Tag: life

Today’s coping tip is to focus your attention on the good things you take for granted.

My life is great. I used to say perfect, but a few struggles lately have me appreciating it more and understanding that there are things I wish were better.

I have taken for granted my ability to walk, to use my hands, and to use my mind. Lately I’ve been appreciating those things more as I’ve run into a few friends or friends of friends that aren’t as lucky.

I had ankle surgery last year, and my wife this year. We struggled to get back to normal, and I’m still not, but I am better than I was. I appreciate my ability to walk on my own and hope to get in a lot of walking and visiting new places while I can.

My hands work, but a few years ago Rush retired from performing. Alex Lifeson’s hands were one reason. I think about that often as I try to learn new songs on guitar.

I also have run into a few people who have had health issues affecting their brains. My father was starting to suffer from dementia before he passed. I appreciate my cognition for now.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQL Server Central 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 coping tip is to appreciate your hands and all the things they do for you.

I make a living with my hands. I type constantly, which is a big part of the work I do at Redgate. When I have a cut on a finger, as I did recently, it’s hard to type. That makes me much less productive, and lengthens my workday or workweek.

I also use my hands in job #2. I coach kids in volleyball and I’m regularly hitting balls in the air, which becomes painful or less controlled if my hands have issues. Or my shoulder, but that’s another post. I also take stats on paper and type totals into a spreadsheet, so yeah, hands are important.

Around the house, hands help me fix things on the ranch or play guitar.

I really appreciate my health and ability to use my hands to make life better.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQL Server Central 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 coping tip is to listen to a piece of music without doing anything else.

This is surprisingly hard. I turn something on, but then I look around, think of something else, walk, exercise, drive, etc.

Travel is a good way to do this, and I’ve learned sometimes that I can take a few minutes to unwind by staring at the world and listening to something in headphones. Hard for a multitasker like me, but it can be refreshing. If I’m not too busy.

For a trip last week, I got to the airport a bit early. I knew I’d eat on the plane, so I went to the lounge, got a glass of wine, and sat facing a window. I put on a little John Mayer and then sat there just listening.

Lately a couple songs have been running through my head, so I ran Hey Marie and Slow Dancing in a Burning Room together, just listening. Well, listening and sipping chardonnay.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQL Server Central 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 coping tip is to get outside and notice how the weather feels.

This was a good tip to see before my trip last week to the UK. I flew over Mon, arriving Tue in London. I tried to get outside a bunch last week in these ways:

I spent a day at the T4 Hilton at LHR to recover from travel. While there, I went for a walk along the road circling the airport. I managed to get a look at an airplane coming in to land. It was a nice, sunny day, about 50F/10C, not too windy, refreshing and brisk.

Walking from the conference center to the hotel is a short outside section for me. Lots of rain in Wales, but I managed to take a few minutes and loop around the building during dryer moments and enjoy the very green open space and cool spring weather.

Not as much outside time as I would have liked, but it was Wales. Lots of rain during the week.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQL Server Central 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.