Miscellany is a weekly edit in which we share any kinds of things that have been on our mind for the week, plus some articles that we came across on the internet, hoping you fall for them the way we did.
As part of the elaborate Halloween celebrations that were held last weekend, I got to dress up as a witch – the witch I would be if I would have been born a bit closer to Salem – and it was so much fun. Not just because of the spooky holiday itself, but because I kind of felt as though I found part of myself that I had neatly tucked away for a long time. The little girl who obsessed over Harry Potter came out again, dressed in all black and looking for a cat to take on adventures (didn’t find it, sadly). All in all, Halloween was fantastic, but, as soon as the clock hit 00:00 on Monday night, I went straight for the Michael Bublé Christmas CD, because I’m that kind of girl.
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+ On the importance of being mindful when grabbing your phone for the millionth time. “It’s a slippery slope: you hop on your phone to peek at the weather, and then you find yourself “checking in” on Instagram, Twitter, your email account. You click on that Buzzfeed article with a cat and a hedgehog performing a piano duet to ‘Islands in the Sun’ (I made this up but it likely exists) and – boom – you’ve lost twenty minutes of your day.” The Question – by Erin Loechner, via Design For Mankind
+ On careers done well, or better, at least. “When I was getting started, my boss would tell me to come forward with solutions, not problems. She didn’t want us complaining about what wasn’t happening or who wasn’t working well together, but wanted us to put forth ideas on how to address issues. This is a small but profound perspective shift for anyone at work.” The Best Career Advice – by Joanna Goddard, via Cup Of Jo
+ On pushing through when no one is listening. “I would pretend that I was a lighthouse beaming light and love out into the world. I would pretend that thousands of people were listening. I wrote as if thousands of people were listening.” Be the lighthouse – by Alex Franzen, via alexandrafranzen.com
+ On thinking less and doing more. “Women also spend a lot of time using the “worry work center,” which is the area of our brains that traditionally looks out for problems and scans the horizon for issues. There are even some brainscans now that show that women have more neurons firing at any given moment than men do. Which sounds great, right? Our brains are more active! But those scans might also be a physical representation of what women often do much more than men, which is ruminate.” Where Does Confidence Come From? – by Jocelyn K. Glei, via jkglei.com
+ On taking little steps toward your dream career. “I created plans, lists, and did a LOT of research. This commitment to forge through truly gave me the confidence to stick to my guns. It also gave me the space to see if I was serious about this, even on days when I thought fear of the unknown/going irreparably broke may actually kill me.” I Took One Small Step Toward My Dream Job – And It Worked. Here’s How. – by Bailey Van Tassel, via Yellow Co.
+ On choosing experiences over possessions (this is really good). “In a Harvard study, when people were asked if they’d rather have a high salary that was lower than that of their peers or a low salary that was higher than that of their peers, a lot of them weren’t sure. But when they were asked the same question about the length of a vacation, most people chose a longer vacation, even though it was shorter than that of their peers.” You Should Spend Your Money on Experiences, Not Things – by Travis Bradberry, via Entrepeneur
Happy weekend!
Rose's Little Garden 