Life Lessons

Giving Thanks

Today I’m very thankful for a lot of things.

For being healthy, for being able to take care of myself, for being happy.

For a family that is also happy and healthy, as well as boisterous, smart, and funny.

For getting to spend the weekend seeing loved ones, even ones I hadn’t seen in a long time!

For getting to spend the weekend playing with four dogs, three cats, and a gecko (not all of them belonging to my family!).

For packed lunches on the train.

For the internet (always).

For long talks about my future with my family, who never get tired of helping me work things out.

For taking my baby sister driving, even though it astonishes me that she’s old enough to have her license.

For David Mitchell’s novels.

For my camera, and how it can capture such happy moments.

For hikes in the changing fall leaves.

For this article that reassures me I’m not the only one who cares too much.

For spending time just being with my family – even if it sometimes means watching Long Island Medium and Chopped until our eyes glaze over.

For always being able to go home, and be home.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you’re feeling as grateful and loved as I am today. xo.

22 Before 22: Take an Internet Break

So I “took a break” from the internet. And I learned a few things from doing so, which I’m sharing because perhaps you’ll find them interesting. Perhaps not.

(Unrelated: my new favourite phrase is “long hair, don’t caaare” but I have trouble working it into everyday conversations, mostly because it makes no sense. I just thought you might want to know where my slang life is at currently. That’s where it’s at.)

Anyway, what did I learn from my internet break? Let’s dot jot this out.

  • The single most helpful part was not going on Facebook a million times (approximate figure) a day. I honestly catch myself checking it out just because I’m bored, but guess what? 90% of the time, nothing catches my interest when I’m scrolling through my newsfeed. Lesson? Facebooksucksnevergoonit. Suspend your account. Make the move, Stephanie!
  • I missed my blog. I truly did. I don’t want to sound overly dramatic, but I started to feel like I was missing part of my identity. I had a couple really stressful days in the past couple of weeks, but I couldn’t help thinking that having some kind of creative outlet would have made it better, even if it would be more “work”. After not creating content for a week, I started to even forget just how much I love the process! That’s what stress can do to you, I guess. Lesson? Being creative is soothing and happy-making. 
  • I really love the internet. Some people (Mom) might cringe when they read this, but I really do enjoy the time I spend on the internet – or, most of it, when I use it properly. I love looking at beautiful things, getting inspired by DIYs or recipes or learning how to make things. And I’ve met some really great people through the internet (my penpal and my podcast partner, for two!). But Facebook, Twitter, checking stats, looking people up (and inevitably feeling bad when I do comparisons!), scrolling mindlessly through Pinterest or Tastespotting – that stuff doesn’t enrich my life or make me happy. Lesson? New goal should be to cut back on time-wasters, not the internet in general.

All in all, it was a helpful experience. Those are good lessons! I learned something about why I was motivated to cut back on my internet usage in the first place, and what I can do to fine-tune this goal in the future. I was surprised at how much I missed writing this blog. I needed the time off (or, I told myself I did) because it was a stressful couple weeks with visitors and back-to-school and meetings and work – and now I feel like I’ve managed to get my ducks in a row, so to speak. I feel much more calm and balanced. I’m glad I tried this little experiment! I’m sure my academics and sanity will thank me for the boost I gave them.

Do you think you’d ever try a break (or quasi-break) from the internet? Have you tried one before? Did you find (like I did) that it wasn’t really for you!?

Happy Wednesday, everyone. I’m happy to be back!

The Happy Life Manifesto!

Today I’d like to share with you my very first e-book. Calling it an e-book might be a little generous, because it’s less than 20 pages long, but it’s a mini book I’m distributing electronically, so e-book it is!

This mini book/manifesto is a collection of my favourite quotes, thoughts, and ruminations on happiness. I (obviously) still have a lot to learn about being happy, so this is not meant to be a “step-by-step guide” from an expert’s perspective. I’m nowhere near an expert! I simply wanted to share the lessons I’ve learned and epiphanies I’ve had that have slowly taken me from sad to glad. Think of this book like a conversation with someone who cares: I’m trying to share in the hopes that what has helped me on my journey may be able to help you in some small way.

You can get a free copy of The Happy Life Manifesto by joining my monthly newsletter here! The download link will be sent your way as soon as you enter your email. Thanks, as always, for your support!

Resources

I mention a few people/ideas in my little bibliography. I want to give them their due here.

  1. Gretchen Rubin
  2. Tara Whitney
  3. Marie Forleo

Thanks

As always, thanks for your support. I am really proud of this project, as well as the podcast that I recently started. But I’m not sure I would have been confident enough to pursue either one if not for the love and support of my family, friends, and all the wonderful readers that stop by here and leave great comments. Thank you!

Please leave comments on the book here, or email me! I’d love to hear your feedback. Thanks for reading.

Ice Cream Metaphor

I have a pretty sweet summer job. I mean it in both a literal and figurative sense – I work with chocolate, caramel, and ice cream all day long. Before you ask – yes, it’s totally awesome, but drinking the leftover milkshakes and munching on the brownie bits gets old really fast (thank goodness for my waistline).

Another reason it’s sweet is that it gives me a chance to unwind, at least mentally. It’s pretty fast-paced, which can at times be stressful, but it’s a chance to swing into autopilot when things get hectic. And I find that when I’m going through the motions, my crazy brain gets a little calmer and clearer. Paradoxical, this life we live.

I wanted to share one thought, which crystallized the other day. I was scooping ice cream for an order, and was seriously struggling. The ice cream was really frozen, since the freezer temperature tends to fluctuate quite a bit throughout the night. So my scoops were not nice and round and lovely, they were kind of stiff and piecemeal and blah. And then I scooped too hard and a whole scoop flew to the floor, which happens more often to me than I care to admit. But then a seriously deep metaphor (for ice cream, anyways) came to me:

I have very little control over the temperature of the ice cream or its texture. All I have control over are my skills, strength, and experience in scooping ice cream. 

Yeah, yeah, I know it’s only ice cream. But it was just so clear all of a sudden, that all I can do is try to build up my arm muscles and keep practicing, so that I can conquer that ice cream no matter what its temperature. And I’m sure you can see how this extends to life, in general. We have surprisingly little control over some the conditions we’ll be thrown into, the life events we’ll encounter, and the tough times we’ll all inevitably have to face. All we can do is work on building up our courage, strength and skillset, so that we can be ready for anything life throws our way.

A simple truth? Yes. But nevertheless an important one. Even though I’ve heard some iteration of this sentiment many times before, it only really hit home this time when I had a practical experience to back it up. I hope you can draw some inspiration from this idea as well.

Scroll to Top