Paige Power

  Is it time to check in? Spring is here, 2024 is now one quarter down - three quarters to go. It’s a good time to check in with your annual intentions. Everyone has different goals, and goals don’t have to be set to an annual time frame. When I was working for a large conference center at the height of Covid-19 we would set quarterly goals because it was much too difficult to plan for an entire year when change was the name of the game back then. I found that using a shorter time frame to achieve goals more manageable. Of course, my boss had an annual goal that she expected me to achieve, but she also knew that the top line for sales was going to be hit or miss because of the uncertainty of the meetings industry, which we relied upon for revenue. For me imagining what I could accomplish in three months was easier and more satisfying. I accomplished more because I didn’t allow nine months to trickle by until I began a big project. Procrastination happens. Let’s break dow...

  Spring has arrived, what now? I live in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and we have all four seasons. Oddly the seasons arrive and behave exactly as you would expect. Right now flowers are blooming, it’s warm enough to sleep with the window open, and the sun is setting later. You may wonder why I think the change of seasons is worth remarking upon. I used to live in the San Francisco Bay area and we didn’t experience seasons in the same manner. For most of my adult life, I lived on the coast, we had cold summers and amazing sunny fall weather. I can recall using my heater on the fourth of July because the fog was thick and it was cold, and most Thanksgivings were spent outdoors enjoying the late fall sunshine in our shorts. When I moved from the coast inland I lived in Silicon Valley where it’s about 72 degrees most days with a few winter days colder. The seasonal change is a real eye-opener. I now must schedule activities based on what I think will happen with the weathe...

  How do you handle change? The time changed, and I wasn’t prepared. No doubt this happens all the time. I’m sure plenty of people arrive late for work or school because they overlooked the biannual nightmare of the time change. I’ve never forgotten about a time change before, but I guess it was inevitable since I’m 59 now and work from home, my schedule allows for forgetfulness, thank goodness. I dislike the time change, but I like change in general. I’m always excited by something new or different, although I live my life in a highly routine manner. I get up at nearly the same time each day; I follow a pattern in my day-to-day life so I can accomplish what I need to do promptly. When I vary from my routine I love it, and I also feel frustrated that my routine has been disrupted, even if it felt good to do something different. This year I have to make a few big changes and I’m excited and dreading this. I know I must change my approach to writing. The last attempt I made to...

  How to consider an intentional life. This week my spouse and I are engaged in a one hundred twenty hour fast mimicking diet. So you don’t have to do the math 120 hours is equal to five-days. You’re welcome. We fast occasionally for long periods for different reasons. I decided to fast for five days because I’ve had some digestive issues lately and I want to get control over my life. My spouse fasts more often than I do, he does it because he wants to optimize his health outcomes. While we have different motivations we work together to have a positive experience while we live with the challenge. Full disclosure, we conduct a modified fast based on the macronutrients provided by the information on the Prolon Fasting Mimicking diet website. Essentially we eat a very low-calorie diet (800 calories) and we DIY the diet because I like saving money. It would be easier to buy diet foods, but I can’t see doing that because buying something I can create violates my sense of order in...

  Again I read an article featuring the ludicrous statements of a very wealthy man. In the most recent article a real estate investor/motivational speaker suggested that if he earned $400,000 annually, he would feel shame. For the rest of us who don’t earn $400,000 annually, it's okay, you don’t have to feel shame. The reality in America is that you will be unlikely to earn $400,000 annually. If you are part of the median, you earn somewhere around $74,000 annually. Clearly, there is a big difference between what the motivational speaker has to say and the actual reality of how much the median income is in America. I don’t think shame is a healthy motivator. I can’t imagine going through my day-to-day life feeling ashamed of the money I earn. I can imagine feeling shame if I treated someone poorly, if I was purposeful in hurting someone’s feelings, or if I behaved rudely, even if the person I was rude to deserved it. I don’t get my ego from my earning power nor do I get it fro...