Issue No. 65

Winter 2015

What Was Your Best?

Dear Friends of Balancing Act,

When the holiday blitz over, then what?

Bills? Clean-up? Exhaustion?

How about reflection?

To help you along that path, I've included in this newsletter a positive psychology tool to help you focus on what went right this past year and use it to move you forward in 2015.

If you have trouble finding what went right, you might take a look at how self-compassion can help break the self-destructive cycle of ruminating about what went wrong.

If you struggle with feeling grateful when things go wrong, you might find inspiration in the wisdom of a Columbus, OH author who has stopped gauging gratitude with external circumstances.

And on a lighter note, if mac and cheese are standing in the way of your 2015 weight loss plan, I've got scientific evidence that celery can be just as comforting.

Here's to a thoughtful beginning to the New Year and inner warmth during winter.

Pat

Looking Backward and Forward

Just like the Roman god Janus, we can take a moment at this time of year to look both backward and forward.

Backward at what went really well last year in our personal or professional lives. And forward, to figure out what made that particular moment, project or event go so well and think about how we can use that same strategy to achieve fulfillment in some area in the coming year.

To make this easier, I've designed a tool you can use for self-reflection and planning. Download it here, find a quiet spot to retreat, and give yourself a half hour or so to plan another magnificent experience for 2015.

Stop Ruminating!!

In you're a ruminator, reviewing the last year may bring more pain than pleasure.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda may take center stage instead of heartfelt appreciation for what went right.

If this strikes a chord, you may have tried distracting yourself with little success. Take heart.

In a recently published Australian study, those who wrote self-compassionate essays, in which they forgave themselves for falling short, were able to shift more quickly from a negative mood than those who relied on distracting themselves.

If you struggle even to write a self-compassionate essay, try pretending you are writing it not about yourself but about a best friend you want to forgive.

A Different View of Grateful

Closely related to "what went right" are the increasingly popular Facebook posts pledging to announce daily what one is grateful for.

It's hard not to be a fan of these. We ordinarily take so much for granted. But if counting blessings sometimes feels hollow, or you've been troubled by the fact that our gratitude often stems from feeling better off than others, you may relate to this thoughtful piece by Columbus, OH poet Stephanee Killen.

She finds for herself - and maybe for you - an authentic window through which to view moments of gratitude.

In This Issue

Quick Links

Pat's Website

Dog Journal

Latest Column

COMFORT FOOD?
MAYBE NOT

With Winter grays surrounding us, how can we manage without comfort foods? And how can we shed those holiday pounds with them?

Not to worry, according to a NASA-funded study conducted by the University of Minnesota.

Research subjects who watched distressing films and then inhaled the aromas of brownies, mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, experienced no more mood elevation than those who did not.

So relying on comfort food for mood may not be viable. Taste? Another matter.

LEASH LAW

Coming
Clean

There's a reason plastic organizing boxes are on sale in January. It's therapeutic to leave the holiday season with a clean sweep, de-cluttering all the extra stuff, all the bangles and pine needles and fake snow. A fresh new year is about to begin. Rush the season with a spring wreath on the front door.

This is based on one of the 74 leash laws offered in Pat's book, The Dog Ate My Planner: Tales and Tips from an Overbooked Life.