Goals, Change, and False Flag Millennials, Oh My!
TGIF, my poppets, you’ve made it through the first work week of 2017.
I had a chat with a dear friend yesterday about the challenges of the New Year, self-awareness, and personal change. If you’re working on resolutions, or goals, or just deciding to change the side of the part in your hair this year, I hope that you are doing well, but I also hope you’re not putting too much pressure on yourself.
Change is hard, and substantial change is even harder, so don’t be discouraged if you can’t lose 20 pounds, go gluten-free, take up wood-working, and run for local office all in the same month - it’s just too much and you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. It’s always helped me to start small and celebrate the victories, even if that’s deciding to write for 20 minutes every morning or aiming for 10,000 steps every day. Change takes motivation, simplicity and time. For habit inspiration, check out BJ Fogg’s Behavior Model and for encouragement sign up for Coach.me, Tony Stubblebine’s habit-honing app, which I used when I quit drinking nearly two years ago (!!).
And reach out: talk to people about your wins and your challenges. Sometimes, it’s just about getting that one magic check mark a day, and having someone to celebrate with. No matter what, be easy on yourself, and know that setbacks do not define you. I’m always here to listen, so please email and say hi if you’d like.
And if you’re in need for a few simple 2017 activities, here are a few things to get you going:
Send this beautiful story on a Star Wars fan sharing Diego Luna’s Rogue One performance with her Mexican father to someone who blames identity politics for the 2016 election upset and patiently listen to them "actually" you (thx Stefana!)
Celebrate the appointment of a outsider/reformer as Chief of Police in Oakland.
Pretend to be a millennial, get international press, confuse a hell of a lot of reporters. (Thank you Aaron for this week’s “False Flag Millennial.”)
Read about how the man who argued FOR the proposition banning equal marriage in California in front of the Supreme Court is now advising Trump’s nominee for attorney general and somehow not lapse into a fit of feverish terror dreams.
Puzzle over the fact that "There are more white men named Jim in the California Legislature than black and Asian-American women—combined." [emphasis mine]
Hugs,
Amy