Just Go For It!
Parenting Tip: Take risks to keep life edgy.
Life is short, so there's no reason to hold back from your dreams, passions, and God-given talents. If you were to die tomorrow, wouldn't you want to know you had given this life your best shot in every area?
If you’ve had Psychology 101, you’ve heard of the term "fight or flight." Put simply, when faced with a threatening situation, you either stay there to fight or you run like hell. I experienced this with surfing a while back.
When a huge set of waves surged in, the response was either to fight it and catch one of the big gnarly waves or to duck-dive under it at the calm point, escaping the thunderous crash. Since I'm not a very good surfer, when faced with a really big wave, I usually just dive under– to be on the safe side. The smaller waves just feel safer to me.
In life though, you sometimes have to stay and fight. Obviously, avoiding imminent danger is a rational choice. But the truth is that many of us shy away from really good opportunities– because they make us nervous or afraid. Running away can feel safer sometimes. But what if by fleeing the scene all the time, you begin to suppress a big part of who you are?
You can't always be an observer. Sometimes you just have to go for it! Those medium-sized waves I do catch make me feel energetic and brave. I’ve had similar feelings while soaring up in a hot air balloon in San Diego, parasailing in Maui, rappelling from boulders in Joshua Tree Park, trekking through the Pyramids in Mexico City, and squeezing through some very strange underground monastery tunnels in Russia.
Taking risks doesn't have to involve life-threatening measures or even take you far from home. Thankfully, you can feel thrilled by playing the drums in a local band. Or taking an online course on the stock exchange. DAY TRADING DIVA has a cool ring to it! But you're too washed up, right? Just a mom who puts diapers on the baby and decides between mac-and-cheese and Hamburger Helper? Whatever! Just go for it, Girl!
What about that beautiful butterfly tattoo you've contemplated for the last decade? Why not now? You could slip on a banana peel or die of an ice cream overdose next week. You never know. So it's time to get a little bit crazy, now, TODAY!
Why not dance your heart out at that upcoming wedding where most people will be too intoxicated to care what you look like anyway? Or even simpler, just give a compliment to that nice person at the drive-through for handing you your coffee with a smile.
Write your best friend a card telling her why you love having her in your life. Leave a note with rose petals telling your spouse that he’s hot. Give your mail carrier a Starbucks gift card on a summer day so she can go and get a Frappuccino during her break. But you’re not really that type– to just give, for no reason. So what, change that today!
Sometimes people just need to be inspired. Your best friend longs to go sky diving but panics at the thought of her parachute not opening. Just text her some local sky diving ads every day for a month until she finally goes, along with some actual statistics about how safe it really is. But that freaks you out… what if she dies and leaves her family? Then you’d be responsible.
All right… give her the schedule for the French cooking class at the junior college instead so she’ll mesh with the locals when she visits Paris someday. Or to mix things up, sign her up for a couple’s massage class to spice up her marriage. Tell her to wrap the schedule in a new pair of thong undies. A trip to the mall anyone?
Next, write out a cool eulogy (ahead of time, obviously). I want my family to describe me as brave, adventurous, and funny. I hope they’ll write something about how I encouraged them to pursue their own dreams too. That’s why I encourage my kids to write their own books, design new game-boards, search the night-sky for new unnamed stars, and invent new gadgets that will someday save moms lots of time and energy.
I hope people remember me as someone who ate gloriously too. Of course as moms, we are usually on a tighter budget than some. Plus we tend to put our kids ahead of ourselves. But that doesn’t mean we can’t head out for Indian or Thai food every once in a while. The kids can eat some white rice with plain chicken and veggies while we devour our favorite curry dish!
Try to live outside the box. Why not run through the rain in your swimsuit to walk down the street to get the mail (at 2Am when no one is up watching you)? Or you could try your hand at property investments because you happen to be great at math– plus, you’re already home a good bit, with time to research.
And another thing, wear what makes you feel amazing! Sometimes we opt for the t-shirt and jeans routine because it's coziest; however, that blue and black shirt with the ruffles adds a bounce to your step. So grab some fun jewelry and some sizzling lip gloss as well.
Now when it comes to hanging out with your significant other, kiss him like you really mean it. Don't make him guess how you feel about him. Even if the kids are freaking out screaming and there’s barely any time for sex, find a little hide-out and smooch– for real, not just a lame kiss on the cheek.
Life is short. As moms, we know this better than anyone, as we observe our kids outgrowing their pants and shoes way too fast. We also see the war wounds of newly present wrinkles and sun-marks on our face. So why wait? Let's GO FOR IT now and encourage others to do the same!
Do one thing for yourself today that celebrates your beauty, giftedness, and passion. One more thing and then I’ll shut up, I swear. Eat your favorite dessert for breakfast tomorrow! Why not? After all, as my middle child likes to say, “YOLO!"
Mommy's Hiding in the Treehouse--- With a Glass of Merlot
For more parenting tips, check out MOMMY'S HIDING IN THE TREEHOUSE, a compilation of humorous parenting essays by Author Dianne Bright. Before delving into fiction, she wrote for Scholastic's Parent & Child magazine and blog. Her first novel, SOUL READER, came out April, 2015.
Life is short, so there's no reason to hold back from your dreams, passions, and God-given talents. If you were to die tomorrow, wouldn't you want to know you had given this life your best shot in every area?
If you’ve had Psychology 101, you’ve heard of the term "fight or flight." Put simply, when faced with a threatening situation, you either stay there to fight or you run like hell. I experienced this with surfing a while back.
When a huge set of waves surged in, the response was either to fight it and catch one of the big gnarly waves or to duck-dive under it at the calm point, escaping the thunderous crash. Since I'm not a very good surfer, when faced with a really big wave, I usually just dive under– to be on the safe side. The smaller waves just feel safer to me.
In life though, you sometimes have to stay and fight. Obviously, avoiding imminent danger is a rational choice. But the truth is that many of us shy away from really good opportunities– because they make us nervous or afraid. Running away can feel safer sometimes. But what if by fleeing the scene all the time, you begin to suppress a big part of who you are?
You can't always be an observer. Sometimes you just have to go for it! Those medium-sized waves I do catch make me feel energetic and brave. I’ve had similar feelings while soaring up in a hot air balloon in San Diego, parasailing in Maui, rappelling from boulders in Joshua Tree Park, trekking through the Pyramids in Mexico City, and squeezing through some very strange underground monastery tunnels in Russia.
Taking risks doesn't have to involve life-threatening measures or even take you far from home. Thankfully, you can feel thrilled by playing the drums in a local band. Or taking an online course on the stock exchange. DAY TRADING DIVA has a cool ring to it! But you're too washed up, right? Just a mom who puts diapers on the baby and decides between mac-and-cheese and Hamburger Helper? Whatever! Just go for it, Girl!
What about that beautiful butterfly tattoo you've contemplated for the last decade? Why not now? You could slip on a banana peel or die of an ice cream overdose next week. You never know. So it's time to get a little bit crazy, now, TODAY!
Why not dance your heart out at that upcoming wedding where most people will be too intoxicated to care what you look like anyway? Or even simpler, just give a compliment to that nice person at the drive-through for handing you your coffee with a smile.
Write your best friend a card telling her why you love having her in your life. Leave a note with rose petals telling your spouse that he’s hot. Give your mail carrier a Starbucks gift card on a summer day so she can go and get a Frappuccino during her break. But you’re not really that type– to just give, for no reason. So what, change that today!
Sometimes people just need to be inspired. Your best friend longs to go sky diving but panics at the thought of her parachute not opening. Just text her some local sky diving ads every day for a month until she finally goes, along with some actual statistics about how safe it really is. But that freaks you out… what if she dies and leaves her family? Then you’d be responsible.
All right… give her the schedule for the French cooking class at the junior college instead so she’ll mesh with the locals when she visits Paris someday. Or to mix things up, sign her up for a couple’s massage class to spice up her marriage. Tell her to wrap the schedule in a new pair of thong undies. A trip to the mall anyone?
Next, write out a cool eulogy (ahead of time, obviously). I want my family to describe me as brave, adventurous, and funny. I hope they’ll write something about how I encouraged them to pursue their own dreams too. That’s why I encourage my kids to write their own books, design new game-boards, search the night-sky for new unnamed stars, and invent new gadgets that will someday save moms lots of time and energy.
I hope people remember me as someone who ate gloriously too. Of course as moms, we are usually on a tighter budget than some. Plus we tend to put our kids ahead of ourselves. But that doesn’t mean we can’t head out for Indian or Thai food every once in a while. The kids can eat some white rice with plain chicken and veggies while we devour our favorite curry dish!
Try to live outside the box. Why not run through the rain in your swimsuit to walk down the street to get the mail (at 2Am when no one is up watching you)? Or you could try your hand at property investments because you happen to be great at math– plus, you’re already home a good bit, with time to research.
And another thing, wear what makes you feel amazing! Sometimes we opt for the t-shirt and jeans routine because it's coziest; however, that blue and black shirt with the ruffles adds a bounce to your step. So grab some fun jewelry and some sizzling lip gloss as well.
Now when it comes to hanging out with your significant other, kiss him like you really mean it. Don't make him guess how you feel about him. Even if the kids are freaking out screaming and there’s barely any time for sex, find a little hide-out and smooch– for real, not just a lame kiss on the cheek.
Life is short. As moms, we know this better than anyone, as we observe our kids outgrowing their pants and shoes way too fast. We also see the war wounds of newly present wrinkles and sun-marks on our face. So why wait? Let's GO FOR IT now and encourage others to do the same!
Do one thing for yourself today that celebrates your beauty, giftedness, and passion. One more thing and then I’ll shut up, I swear. Eat your favorite dessert for breakfast tomorrow! Why not? After all, as my middle child likes to say, “YOLO!"
Mommy's Hiding in the Treehouse--- With a Glass of Merlot
For more parenting tips, check out MOMMY'S HIDING IN THE TREEHOUSE, a compilation of humorous parenting essays by Author Dianne Bright. Before delving into fiction, she wrote for Scholastic's Parent & Child magazine and blog. Her first novel, SOUL READER, came out April, 2015.
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