Have you read Love Struck? If you have, don’t forget, I’m having a reader reviewer contest!
All you have to do is write a review (good, bad, indifferent, it doesn’t matter!) about Love Struck on Indigo.ca or Amazon.ca, then leave a comment for me telling me you did so, and you’ll automatically be entered to win!
The contest runs until April 16! Good luck!
I can never say no. I say yes to everything. And then I end up feeling overworked and overwhelmed and underappreciated and resentful and wishing that I would’ve said no.
Does this happen to you?
One of my friends recently said to me, “Everytime you quit one job, you seem to take on two more.” It’s true. I keep trying to have fewer jobs but I keep getting more. Which means I keep putting off the things I really want to do (hello, write novels!) because I’m too busy doing things that I said yes to instead.
After reading The Happiness Project, I decided one of the things I was going to do was say “no” more often. After I decided this, I was re-reading the author’s list of things she had planned to do and one of her items was to say “YES” more often. Suddenly I felt guilty that while I was wanting to say “no”, she was changing her life for the better by saying “yes.” I just didn’t get it. How could you say “yes” and be happy too?
Then a little while ago I was giving a presentation (another example of a “yes”) and someone commented that it seemed like I had so many experiences and had done so many different things — and asked how I came to do all these different things.
And then I realized something. If I’d said “no” to every opportunity, I’d be boring and uninteresting. I wouldn’t be able to give a presentation because a) no one would ask me to because I wouldn’t be qualified and b) I’d have nothing to say, and the entire presentation would be useless for the guests because I would have no experiences to draw upon and no advice to offer.
It hit me: saying “yes” is a great thing because it makes you really live. I loved giving the presentation because I met so many interesting people and because in preparing for the presentation, I improved my own skills in several areas that I wanted to improve — I made a PowerPoint handout (with those lines to write!), which I’d never done before, I read several articles on a topic that I’d never read about before, and I talked to a group that I’d never spoken to before. And I wouldn’t have done any of those things on my own. (Let’s face it: I probably would’ve read a book or watched TV when I was instead working on the presentation and giving it). I only improved my skills because I said “yes.”
When I got home I felt an incredible sense of accomplishment, not to mention I was energized and inspired to tackle more things on my t0-do list.
All because I said “yes.”
What about you? Do you find yourself saying “yes” or “no” more often?
Who doesn’t want to look pretty, even if they’re counting their pennies? Tomorrow I’ll be on Canada AM talking about how to update your wardrobe on the cheap (tune in tomorrow at 8:15 am if you’re interested), so while I was prepping tonight, I started thinking about how to save on beauty too.
1. Blowdry on a budget. When you need a blow-dry, get a haircut at the same time. Or rather, schedule your haircut for the day you need a good style. Instead of paying $48 for my usual blow-dry, I made a hair appointment with a new stylist I wanted to try out for her blow-dry skills at Concepts Salon & Spa since it’s closer to home. I ended up only paying $45 — so it was like getting a free blow-dry, and I love the cut, too!
2. Mani tip. Ask your esthetician to do two super-thin coats of polish — even if that means going a shade darker than you normally would choose. It’ll last a full week, if not longer (if you don’t do dishes!).
3. Refresh your mani. Just when your polish is starting to crack at the edges — signally chipping about to start — apply a very thin coat of topcoat – then let it dry for a full hour. It re-wets the original polish and will make it look fresh for another couple of days. Then, since dry cuticles are a dead giveaway of an old mani, add a bit of oil (even veggie oil will do) to your cuticles to make it look like your mani is new.
4. Baking soda blitz. My girlfriends and I are all addicted to Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant for its ability to gently exfoliate our faces and leave them soft and glowy. What we don’t love is the price tag, so my friend has been testing out a bit of baking soda and water as a micro-exfoliant. So far, she says it’s soothing and refreshing. And over at Holistic Vanity, the blog for Pure+Simple, owner Kristen Ma’s been touting the benefits of baking soda for all kinds of ailments.
Check back tomorrow for tips on how to save on your wardrobe for spring!
Last week the Hubs took me to Punta Cana for a week of beach, sun, swimming, relaxing and reading to celebrate the release of Love Struck, the launch party, and my birthday. Because he’s just that kind of Hubs. The best kind. Anyway, our key requirements for the vacation were that we had absolutely no obligation to go do or see anything. Which meant we could read lots and lots of books. After careful consideration, I decided on a list of 5 books but the one that was a fluke choice turned out to be the one that may have slightly changed my life in just one week.
It’s called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It started out as a blog, when Gretchen who was happy, wondered if she could be happier, and so she set out to find out if, in one year, she could. The book reads part memoir – part self help, so it’s really the best of both worlds. Unlike Eat, Pray, Love, which Gretchen says she couldn’t do given that she’s married, has a job and two kids that she can’t abandon for a year, she instead decides to set out a project that she incorporates into her everyday life. So while you’re reading about what she does, you get ideas on what you could do. Even though the book is about her life, she writes it to really help the reader with research and theories and so you feel inspired, rather than sedentary, just watching from the outside as someone else lives their life.
She has a list of 12 Personal Commandments (such as “Be Gretchen”–in other words, if you try to be someone you’re not, you won’t be happy, and “Act the way I want to feel”), Four Splendid Truths (ex: One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy; One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.). Each month she sets a focus, whether it’s Marriage, Family, Work, etc. And then she makes a short list of the ways that she’s going to effect change in that focus. She doesn’t say things like “Be more organized.” Because what is “more”?
Instead, she sets out tangible goals, such as “Get up 15 minutes earlier in the morning.” Which in turn allows her to get through her emails or some work before her kids wake up. Or “The One-minute rule” — which states that if it takes less than one minute to complete the task, do it.
When I got home from vacation, I cleared off the shelf in my closet where I throw random items like pens, golf tees, bobby pins and business cards. I felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and it took me only a minute to put the items in their real homes.
The book was so inspiring that I couldn’t wait to keep reading it and I was sad when I was done, though I’ve already started a list of things I’m going to change this year. I’m not alone — since releasing the book, Gretchen added to her website a Starter Kit and a Happiness Toolbox that you can use to start your own happiness project. More than 2,000 other people are already using it, too.
One of the other tools she suggests is a one-sentence journal. The problem with journaling – or blogging for that matter – is the time commitment. But who can’t commit to a one-sentence entry every day about something that made them happy that day?
I already started. Here’s my entry for today:
When I got to class today, my students broke out into “Happy Birthday”. So cute.
That’s two sentences. See how easy it is?
Here’s Part 2 of my tips for getting a job in magazines if you’re interested!
