Voice of the DBA

Tag: coping

  • Daily Coping 5 Jul 2022

    I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.

    Today’s tip is to make a list of the joys in your life (add to this regularly).

    My list:

    • sleeping next to my wife at night (not doing that enough the last few months)
    • having my dog come greet me (every day)
    • kids enjoying the food I make ( a regular occurrence these days)
    • traveling to a new place and seeing a different way of life (I love new cultures)
    • driving my Tesla (this is a lot of fun)
    • accomplishing a chore at the ranch (changed a leaf spring last weekend)
    • playing guitar and hitting all the notes
    • delivering a presentation where people are engaged and smiling

  • Daily Coping 4 Jul 2022

    I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.

    Today’s tip is to notice how positive emotions are contagious between people.

    A holiday in the US, so Happy Independence Day. While I will likely tackle some chores, I do hope to get to town and enjoy being around people.

    The world can seem very upsetting and contentious, especially with inflation and politics running amok. However, I’ve seen many people smile and enjoy time with each other, which can infect others with good cheer. I want to help that.

    The last few weeks I’ve been traveling here and there, for work and personal reasons. I’ve encountered a lot of people I don’ t know, in airports, hotels, on the trail, and restaurants. I’ve made it a point to smile and say hi or wave. Even other patrons that are just going about their lives, I make it a point to be cheerful.

    It’s amazing how many people will break out in a smile.

  • Daily Coping 1 Jul 2022

    I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.

    Today’s tip is to be kind to you. Do something that brings you joy.

    Following on yesterday’s tip, I’m going to do something for me. In fact, I’m going to sit around on the porch (assuming it isn’t raining), have a drink, and strum my guitar in the evening. Just create some music and watch the world.

  • Updates from Coping Tips

    I’ve written a lot of coping tips now. Over two years worth (Mon-Fri) since the pandemic began. It’s become an interesting thing to do on a regular basis, making me re-evaluate life and think about how I live and interact with others.

    A few times I’ve planned something, and then had to follow through. This is an update on a few items.

    An Exercise Goal

    I set an exercise goal on 18 Apr to ride. My plan was to try and do more biking as I prepared for ankle surgery and then recover with some biking. In that time, I traveled a lot. I didn’t often have access to a stationary bike, or have time to rent one/find one on the road. I also still wanted to make sure I was weight lifting and practicing yoga.

    I started a challenge, giving myself 2+ months to ride 463km.

    I finished at 117km, out of the challenge of 419.5km. I was thinking I might get 3-4 days a week, around my other exercise, but I didn’t. Too many travel days, too much yoga, and really I rode the bike 10-15km before lifting. I think there might have been 3-4 dedicated bike days, but not enough.

    A learning experience for me. I don’t love biking enough, and now rehab is more focused on hiking than biking.

    Kindness

    I wrote about helping my wife with her work.  Essentially a glorified videographer and gofer, which worked out well. Since then, she’s asked me a couple times to do this again, and when my daughter returned from university, she’s used her in this role.

    This effort from me has become something she values, and repeats with other people.

    Another Culture

    My tip on learning about another culture was related to a trip to Belgium. My wife joined me and then we toured around Brussels and Bruge, with a few days in Antwerp where I worked and she toured.

    We asked people on the trip about some of the interests I’d learned about. A chocolatier spent 30 minutes with us educating us on chocolate and food. Another person gave us (too) many recommendations on good places to go eat.

    We also asked people about the art, and stopped to take photos and read (or lookup online) about art that we saw in various places.

    Glad we had read a little, but more, my wife and I decided we really love Belgium and look forward to going back.

    Values

    I wrote about values. I continue to remember those, especially as the world and my community struggle. I’ve had friends go through tragedies, the last month in the US (for some of us) has been very trying and upsetting. I have other people concerned about how our community and the annual Summit are going.

    In all this, I am striving to be positive and push forward, not lash out and complain. I am trying to understand and be compassionate for those that feel differently or are struggling.

    I am trying to persevere and keep my world moving forward.