It’s Sunday morning at 7:13am.
I wanted to work out today but this cold is… not kicking my ass but being a drag. I miraculously stopped dripping yesterday and today I’m fine but I feel this 8lb weight sitting on my chest. Or, it’s a lock that’s keeping my heart from stretching. It’s constraining. And the junk I keep spitting out. Bleah.
But it’s not horrible and I don’t get sick often and I’ll take a… when did this start? Wednesday afternoon. I’ll take a 4 day light sickness that forces me encourages me to rest and gets me to obey my body.
It’s compassion!
I’ve actually been very pleased with my resolutions new habits this year with my word.
So no energetic cardio for me this morning. I did my Hinge Health stretches for 10m, pulled a card (Stagnation – not thrilled but accepting it), and did my Calm meditation with Jeff this morning. I rather liked it.
<break time for walking upstairs to wake G up because his alarm was blaring BUT he turned it off before I got fully up the stairs! I didn’t want it to wake Sam or Olivia. WILL HE ACTUALLY PUT HIS FEET ON THE FLOOR… time will tell: 7:18am>
I really enjoyed Jeff today and was almost going to bookmark it but I didn’t love it enough. But the message was good, my mind kept wandering, and then I would bring it back, and be gentle with it. Jeff is so pragmatic, he speaks to me so well.
It’s okay for my mind to wander but giving myself those 10 minutes of peace feels like a cozy blanket.
Speaking of cozy, I was listening to Gretchen Rubin because I did a quiz (quizzes are fun!), got on her newsletter list, and then listened to one or two of her podcasts. She said something that I wrote down which was for 2026, write down 26 things that PLEASE you.
She talked about it for just a minute or two and said she was going to do a longer program on it. But I knew that it was something that I wanted to do with Ang – to start at least – because while I could think of 10 things that please me, 26 seemed a little overwhelming.
Before the new year hit, Ang and I sat at dinner with my fancy pens and took a stab at it. She got to 27. I got to 17, and then finished mine up after New York.
26 things that please me
I do not have cozy blankets on there but I do have comfy pillows! Ha. After I struggled to finish, I went to my AI partner and explored. I IMMEDIATELY found so many other potential things that please me that I wanted to write down.
It helps to know your task before you start but I also kinda wanted to struggle through it first.
We all overestimate how much big treats matter and that feels like my trip to New York. I wanted it to be something big and feel good – and while it did – it was the small pleasures that mattered the most. And finding those small things to build into bigger, more difficult things, is something I want to aspire to.
Pleasure is not a reward, it’s fuel to move forward.
What are other choices to add to my list?
Physical & sensory items – scents (which I had in terms of rain and wood burning) but I wantaed to add vanilla and orange. But it made me think of my Ole Hendriksen Vitamin C toner I use in the mornings SPECIFICALLY because it smells and feels like I’m putting an orange tree on my face. It makes me happy and I put it on after my morning shower. And vanilla, I adore, and have an essential oil at the office that I put on a fan when I need a pick-me-up.
What else did it suggest?
- clean sheets
- warm drinks
- natural light
- soft clothes
- tidy surfaces
Environmental
- order
- quiet
- background noise (or silence!)
- Being near water
- Being near trees or flowers!
- a specific room or chair
Emotional
- Feeling prepared (Achieving goals!)
- Feeling appreciated
- Being included (!!!)
- Knowing what to expect
- Closure and completion
Mental
- Crossing things off lists (this was totally one of Ang’s!)
- Clear instructions
- Time blocks
- Starting fresh in the mornings
- Finishing one thing before starting another
I was tempted to redo my list but I left it the same. It’s in a folder on my desk right now and I’m debating what I want to do with it. Maybe I do want to rewrite it later so I can look at it and make sure i’m incorporating these things into my day. Hang it up on my wall. But I don’t want to display it and have it be judged, I want it close to my heart.
I don’t want to be chasing things that I THINK should please me instead of the things that actually DO.
<7:36 – I did not hear footsteps. So I walked up, nagged him up,and encouraged him to get out of bed since I knew he wanted time to get ready and have breakfast before his 10am practice. He said, I’m up, I’m up! Ha.>
I’m toying with going to Joshua Tree next weekend for an evening. That would please me. I want to ask G if he wants to go first and I keep procrastinating but I’m going to do that today.
I want to see the stars. That would please me.
I lost a little of my train of thought here, trying to get it back.
When did I feel just a little better today? Do I want to keep track of that? What made doing a task easier than expected?
I’m listening to the Mel Robbins interview with (had to look up his name…) James Clear! Oh, it’s so good. I’ve already babbled to Nicole on Marco about it, texted Ang, and had a short discussion with G about it in the car.
I haven’t actually read Atomic Habits yet but Ang is doing a book club with Dommi and I said I wanted in. But the interview was great – so far anyway – because of two things. 1) he wanted to add into the book that you need to make your habits FUN. If they aren’t fun, you won’t want to do them. And I feel like this goes into what I do. Even if it’s not fun, I want to take some satisfaction from it.
It’s also about modifying your scope. If you wanted to workout for 45m but you got distracted, don’t throw out the whole thing. Do a 15m workout instead. This happened to me last night. I hadn’t done my stretching or meditation (and I hadn’t meditated this whole week, I think!) and it was 9:50pm. I did my stretching on the floor of my bedroom and then I sat on my bed. I just didn’t want to do 10m of meditation. So I opened Calm and found a 1m breathing meditation. I did it and I felt good about it. It was the smallest way back in. It wasn’t perfect and that was okay.
The 2nd thing that spoke to me that James has said so far is that it doesn’t take much to make you feel good. 5m of conversation can reconnect a relationship. 5m of writing can restart your book/article. 5m of whatever can restore your soul.
That spoke to me. I remember a moment early last year when I was having dinner with J, and I remember coming out of it thinking that I do NOT need much. Being seen, being heard, feeling like I’m interesting and wanted and fascinating. I don’t need much and when I don’t get it, that feels harder.
This feels vulnerable and hard and I feel it in my throat and stomach.
And the same goes for work in feeling good.
<7:53am and I finally hear G walking around above my head and going to take a shower – I will miss hearing those feet in a few short months.>
But for work, being included in a meeting. Having an amazing brainstorming session. Makes me feel so energized. I can instigate those things – in work and personal life – so it’s not something that just happens spontaneously but I appreciate it when it does. And I can work harder to make it happen.
I am learning how little it takes to feel okay and how much compassion I need to give myself while I do.
I will ask G about Joshua Tree for next weekend!
As I finish writing, I keep looking at my Compassion tree. This pleases me and makes me happy. My talisman for 2026.
A tree to GROW compassion in my life. Rose quartz for gentle energy in self-love and compassion. It’s manifesting love and kindness. It’s releasing grief, heartbreak, shame, and old emotional patterns.
I’m allowed to be human. I’m allowed to be soft. I’m allowed to heal.
Ang chose “unfold” and Angie chose “build” for their words. I promptly sent them their own trees.
It really pleased me to give these trees.
Moonstone for Ang because unfolding happens when it’s ready, and the moonstone encourages cycles, timing and intuition. Unakite (green) for Angie because it’s paired with growth, recovery, persistence, and patience.
Not bad for the first week of 2026.
Hand on my heart and deep, deep breaths.
Now, time for breakfast.
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