News
from Getting Clear
Linda Anderson, MA, MCC, SCAC
Featured Article: Turning the Computer Off
Tips, Tools and Wisdom: Saying No to Something
You Tube - Just For Fun: Kaleo the Talking Mynah
Turning the Computer Off
I have mastered a new and rewarding habit. I turn my computer off at night. I'm not sure what finally got me to do this. Perhaps I was partly inspired by my husband, who has steadfastly maintained over the years that turning the computer off at night extends its life. Even though I heard this, I still didn’t turn the computer off.
A few months ago, however, I suddenly realized that a great deal of my life was conducted in an intimate relationship with a two-dimensional object-my super-sexy, thin iMac computer and screen. One day, I looked behind the screen and asked, "But who the heck are you, anyway, and why do we spend so much time together?"
I talk with my clients via telephone throughout the day. I also jot down notes. After the call, I might add a thought or two, and then I send the notes to my clients by e-mail. I also respond to and compose many other e-mails throughout the day, several of which are related to my ADDA board activity. Then there are those e-newsletters to read and numerous topics to research…and let's not forget communicating with friends and family, perusing album pictures, passing along jokes, and forwarding YouTube videos. And then, of course, there is Facebook.
My "Ah-ha!" moment came as a dumb-slap realization. By keeping the computer on at night and then sliding into place in front of it in the morning, it felt as if my life was just one continuous conversation and an open-door invitation for others to come into my space.
In other words, my life was missing the "Refresh" button.
So, one night, after my last client, I turned the computer off. The first night was easy. Over the next few weeks, however, I constantly fought the urge to just leave the computer on overnight.
Several months have passed, and I now know what this one little step has meant to me. Turning off the computer, somewhere between 8:00 and 9:00 pm, has become a demarcation line between work and home life, between others and myself, between not thinking and choosing. It has put a poetic pause in place reminding me that life has many more dimensions that have nothing to do with electronic communications.
When I enter my office in the morning and turn the computer on, I now feel a sense of beginning a new day. It feels great. It feels as if I am choosing this activity rather than the other way around.
Making this one small change now has me wondering what other minor miracles are waiting just around the corner, should I choose to say no, put a stop in place, or just take a breath.
Tips, Tools and Wisdom - Saying No to Something
A realization --When you say no to something, what you say yes to becomes clearer.
You Tube - Just For Fun
- Kaleo the talking mynah is a gem!
Kaleo the talking mynah is a gem!
Wouldn't he be a good companion for my Maine Coon cat? I think they would really like each other. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLlGKhJ4sbs< /A>Watch this one, too! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= bMEccNLXcQc&feature= related < /A>
Turning Challenge into Accomplishment
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