Tag: coping

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 get back in touch with an old friend.

Actually, I had an old friend get in touch with me. Someone I worked with years ago reached out and I responded. We actually scheduled lunch together and it was great. A very nice chance to catch up with each other’s lives and careers.

Worth the time and effort.

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 gentle with yourself when you make mistakes.

Our gate has been broken for a little over a month. I went out to work on it. I pulled the old one off, and was working to install the new one. The conduit under the driveway was clogged and I couldn’t get things through it. No wire, no string, no rebar with a sledgehammer. I had others help me, but bad weather and travel have slowed me.

It feels like I made a mistake thinking this would be easy, that I could do it myself, and that my approach was a good one. And that I wouldn’t get hurt. I lost a few days with a hurt back and sore wrist.

I had a garage door guy out for a repair recently and he said he could handle digging up the driveway with a trencher and replace the conduit. I could do the rest, or just let him do it, which is what my wife said I should do.

I felt like I made a few mistakes here and compounded them, but I have been telling myself I made a good effort and this is just a learning experience. I’m slowly learning to not beat myself up over mistakes.

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 get outside and notice 5 things.

In winter I tend not to do a lot outside. Unless I’m skiing. I don’t do enough hiking, unlike TJay Belt, who I see is outside most weekends. I like yoga, and I coach kids inside.

This is a good reminder for me to go outside and do something. It’s been un-seasonably warm in Denver, and with my wife gone for a couple days recently, I had to go outside with my daughter and help with horse chores. I noticed these things:

1. We have a lot of horses.
2. It is windy out here, even a little bit blows hay in my face as I’m feeding
3. It’s a long way ar0und the property to feed, even while driving
4. The sky is still vast and large, even as more houses are being built on the horizon
5. The drought in Colorado is bad.

Not so much nature, but things that stood out to me.

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 eat healthy food that nourishes you today.

My wife has been on a bit of a diet, actually a few through the last half of 2021. After nearly two years of pandemic life, in which I gained a good COVID fifteen, I decided to join her. It’s a simple set of meal plans that have me eating better, and less, which is the most important part. Mostly it’s a routine of days where I have:

• small breakfast – either low or medium carb, depending on the day. sample, two eggs and two slice of turkey bacon or oatmeal with blueberries
• mid morning protein smoothie – usually a little protein powder, some frozen fruit and water/ice. It’s not a great smoothie, but it quells some hunger.
• smaller lunch – usually a salad or wrap
• mid-late afternoon protein smoothie – usually a little protein powder, some frozen fruit and water/ice. It’s not a great smoothie, but it quells some hunger.
• mid-sized dinner – low or medium carb, which has been chicken with vegetables or turkey tacos (limited shells).
• an apple or similar snack some evenings.

Today is a low carb day, so eggs and bacon, a couple smoothies, salad with chicken, and chicken with vegetables. It’s not that satisfying, but nearly two years of indulgence has me trying to pay some penance back.

Also:

• No alcohol (since Dec 31)
• No cream in coffee
• Limited diet soda (I need some indulgence)
• No dessert
• No pre-packaged food, other than the oatmeal.

I feel better, and I’m losing some weight, which is the point of all of this.