30 Questions for 30 Days

April 2016

If you’ve studied any philosophy in high school or college, you’ve no doubt heard of The Socratic Method. It is a form of inquiry (named after the classical Greek philosopher, Socrates) that is based upon asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas. 

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been one to ask a lot of questions. I’m sure that this sometimes annoyed my parents and exasperated my teachers, but asking questions is how I learned to satisfy my curiosity about the many interesting things in the world around me. Once I was in college however; my academic advisor taught me the value of asking questions in order to gain understanding not just of the world around me, but also of the things that were going on inside of me. Not only did this help me to finally decide upon a major–it also helped me to become more connected to my inner being and more sure of the direction that I wanted my life to take.

Things I’m Savoring in March

Hawaii2016

If you regularly follow FabYOUlous Life, you know that my “word of the year” for 2016 is savor. If you are new to FabYOUlous Life, welcome! You can read about how and why I selected savor as my word by clicking here.

Because savor is my word, I’ve decided that I am going to post every month about some of the things, people, experiences etc. that I am savoring at that moment. I am hoping that these monthly posts will serve two purposes: 1.) to help me to slow down and think about the incredible, savor-worthy things that are happening in my life and 2.) to inspire you to do the same.

As I look back over my month so far, I have to say–it has been one outrageously incredible month. I mean–how often is it that one gets to enjoy a full week in Hawaii with family and NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR IT? Yep–you read that last part correctly…I just returned from spending a week in Hawaii (the island of Oahu to be exact) with my family because I won a national sweepstakes that paid for our trip. The prize included airfare, hotel accommodations for all of us, a dolphin swim excursion, sunset jazz cruise, Island bus tour, Lei greeting and a spectacular Luau (plus spending money, rental car and restaurant gift cards!) We were truly blessed to have won this once in a lifetime experience and I now have memories that I will savor for the rest of my days. Here are just a few of those savorable moments…

15 Sure-Fire Ways to Take Control of Your Fab-YOU-lousness

Take Control of FabYOUlousnessWhat makes you happy? Does your happiness level fluctuate depending upon how much money is in your bank account? Are you happy when your hubby takes the kids out of your hair for an afternoon? Is there something that you are waiting for (a raise, marriage proposal, Chicago Cubs World Series…) in order to be happy?

That’s the thing about happiness–it is too often dependent upon happenings. We allow our circumstances to dictate the way that we feel about life and how much pleasure we derive from it. One second we’re happy because our favorite magazine arrived in the mail and the next second we’re irritated because our new puppy chewed up our most comfy pair of slippers.

Rather than living life in a constant state of emotional flux, our well being would be better served if we could learn ways to cultivate true and sustained joy and contentment. Sure–we’ll still look forward to those moments when our happenings lead to happiness, but our overall FabYOUlousness won’t be so dependent upon outside forces or circumstances.

In order to cultivate a true and lasting state of authentic FabYOUlousness, give the following suggestions a try…

15 Ways to Take Control of Your Fab-YOU-lousness

Making Self-Care a Top Priority

Self Care

This post is one that I wrote several months ago. I decided to post it today because 1.) I am on my way to Hawaii to spend a wonderful week of fun and relaxation with my family so a post on self-care seemed appropriate since that is what the upcoming week will be all about for my clan and 2.) it is about a topic that we women tend to struggle with–we are so good at taking care of everyone else, but we rarely make our own self care a priority. I hope that you enjoy the post and I look forward to sharing my Hawaiian adventures with you once I return to good ol’ Colorado.  Mahalo!

It happened.  I’m not proud to admit it…but all the denying, justifying and excuse making in the world won’t change that fact that it happened.  I (a 45 year old wife, mother and successful career woman) had a melt down.  Not just any melt down mind you; I had a full blown, two-year-old-throwing-a-temper-tantrum kind of melt down, complete with tears, slamming doors and a few words that aren’t fit for print.

To be completely honest, I don’t even remember what exactly triggered my melt down. Someone must’ve said or done something terrible…right? I mean…grown women don’t just fall apart like that for no reason do they? Surely someone had to have committed some grievous crime against humanity in order to spark such an epic fit on my part…right?

Fab Factor #9: Courage

5 Ways to Cultivate Courage--Even When You Think You Can't

5 Ways toCultivate Courage (1)Every month for the last several months we have focused upon one of the top twelve contributing factors to a FabYOUlous Life as determined by Dan Baker, Ph.D and co-author of the book, What Happy People Know.

This month’s Fab Factor is probably my personal favorite of the twelve and yet it is also the one that I struggle with the most. This month’s Fab Factor is COURAGE.

I love the fact that courage makes the list because I believe wholeheartedly that courage is the one attribute that can make the biggest difference when it comes to living our most FabYOUlous lives. In fact, Winston Churchill called courage “the first human quality” because it is the one quality that guarantees all others. At the same time however; I know that courage is something that can be so, so difficult to muster when faced with uncertainty and possible peril.