Workout Your Brain With Hobbies!

Humans are meant to create.  Hobbies are cultivated from what a person enjoys doing when they could be doing whatever they want.  I have found, especially with my peers, that hobbies are disappearing.  If any hobbies are engaged in at all, they tend to be athletically driven like running, hiking or cycling.  I workout for endorphins, health and clarity; however, if I could have a fit and toned body without working out?  Those 45 minutes would most definitely be spent doing something else.  Therefore, for the sake of this post, I'm referencing creative hobbies.  I'm talking about painting, singing, photography, writing, baking, gardening, playing an instrument, wood-working or party planning.  Something that makes the left side of your brain ramp up and start firing on all cylinders.

Creative hobbies can benefit your professional life, too.  There has been a plethora of papers and articles supporting the connection between having a creative hobby and increased mental dexterity in the workplace.  Evernote's Phil Libin wrote a piece for Inc. magazine about teaching himself piano in his 40's:

"When you learn a new skill, you learn new patterns. And then you start seeing these patterns interwoven into the familiar world. The impenetrable becomes less so. Things you always knew, you now know better […] I feel the effects at the office.  I'm smarter than I was a few months ago, with new ways of seeing things, a new mental vocabulary, and greater cognitive dexterity.  I feel more creative than ever, and I get more done every day."

I feel this myself.  Knitting during busy season quiets my brain.  My head no longer spins about how many audit reports I need to issue, how I can get my team to have more attention to detail, or when I'm going to have that difficult conversation with the client.  If I focused on those things instead of my knitting, I'll screw it up.  Knitting is repeating patterns, math, and a balance of tension… basically a mental workout that hones skills I use in the workplace.  Plus, in the end, I created something and creation taps into your four year old self's "look what I did!" pride.

So try it - for ten minutes build a city in the original Sim City game you haven't touched since you were nine (or maybe you were a Rollercoaster Tycoon kind of kid?).  Find some colored pencils and just doodle.  Bake a cake even if it isn't someone's birthday.  Our society is craving creative outlets - why else would Pinterest and Etsy be booming?  You don't have to share it with anyone… you don't have to be good at it.  View it as CrossFit for your brain.

a self-focused summer

Something that I know for sure?  In the end, you really only have yourself.  Yes, you can fill your life with family, friends and mentors.  Allowing yourself to rely on others is important as it helps to share burdens and makes you accessible to loved ones in return.  The issue is that relationships change, people die and priorities shift.  The only relationship that is 100% guaranteed is the one you have with yourself, which is why it is so interesting that this is the relationship most neglect.

New workout program: Kayla Itsine's Bikini
Body Guide.  My face after day one… ouch.

I have recently felt disconnected from people in my life.  Most have become self-focused in order to concentrate on various life changes.  I felt forgotten until I realized that I could use this opportunity to also become self-focused.  In this spirit, I have been invoking changes to increase the happy and decrease the unhappy.  I am dialing back my spending because being broke makes me unhappy.  I started a new workout program because I missed feeling like a boss.  I am trying to say "yes" only to things that I want to say "yes" to.  I'm going outside as much as possible.  I am watching Full House reruns whenever they are on Nick@Nite.  I am conducting a thorough soul searching mission to identify what more can be done to get my joy back.

To fuel up for big life changes, I needed a big breakfast today.  However, my typical Sunday pancakes, high in refined carbohydrates, probably aren't the best foundation to support all my grand plans.  Therefore, I gave the new "it" breakfast a try.  The three ingredient pancake is all over the Internet and it was only a matter of time before I succumbed to the trend.

My favorite traditional pancake recipe is Barefoot Contessa's sour cream banana pancakes.  My 3-ingredient interpretation uses the same flavor profile.  Only problem?  My ingredient count is at five.  So here is Katy's Five Ingredient Three Ingredient Pancakes (say that five times fast… or three times fast… or five times three times fast?)

Ingredients: 

• 1 medium banana (3/4 mashed, 1/4 small dice)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• Spoonful of plain greek yogurt
• Dash of vanilla extract
• Almond meal (about 1/8 - 1/4 cup, just enough for pancake batter consistency)

Directions:

1. Preheat greased pan over medium heat
2. Combine eggs, mashed banana, yogurt and vanilla in small bowl, mix well
3. Add almond meal slowly while mixing, stopping when desired consistency is reached
4. Fold in diced banana, reserving a few pieces for garnish
5. Pour batter into pan and cook pancakes until golden brown, then flip (time depends on your pancake size, mine took about 5 minutes)
6. Plate pancakes, cover with desired toppings such as local organic maple syrup and 'nannies

Do you have any self improvement goals on the docket?

High Divers and Try On-ers

Homecoming 2003 = Awesome

I have come to the conclusion, when it comes to relationships, that there are two types of people in the world: high divers and try on-ers.

I am a classic high diver. I tend to get all my questions answered up front and it takes time to sort out my feelings before I pass go and collect $200. Each rung up the ladder is carefully considered because I want to look over that edge, past my toes to the water below, without a single doubt about diving off the platform.  This means I've experienced very few relationships, but they are typically long lived ones. In short: if I say I'm interested... I'm very interested. I don't see the point in wasting my time with someone that my gut says is a maybe.

I would equate my best friend a try on-er.  A try on-er participates in the more classic approach to dating, where a date doesn't mean you're a couple.  Rather, a date is time spent getting to know someone with the goal of determining if a second date should occur. My best friend rarely said no to a date and, in the process, met a lot of amazing people (and a lot of duds). A date without a romantic spark wasn't a failure because it was still getting a chance to meet someone new.  My best friend was "trying on" different types of people- if she didn't open herself up she could miss who would be perfect for her. She never had an answer to what her "type" was because her type was yet to be determined.  It would be who ultimately swept her off her feet.

We were Yin and Yang. I didn't see the point in dinner with someone who clearly wasn't what she wanted, and she didn't understand why I thought weeding out the frogs wasn't worth the hassle.  I believed my method was the better way because my instinct was honed to know when someone could turn into Someone and worth investing time in.  She felt her way brought adventure and taught her lessons about herself that she wouldn't have learned on her own.  I now see there isn't a right way and a wrong way because the methods aren't choices.  I'm just a high diver and she's a try on-er.

My best friend found what she had been in the fitting room of life looking for.  Last month, he proposed in grand fashion while on vacation and I'm so thrilled it is slightly embarrassing (I plan to do my best to stop saying "we" as if I'm some how including in the pending union).  It's going to be a busy but fun year.

Is my friend's happiness and success enough to tempt me to try on being a try on-er? Heck no. That water is really far down and I will continue to climb that ladder only when I feel a swan dive coming on. The high dive quickly becomes a plank if I'm not careful.  Once a high diver, always a high diver.

Which are you?

Blush for the Holidays

I love Thanksgiving. What's not to love? It is the kickoff to the holidays and it centers around cooking and food. Whoopie! I usually get a severe case of post-Christmas blues on December 26th.  With Thanksgiving, much to my delight, the end only leads to more holiday happiness! Plus, I can finally listen to Christmas music since long ago I vowed to judge anyone that indulges before Turkey Day.

My mom and I are Turkey Day kitchen rock stars. We have the two day cook-a-thon down to a science. I thrive making our renowned recipes, doing dishes to the '80s Pandora station with my siblings and watching Elf while eating leftovers. I also used to hunt for a special outfit for the meal. While this year I am trying to "behave" financially and not buy anything new, it doesn't hurt to pretend! I am drawn to geometric patterns, nude shimmers, and a lot of blush tones for Thanksgiving 2013.

J.Crew pixie judhpur pant, J.Crew color block intarsia sweater, Tom Ford show me pink nail lacquer, Bobbi Brown lip gloss in buff, Bobbi Brown sequin shimmer brick eye palate, Kate Spade lynda rose gold pump, and Miss Dior eau de parfum

What are you planning on donning this Turkey Day?