Saturday, August 22, 2009

Paper Trail

My name is Susan and I'm a magazine-aholic. I've admitted it. It's the first step. The second step is finding a responsible way to recycle my addiction and the massive amounts of paper I generate as a writer. Our township only picks up bottles and plastics. I just stumbled upon www.earth911.com and had to share its wonderfulness. I really am a writer. Type your zipcode into the appropriate box and they'll list tons of drop off sites and charities for virtually anything that is recyclable. Yeah!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Celebrity Sighting in Aisle 9


During my latest trip to the local grocery, the manager informed me that I was no longer their lead celebrity shopper. I can't say I was surprised. It's really not that hard to outshine my not-so illustrious career - a TV commercial for a local radio station, QVC guest hosting and a not-yet (beginning to suspect never-to-be) released movie. I knew the day would come when my status would be usurped. But by who? Apparently, Jake Gyllenhaal and gal pal Reese Witherspoon have been hanging in my hood and needed some milk. By all accounts they were quite nice and posed for photos. The checkout guys will have something to talk about for months - maybe even years. Now I've got to up my game or find somewhere else to buy my bread.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Trust Your Gut


My cat may be smarter than me. In referring to whether someone is a nice person it is often said that "animals and kids know." Animals rely on their instincts for survival while people tend to dismiss those impulses in favor of logical reasoning.

I recently read that our brains process so much information so quickly that our conscious minds can’t keep up. Our instinctive reactions are based on the accumulated knowledge – not vague or unrelated emotions. It turns out that when we trust our gut, we are really trusting our brain.

You may have seen Gavin De Becker, an FBI profiler, on Oprah over the years. He has built a career and written two books on the subject of trusting our instincts in order to protect ourselves. "The Gift of Fear" and "Protecting the Gift: Keeping our Children and Teenagers Safe" should be required reading for parents. The situations he illustrates are scary, but his advice is practical. While you may never get mugged, chances are your child may get lost in a store at some point.

While safety is most important, this information can be applied across the board in business, everyday decisions and relationships. Embrace your instincts.

I'd love to hear about your instinct experiences. Please share with a comment.