the meeting allergy

I have an unfortunate allergy to meetings.

 

 

About 3 minutes in, I develop a terrible symptom. I become very, very drowsy. This intense drowsiness is accompanied by complete disinterest, heavy eyelids, heavy limbs and the strong sensation that the blood in my veins has turned to mud. There is no other cure but to remove myself from the meeting, at which point, the symptom immediately disappears. If I don't remedy the situation, I only remember bits and pieces of the meeting. Snippets of sentences, the corner of a chart, the scuff on the speaker's shoe.

It's unfortunate, really, to be so allergic to meetings.

face, hair, body

FACE: This totally creeped me out. I read this post years ago and immediately said, "Pft, no way. Wash my face with oil? You're crazy!" Even though I brushed it off initially, my brain filed it away in the you're-going-to-want-this-later cabinet. This year I dusted off the idea and put it into action after I became frustrated with trying to find the right moisturizer. My face had been feeling really tight and itchy and I was throwing away heaps of cash trying different brands. The oil cleansing method popped into my head (thanks brain). I gathered the ingredients (I had a hard time finding castor oil for a decent price, I finally found it at my local Sprouts store), mixed them together and applied them. Let me tell you. Whoa. I mean whoa. I don't need a moisturizer (I still use a light day moisturizer with SPF to protect my face from the desert sun) and I don't feel dry and itchy.

HAIR: Love me some Birchbox. This video for a quick but absolutely stylish 'do caught my eye.

BODY: I have like, 0 minutes a day to exercise. I love to work out, I want to work out, I feel better when I workout but I'm in a season of life where it's not a reality. BUT! I can squeeze in a 12 minute full body workout or a 5 minute ab workout (maybe I set my alarm 15 minutes earlier or I say to hell with the dishes a few nights a week). XHIT Daily has a ton of quick-workout videos to check out, so get going!

on the art of pretending

Last week we took notes on why we hate our jobs. I was struck by how many of us hate our jobs. Chances are, even though you hate your job, you've become pretty good at pretending you don't. We need money, don't we?

I am really good at pretending.

I could convince you through words, actions and facial expressions that I love my career of choice and that I really do live for a well constructed spreadsheet. You'd think I had passion for it, that it was in my blood.

Pretending is an art, full of smiles and phrases like "I love analyzing data" or "numbers are my passion". The further it is from the truth, the more tiresome it becomes. Dragging myself home after a day of pretending, I feel like I've been hit by a truck when instead, I've just sat handcuffed to my chair for 8 hours. It's draining. My energy and soul turned to vapor. My mood, hidden behind a smile, sinks into the depths of darkness.

We have to keep up this masquerade for now, at least until we decide/are able to follow our hearts toward our real calling or until we get so fed up with feeling this way that we walk out of the office and don't look back.

To support this art of pretending, I dream. I take a few seconds after a task or a certain amount of time has passed (like it's a game) and reward myself for pretending so well, with a moment to dream, jotting down notes, sketching out my dream home, making a list of careers or books to read or things to research or ways to live smaller. I'll look at pictures of places I'd love to visit or live and just stare for a moment. These exercises give me energy to keep pretending, because this pretending helps me get closer to those dreams by helping me clean up the past (debt paying) and to save for the future (dream funding).

This is the art of pretending.