It’s OK to Listen to Others

#5SecondRule

I love listening to audiobooks. I am addicted to them, frankly. And I just finished listening to one that has touched my heart in a way that no other audiobook has done. It is called “The 5-Second Rule” by Mel Robbins. Now, I didn’t even know who Mel Robbins was. Apparently, she’s a big-time speaker, life coach, and reporter for CNN. From what I gather, she is quite liberal, politically. If you know me, you know that I am pretty conservative. Had I known that Ms. Robbins had a liberal bent, I might not have picked up her book…and that would have been a shame…because I thought it was fabulous.

 The above thought lead me to write this post.

Social Media rules the modern era. It seems to be a necessary evil in modern business, being one of the main sources of advertising, connecting, and promoting products and services.

And honestly, I’m OK with that. I enjoy Facebook posts, Instagram pictures, even a Snapchat with my college-age daughter once in a while.

What I am NOT OK with is the constant political garbage that gets pushed around on social media when all I want to do is look at photos of my friend’s new digs in Hawaii or read a funny meme about being a mom.

The problem? Everything is skewed toward what we WANT to hear.

Back in the days when people sat down every evening to hear Walter Kronkite deliver the news of the day, we listened, read, and watched for a brief period of time. We heard the facts (knowing that there is ALWAYS some bias when humans are involved in communication). And then we talked with our families, friends, and co-workers about what happened. We may or may not like what we heard, but we had the opportunity to then connect with the important people in our lives and discuss…usually, civilly.

Nowadays, we follow our favorite actors, sports figures, authors, and politicians. We are spoon-fed topics that reinforce our beliefs. This gives us the sense that “everyone” feels this way. And we often feel a bit smug in our opinions (this is everyone…not just conservatives, liberals, or anyone else). It feels good to think that we are surrounded by people who agree with us.

But then, someone doesn’t.

Someone who has a dissenting opinion has the audacity to show up on the feed and express his or her opinion. Sometimes it’s civil, but often it’s not. And the backlash is almost always ugly, rude, and unlike anything people would say face-to-face.

Before long, we get into hours-long or days-long arguments on Facebook or Twitter with complete strangers who may or may not be who they say they are. We allow the argument to seep into our minds and affect our daily work and happiness, and even our relationships (if I am spending 15 minutes arguing with someone online about the state of Education in our country, that’s 15 minutes that I am NOT reading to my own child.)

So here’s the thing…it’s ok to follow, read, or listen to someone who has a different opinion than yours. That does not mean that you are “selling out” or “being sucked in”.  You are learning. None of us has all the answers…not Donald Trump, not Barrack Obama, not the Pope, not the Dhali Lama. But we all have value to bring to the world. We are welcome to disagree. And we are welcome to be passionate about our beliefs. We just have to remember that on the other end of that social media post is a real person just as valuable as we are, with real experiences just as valid as our own, and maybe even a real lesson or piece of wisdom that will help us in our real lives.

Let Me Explain

I was thinking about the name of my blog…and yet again…hating it. It sounds so trite and silly. I mean seriously, who cares about “Sadie”? Who do I think I am? A Kardashian?

But hang with me for a moment. The reason I named it that (other than the fact that I am highly uncreative) is that I am truly trying to simplify my life. I am trying to pare things down to the truly important stuff.

For me, that means:

1. my relationship with God,
2. taking care of myself (mentally, physically, spiritually, financially, socially, and professionally),
3. nurturing my relationship with my husband,
4. being a mother (not a friend) to my children,
5. and pursuing some of my lifetime goals (I will break those down in the future).

I imagine you have similar goals and priorities. We all do.

Over the past 20 years, I have become a self-proclaimed “expert” on the subject of self-help, self-improvement, etc. Oh yes, I have read all the books, watched all the TED talks, listened to all the latest research. I have read about happiness, self-sabotage, healthy families, healthy bodies, spiritual health, sleep studies, and on and on.

I have also had a husband, 6 children, pets, and the opportunity to live around the world.

My life has been extremely full. But sometimes it has been so full that I haven’t had time to enjoy it. I have been rushing from one requirement to the next without being “in the moment”.

Add in Facebook, email, Instagram, text messages, and the barrage of marketing that comes across my desk or screen, and I can barely keep up with the immediate needs in my life, let alone future goals and pursuits.

So, realizing that I am not getting any younger, I decided to start paring down my life. Now that does not mean I am moving into a cave somewhere in the middle of Idaho and completely living off the land (although my husband would be thrilled if we did…except that ESPN doesn’t work well in that setting). But I want to start truly enjoying the life that God has seen fit to give me. I truly believe he wants his people to enjoy his blessings…not just tolerate life.

So, the title of my blog, Simply Sadie, is meant to lead back to the idea of simplifying life. Taking things slowly enough to enjoy them and treasure life’s blessings. And that can’t be done easily when clutter (be it physical, mental, technological, or emotional) abounds.

I hope you’ll join me, share some of your own tips, tricks, etc. Let’s just keep I simple.

Multiple Facets

One of the challenges when starting a new blog is deciding what topic(s) to write about. As I think I mentioned earlier, I have had other blogs, but have not stuck to them. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that I just love so many different areas of life!

Like a beautifully cut diamond, life has many facets that, when honed and polished, create a priceless and unique gem. I hope to share the beauty of life, even with its imperfections.

I love to read, write, work out, cook amazing food, travel, study my faith, create beautiful things for the home (although I don’t do it nearly as much as I would like), and interact on social media.

One thing I absolutely HATE to do is to clean house and manage clothing. Clothing is the bane of my existence. As a mother of 6 children, the laundry is never-ending (even though 2 of them are away at college). Chances are, I will not talk about clothes much on this blog other than to complain about the mountain of folding that stands between me and my life.

But seriously, there are so many facets that make up a woman, I don’t know how to pick just one or two. Do I focus on my favorite foods? On my job as a preschool teacher? Motherhood? My writing? Books I love? I will start with several.

I know that I will need to narrow my focus in order for this to be an effective blog, but for now, I am just throwing it out there to see what “sticks”.

Thanks for joining me!

Here I Go

Just ate a couple of hard-boiled eggs.

Not exactly impressive, but considering I’ve been on  a diet of caffeine, sugar, and shame for the past few weeks, it’s a start.

And I’m about to head out the door and take my sorry butt around the block a few times.

No, it’s not impressive. I’m not competing in any Crossfit games or fitness competitions. But it’s about darn time that I start caring better for this amazing body that God gave me.

This body that has brought forth 6 incredible children.

This body that suffered a stroke back in December and had my family worried that I would be forever-changed.

This body that is relatively healthy, except for the excess weight that I swore I would never regain.

It’s time to start taking it seriously again.

Here I go…

Hey There!

I am so excited to start a new blog!

Some of you know that I have had blogs in the past that have taken off and then have fizzled for one reason or another.

Well, thanks for joining me for another go.

I am a firm believer that it doesn’t matter how many times we “fall” or “fail”…the important thing is that we pick ourselves back up, dust off the negativity, and incorporate lessons learned into our new, improved selves.

Thanks for coming along.