I was in my favorite deli recently, and someone had taken a couple of drinks out of these two giant drink coolers that cover almost an entire wall in this deli. As they were walking towards the counter, I said, “Wow, they have everything under the sun here.” With that, the person looked back, saw […]
choices, decision paralysis, Decisions, deli, options
I recently read a quip I have never seen before that said, “When nothing goes right, go left.” I’m not sure why that sort of caught me by surprise, but it reflects something I believe pretty strongly: sometimes when we’re in a rut or things are not going our way for a while, doing something […]
Change, control, left, quote, right
I got a fortune from a fortune cookie from lunch the other day that said “The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.” I suppose it’s a warning in some way that when you’re pursuing something that you want, taking a little time to assess the situation, particularly the downside […]
cheese, fortune, fortune cookie, idiom, mouse
I was reading an article in the Wall Street Journal this morning about how the executives and board members of companies that make food products, or are in the restaurant business, often sample those products before they are brought out to the market. A lot of research and testing done before that, of course, but […]
fulfillment, happiness, happy, work
One of my favorite quotations from Stephen Covey is a question: “Have you ever been so busy driving you didn’t have time to stop for gas?” For a lot of people in today’s busy world, it can feel like we’re never taking time to re-energize, but a lot of evidence and research suggests that taking […]
Breaks, energize, Energy, fuel, restore
As I was walking to my office the other day, I passed a car where a healthcare aid was helping an older woman out of the car. The aid was getting her steady on a walker that she had next to her. As I watched the determination of this older woman to take hold of […]
grateful, meditation, step, thich hanh, walker, walking
In the acknowledgement section of Julia Child’s The French Chef Cookbook, she mentions her husband Paul. She refers to him as “the man who is always there.” She then mentions all these roles he plays in her life. He is the fish illustrator, he is the dishwasher, and the porter, and resident poet, and husband, […]
always there, cookbook, julia child, Support
In the final season of Seinfeld, George Costanza’s father, Frank, is diagnosed with high blood pressure and he’s told to deal with that by saying “serenity now” when he feels himself getting angry. In typical Frank fashion, he doesn’t say serenity now, he screams it over and over again while looking skyward and raising his […]
episode, seinfeld, Stress, stress reduction
The other day I asked Alexa what the key to happiness is, and Alexa said, “I’m sorry I don’t have an answer for that.” I’m not sure I have an answer either, but there are two things that had that occurred to me that are extremely important for having a happy life. One is to […]
alexa, gratitude, happiness, Technology
The 2005 comedy “Waiting” is about the team of people who work at a chain restaurant, sort of like a Fridays, called Shenanigans, and it’s about the wait staff’s relationships with one another and also with customers, and how they cope with the stresses of working in a fast-paced restaurant environment. One of my favorite […]
bishop, Movie, shenanigans, waiting