Do one thing a day that scares you

I’ve heard this comment many times but, because I like the tried and true, I tend to steer clear of risk.  For example, if I had all the money in the world to buy a car when I was 16, I would have chosen a Volvo.  Enough said.

But the older I get, the more I realize that doing things that stretch your skills, that test your confidence, that initially make you lose sleep, could be the best things you ever do.

Because they make you grow as a person.  And I think that is the goal of our journey.  To learn who we are and what we can do to make the world a better place.

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut.  Just trying to keep our head above water and get through the day.  Who has time to go out on a limb and do something out of the ordinary? 

But can we afford not to?

It’s the people who take a risk that get a book published.  Or discover the cure for a disease.  Or win an election.  Or change the world.

So between jumping in the shower in the morning and rolling into bed at night, I think we would all be better off if we did one thing that scares us.  It could be biking to work.  Trying tofu.  Speaking in front of a crowd.  Running for a political seat.  Joining a book club.  Auditioning for a play.  Starting a new venture.  Taking a course.  Visiting an old age home.  Singing on stage.

Who knows?  It could be the best thing that ever happened to us.  It could change our world for the better.  And there’s nothing scary about that.

The days are long but the years are short

I just finished reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and I will never forget her words, “the days are long but the years are short.”

I think most moms of young kids can relate to this sentiment, although we tend to forget it when our lives are swirling around us like a windstorm.

From the moment you open your eyes in the morning, you’re running.  Work.  School.  Extra-curricular activities.  What’s for dinner?  Who’s crying now?  Where’s the permission slip for the school trip? Is that shirt clean?  The guy on the phone wants to sell me what?

But in the midst of that madness the other day, I put on a video my in-laws gave me.  The opening scene showed my three kids playing in the garden and I thought to myself, “That video must be years old.  My children look like babies.” 

The video was taken 18 months ago.  Since then my daughter started to talk.  My oldest started to read.  And my middle son started to say things about life that really make me laugh.

What?  When did my babies become children?  Where did the time go?

It ticked by like it always does. 

My mom told me once that the day will come when I miss the grubby fingerprints on the windows.  The stampede of feet on the stairs.  The shrill screams of, “Are we there yet?”   (Well, maybe I won’t miss those screams.)

It’s hard to think that way when the kids are young and life is wild.  But if we can stop at least once a day and breathe it in, it will remind us to cherish what we have.

Because the days are long but the years are short. 

Failure is the only option

Michael Jordan got cut from his grade nine basketball team.  Barack Obama tried to get a ticket to the 2000 Democratic Convention and he couldn’t get in the door.  Dr. Seuss got 43 rejections for his first children’s story.   They were all failures.  Before they were successes.

Jordan went on to become one of the best basketball players of all time.  Obama was the keynote speaker at the 2004 Democratic Convention and then was sworn in as President of the United States in 2008.  And Dr. Seuss ended up getting a few stories published.

So what does this mean for all of us?

We have to remember that failing at something could be the best thing that ever happened to us.  As long as it drives us to keep trying.  As long as we get up when we fall.  As long as we remember that failure is the one thing that always happens before success.

If we don’t get the job, the next job will be the one for us.  If we fail the test, we’ll learn things that we need to know when studying for it next time. 

The only way failure can hurt us, is if we let it stop us in our tracks.

So make that investment.  Write that book.  Run that marathon.  Change your career.  Take a chance.

Will you fail?  You might.  But if you do, at least you’ll know that you’re one step closer to success.  And if you never try, you’ll never know.

The stomach flu made me happy

They say if March comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb.  I know one thing for sure... my family got a lion’s serving of sickness this March that made us as weak as lambs.

A stomach flu that lasted seven days.  Followed by colds and pink eyes.  As a mom, I was at my breaking point.  But when the dust settled, and I heard those little voices screaming, “I’m all better mom,” I realized that was all I needed to be happy.

Probably helps that I’m reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin for a book club at the moment.  But I realized that what I’m wearing, or what I’m eating, or where I’m going won’t ever make me as happy as having the people I love healthy. 

It also reminded me that when mom is sick, no one is well.  So the moms of the world have to take time to do things for ourselves.  Going for a walk, seeing a play, reading a book or flossing our teeth (come on moms... we can at least squeeze this luxury in).

And most important of all for moms is maintaining and growing our friendships.  This is better than any vitamin when it comes to staying healthy.  A dinner with friends who let you vent about life and allow you to feel normal in your craziness is like an antibacterial wash for your soul.

So make a reservation.  Take time for you.  Celebrate any given weeknight.  Laugh when you feel like crying.  And remember, when you have your health you have everything you need to be happy.  Which will leave you as strong as a lion and as lovable as a lamb.

Sick Chicken

Marketplace on CBC did a show recently about the amount of antibiotic-resistant bacteria found on the chicken Canadians are eating.

They tested 100 samples from a number of our national grocery chains and 67 per cent of the samples contained antibiotic-resistant bacteria. 

Some samples were resistant to as many as eight different antibiotics. 

They even found antibiotic-resistant bacteria on chicken raised on antibiotic-free farms and on organic farms.  Although these samples had less strains than the samples from regular farms. 

An organic farmer on the show said that one of the reasons this may be happening is that there are no organic chicks available on the market, so organic farmers have to start their growing process with eggs that may have received antibiotics before hatching.  Then these farmers take ten weeks to raise these chicks rather than the five weeks it takes chicks to grow to full size on the antibiotic-using farms.

The Marketplace show explained that the farms that use antibiotics when growing their chickens don’t just use them for sick chickens but also for healthy chickens to ensure they don’t get sick and to help them grow bigger quicker. 

At the moment, there are no limits to the amount of antibiotics Canadian farmers can use when raising their chickens.  And some of the antibiotics they are utilizing are antibiotics that are prescribed for pregnant women and children.

So what does all this mean for the Canadian consumer?  There are people who are getting sick with superbugs, and they cannot be treated by many of the antibiotics on the market because their superbug is antibiotic-resistant.  

Some doctors are worried that antibiotics will eventually stop working all together and this could lead to our society returning to times when otherwise healthy people died of an infectious disease like pneumonia because there was no treatment.  No antibiotics to cure them.

Should we be buying the antibiotic-free chicken offered at our local stores with the hope that there are less antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria found on these products? 

If we want to make a change in the way the food we feed our family is farmed, we have to voice our opinion to our Member of Parliament.  You can find your representative by typing in your postal code at the following link.

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/compilations/houseofcommons/memberbypostalcode.aspx?menu=hoc

Is 40 the new 4?

Remember when you were young, and everything was new and exciting?  When jumping in a puddle could make your day? 

And then something happened. 

Most of us got so involved in doing what we were supposed to do that we forgot to do what we wanted to do.

We finished high school and post-secondary.  We landed our first job and bought our first house.  We got married and had children. 

And then we threw all the balls up in the air and juggled until we ran out of breath. 

We love our family.  And we feel lucky to have our health.  But it seems that more and more people are waking up around 40 and thinking... is there something else I should be doing for me?  

The job pays the bills.  The cooking fuels the family.  But should I be training for a marathon?  Should I start growing my own organic garden?  Should I travel to a country I’ve never seen before?  Should I make the leap into a career that lights my fire instead of one that burns the midnight oil?

But where do we start?  By reading a book on a subject we love?  Seeing a movie that everyone is talking about?  Or running down the street, not for a jog but, to see how far we can go?

Life is what happens when you are making other plans.

So why not start making life a part of the plan?  And jump in a puddle once in a while.

One in five Canadians suffer from mental illness

I recently heard that one in five Canadians suffer from mental illness but there is a stigma in talking about it.

When someone is diagnosed with diabetes they get insulin.  If it’s cancer, they go through chemotherapy.  But I wonder what the screening process and treatment is for mental illness? 

Could it be that mental illness exists on a spectrum and most of us suffer from it at different degrees during our lives?

Some of us have a huge amount of anxiety.  Others are obsessive-compulsive.  There are those whose depression shows itself through angry outbursts.  Or new moms who are struggling to feel happiness through their exhaustion.  And what about addiction?  Is that an illness of the mind?

Maybe some people are able to function with their mental affliction while others cannot cope due to genetics or lack of emotional support or any number of reasons.

Who decides when a person’s behaviour is “acceptable” or when they have a “mental illness?”  Who decides what is “normal?”  I know there might be obvious cases when someone is committing crimes or not able to take care of themselves, but what about those whose illnesses are less noticeable? 

I’m starting to think that we’re all more alike than different and that if we can start a conversation sharing that thought, the stigma of mental illness might be diminished.

Maybe mental health screening needs to be part of our annual medicals.  Then perhaps psychological counselling or endorphin-producing foods or natural alternatives or medication could be discussed as part of keeping our minds, bodies and spirits healthy.   Rather than as a fix when the problem has interrupted lives.