Category: Your Best Life

Life, Motivation, personal growth, Positivity, Writing, Your Best Life

Stay Busy and Carry On

katjorgensen

Most of us are staying in place and practicing social distancing, washing our hands and not touching our faces. Working from home. Practicing new daily routines. But what else are you doing?

In times such as these it’s easy to let yourself be a target for fear and anxiety. None of us knows how long the pandemic will last, not even the experts. So what can you do to keep yourself positive?

First, I think this is an excellent opportunity to use our time wisely. Is there something you’d like to study or do that you simply haven’t had time to do before now? Or do you have a hobby you’ve been neglecting or one you’d like to take up? Go for it.

Or maybe you’d just love to have time to kick back and relax. Read more books. Garden. It’s spring in the Western Hemisphere and everything is starting to bloom. Now is a great time to get outside and work in your flower garden. Or maybe plant a food garden. Or take a walk. Spend quality time with your family if you are fortunate enough to be quarantined with them.

If you live alone, make sure you are staying in touch with others daily via social media, emails, and video chats. Loneliness can lead to depression and that’s something none of us needs to deal with on top of all of our other challenges right now.

As for me, I’m using this time to write. I’ve finished my second book in The River City Mysteries and have moved on to writing the third book in the series. I hope to have all of the books for sale sometime this summer.

I would really love to have you subscribe to both my blog and my writing newsletter. Newsletter signup can be found on this website’s home page. Right now, you have to go out of the website and sign back into katjorgenseauthor.com for the subscribe button to appear. I’m working on that. I will never share your email and you will hear from me about writing related things – new releases, contests, giveaways and inside scoops.

The Mona Lisa and I are both wearing our masks for the times when we do have to be out and about. I encourage you to do the same. Stay well, Stay safe. Be kind to one another. Think about a donation to a food bank to ensure those less fortunate have food. Or find other ways to donate to our first responders, healthcare workers, and those on the front line. We are all in this together.

Life, Motivation, Your Best Life

Life Begins at the End of Your Comfort Zone

katjorgensen

Are you complacent? Are you living in a comfort zone where you aren’t stretching yourself to be the best that you can be?

Too often we get in a rut and accept where we are as where we need to be. But by doing that we don’t grow and we don’t push ourselves. Being comfortable is easy. To stretch forces us to grow, learn and be more than we are.

I really try to push my comfort boundaries. To try new things. Perhaps it’s just a new way of doing something familiar. Or perhaps it’s trying something totally unfamiliar. Whatever it is that I do, I usually am much better off for having tried it.

The first step of any new endeavor is tough. We might fail. We might make fools of ourselves. Or we might just succeed. And how great would that feel?

Get out of your comfort zone and reach for something new and exciting.

Life, Your Best Life

Enjoy the Little Things

katjorgensen

Time goes by so fast.  We work hard all week.  The weekends disappear in a blur if we’re not careful.  Any many of us get so caught up in jobs and errands that we don’t stop and enjoy life.

Do you take the time to notice a sunrise or a sunset?  The smell of a baby after a bath?  Dew on the grass or flowers in bloom?  Or just nature in general?  

Do you have a hobby?  If not, I encourage you to consider finding one.  Yoga, running, knitting or some other type of handwork, photography, playing with a pet, painting or drawing.  

The ideas are endless.  And most are free or minimal cost.  Something that will allow you to downshift from the daily grind.  To destress.  To renew yourself.  We give and give so much of ourselves that we need to find time to refill our well with the things that will give us pleasure.

All you need to do is schedule the time on your calendar to relax.  Make it as important as any appointment or committiment.  Because it is.  It’s important to your health and well-being.  

Since I’ve started taking regular time to pause and enjoy the little things, I’m less stressed and definitely happier.  And I think if you try it, you will be too.  What do you have to lose?

Life, Motivation, Your Best Life

Never a Failure; Always a Lesson

katjorgensen

We’re human.  We’re going to make mistakes. I have to admit it. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes and failed many times in my life.  In all areas of my life.  

But I know one thing.  I’ve always learned lessons from my mistakes. And those lessons have been invaluable in my life.  They’ve made me a better and stronger person.  I’m proud of who I am and what I’ve learned along the way.  Will I continue to make mistakes?  Sure, I will.  But hopefully, I will continue to learn as I go through life. 

When we learn from our mistakes, we do better the next time.  We only fail when we ignore things and continue to plod through life without learning and growing.  

Life lessons are some of the best lessons.  They may not feel like it at the time, but they are.  Don’t resist learning from your mistakes.  Don’t be too proud to learn either.  Embrace the mistakes in your life and determine how you could have approached things differently.   Live your best life.

Life, Motivation, Your Best Life

Enjoy the Child Within You

katjorgensen

Have you ever seen people who truly look older than their years? They seem to embody all things ancient. Their attitude has impacted how they look, feel and act.

I’ve seen some fifty and sixty somethings look and act far older than some eighty and ninety year olds.

They’ve forgotten how to tap into that playful spirit that lives within all of us. Life has turned into a number for them. A drudgery. They’ve lost their zest for living – and playing.

My father was in his fifties when a group of neighborhood children knocked on our door and asked my mother if my father could “come out to play.” You see, he was always able to tap into his inner childlike spirit. He enjoyed people of all ages. But the children were especially dear to him. He loved to entertain them with endless stories and inspired them to tap into their imaginations. He enjoyed teaching them things and helping them with problems. He never stopped learning and doing. And he never looked or acted old until his health got the better of him in his nineties.

I suggest that we all try to tap into our inner child and encourage him or her to come out and play and lighten our load. Show us how to play again, if we’ve forgotten. Get us to relieve some stress and enjoy our lives. Add balance to the daily work schedule and massive to do items that surround us.

Find a creative hobby that feeds your soul and makes you light up from the inside out. Blow bubbles. Take a walk in the woods or a park. Play with a child and see the world from their perspective. The ideas are only limited by your imagination.

Don’t act old before your time. Enjoy your life. And enjoy the child within you.

Life, Motivation, Writing, Your Best Life

Time For Change

katjorgensen

It’s a new month. Are you making important changes to your life yet in this new decade?

Or are you complacent? Content with your lot in life. I hope not.

Change can be scary. People like their routines. They are familiar. And comfortable. But we need to constantly push ourselves in new directions to be our best selves and to live fully.

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

This year I’m resurrecting my writing career. I put it on hold seven years ago when I lost my husband after a very brief illness. Life descended on me. Suddenly I was in charge of keeping everything going. Talk about pushing me out of my comfort zone. But I did what I needed to do, and I learned a lot. However, there was no time to write. Only to do. To stay afloat.

But now I’m ready to stretch myself again with my writing. Yes, it’s scary. I’m rusty. Really rusty. Technology has moved forward in those seven years and things which were once fairly familiar to me have changed drastically. It’s a learning curve to get back up to speed. New writing packages. New ways of reaching readers. New resources which weren’t available years ago. It can seem daunting at times. But it’s also exciting.

Don’t let your fears sideline you. You are capable of achieving your dreams and desires. But you have to be willing to try.

If these last seven years have taught me one thing it is the fact that none of us are guaranteed the next moment. Life changes in the blink of an eye, the sigh of a breath. Why live a life of less than you deserve or want? Decide what will push you out of the familiar and into uncharted waters. Take that first step. Then push yourself further. It all starts with a dream. And idea. A goal. You can do it.

I challenge you today to make a commitment to yourself to try something new or to pick up something you put aside and give it another go. Don’t be satisfied with where you are in life. Reach for your dreams.

Life, Motivation, Your Best Life

Resilience from a Survivor

katjorgensen

I’m a survivor. Over my life I’ve faced a lot of challenges. Loss of loved ones. Divorce. Disappointments. Serious illnesses, including both endometrial and breast cancer. I’m not saying any of this to garner sympathy. It simply is what it is. At any point it would have been very easy for me to give up. But I didn’t. I’m still standing. And I’m happy to say I’m resilient. And I want you to be too.

So what is the meaning of resilience? The dictionary defines resilience as someone who is able to recover or adjust to misfortune or change.

Life is full of challenges. Choosing a career. Meeting a life partner. Having a family. Children. Taking care of aging relatives. Relocations. Downsizing. Losing a job. Changing careers. Losing someone you love. The list is endless. So how do we weather the storms?

One way is self-care. We should all be practicing self-care. Healthy food. Proper exercise. Restorative sleep. Good hygiene. These are the cornerstones of good self-care. But what about in times of extreme challenge? That’s when you need to up your self-care game. Add in things to compensate for the stress your body is undergoing by whatever challenge or challenges you are currently facing.

Meditation. Massage. A manicure. A new hairstyle. Maybe some retail therapy. A good book and time set aside in your busy schedule to read and relax.

These are but a few extreme self care measures. I’ve used all of them and more. We need to give our bodies a break from the stress.

If money is a problem, what about a long walk in a beautiful setting? Or simply sitting outside and enjoying either a sunrise or a sunset.

Take up a new hobby. Something you’ve always wanted to try, but didn’t have the time to devote to it. Now is the time to make time.

Stress is a contributor to so many diseases – cancer, heart disease, diabetes. It can bring about insomnia, depression, anxiety, panic, or other nervous disorders. The list goes on and on. The Harvard Business Review states that 60-90% of all doctor visits are related in some way to stress. Without a break from the stress, your body can’t withstand the constant attacks. Something will give. You need to find ways of coping. And that’s where extreme self-care comes into play.

I urge you to have great self care now. And to figure out what measures you will take for your extreme self-care – before you find yourself in a situation where you need to put them into play. It’s always better to be be prepared.

I want you to be resilient.

Life, Motivation, Your Best Life

Dream Big

katjorgensen

I’m a huge proponent of Dreaming Big. Set your goals out there beyond your current reach. Stretch yourself. Challenge your abilities. Refuse to limit yourself. Don’t settle for average or less than your very best. You have it in you to go far. To reach what you may have once thought was unattainable.

Write down your five Big Dream goals for 2020. Post them somewhere prominent where you will see them frequently. Imagine how you will feel when you reach your goals. See yourself achieving your desires.

Now decide what small steps you need to take for each of your big goals. Steps which will move you once step closer on your journey to success.

Maybe that means taking a class. Or doing research. Or honing a particular skill. Whatever you decide to do produces forward momentum. Each tiny goal achieved results in a step closer to your big goal. Your Big Dream.

What are you waiting for? Seize the opportunity. Our days are finite. Our dreams are limitless. Why wait another moment? Take that first step today. I guarantee each succeeding step will be easier.

Dream Big. Take the challenge. You won’t regret it. And that’s how we should all live – without regrets.