Time Travel: My Newest Endeavor

Life is busy.  Our to-do lists are full of tasks like buying school supplies, mowing the lawn, preparing lawn furniture for its winter hibernation, so on and what have you. Well, in addition to my daily tasks I’ve added a new and unlikely item to my list, time travel.  Now when I say “time travel” my mind is instantly taken to an image of a crazy scientist and a big time travel machine complete with knobs, wires, and a spaghetti strainer for the victim….uh I mean person’s head.  I assure you I haven’t been scouring junk yards looking for metal and I don’t plan on beaming anyone anywhere anytime soon.   My form of time travel is simple, fun, and provides great insight to be applied to our lives today, right now.

Let’s do it! Let’s travel back in time…Let’s go to the time when:

-The most stylish men sported frosted tips…

-Our newest friend was our brand new in-car GPS system…

-Transforming our image involved an attractive carpenter and a television crew from the hit television show Trading Spaces…

-Managing your digital persona meant accurately selecting self-inspired personality traits for your Sim character…

-Welcome to the year 2000.

Now, Y2K doesn’t seem that long ago, but we have traded frosted tips for a myriad of fashion styles, our friendships are constantly expanding thanks to Facebook, and managing the appearance of our online image is of utmost importance in this digital age. 

We are continually undergoing change and expansion and have managed to catch onto the evolution of trends…trading our flare jeans for skinny jeans, low waisted pants for high waisted, and our short hair for ‘long hair don’t care’.  But the big question is have we allowed our online image to evolve and keep up with the tech trends?   

There are so many questions:  “To filter our photos or not?”  “Post on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or all three simultaneously?”  “How do I manage my LinkedIn?”  “Snapchat…Vine…Foursquare…?”  “To check in, or not to check in- that is the question!”

It’s a big thing to keep up with the latest and greatest of websites, blogs, and apps.  Whether you are a professional, a college student, a parent, or a teen it’s important to understand the trends in tech and to use them for your greatest benefit.

Here are a few social media tips that will enable you to portray the best of yourself online:

First, Be Yourself.

As social networking becomes increasingly more integrated into our daily lives the notion of separating your physical and online identity is near impossible.  The person you portray yourself to be online is what friends & co-workers will expect when they interact with you in person.  You are uniquely you and this is a good thing.  It is unnecessary and potentially troublesome to change your persona for your online communities.  Use social media as an outlet to expand your personal qualities and share them with your online community. 

Secondly, Know Your Audience.

On most social media sites, you have a degree of control as to who views your profile or sees your posts, etc.  Be deliberate when choosing your privacy settings as well as be selective when deciding what information you want to share about yourself with your online audience.              

Finally, Time Travel.

Always take a moment to travel in time before you post.  Travel to the future to think about the potential impact this comment, picture, video, link, or tag will make.  Remember, less is often more when using social media.   

So while I perfect my means of time travel, apply these tips to your social networking practices and go be successful in your personal and digital endeavors.  May all of your post leads to only good and happy things!

Delightfully,

Melanie

[real life] encourager

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Each night as I put my dinner plate in the dishwasher my mind wanders to what sweet, chocolately dessert is sitting in the pantry or freezer, just waiting for me to devour it.  I’m a lover of chocolate chips and cookies, brownie batter is a weakness, and most recently I’ve rekindled my love with the cold, nutty, chocolately, waffle cone goodness called a Drumstick.  No need to wait for the ice cream man, this girl has Drumsticks stocked in the freezer- vanilla Drumsticks, chocolate Drumsticks, even triple layer chocolate Drumsticks. Oh, yum! 

But I have to confess that as I reach in the freezer, mouth salivating with delicious expectation, my mind takes a sad spiral, “Is this a healthy choice? Could I run fast enough or far enough to work this thing off?”  I’ve been through enough days of personal training, even working at gym for a while, to know my answer should be, “probably not.” 

In this instance I could try to offset my indulgence by running first.  I mean, I enjoy running… on treadmills (people tell me is easier than running outside, but I frankly don’t care.  I ran my first, and more than likely my last, 5k this past November at a conference I was attending in Amelia Island.  But let me tell you, Florida sands are meant for relaxing, making sandcastles, and nodding to sleep as the waves crash against the shore… NOT for running).

So back to where I am… standing in my garage with the freezer door open, reminded that life is all about choices.  While standing, Bob Marley’s voice (just like superman swooping down to save the day) sings in my head… “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” 

I think Mr. Marley was onto something.  He discovered that making the decision to be happy is incredibly powerful.  Every moment of the day we are making choices; choosing what to do, what to say, what to eat, what to think about our friends, family, work, and our very own selves.  These choices are very powerful and shape our lives.

So instead of laboring away on my treadmill, I choose to be easy about what makes my heart sing.  If I make myself happy first, the things that I want to come easier.  I have found that I actually DO run farther and faster when I am happy.  I sing as I run, sometimes skipping, take high powered dancing breaks (my secret form of interval training), and enjoy every ounce of my workout. 

Today, I’ll eat my Drumstick because I know the happiness it brings will spur me on to bigger, better, healthier, and most importantly, more enjoyable moments.  So go and enjoy whatever your ‘Drumstick’ is and watch how the power of happiness leads you to even greater things!

Delightfully,

Melanie

[real life] encourager

The Fun Part is Falling in Love

I often find myself pondering my favorite things. Just simple things that make me happy, like glitter, and strawberry shortcake; jewelry, the color pink, and wood putty (you can even buy pink wood putty, which I especially love because it is a double dose of my favorites). I like to make lists of my favorite things…my list never seems complete as I am always adding things. 

This morning I was watering my garden, thinking about my favorite things…very typical for me. In my very happy state of blissful favorites, I looked around at my beautiful landscape, the life surrounding me and suddenly, everything in sight became my new favorite thing.

 “You are my favorite corn stalk, you are my favorite flower, my favorite squash, my favorite pumpkin vine…”

Then I see my favorite rhubarb, which is outrageously huge.  A single rhubarb leaf is so big…I could wear it as a skirt…which wouldn’t be a bad idea if my name was Jane and I lived in a Northwest jungle with a tan, tree swinging, jaw dropping Tarzan. And then I see a dragonfly and my thoughts are interrupted and my mind wanders to something more practical…like making another rhubarb cake. Yeah, skip the leaf skirt, I’ll make a cake.

Back to my favorites.

“You are my favorite tomato, you are my favorite butterfly, you are my favorite tree, my favorite zinnia…I love you, and you, and you, and you…”

And then the garden box full of zucchini draws my attention…”Oh zucchini…that’s my real favorite.”

They are a brilliant color green, they grow bigger every day, and there are millions of them! Well, not really millions, but I have zucchini practically coming out of my ears. I might just throw a party and use zucchini as party favors. Or then I might just gorge myself on zucchini.  

I’ve always known zucchini was my favorite and I am reminded of it often. I know it every time I eat zucchini in a casserole, or in chicken curry…I especially know it when it’s battered and fried. I fell in love with zucchini years ago when I first ate it, and I fell in love all over again a couple months ago when I planted it. I felt eager, excited. I found myself falling in love with the process; digging in the dirt, labeling the veggies, watering the garden…loving the way the garden looks, the way it smells, the way it feels…falling in love with the baby zucchinis, watching them grow, anticipating harvest.

I let myself fall head over heels in love with every part of zucchini. And that’s what I like. It’s not really so much about the zucchini, but about the process… about love. The fun part was falling in love.

Then it dawned on me; do I love myself the way I love zucchini? Do I love who I am becoming? Do I love myself with eager anticipation? Am I my favorite?

At that moment, I decided it would be fun to deliberately love myself like I love zucchini. To encourage myself like I gently talked to the zucchini when I planted it in the ground… To praise my progress like I praise the growing zucchini… To talk about myself in adoration… To give myself attention like I water the zucchini. To let myself do things just because it feels good, just like the zucchini hangs out in the dirt and feels the warmth of the sun every day.  

I decided to abandon my limitations, set aside my measuring stick and let myself fall in love with me. The natural, evolving, razz-matazz, zucchini me…my new favorite.

Not the “good hair day” me, not the me that got all the laundry washed and folded. I’m not going to just love the me that has a clean car, or perfectly painted toenails, or the me that has a record breaking number of “likes” on my facebook status. I’m going to love the zucchini part of me. The lopsided, asymmetrical, I probably should have been picked yesterday, zucchini me. The me that is unpredictable, a little rough around the edges, yet radiant and delicious in unexpected ways.

Fall in love with yourself. Don’t force it, just let go and allow it. Let yourself be your favorite. It’s easier than you think and more exhilarating than you could ever imagine.  

…Learn how to fall in love with your zucchini self more fully at You Impression…it’s a good place to be.

In appreciation,

Kristina

Kristina@youimpression.com