Just when you think you’re getting things figured out, something happens that presses a potential life “reset” button. I haven’t decided yet if this is a reminder of our lack of control, or just opportunities for those who choose to view them that way.

Four years ago we bought a new home which we love. The market crashed and things are upside down, but it doesn’t bother us as we’ve never planned on moving again. Additionally, we’ve had multiple conversations about how happy we are in our home, area, family life, jobs, etc., etc., etc. We’ve even come up with a financial plan we’re really excited about. Life is really good!

(Insert potential reset button here)

Yesterday, Blake got an email from a company in Madrid, Spain asking if he’d consider a job offer. I should preface that potential job offers and interest are a fairly frequent occurrence for him. However, this one came from some referrals at Facebook and Google, which speak to the potential level of seriousness and scope on this one. It’s too early to tell if it will be a viable offer, but it’s sure brought some distraction the past 48 hours. The last time I felt like this was when I started the wheels turning for a job in April, and as I’ve now been working there for 3 months we know how that one worked out. It’s a good anxiety, but it is anxiety. Either way, the consideration of a major life reset is a good thing. It makes you think of things you hadn’t and other things you have in new ways.

Wonder what I’ll be thinking next week?!

Admittedly, I tend to spend more than a fair share of my time and energies on preventative activities. I’m a big believer in the “ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” girl. I absolutely loathe panic and stress, and I’ve found that spending an adequate time planning and thinking ahead push panic and stress into near extinction.

Here’s a good rule of thumb: If you really don’t want to do it, it’s a priority.

Procrastination is the killer of productivity, and the reverse is true. If you become productive, you kill procrastination. It’s amazing how the snowball affect works for either side; whichever one you put first grows. I’ve found that if I’m continually putting off a task two things happen: 1) I do the stink’n job in my head several times - this is like unto worrying/stressing about it, which is utterly stupid and frustrating as it only needs done once, and 2) I feel like my to do list is larger than it really is, again utterly stupid and frustrating as it adds to the feeling of burden and worry. It’s why there is an overwhelming feeling of relief when you finally get that task or project done that’s been haunting you. So here’s my personal tip on recognizing this blackhole trap: if it feels small enough to be put on the back burner, and more importantly STAY on the back burner, it’s time to move to the front.

Here’s another one: If you think the small things don’t matter, you’re wrong.

This is one of the greatest illusions of all time. There’s some logic to it, I mean after all if you can easily see or identify something action is sure to follow. However, most fail to recognize that without foundational “small things” in place there would be no hope of anything growing to a size you’d readily identify. No matter how great or big the final product is, trace it back to its origins and you’ll have the proof that small things matter… a lot.

The moral of the post: Take a few minutes to identify the things you’ve been pushing off. Throw out the mentality that only the big things matter. Just do it, no matter how small, how menial, how unpleasant. If you want to make a big directional impact to the sway of your gate, you’ve got to make some corrections at the hinge.

So you know you need to eat healthy. You know that so much of what’s out there is not healthy. You know that you need to take care of your health while you still can - before your body starts cashing in all its receipts of years worth of decisions. I know all these things, or at least I think I do. I’m still not as good about being as disciplined as I should be about my daily diet and exercise decisions, even with that knowledge. However, tonight I finally watched Food Inc. and I’m finding more motivation to be proactive and informed. And not just about the food itself but about the government and economic gears behind the production of it.

I procrastinated watching this because I was expecting something like “Super Size Me” extremes. I’m glad I watched it, and if anyone else had the same concerns I can put them to rest for you. The documentary is well done, well rounded and purely information based. I highly recommend watching it. In fact, as I sat down to write this I went to find some clips or information to share and loved seeing how much good stuff is happening on their blog. I was super encouraged with just the most recent half dozen posts, all sharing enlightenment and positive action spurred by the film. So much of what’s out there is so big, daunting and down right ugly that knowledge can sometimes be little more than a heavy and weighty downer. I appreciate it so much when someone can tackle the ugly without losing the ability to have a positive influence.

I am saddened by how many people in our world are victimized by industry. Watching the family choose crappy fast food hamburgers they know are bad for them simply because they could get more food for less money was truly disheartening. Learning that this trend of diet is leading to numbers of 1 in 2 children of those families acquiring diabetes at a young age was equally sad. Too often we can’t see the consequences of our decisions and actions until it’s too late. I’ve watched first hand the devastating effects of diabetes. I know how ugly it is.

On the upside, watching this coincided nicely with some of our recent decisions in the past year. We’ve cut back eating much meat, especially red meat and we’ve noticed a lot of positives health wise as a direct result. The garden fruits and veggies coupled with our new grain mill have been really fun bonuses. It’s not as hard as I originally thought to do these things. It doesn’t take hours, it’s not hard and the benefits are totally worth it. The real investment I’ve found is the desire to learn and try new things and the determination to keep learning. For example, I found a great recipe for “Wonder Flour” that I use in place of store bought white flour for everything except yeast breads. It takes less than 2 minutes to take six cups of grains and rice and turn it into a wonderful flour. I put it in a gallon ziplock back and store it right inside my flour container and it will last me several months - not much effort for an awful lot of gain. There’s a lot of truth in the statement that small and simple means can bring about great things.

So tonight I know a little more than I thought I knew. I think that’s a good thing.

Well, I’ve been away from my blog since returning to work. It’s a lot harder to find time for things like this than I thought it would be. I’m sitting here right now trying to decide how much priority to place on it. Because I’ve never blogged for anything but personal interaction and recording I don’t feel any pressure many of my counterparts do for posts and traffic.

So here’s an interesting thing to note this morning. The thing that never changes is spam. No matter where I go, what I post or how long I’m away the spammers are living long and prospering. It evolves, as all things do but it’s ever present. At first, spam comments could (and often would) be random and direct marketing messages. As they’ve ‘matured’ they now try to trick owners and readers into thinking they’re a live person, really there to take part in the topic, but as soon as you look at the URL you’ll see it’s just another 1 in 10 million product or service sales sites. I guess the optimist in me likes knowing I’m not totally missed.

Another interesting thing is the evolution of blogging and online social interaction. Years ago when I began blogging it was the means of communicating and connecting with others online. The primary topic of posts was personal or advice based with relationships forming by both mutual interest as well as traffic generation. It was fun to feel like you were part of something bigger and to get to know people from all over. That has changed - a lot. Today, most of my old blogging buddies are no longer blogging at all. With the explosion of Facebook, most of this personal stuff went that direction leaving the few bloggers I knew to go one of three ways - private/journal blogging, review/product giveaway blogging, or reposting their old content just to keep their blog active.

Decisions, decisions.

I’ll have to share more as I define my personal roadmap on these many resources. It’s been an interesting learning curve. Today I see myself continuing my basic and low level Facebook interaction for keeping in touch with people I know or care about; my blog to share thoughts, files, etc. the way I always have but less often and with less personal stuff; and starting a new personal file as a combination of my photo projects and journaling to compile into various forms of media to enjoy it. Hmmmm…..sounds like a lot of work - sounds like me! *giggle, snort*