Hell Yeah!: An introduction

I’ve gotten a couple of signs from the universe lately that I need to stop worrying so much about what I’m not doing and start paying attention to what I am. The first came from our lovely friend Sarah (hi, Sarah!), who commented on a recent post:

2. We can’t be perfect and let not it be the enemy of good. You, and I, do so much more than the average person, we shouldn’t focus on the set backs or the ‘not good enoughs’

I had one of those “Connection!” moments, as Johanna used to say in kindergarten, when something in real life met up with something she’d learned in class. It’s like the lightbulb not only flashes, it pops because of all the power behind it.

The second came from a post by Rowdy Kittens (the only “big” blog I still follow), where she shared this quote:

“Those of us who are lucky enough to live in a world where we have enough and we have a roof and we have food — we find ourselves caught in this cycle of keeping track of the wrong things. Keeping track of how many times we’ve been rejected. Keeping track of how many times it didn’t work. Keeping track of all the times someone has broken our heart or double-crossed us or let us down. Of course, we can keep track of those things, but why? Why keep track of them? Are they making us better?

Wouldn’t it make more sense to keep track of the other stuff? To keep track of all the times it worked? All the times we took a risk? All the times we were able to brighten someone else’s day? When we start doing that, we can redefine ourselves as people who are able to make an impact on the world. It took me a bunch of cycles to figure out that the narrative was up to me.” —Seth Godin

She also posted a mini-action — for her, it was ordering a new gratitude journal. For me, it’s going to be paying attention to successes — literally ANY successes, minimalist, zero waste, kittens, whatever — to acknowledge, to be thankful, and to just …

… Well, maybe change my mindset. I tend to be a pessimist (although I would argue “realist”) and I’m pretty hard on myself. I can forgive others practically anything. I cannot forgive myself that easily. I also have this weird thing where I feel like noting anything good that happens is showing off / bragging / not worth mentioning because you just know the other shoe is going to drop and it’s all going to go away (it’s a fine line between pessimism and being realistic 😉 ).

But I’m 45. The world right now feels bleak. And I’m trying to come to terms with having one kid off to college.

So! “Hell Yeah!” will focus on “the other stuff.” I’m not sure what sort of “impact on the world” this will have (let’s get real) but I can change the narrative, at least in Trishaville.

I know I’m a Tuesday/Friday post kind of girl, but tomorrow I’ll post my Hell Yeah’s, and your assignment for today is to pay attention to your victories so you can share them in the comments.

We’re awesome, you guys. We can totally do this.