Book + Friend Bundling
These two guys were my first book club guinea pigs.
I'm on Modern Mrs. Darcy - one of my FAVORITE blogs - talking about my new favorite way to connect with friends and family.
I love to read, but realized I was only finishing one or two books a month. I love connecting with friends and family, but realized recently I was going months without talking to the most important people in my life.
Then, I discovered “temptation bundling.” “Temptation bundling” is linking together two activities — one you should do but maybe avoid or have trouble making time for; and one you love to do but can be easily forgotten among more urgent tasks.
What if I combined my goal of reading more with connecting with family and friends?
Twice a week, I co-host a political podcast with a Republican. I’m a Democrat. This means that twice a week I sit down and engage in political debate with someone who feels very differently than I do on a great many issues.
We start each show the same.
“No shouting. No insults. Plenty of nuance.”
Willingly volunteering for political confrontation is most people’s worst nightmares. It’s certainly my mother’s worst nightmare but I do it willingly because I believe we desperately need more civil discourse in the world. I believe that if we can’t discuss – even debate – the things we feel most passionately about then we are destined to fall for the siren song of rightness ringing in our own ears.
I've tried meditation on and off for years. I've practiced yoga for over a decade so I was familiar with the physical and psychological benefits of mindfulness but always struggled to make it an everyday part of my routine.
Recently, I posted on Facebook that I was trying to stop yelling at my kids. There wasn't one rock bottom moment but there were enough bad days that I woke up one morning and thought, "I'm not going to yell at my kids today." Then, the next day I made the decision and the next and the next. Some days are harder than others but none was harder than that first day.
Malcolm Gladwell, New York Times bestselling author of Blink and The Tipping Point, has a new podcast and I am OBSESSED.
Several months ago, my friend Jessica started raving about float tanks. Jessica - like me raves about all her new discoveries - and she's usually right (ESPECIALLY about Christmas prep). She began describing a sensory deprivation tank filled with 10 inches of body-temperature water and 1000 pounds of salt. You float in the pure dark with no sound for an hour or so. She described as rejuvenating and relaxing.
Sarah Holland