Category Archives: Walking Wisdom

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Are You “Ruled” By Your Device(s)?

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Terrie’s Tip – Don’t let mechanical objects no matter how sophisticated run your life. Really evaluate your normal response – “I just use them as guides”

I’m not really talking about your phone although I could write an essay on that.

I’m also not really talking about social media although I have learned what Facebook can do to a life and have backed off and now consume books instead.

I’m talking about other devices such as exercise watches (I’m sure they have another name that’s sexier), sleep monitors, scales etc.

People believe what these things tell them. And they are not always accurate!

We hear the arguments about how inaccurate GPS is when people think their race was longer or shorter than advertised.

We’ve seen how a number on a scale can ruin a day or a week etc. I mentioned the other day about the difference between 119 and 120 on a scale.

I had an experience yesterday and realized it had been ruling my life for a couple of months. I got an Oura ring to monitor my sleep (about 3 months ago) and have noticed I didn’t agree at times. But yesterday’s “message” was disconcerting and it turned out to be present in the forefront of my brain all day. My brain didn’t know it was just a mechanical device. My brain just knew I was upset by what this thing said. Once I realized that I immediately took action but if I hadn’t realized it it would have totally ruined my day – precious time that we don’t want to lose.

This may not apply to you but it’s always good to look around and see what rules your life.

Enjoy your day!

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Are Your Habits Serving You?

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Terrie’s Tip – It’s time to take stock of all the habits that may be keeping you from enjoying your life more.

So so much of what we do is habit driven. Many of these are from childhood and we don’t alter them – kind of like the beliefs we talked about yesterday.

Quick and easy way to start:
Write down what you think are your primary habits and don’t forget to put your phone attachment down. I say primary habits because so much of what we do is a habit. To start with at least10 habits (preferably more) that govern how you live. Examples are “i get up and check my phone first thing in the morning.”
“I make my coffee in the Keurig every morning”
“I workout every day first thing in the a.m.”
“I make my husband’s lunch every morning”
“I make a post on Facebook and then browse my favorites”
“I clean the kitchen counter every night keeping it totally empty”
“I do the dishes just before bed to make sure the sink is empty and all the dishes are clean”
“I leave for work at 0600, get in the car, turn on Joe Blow’s podcast, and drive to work.”

There are many more that you can write down – just do it without judging.

Then take a look at them all and see how they serve your purpose in life and in your day,

James Clear’s book “Atomic Habits” is one of the best books I’ve read on habits.

Terrie

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Treat Your Life Like Your Phone

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Take some time today to reflect on those who have lost their life in service to their country. Be grateful they have kept you safe

Terrie’s Tip – Treat your phone like your life. Most people spend a great deal of their life on their phone and it is an extension of them. So keep it neat and uncluttered. Then do the same for your life. Make one mirror the other.

You’ve heard people laud the idea of an empty email inbox. The same can be applied to your phone’s storage size. How much clutter is on your phone, How much in your life?

I have to spend some time over many days to delete the thousands of pictures on my phone. Do I have do? Not yet but I am probably pretty close to full even though I haven’t checked it lately. I just know it’s time to discard so many of them.
But I’m not going to just randomly delete. I’ve spent the past few days backing them all up to multiple external hard drives so that they aren’t totally lost. They are just out of my “brain”. I don’t need all these photos cluttering up my “brain”.

I’m also going to delete many many many apps – I’m an app junkie. Do I need all these things I’ve tried (just like all the things I’ve tried in my life)? Heck no. But instead of taking action and deleting them when I realize that, i just ignore them and they sit there taking up space. What is taking up space in your life that you can get rid of? Things that were useful once may no longer even be necessary so they don’t need to be on the phone (in your life). If there’s data you don’t want to lose, find out how to keep it if you can.

Beliefs are like our apps – it’s time to re-evaluate your beliefs and see if they are still valid and appropriate for your current life. Many are embedded in childhood and we rarely take stock of our beliefs. We should do periodic reviews and see if they are still what you want in your life.

We have so much clutter on our phone and in our lives and not just in the house.

Take some time to declutter your phone and as you’re doing it think about how you can declutter your life as well.

Remember the fallen today!