Posts by Annie
Live Simply in 2019: October Mantra, Embrace Change
I can’t be totally sure, but I’ve heard rumblings that there are people out there who naturally embrace change. The same thing over and over again starts to feel boring, stifling. They take it upon themselves to move to new cities, get new jobs, make drastic decisions at the hair salon. I envy those folks.…
Read MoreLive Simply in 2019: September Mantra, Strive For Excellence
If perfection were possible, we would have attained it by now. If telling ourselves perfection is an impossible goal were enough to convince us to cease striving to attain it, we would have given up long ago. Yet so many of us (myself included) continue to want perfection, and live with the constant disappointment of…
Read MoreLive Simply in 2019, August Mantra: Heed Your Intuition
My first introductions to intuition came from spiritual leaders and self-help writers. “Your intuition is that little voice inside you,” they all told me. “It has all the answers.” I took their explanations to mean that there ought to be an oracle dwelling within me, a psychic on constant speed dial who, from their descriptions,…
Read MoreLive Simply in 2019, July Mantra: Release Expectations
We’re a demanding group of people; have you noticed? We want precisely what we want at the moment we desire it, hold strongly preconceived notions about how long getting what we want should take, how much it will cost, and how much effort it will require. These expectations are so often fulfilled according to…
Read MoreLive Simply in 2019, June Mantra: Simplify Schedules
Embracing a freer schedule is natural, but it isn’t normal in this part of the world. Here, we hurry. We shlep. We carpool, and schedule, and reschedule, and sign up, and register and pre-register. We keep busy. Busyness is the way in which we distract ourselves from having to examine who we might really…
Read MoreLive Simply In 2019, May Mantra: Revel In The Routine
Routines are magic. Tasked with making an endless slew of new, additional decisions daily, our overloaded minds thrive when they’re able to rely on pre-established rhythms and choices. But when we aren’t present to our daily lives, when we’re just going through the motions, routines can turn into the stale traps a person dreams of…
Read MoreLive Simply in 2019, April Mantra: Find Reasons To Feel Good
It was a sunny, Spring afternoon, and I was headed home from a meeting with a fantastic client. I had my windows rolled all the way down for the first time in months, and I was really basking in it. Stuck my arm way out and spread my fingers in the air and everything. A…
Read MoreLive Simply in 2019, March Mantra: Re-Examine The Familiar
Most of us yearn for familiarity. All we want is the safety and security that comes after routines have been established, relationships have been solidified, and the terrifying phase of the unknown has transformed into the familiar. Our brains, in attempts to conserve energy, begin to ignore what has been deemed non-threatening to survival. It’s…
Read MoreLive Simply in 2019, February Mantra: Stick To Your Systems
Conceived during moments of epiphany, revelation, and ambition, the systems we build into and for our lives become integral to our overall functioning. We design them (or have them designed) because we need them in place in order to go about the business of being our best selves. Without systems, our lives are chaotic. The…
Read MoreLive Simply in 2019, January Mantra: Begin Now
Begin now. Begin today because today is all we know for certain. Because tomorrow you will wish you had begun today. Begin now if the urge strikes, if the curiosity has bloomed, because the moment it does is the best moment to move into action. Begin now if you are ready enough to answer the…
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