Donut Burnout on Me

Friends,

Burnout. What comes to mind when you hear this word? A poor, tired, unmotivated, self-doubting and cynical soul? (we’ll call her Susan). A conventional lightbulb in need of replacement? A silver Nissan Rogue scorched to a crisp in a trailer park fire? If the latter description fits the bill, you have an oddly specific word association. You’re also envisioning the very vehicle sitting on the bed of the tow truck dispatched to gather my donation of a 2006 Dodge Caravan with a quarter million miles. If, on the other hand, you pictured Susan (or worse, feel like Susan), I’m happy to listen and provide some overly-simplistic—albeit well intentioned—advice. Things like making time for self-care and outdoor physical activity. One great way to do this is to use an app. Sounds stupid, but I must confess I’ve been taking the dogs on longer walks and making my runs a little longer so I can sneak ahead of peers on my employer’s “Step it up” challenge (the ones who don’t appear to be training for marathons, that is —I’m looking at you, Reyah). Another helpful tactic are small rewards, like a donut. Why? Just because!

Happy Friday!

Burnout

Antidote

Comments

Donut Doodle Dandy

Dear Members and Constituents, In trying to figure-out Wednesday’s cool-looking Google Doodle ( Jorge Luis Borges’ 112 th birthday ), I stumbled across a list of Google Doodles you’ll never see. This, and a Rockies game later that day, were sufficient inspiration to get my head spinning around what other doodles Google might never noodle? I’m sure you’ll probably have a few ideas of your own, but I was able to come-up with a couple. How about a former Colorado Rockies player whose unfortunate encounter with a moth put him in the news this week? The Matt Holliday doodle might look something like this… Another item which, surprisingly enough, has not been made into a doodle are donuts. Although I was slightly taken aback to find this delicious pastry has not been featured, after the initial disappointment, I decided to take matters into my own hands and take a stab at one (perhaps Google can use it next year for national donut day )… or to celebrate Greek police having “ blown a ho...

A Dozen Rules to Live By

Friends, When it comes to the big questions, there are far too many platitudes, truisms, cliches and BS. Bookshelves are lined with so much advice, you’d think we would have answered them all by now. So, why do people keep doing it? I couldn’t tell you. Whatever the reason, here’s one more exploration to add to the interminable list. I’ve left God out of this post, so these “rules” should come in handy whether you believe life has meaning, or you think purpose is just our prefrontal cortex’s way of sabotaging our limbic system. And, since donuts come in dozens, it felt fitting that my list just happens to have twelve rules. Do it! (what are you waiting for?). Life sometimes feels like a dress rehearsal. So much time spent preparing for the future, there’s little time left to actually live life. Habit, routine and inertia have a way of filling the day. Try something new, who knows, you might enjoy it. Don’t overthink it. But, what to do? Give-in to a...

Enchanted Donuts

Friends, Mix equal doses of isolation, adaptation, and time. Add a pinch of random stowaway life forms. Remove predators. The result? An eclectic collection of surprising plants and animals known as the Galápagos Islands. Here, iguanas swim and dive for food, the largest members of the sunflower family grow into 45 foot tall trees, and boulder-sized tortoises blow past the century mark with ease. Frigatebird throats of red, boobie feet of blue, moth-pollinated flowers of white. And, having been granted constitutional rights , sea lions own most park benches in town. Surrounded by an ocean teeming with fish of all shapes and sizes, the only downside of spending time in this remote Ecuadorian province appears to be the complete absence of donut shops. I suppose I too can adapt. Happy Friday!

Friday Donuts

Search This Blog