Five Resources To Help You Live Simply and Successfully

 Five Resources To Help You Live Simply and Successfully

Slow Living:
“In some ways, Slow Living offers new language to describe what’s also been called the social and economic transition or living local — the renewed commitment to patient, community-minded and wise economic and social exchange."

“Where Slow Living could differ is in its evolution over the last three years to include a significant emphasis on the role of one’s spirit and inner personal positioning in attempting to “live slow.”

http://www.axiomnews.ca/node/3666

Learning From Patagonia

“We asked Chouinard what he thinks his legacy will be—turns out he "couldn't really care less." But we speculate it will be measured not by what he encourages (be in nature, be personally responsible, simplify) but by what he discourages (buying, spending, polluting). 

“In short, Chouinard wants us to stop being consumers and start being thoughtful global citizens. Below are the six life lessons we learned from the avid explorer.“

https://www.good.is/articles/six-things-we-learned-from-patagonia-s-founder-yvon-chouinardutm_medium=tdg&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=readon&utm_content=Six%20Lessons%20from%20Patagonia%27s%20Yvon%20Chouinard

The High Price of Materialism
I’ve posted Tim Kasser’s great article on this topic before. But this quick video presentation does a great job of getting Tim’s ideas across quickly and effectively.

This animation lays out the problems of excess materialism and points toward solutions that promise a healthier, more just, and more sustainable life. 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201376359633288

Benefits of Walking
I find that I’m much healthier, fitter and more energetic and optimistic when I can get in my regular daliy walks along the seaside path. Now science is finding evidence to support my anecdotal evidence of the benefits of walking (and other exercise).

Walking just 40 minutes a day could seriously benefit your health. Check out these amazing perks to taking a simple stroll around the neighborhood.

http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/8-astonishing-benefits-of-walking

Angela Duckworth On Grit - And How To Get It
 

This slightly longer piece includes a review of Paul Tough’s book How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character and a short video of Andrea Duckworth, the psychologist who coined the term “grit” for passion-driven perseverance, and popularized the amazing results achieved by children and adults who developed grit, and applied it to pursuing what mattered to them.

“Duckworth finds it useful to divide the mechanics of achievement into two separate dimensions: motivation and volition. Each one, she says, is necessary to achieve long-term goals, but neither is sufficient alone. 

“Most of us are familiar with the experience of possessing motivation but lacking volition: You can be extremely motivated to lose weight, for example, but unless you have the volition — the willpower, the self-control — to put down the cherry Danish and pick up the free weights, you’re not going to succeed.

— Paul Tough

What Tough is calling willpower and self control, Duckworth calls “grit.”

https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/09/26/angela-duckworth-grit/ 

You can read more about grit and why it “trumps” IQ on my blog:

http://createwhatmattersmost.blogspot.ca/2013/11/getting-gritty-why-grit-is-much-more.html

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For more about me and my coaching, 

please visit bruceelkin.com 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou

 

Phenomenal Woman
by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.