeling does 2012 give you? Any plans, moves, changes? Is life how you want it to be or is there something or some role you need to step into? Let’s get going…we only get one chance…lets make it THE BEST YEAR YET!!!

DON’T THINK ABOUT IT, JUST JUMP IN!!!

As the days go on, my love for swimming grows and grows. I feel like I have to get my “swimming fix” on a daily basis now. I pull into my parents house, walk down their gazillion steps to the water, set my stuff down, put my hair up, put my goggles on, walk to the end of the dock and jump right in. I used to be plagued with that silly “the-water-is-too-cold” syndrome. I would sit at the end of the dock and contemplate how cold it was going to be, how bad that was going to feel, how yucky that shock to my system feels, how much of a hassle my hair was going to be once it gets wet (I do not have the “wash and go” type of hair), how much mascara was going to be running down my cheeks and a number of other things. Half the time I could convince myself to jump in and the other half of the time I would try to walk away or dodge my brothers or step-dad trying to push me in.

A lot has changed lately and the ability to just “jump in” that lake is a HUGE deal for me…and you know me, the message doesn’t stop there. I have been thinking about how that “don’t think about it, just jump in” message is applicable in my life. Everyone has heard the phrase “analysis paralysis” and how we can literally think ourselves out of just about anything. Taking too long to make a decision, can result in not deciding at all. Analysis paralysis is not my norm, however I do fall prey to it at times. I have been using this (almost) daily jump in the water to help me with some of that stuff that holds me back in the background of my life. I will continue to do that and maybe even be a little more deliberate about what the jump really represents for me on that particular day, during that particular week or maybe in a particular situation…a metaphor for life.

When I jump, that first instant when I am all the way underwater, goggles on and I open my eyes…is really, really special to me. Bubbles fill my visual field, often I see my mom or step dad’s legs kicking as they begin their swim, I feel the freshness of the crisp water engulf my body, sometimes I see weeds but the picture that sticks with me are the rays of sunlight as they light up the underwater world. It is so beautiful what happens to the sunbeams as they pass through the surface of the lake. I do not think I am poetic enough with my words to do any justice to this picture. Maybe you need to go try it for yourself…and when you get to the dock, or the shore or the pool edge, DON’T THINK ABOUT IT, JUST JUMP IN!!! …since we only get one chance.