Teresa Amabile on Track Your Small Wins to Motivte Big Accomplishments

Watched Teresa Amabile on "Track Your Small Wins to Motivate Big Accomplishments" today via 99u.com



Not only her advice is sound and useful. I am re-posting this video mostly for using her as an inspiration for physical and mental fitness to look forward to when women progress with age. According to wiki, she was born in 1949/1950, so she is in her early 60s.

Truth vs. Usefulness

I love this essay "The Truth Wears Off" by Jonah Lehrer published by New Yorker.

People often equate truth with usefulness, perhaps because we are in America. If we take the view of William James' Pragmatic theory of truth, then perhaps usefulness is the truth.

We often apply ideas we commonly agree as useful, but we do not know for certain what the reason is. For example, "we feel better and are more energized when we spend time outdoors." Is this truth or merely usefulness?

"The truth of an idea is not a permanent property and it does not lie in it. The truth happens to an idea" (William James).

We are in an era of ideas (truths) overload. Some ideas are very true to some people (such as Seth Roberts "Effect of One-Legged Standing on Sleep"), but may seem ridiculous to others. I do not doubt that Seth Roberts one legged standing works for him to achieve better sleep, but many other methods may work just as well.

Focus was important for productivity in the past. It is perhaps essential today, otherwise we will all get lost in the piles of "truths" google search provide us.

Revisiting Midlife Crisis

Almost two years after declaring that my midlife crisis was almost over (On Midlife Crisis), I realized that it is far from over. I am perhaps in the midst of it.

Yesterday, the massacre in Norway, the passing of Amy Winehouse, the continuation of extreme heat and something MrD said that I perceived to be mean,  all of a sudden, I felt this extreme sadness that I could not shake off and I started to cry.

It's that time already

Happy holidays to all!

Time flies. It's that time of year already to do a yearly review.

We continued to walk daily when weather permits, and we added a few kilometers a day from 8 to 12.

Richard continued to play pool every day and started rope skipping. He continued to lose weight. Now he weighs around 160 lbs. This is the weight he will maintain. We measured his height and turned out that he was 6'. At the above weight his BMI would be 21.7.

I added some stretching exercise, and 15 to 20 minutes meditation in the last three months of the year when walking became difficult due to the weather. I continued not smoking.

We continued to eat healthy, which to me is home prepared meal with plenty of vegetables and fruits. Our protein source is mostly from fish. Towards the end of the year, we added some tofu and a little bit of pork. Our carb. comes from pumpernickle bread, plantain and rice. Fat source is from cheese, avocado and walnut for Richard, and avocado and walnut for me. Of course, all nutrients overlap somewhat. there is fat in tofu and protein in cheese and walnut.

We cut off refined sugar in every format, except one chocolate cake (1kg) every two months on average.

We stopped drinking fruit juices all together after reading how fruit juices are processed (Orange juice: basic beverage isn't that simple).

Are we caloric restricted? Not by very much, anywhere between 0 to 20%. However, I have achieved my goal when BMI is concerned, which is at 18.8.

At the beginning of the year, we wanted to put in some house plants into the apartment. We started with 3 Mother in law's tongue (which survived three months without any care). Now we have 13. The ones we added include:

1 English ivy
6 Money Plants
1 peace lily
1 Christmas cactus
1 Madagascar jasmine

Out of all these, the Madagascar Jasmine was the most expensive and probably hardest to care for.

Richard continued his bible study.

I read and studied health and longevity related articles and becoming increasingly convinced that living till or beyond 100 is very achievable.

We started to host our own blog, which you can find at www.instead-of-wishing.com.

On the living space, we started the year by finishing Sanya home and just continued on. We started purely to beautify our living environment. However, this year seemed to have more weather related disasters on buildings than ever. We were one of its victims. So we fixed whatever damages done to us and tried our best to stay one step ahead; do what we could in order to prevent future disasters.

Anger Kills

On our kitchen wall, Richard posted a saying (do not remember from whom) to remind himself how to act in negative situations:

Between stimulus and response there is a space.

In that space lie our freedom and power to choose our response.

In those choices lie our growth and our happiness.

I say that in that space, one should time travel to the future, something like 10 years. If you can laugh at the stimulus of this moment 10 years from now, you will choose your response more wisely.

One of today’s CBC news (Montreal road rage victim dies) is a great example of some people who did not apply the above wisdom and it cost one human life.

It's that time already

Happy holidays to all!

It is this time of the year when every one reflects what one has done for the year.

We replaced the last segment of the cast iron pipe in our building, in doing so Richard broke his leg, which turned out to be good luck after all. While learning how to walk again, we discovered the pleasure of walking. We now walk 8 kilometers a day along the St. Lawrence River every evening when weather permits; 3 kilometers in bad weather. Next year we will continue to do the 8 km walk in the evening and would like to add a 3 km walk in the morning.

I started blogging as a way of observing my own thoughts. In the process, we have set our course for the next 40 years for Richard and next 56 years for me. We are also implementing steps towards Epicurean way of simple life or Jerome K. Jerome’s simple pleasures. I will continue to blog next year first as a tool to find out what I think and then to monitor my thinking.

Richard is playing pool every day as a physical and mental discipline. He will continue to do so next year.

Richard has also joined the gym and lost 15 to 20 pounds in the course of three months. He will continue to go to the gym next year and will exercise in a way to maintain his current weight, which is 180 lbs for 6’2” height.

We have cut out sugar in our coffee. Richard has also cut out coffee for a couple of months, but we have decided that drinking 2 to 3 cups of black coffee a day are more helpful than harmful.

We always eat a lot of vegetables. This year, we have consumed more fruits than ever. We practically have an apple a day, but have also eaten tons of grapes, raspberry, blueberry, etc.

Meditation continued to be difficult for me. I tried and failed to form a habit to meditate daily. I will try again next year. Richard reads his Daily Bread (a Christian program) and following its program to read the bible cover to cover in a year.

I quit smoking since August 17 and will evaluate its merit next year. Side effects of quitting smoking includes weight gain of 12 lbs (12.5% weight gain), which helps my appearance; but hinders my agility.

We did some Lian Gong in 18 forms (type of exercise to combat modern forms of stress caused by bad posture, structure and balance) and will try to form a habit next year.

Richard kayaked several times in the summer with a friend and will do more next year.

On Midlife Crisis

I think that almost everybody goes through midlife crisis, but academics disagree. They believe that only 10% of the population who go through age-related midlife crisis. Of course, it all depends how you define midlife crisis. To me, midlife crisis is a period of dramatic self-questioning, as a result of sensing the passing of youth and realization of the imminence of old age and mortality.

I do not think that one has to go through the symptoms of the followings as described by Wikipedia to be considered having midlife crisis:

Abuse of alcohol
Conspicuous consumption
Depression
Blaming themselves or their spouses for their failures
Paying special attention to physical appearance
Entering relationship with younger people

I believe that the above symptoms are the results of failing in dealing with midlife crisis.

Again, I believe that majority of people go through midlife crisis. Those who are successful at it will become wise. They attain wisdom after a period of dramatic self-questioning. Those who fail experience the above symptoms.

I started my serious self-questioning about two years ago. Now, I am very close to getting over the midlife crisis and have not had any of the above symptoms. Wow!

The missing ingredient for success – plan of action

In the previous two blogs (Is it harder to attain success than to maintain it?, Self discipline – 2nd most important aspect of success), I have outlined that the most important aspect for success is to continuously set goals and the 2nd most important one is to have self discipline.

Some people might say “But, but you did say anything about the how.”
As the saying goes when the why becomes clear, the how is not important as it will come automatically.

In other words, if your goal is clear and definite and you have the self discipline not to sway from your goal, then the plan of action will come to you sooner or later.

According to Maxwell Maltz (author of Psycho-Cybernetics), we all have a “Success Mechanism” built into us. However, this mechanism must have a clear-cut goal, objective, or “problem” to work upon. Your plan of action will come forth if you think about your clear-cut goal often. You should not wait to act until your plan of action is perfect. Do not be afraid of making mistakes or discouraged by temporary setbacks. Instead you improve upon your plan of action through trial and error.

We begin with a goal in mind, an end to be achieved. Do you have a clear picture of where you want to be in 5, 10, 20 and 50 years from now? If not, work on it now and this is only the first step towards a fulfilled life.

The delicate balance between feeling safe and vulnerable

native Sanya boy getting coconuts

We all want to feel safe and secure. Yet you can feel imprisoned in your own security. Wanting too much security can limit freedom of movement. Remaining vulnerable is an essential ingredient so we can experience all possibilities of life.

And sometimes feelings of safety could be just feelings, illusionary rather real. One example illustrates the danger of illusionary safety is how Richard broke his ankle.

Richard has been doing some renovation related work on a wobbly ladder for years. One day this summer, he bought a sturdy ladder with wide foot steps. First time he was up, it felt so secure, he forgot that he was on a ladder and stepped sideways. Sure enough, he felt down 6 feet and broke his ankle. With the wobbly ladder, he always knew that he was on a ladder and felt vulnerable. Therefore, he stayed alert and was safe.

Are you safe? Is your security real or illusionary?

Keep your mind open

According to Beau Lotto, all creatures, from honeybees to humans, came to see the world not as it is, but as what proved useful. If you believe in what he demonstrates, keeping your mind open should enable you to see way more.

I am a firm believer of this concept when it comes to opportunities. For those whose mind is open, they see opportunities everywhere. For those others whose mind is closed, they see obstacles instead.

To keep one’s mind open, you have to be willing to put yourself in a vulnerable situation, which is very scary sometimes. Therefore, I am using the Daily Reminder, which is like a personal mantra, to help centering myself and to believe that the universe is benevolent and abundant. Once you have aligned yourself with the positive energy of the universe, you can then see and seize opportunities that come along the way.

Today, we bought a few shares of U.S. stocks that pay about 7% dividend in average. It is true the value of stocks could go down in short term. I do not believe that the value will go down in 8 year, which is about a full economic cycle. We are going to keep these stocks for 8 years or more, therefore, I see today’s purchase as a great opportunity seized to park your cash in high yield investment (7% versus 1% in savings account).

Another point I wish to add here for future reference. According to gurufocus.com, as of today, the Total Market Index is at $ 11067.6 billion, which is about 78.2% of the last reported GDP. The market is therefore considered fairly valued. In our case with real estate, we only bought fairly valued properties and still did very well.

Self Discipline – the 2nd most important aspect of success

In my last blog “Is it harder to attain success than to maintain it?”, we have established that it is equally hard to maintain success as to attain it. There is no standing still. Success is a continuous journey, as Einstein said it: “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.”
We have also pointed out that the most important aspect of success is to continuously set and re-set goals. However, setting these goals was not enough. We have to work on them.

Therefore we bring about the 2nd most important aspect of success, self discipline or the ability to delay gratification. Unfortunately, it seems that only one third of pre-school children have been taught this skill as illustrated by the video of Joachim de Posada from TED talks “Don't eat the marshmallow yet”.

How do we achieve self discipline?

There are many different ways to help us to achieve self discipline. One way of achieving self discipline is to intelligently cultivate our mind so that only intended actions will spring forth.

Then, we have to remind ourselves our goals constantly. On our way to our destination, there are many distractions we encounter. We must constantly remind ourselves where we are going in order not to get lost. The first emperor of China had himself reminded every day that his destiny was to unite China. So he was able to do unpleasant tasks that were needed to achieve his destiny.

Right now, my focus is health. So I have my Daily Reminder, which is to deal with stress. Then I have a list of daily routines that I tick off after I accomplish each one.

Hope you enjoy reading this article.

Is it harder to attain success than to maintain it?

When it comes to success, most people believe that it is harder to attain it than to maintain it. I believe that it is equally hard to maintain it as to attain it. You can find examples in people who succeed young and hear how often they become dependent on drugs to keep up with their success. Michael Jackson exemplifies how hard it is to maintain one’s success. Another example you can find is from people who lose weight successfully just to gain back a few months down the road. It is not that easy to maintain success.

As Richard St. John said it, “Success is not a one way street. Success is a continuous journey.”

Most people whether consciously or unconsciously know this. Therefore, the fear of success kicks in. If you do not succeed, there would not be any pressure to maintain the success. The fear of failure is pretty much the same thing. If you do not succeed, you cannot fail. It is like; if you do not take the test, you cannot fail. You can go through adult life without taking any tests.

How do we then, overcome the fear?

One way to do it is to not focus on the success. We focus instead on what we want to do. If you love to do something, it is enjoyable even if you do it poorly. After doing it over a long period of time, you probably get very good at it, and success comes eventually. However, it is not easy to find out what one loves to do most. So far, I do not think that I have found out my singular passion yet.

Do not despair. If you are like me, focus instead on what you do not want to do. I know absolutely for sure that I do not want to go to work (work in this sense is defined as 9 to 5 on salary or wage). In order not to work, I had to work (and convince my companion to do the same) intensively for 7 years. We both remembered clearly the conversation in the early 90s’. I said to Richard that we should work for 7 to 10 years and save $100,000 and buy a small cottage in the country and an old truck. We would then make our living selling some kind of crafts. So far we have achieved more than what we have set out to do. Richard quit his work in 2002 and I quit mine in 2003. We are living in a semi-country setting and Richard drives a relatively new truck. I am selling beaded jewelry through C-Cassia. January to March every year, we leave Montreal to stay in tropical Sanya in China. Last year, we took a week detour in San Francisco and will do the same this year.

It is possible to do what you do not want to do as long as there is a time span, in my case it is 7 years. Most children know that. How many of them like to do what their parents tell them to do? They do them because they know (think) once they leave home they can do whatever they want.

We are now living our dream life because the goal we set in the past. Our new goal right now is to form habits that will allow us to live healthy and gracefully, which I shall talk about it another time.

Therefore, my conclusion is that the most important aspect of attaining and maintaining success is to continuously set and re-set goals.

My money story

Every one has a money story. Looking at mine, I find that there are a set of principles I adhere. It evolves over time. Here they are:

1. Your happiness about the amount of money you make should be based on the absolute level you set on yourself.

Every time you make money, it usually involves another party (other parties). Ask yourself whether you are happy with the amount and be done with it. Do not compare with others. For example, let’s say that you invested $100,000 in a business venture and you are making 15% return a year and you are happy with it since it is the best you could find at the moment. Then, you find out that the other 5 partners are making 25% return a year. A lot of people would be angry about the situation and feel totally ripped off. It is not a good idea. Instead you should ask yourself whether you could get better return at the same risk level. If not, leave your investment in the same venture and congratulate the others for the amazing return. If you could find a better return at the same risk level, then you should look for ways to get out of this venture.

Another example is about your salary. Just because someone else doing the same thing as you in a job is making more than you do does not justify your grudge against your co-worker or the company. This happened to me while I was working in Germany in a warehouse. So I asked this girl who was making 1 Deutsch Mark per hour more than me whether I could disclose her when I went to ask for a raise. In that case, she did not mind and I got a raise. Another girl who made less than me used my case, but did not get a raise. Nevertheless, she was still quite happy with how much she got paid. My suggestion in this situation is to go ask for a raise (do not disclose names if nobody has given you permission to do so) anyway, but evaluate your happiness based on your own situation at the moment only. If this happens to you often, then you should really ask yourself whether something in you that attracts people who take advantage of you.

2. You don’t have to recoup losses the same way you lose them.

Tim Ferriss wrote this on his blog (click here). I also copied and pasted here:

“I own a home in San Jose but moved almost 12 months ago. It’s been empty since, and I’m paying a large mortgage each month. The best part? I don’t care. But this wasn’t always the case. For many months, I felt demoralized as others pressured me to rent it, emphasizing how I was just flushing money away otherwise. Then I realized: you don’t have to make $ back the same way you lose it. If you lose $1,000 at the blackjack table, should you try and recoup it there? Of course not. I don’t want to deal with renters, even with a property management company. The solution: leave the house alone, use it on occasion, and just create incoming revenue elsewhere that would cover the cost of the mortgage through consulting, publishing, etc.”

3. Do not involve close friends and family members in your business ventures.

Friends and family members have different expectations from you and vice versa, involving them in business ventures could creative conflict of interests.

Sorry, I cannot elaborate more on this subject.

4. Do not lend money to friends or relatives

You are not a bank. It is not your responsibility to lend out money. This is something I have to learn hard way. However, if you can afford it, consider giving money to friends or relatives in distress.

5. Only spend the “fresh money”

I designate my money into two pools, old money and fresh money. Money that is mine for 3 months and older is considered “old money”, which is allocated for investment only. Fresh money is used for daily expenses and discretionary spending.

This is a principle evolved over time and is applicable now as I am more secure financially and have minimum need to save.

6. Give away money

Set aside 5 to 15% of your net income annually to give away to charities. Yes, you do get income tax credit and satisfaction in giving. Most importantly, it is part of exercises in maintaining your wealth. Wealth, like success, is not that easy to obtain, nor is it easy to maintain. Giving is an essential part of wealth and success. In addition, it is much better to give some money away to causes you believe in than to be taken away from you.

7. Abundance is easy.

Abundance is easy and available to everyone in a developed country. You simply spend less than you make. In the end of year, if I have a surplus, I have abundance.

People who make $40,000 a year and spend only $32,000 have more abundance than people who make $80,000 a year and spend $90,000.


C-Cassia

As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he

"You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you." - by James Allen

Why anyone would expose one’s thoughts to the public? That is the counter argument of those who are against blogging. Why indeed?

As for myself, the sole reason I blog is because I do not believe that I can hide my thoughts even if I want to.

James Allen explains it better in “As a Man Thinketh”: the aphorism, "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he," not only embraces the whole of a man's being, but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance of his life. A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts….

Since what I think manifests my whole character, I should at least try my best to watch my thoughts.

Therefore, blogging in this sense serves as some sort of a tool for personal growth. More accurately perhaps blogging acts like a mirror that reflects his/her thoughts.


C-Cassia

The Science of Getting Rich

I would like to remind myself of this book "The Science of Getting Rich" by Wallace D. Wattles. The following is the summary:

There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which in its original state permeates, penetrates and fills the inter-space of the universe.

A thought in this substance produces the thing that is imaged by the thought.

A person can form things in his thought, and by impressing his thought upon the formless substance can cause the thing he thinks about to be created.

In order to do this, a person must pass from the competitive to the creative mind, otherwise he cannot be in harmony with the formless substance, which is always creative and never competitive in spirit.

A person may come into full harmony with the formless substance by entertaining a lively and sincere gratitude for the blessings it bestows upon him. Gratitude unifies the mind of individual with the intelligence of substance so that the person’s thoughts are received by the formless.

A person can remain upon the creative plain only by uniting himself with the formless intelligence through a deep and continuous feeling of gratitude.

A person must form a clear and definite mental image of things he wishes to have, to do or to become, and he must hold his metal image in his thought while being deeply grateful to the supreme that all his desires are granted to him. A person who wishes to get rich must spend his leisure hours in contemplating his vision and in earnest thanksgiving that the reality is being given to him.

Too much stress cannot be laid upon the importance of frequent contemplation of the mental image, coupled with unwavering faith and devout gratitude. This is the process by which the thought is given to the formless and creative forces set in motion.

The creative energy works through the established channels of natural growth, and of the industrial and social order. All that is included in his metal image will surely be brought to the person who follows the instructions given above and whose faith does not waver. What he wants will come to him through the ways of established trade and commerce.

In order to receive his own when it is ready to come to him, a person must be in action in a way that causes him to more than fill his present place. He must keep in mind the purpose to get rich through realization of his mental image. And he must do, every day, all that can be done that day, taking care to do each act in a successful manner. He must give to every person a use value that is in excess of the cash value he receives, so that each transaction makes for more life, and he must hold the advancing thought so that the impression of increase will be communicated to all with whom he comes into contact.

The men and women who practice the forgoing instructions will certainly get rich, and the riches they receive will be in exact proportion to the definiteness of their vision, the fixity of their purpose, the steadiness of their faith, and the depth of their gratitude.


C-Cassia

Recharging

In the journey of self improvement, I tried to observe my own thoughts. However, in the last few days, my thoughts are chaotic and clouded. Actions are kept at minimum. You can say that I look and act somewhat depressed.

We have reached a point where we have envisioned ourselves to be. We have a place to stay, food to eat, no debt and have savings. In other word, we have simple comfortable life money can buy without ever having to work for anyone else for the rest of our life.

So why am I feeling down?

Some people might say that it is only normal that we have ups and downs. When we are down we needed to be re-charged like those batteries.

Batteries are recharged with electricity. How do we get re-charged? The followings are some of things I used to do:

1) Take a vacation.
2) Change hair style/color
3) Stay in bed
4) Read something interesting
5) Watch a movie

This time I watched a video clip of John Maeda on simplicity from TED talks, which lifted me up a lot.


C-Cassia

My daily routine

St Lawrence River

My daily routine:

- Get up at 7:30 a.m.
- Have Aloe Vera jell, rolled oats, raw almonds & Vitamin B for breakfast.
- Go for a walk along the river for an hour or so.
- Open the store at 10:00 a.m.
- Sit in front a mirror and cite my Daily Reminder.
- Take a nap till 12:30 p.m.
- Have lunch (cold meal: salad, cheese/ smoked salmon, bread or soup)
- Mind the store while Richard plays his pool (100 balls).
- Richard takes a nap.
- Have supper at 6:00 p.m. (a hot meal with seafood/fish and vegetables)
- Drink a coffee without sugar (Richard is one step ahead of me, he drinks his coffee black)
- Go for a walk along the river for 2 hours.
- Take a shower.
- Sit around in the garden for an hour or so.
- Go to bed at 12:00 a.m.

I consider not working for other people a form of freedom and privilege. In order to keep my status of having the freedom and privilege, I realize that I have to keep a rigid schedule.

It sounds contradictory that you must discipline yourself in order to have freedom. I always thought that freedom is the ability to act according to one’s own will, which in my younger years was interpreted as to do whatever I liked. I definitely do not like to get up early in the morning. If it is left entirely up to “me”, I like to sleep in till noon and stay up all night until 3:00 a.m. At one time of my life, I literally reversed night with day. I stayed up all night till 7:00 a.m. and slept all day till 4:00 p.m., and realized that nothing good came out of it. Both my mental and physical health deteriorated.

As I grew older, I slowly discovered that there are a few parts of “me” and they do not always think in sync. One part of me would like to stay healthy for sure. The easiest way to stay healthy is to form healthy habits. Habits are formed by repeating a routine day after day.

Hence, the daily routine has started.

Sooner or Later

Richard Mark Didsbury & Ping Chen

I know that my husband and I are in the minority, which is that we do not depend on somebody offering us a job to live. And saying it out loud in this environment when unemployment is high and people are losing money will sound insensitive. Still, it is something everybody has to learn how to do it sooner or later. Most people retire at around age 65. In addition, this blog is to help organize and cultivate my own thoughts.

Even though we do not work for any one else, we do not like to label ourselves retired, not because we are not at the age of retirement. I believe that the concept of retirement can get one in trouble. Retirement means that you no longer work. In my mind, if your whole or partial income derives from savings invested, you still work. You have to work on your money, which involves thinking about, checking on and changing your investment strategy. A lot of people get into trouble, when they let go control of how their retirement savings are invested.

I am not defending criminals who commit fraud and I do sympathize with people who have lost money in this manner. On the other hand, if you have ever hired anybody and the person stole from you, do you ask yourself whether you have made a bad judgment or somehow your system has aided this type of behavior? When it comes to your money, you should ask the same thing.

We know we are on our own; we do not depend on, nor do we wish to be employed for our living. We live on a pool of income – apartment rentals, sales of my artisan beaded jewelry (c-cassia) and dividend from stock equity. We are constantly working on every single source of income. We do not do a perfect job, but all the mistakes are our own. We learn from and improve upon our mistakes. To achieve maximal freedom is to put all the responsibility on our own shoulders, therefore, is to live a self-disciplined life.

You need what you have got

columbine flower

During the good times, people tell you that you need to put cash away for three months living if you lose your job. During bad times like now, some will tell you that you need the cash to live for two years.

A lot of people also ask how much money they need to retire. My answer is that you need what you have got. If you’ve got a lot you still need more. If you’ve got a little, you still live. We make do what we’ve got.

The purpose is to achieve balance of your mental state. You need to worry some about your finances. But once a while, you should let go and release the burden.

Photo: a columbine flower from the garden with a few asparagus leaves makes a nice cut flower with no extra cost.

c-cassia

To be, or not to be an idler

my small garden with a creek

"Every man is, or hopes to be, an idler."
Samuel Johnson "Selected Essays (Penguin Classics)"

That being said, I myself am always struggling to have a balance of wanting to be an idler, and not getting bored. Beading and Gardening for me are the perfect tools to achieving that goal. Whenever boredom sets in, I either play with beads or do gardening. Beading takes more focus, so it is better form of meditation. However, once a piece of jewelry is finished, it is final. You can no longer add or take away components, unless you cut it up and start all over again. A garden is never finished in a sense. There are always weeds you have to dig up, plants becoming way too invasive that you need to control or those that have grown too big you have to divide them. Of course, there are other creatures that live in your garden that you have to think about how to control them so they do not do too much harm to your plants. On days when there is nothing for you to do, you can still observe the progress of things growing and enjoy the flowers. We made a tiny creek in our garden so it is absolutely amazing to hear the sound of the water running while enjoying the sun.

Playing with beads (c-cassia.com) brings me in a little bit of income. Gardening so far only costs money. Now, if only I can grow my own vegetables that will offset the expense. Our garden is very small (see the picture). Temporally, it is not feasible to grow vegetables yet (only because I do not want to sacrifice the flower garden). We are constantly thinking of a way so that we can have a bigger garden.