Coffee Talk Tuesday #119

It’s Tuesday! Let’s have a cuppa (or in my case today, a latte) and chat.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that I posted about being busy (shocker) yesterday on facebook. Once a week, I like to go live for a “Monday Minute” which ends up being longer than a minute, but whatever. This week, I talked about being busy, and how my least favorite thing is to hear how busy everyone is all the time. We’re all busy, I get it. It makes me grumpy to hear about it all. the. time. And to talk about it. So, I shared one thing I’ve been doing to be less busy — or to intentionally slow down, do something for myself. Are you in this boat? Do you need to create or find an activity that lets you be not busy for a piece of your day or week? Do you need to recognize that you’ve been so busy that you’re neglecting your goals or interests? Is this your wake-up call? Check out the (very short) video and please add a comment! Let’s keep this conversation going.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that it’s possible for two very busy (eye roll) people to carve out time to have real life coffee together. I know because I just did this early this morning! It’s possible to make time for things and people you care about – and to do what you want to do. I want to share this with the world. My word of the year is “Priority” and I’m constantly looking for ways to prioritize my time to do what I want to do. It’s a daily struggle, but each day that I’m able to accomplish this is a HUGE success. Celebrate the every day!

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that this weekend, I’m participating again in Dance with the Stars. It’s a great event that raises money for Horizons – a summer enrichment experience for local children to build skills and prevent the summer slide. I love our dance style and theme this year — I chose something different than I have ever done for this event before, and it’s super powerful and tells a great story. You might say it’s the Greatest Story, or maybe that’s just me. It includes a battle for power, and a realization that the greatest thing is the show, not the people. Check out our dance promo video and PLEASE make a vote (click on tickets to vote).

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that I’ve been taking more yoga classes, as part of my priority list for 2019. I reached out to someone about a 200 hr training to become certified to teach yoga. I’m really excited about this pathway. I’m also looking at taking yoga from a variety of teachers. Hmu if you want to join me for some yoga classes!

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that I’m feeling overwhelmed with work – my “part-time” job. I’m attempting to complete all of my engagements 1:1 with students, which can yield awesome outcomes and requires a lot more time. I’ve mapped it out to make the deadline, but every second counts while I’m at the schools. This creates a little unnecessary stress, all while trying to coordinate our next college trip to UMBC and stay on top of all the ongoing projects. I’ve been working this job more like a full-time job since I took off days for our trip to Cuba at the beginning of the year, and it’s showing me how much I do not like or want one full-time job.  I like going the extra mile, and it’s almost always worthwhile, but it adds more work for me. I’m working on sharing a post for what to do when you just feel so overwhelmed, a few tactics I’ve been working on, and those that have proven successful for me. Would this help you? Honestly, it’s helped me, so I’m going to share it anyway.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that I got to participate in a really cool event at the high school last week, Challenge Day. It’s a day of truth and full participation with students and adult volunteers. Throughout the day, different activities are planned (all take place in the same room, which for us was the gym) to encourage participants to check in with themselves, look inward, and share real experiences. The most memorable parts of the day: an epic dance party (you know I’m always down for this!), a “cross the line” activity where everyone starts on one side, a statement is read, and if it’s true for you, you cross the line and turn around to look back at those who did not cross the line. This activity was hard, some very real, tough statements were shared (like, cross the line if you have lost one or both parents, cross the line if you have ever experienced the tragic loss of someone by gunshot, cross the line if you have ever felt pressured to do something you know was not right.) Everything stays in the room, but you cannot forget that experience, and it makes you feel so much closer to all involved. Another memorable experience was our small family group time – each adult was paired with 5 students, and each participant in our small family had 2 minutes of uninterrupted time to share “If you really knew me, you’d know that…” and WOW, a lot of truth is shared at this moment. It was awesome and almost relieving to share what’s on your mind, and to have an audience fully engaged. No cell phones at this event! I’m so glad I participated, and that many of my students did as well.

That’s a lot for a little cup of coffee. Until next week! Please check out the Monday video and share a comment AND please vote for us at Dance with the Stars!