Getting Started is the Hardest Part

I stumbled on this graphic today while working on a slide deck for a new business meeting we have this week.  I had typed objectives into google's image search in the hopes of finding a proper bulls' eye or something goal-related.  I found what I was looking for (thank you Google), and passed the deck to the next person, but something about this image struck me.

Whenever I sit down and think about my goals, whether it's to write more on my blog, clean out my closet, or apply to grad school, I might get so far as to put them down on paper, but then I stop.  The paper gets buried. Or I change journals. Or I change locations. Or I change focus (work, fella, family, friends).

The first step is the hardest. 


Making lofty lists is a great tool for self discovery.  But taking steps down the path of dreams can be a daunting proposition if you're content enough with how things are, or even if you're not.  Change freaks people out.  Doing something different freaks people out.  Trying something new? That really freaks people out.

There are a few projects that I've been thinking about now for ages.  Many of them are sitting around as scribbles in notebooks or half written blog posts or as conversation pieces.  I think it might be time to get started.

What do you think? Is getting started goal-worthy?  For what it's worth, I say hell yea!

A Playlist Post: Sunday R&R

On Sunday, a student requested that I share my R&R playlist.  Apologies for the delay, I've been debating the ethics of posting the whole playlist up for download.  The jury is still out on the whole sharing vs. stealing issue, but here's the full playlist. And I've included links to the albums that can be purchased online.

Title, Artist, Album
Morning Meditation, Ali Akbar Khan, Planet Yoga - Music for Yoga
three miracles, Vin Mitchell, Chasing God
Zenith, Benjy Wertheimer, Planet Yoga - Music for Yoga
Misty, Kitaro, Music for Yoga
Little Flowers / Speaking in Tongues, Vin Mitchell, Chasing God
Meditation of the Night, Benjy Wertheimer, Planet Yoga - Music for Yoga
Meditations of a Sacred Sinner, Vin Mitchell, Chasing God

Quick searches of Planet Yoga and Music for Yoga returned plenty of torrents, if that's the route you'd prefer to go.

The music on this list is pretty chill and could be used for a home meditation practice as well.  I love Vin's guitar riffs, there's simultaneously an old-west feel and traditional eastern elements. Lovely.

For All Your Snow Day Needs - Activities for Indoor & Outdoor Snow Bunnies

Photo by Arthennessey on Flickr

Us New Englanders have been in the thick of winter for quite a while now.  And of course, I'm looking forward to the warmth of spring, and wearing flip flops well before the temperature actually warrants it.  However, there's more snow projected for this weekend, so it seemed like a good time to list some activities for all the snow lovers and those less than pleased with winter's dander.

For rhe Great (Snowy) Outdoors

• Make snow angels
• I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't made snow angels since I was a freshman in college, which really means it's been too long, especially when you factor in how much snow we've gotten this year alone.
• Throw a snowball
• You really can't go wrong with this one... unless you miss your mark. Oops.
• Snowshoe to work (or anywhere you need to go)
• Or to the public transit that will get you to your final destination. It's environmentally friendly, a workout, and makes passersby chuckle.
• Polar Bear Plunge
• Irregardless of the fact that I think people who skinny dip through holes in ice may have lost a few too many marbles, this one goes on the bucket list. May be this year is the year. 
• Snowman scene
• Instead of making a lame and lonely single snowman, create a whole snow family. There's plenty of a snow around, so go big!

The Warmer Indoors

• Hibernate
• Seriously, sometimes it's just nice to nestle in with a blanket, a book, or a whole season of Mad Men or Rome. (Thanks to @hublawer for that last one.)
• Stock up on tea
• A hot cup of tea with honey, lemon or even milk, if you're one of those people (I am), warms you from the inside out. Nummy, yum, yum.
• Build a fire
• A fireplace would be ideal; however, if you don't happen to have one, I hear the MBTA may have a few steel reinforced trash cans they'd part with on the cheap. (Seriously though, do not set a fire in a trash can, no matter how safe it seems. I don't want to get sued. Thanks.)
• Prepare food
• Get your crockpot started in on dinner when you first wake up.  Turn the waffle maker on for breakfast. And get the oven going for all your baking delight. If your food projects don't turn out, you'll probably have heated up the place trying.
• Roll out your mat
• I suppose you could expect this from a yoga teacher, but one of the best snow days I've had this year was largely because I rolled my mat out well before everyone else woke up and rocked a home practice.  And because I had practiced, I didn't mind leading a class in the living room for everyone else a few hours later.  If you don't happen to have a yoga teacher spending the night in your place, there are great resources available online (Yoga Zone on Hulu, MyYogaOnline, and Yoga Vermont on YouTube). 

If we actually get any more snow, how will you pass the time?

IT Amusement - Educate Yourself Before You Ask for Help

PassiveAggressiveNotes.com original post

As a social media strategist, people often assume that I know a lot about the deep interworkings of the interwebs, information technology, etc.  Admittedly, I probably know more about tech related stuff than the average duck.  But I'm no IT expert.

That said, I found this recent contribution to Passive Aggressive Notes to be hilariously accurate. Not only does it summarize basic trouble shooting and customer support, if you've ever been on the wrong side of the blue screen of death, now you know how to troubleshoot for yourself.

Good for a laugh.

Why No More Anonymity Here?

Yesterday, I made the decision to require some sort of login to post a comment on this blog.  It's a step I've been reluctant to take (though I've talked about it some here) because I understand the role anonymity can play in sharing certain aspects of self or personal history; however, I've found with regards to the comments on this blog, anonymity has simply NOT aided in the creation of open dialogue or a candid space to share.  Rather, I've found that the majority of the anonymous comments to be posted on this blog are just snide remarks the author didn't want to sign their name on.  The most recent of these unnecessary and bitchy comments came in yesterday.

Admittedly, I've been processing some frustrations in my home life that have probably lead me to be a little less easy going than usual.  But the specific comment that brought on this shift in policy came in on a post that I wrote in 2008, almost three years ago.  As a means to help me adjust to working with a new team, someone I had been working with told me, "you attract more flies with honey." Though I believe the person giving the advise had the best intentions, I was having a hard time adjusting to the overly artificial, saccharine demeanor a few of my coworkers put on.  I recognized it was a way to handle a difficult personality that we all were interacting with, and yet the fake-ness of the whole thing made it hard to trust the whole team.  In my post, "You Attract More Flies with Honey?"I indirectly sought to explain why I found the phrase irksome, without talking about the work situation.

Although the post was written in 2008, I've received comments on it in April 2010 and one yesterday:

Image from CoolestGadgets.com

Anonymous said...

you attract even more with dog shit so what's the point

April 24, 2010 10:18 PM

 

Sandy said...

Exactly. The point is, it's a stupid saying.

April 24, 2010 10:21 PM

Anonymous said...

Ok, so replace the target animal. Done. The idea is still valid, obviously.

February 3, 2011 3:16 PM

 

Sandy said...

I recognize the desire for anonymity from time to time, but to leave a somewhat bitchy comment on a blog post that's over three years old kind of makes me scratch my head. If you've got something bitchy to say, that's fine. If you're kind of a bitchy person, that's cool too. But at a certain point, I hope you realize that that's on you. So own it and sign your name. Otherwise, it's just childish and petty...  

February 3, 2011 3:29 PM

Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me 
My original post talks about the fact that people don't actually want to attract flies.  Flies are pests.  Many anonymous commenters are the Internet's equivalent of flies, pests that swoop in, and dump garbage and leave before they can be asked to answer for it.

Even in the real world, flies come and go.  And every time they land, they secrete vomit.  Gross.

I don't like flies, flies or (Internet) flamers.  Who has the time?


Stand in Integrity or Go Away
Comments on this blog now require an openID login.  Though my reply to the anonymous comment is rather crass, it pretty much sums up my reasoning.  If you're not willing to sign your name to a maligned, passive aggressive or otherwise nasty comment, I don't want to read what you have to say.