Wellbeing Wisdom Tiny Bites Sandy Weaver

One of my favorite famous-person quotes is from the late Norman Cousins: “The tragedy of life is not death, but what we let die inside of us while we live.”

Norman Cousins was an American journalist and author who went on to become an adjunct professor at the University of California Los Angeles in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences.

His research focus was the connection between attitude and health – he pioneered the idea that laughter truly is the best medicine, and tested it on himself when he was diagnosed with heart disease and a debilitating connective tissue disease his doctors predicted would kill him quickly.

Twenty-six years and countless laughs later, he did what we all will do – moved on to whatever is next. He lived the quote in this Tiny Bite, and it’s a good reminder for us all – the tragedy of life isn’t death, but in letting our dreams and sense of fun die inside us while we’re alive.

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Did you know your brain changes size during the year?

It’s OK – everyone’s does, and researchers are trying to figure out just how and why these changes are triggered. Some changes are tied to the length of daylight, some seem affected by barometric pressure and humidity, and scientists are scratching their heads trying to make sense of our fluctuating brains.

In the winter, the part of your brain that controls fine motor skills gets smaller, while in the summer months, the part of your brain that controls processing of emotions, decision-making, and motivation gets smaller.

Never fear – they get bigger again when the seasons change, and you can use this information to your advantage.

Need to take big, important tests? Take them in the spring and summer months. Need to buckle down and get something done? Your brain can stay motivated better in the fall and winter months. With this knowledge of your brain’s seasonal capabilities, you’re poised for even more success!

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Are you lamenting the passing of time? Wishing for a time in your life where your body was younger, your responsibilities were lighter, and your hopes and dreams felt reachable?

Please stop wasting your precious energy and time looking backwards. You’re not going that way, nor could you even if you really wanted to.

Nostalgia for a simpler time is a normal human reaction to stress or uncertainty, and when we look back, we often focus on what we remember that we liked about those times, juxtaposed with what we’re stressing over in our current life.

Please stop it…literally! When you catch yourself longing for days long gone, look around at your surroundings and find something that you can appreciate and feel happy about. Focus on that.

Focus on what’s right about your life right now, because when you focus on what’s right you make yourself feel better, plus you’re signaling your brain that you want to notice more things like that.

What you focus on is what you see – it’s how your brain is wired. Use that wiring to your advantage!

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Do you give yourself as much credit as you deserve? Probably not – most of us don’t.

What comes easily to each of us is our gift, and we usually take our gifts for granted. Even when you’ve spent years and years adding to your knowledge and expertise, you’re working on a part of you that you love, so it doesn’t feel like work. And when someone compliments you on how good you are at whatever your gift is, if you’re like most people, you “aw, shucks” through the compliment, maybe even downplaying just how much expertise and skill you’ve honed.

Give yourself credit.

Especially for the things that come easily to you, when someone compliments you, accept the compliment. They’ve gone out of their way to shine a spotlight on you. Give them sincere thanks for noticing your wonderfulness. A simple “thank you very much” shows them that you appreciate them as much as they’re appreciating you in that moment.

That’s a win for you both!

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Do you make space for things that make you happy?

Most people don’t because they don’t believe that being happy is important. They don’t understand that one of the major predictors of success in life is having a satisfying life, and in order to have satisfaction, you must prioritize your own happiness.

One day a week I dedicate to dog training and volunteering with Archie the therapy dog. Dog training helps me grow, and even on days where the training doesn’t go very well, I’ve still spent time with a great dog and a bunch of great people.

What brings you growth and satisfaction and happiness? Whatever it is, find a way to make time and space for it in your schedule every week. If you don’t make your own satisfaction a priority, it’ll get lost in your busy to-do list.

Even worse, if you don’t make time and space for your happiness, the path to success will be longer and harder and way less fun!

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Recently, I was mentoring someone on Siberian Huskies. Her goal is to be able to judge them at dog shows, and a prerequisite is mentoring from several long-time owners.

We were at a dog show and others were part of the circle of conversation as I started talking about the precaudal spot on the tail. As I relayed the information I was taught and have believed to be true for decades, someone chimed in and gently corrected me.

How would you have felt, and how would you have handled that?

The younger version of me might have been a bit irritated, and might even have argued. The current version of me has discovered the freedom of not having to be right.

The woman who spoke up may or may not have been correct, and I treated her information as if she was. I looked it up later, and turns out I was the person who learned something new.

There is power in being open to learn – first, you learn, and second, you show others that conversations go so much better when everyone is open to learning. Be coachable and teachable, even when you're the teacher – it’ll make you much more valuable.

Want more? Come and play in the Wagalicious Life Online Community playground! Go to Wagalicious.Life.  #veterinarian #petindustry #agriculture #leader #lawofattraction