My new tool this year is a monthly look back to celebrate the things I did in the month. I realized that I too often let milestones slip by without recognition, do not fully appreciate the life I’m living, and can spiral down into a negative compare & despair or I’m not enough mindset. I … Continue reading May Review – I Did It
I feel I need to introduce myself as, “Hi, I’m Pat. I’m an overthinker.” I struggle to shut down the critical thinker side of myself, the one who continues to judge practically everything. The one who second guesses the past, and “what if’s” the future. And too often concludes I’m not enough. We live in … Continue reading Overthinking – It’s All Relative, Think Differently
When does summer begin? When I was a kid, it was when school let out, which was mid to late June. In college, that end of school timing moved to the middle of May. In astronomical terms, the start of summer can be defined very precisely: it begins on the summer solstice, which occurs on … Continue reading Summer is Here Already!
In the transition into retirement, it is often said to spend time and better understand yourself to help define what your best retirement will look like. When I first retired, I spent time getting a deeper understanding of myself, and have often encouraged others to do that as well. Yet I have found myself questioning, … Continue reading Heart’s Desires
I began doing a Monthly “I Did It” List this year to help me focus on celebrating the life I am living. I am prone to a Compare & Despair mindset. I often feel like milestones or achievements pass without recognition. I often think I’m not “doing enough,” as if there’s a need to be … Continue reading April Reflection – I Did It
I’m beginning to believe I have a distorted vision of friendship and that the “perfect picture of female friendship” is a just a fantasy. The BFF from childhood or high-school, who remains your BFF through it all – just getting older and grayer now. The tight knit group of besties who do things together all … Continue reading Let Go of the Fantasy
It’s been a tough couple of weeks emotionally. Nothing major, just my negative thoughts spiraling me down. I try and work on positivity with daily gratitude, journaling, getting outside in my garden, doing things I love to do. But there are times when my critical inner voice and my natural pessimism seem to overpower the … Continue reading Permission for the Negative Emotions
Part of my retirement lifestyle vision is contemplation. Active Body, Connected Heart, Creative Spirit, Contemplative Mind. I noted in my end of the year review that my contemplation element was down, so I’ve added more tarot card reading into my monthly routine. I use the tarot cards to aid in self-refection and to allow my … Continue reading A Look Back at my Tarot Readings
I feel like I am becoming jaded. After we went to the Florida Strawberry Festival, I even said, “Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt”. And yes, I did buy the t-shirt. However, I could have said what was awe-inspiring about the event! Too many times that I recall in the past year, I’ve been … Continue reading From Jaded to Wonder
My intent with my blog posts is to try and provide insight, in some manner, into retirement living. Recently however, I just seem to be living my retirement with not any major insight emerging. Here are a few of my less-than-insightful happenings this week: I’m on a “two for two” with planning fiascos. First, while … Continue reading Nothing Insightful Here
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