Gayle

It is Easy to be a Critic from the Sidelines

2012/04/09 Gayle 4

I’ve had a bit of a perfect storm leading me to this blog post. So, if you’ll bear with me, I’ll tell my story. Several years ago when Jenn completed her first 5k – I bought her a shirt. The quote on the back said Dead Last to Cross the Finish line still Beats Did Not Start I bought it to celebrate her accomplishment even though she was lamenting her last place finish. To my knowledge she had never worn the shirt (I mistakenly bought one that had marathon distance on the front and she felt it inappropriate to wear when she hadn’t run a marathon). Jenn wore the shirt last week as we Celebrated Life on the Zip-line! She said she wanted a reminder The rest of the story

Put on Your Oxygen Mask First

2012/04/04 Gayle 0

This morning as Jenn was packing her things and preparing to leave for Farmer’s Market, she remarked to me about the breakfast foods in the house and what we had that cold be the basis of lunch. This discussion caused me to ask ‘what are you taking to eat?’ In typical fashion Jenn replied ‘I’ll be alright’ and I realized she had planned for me and my comfort but had given no consideration for her and her needs. As I have been pursuing my theory of happiness I realize that it is easy to put someone else’s needs above our needs. We want those we love to be happy. However, I am smacked by the reality that we can not make someone else happy. We The rest of the story

What to do when you are ‘Cleared for ALL Activity’

2012/04/02 Gayle 9

Life comes with defining moments. I experienced a defining moment in December when after surgery my blood pressure bottomed out and I required blood transfusions. As I was spending time convalescing, I was inspired by the Maxwell the pig in the Geico commercials to begin my ‘I’m all better ZipQuest’. Little did I know when I began my ZipQuest that one of the top 10 zip-lines was 2 hours from my house and it was named ZIPQUEST! My destiny was set; when I was fully recovered I would ride a zip-line and yell WEEEEEEE WE WE WEEEEE as I flew through the air! I began inviting everyone I knew to ‘zip with me’. Some said yes immediately. Some said no immediately. Most said, let me The rest of the story

Waiting to Win the Lottery

2012/03/30 Gayle 0

It seems that everywhere I turn someone is talking about winning the Mega Millions Lottery tonight. Friends are posting about it on Facebook and twitter, news agencies are making it the lead story and it was a topic of conversation at dinner last night. The total is currently $540 Million and we all love to dream about what it would be like to have that type of cash. All this hype made me think about the happiness lottery. Are you just sitting back and waiting to win? Think about all the millionaires you know. (I’ll wait) Now think about how they became millionaires. Chances are not one of them became a millionaire by winning the lottery. Why then do The rest of the story

Pursuing The Theory of Happiness

2012/03/29 Gayle 0

Last week I shared my interest in pursuing happiness. I had stumbled upon a blog post by Gretchen Rubin and was impressed by what she had to say in 10 Counterintuitive Tips For Being Happier. My interest in happiness did not stop there. As I confessed, I have been demanding happiness for months (maybe even years) without a true path to finding happiness. Last weeks post prompted me to take a closer look at happiness and my own responsibility in the pursuit of finding it. My first step was to buy The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I expected to find a dry clinical approach to happiness but what I found was an interesting (and at times light hearted) story of the struggle to be happy(er). The rest of the story