FOBO – the fear of better options

Monday, January 13, 2020 Permalink

The stars and planets aligned a few days ago as I was flicking through the current Good Health & Wellbeing magazine at my mother’s and came across the acronym FOBO – the fear of better options. I can’t find any reference to it online but I think (the article said) the phrase was apparently delivered by the same man who gave us FOMO (fear of missing out).

I’m a bit FOMO-ish from time to time (which is why I ditched Instagram), but appreciate the joke you often see on social media suggesting many of we introverts actually delight in JOMO (joy of missing out), needing more down / alone time than many.

Life lately – a November check-in

Friday, November 29, 2019 Permalink

I’ve not written many non-bookish posts lately. I suspect it’s because I’ve felt I’ve had nothing to say. Anything I really need to get off my chest I tend to do so on Facebook or Twitter. (And yes, if you follow me there, you’re very welcome!)

There are probably a few things marinating around inside my little mind however and – as I found a draft of an October check-in I’ve done nothing with – I thought I’d partake in a little brain dump here this month.

Life this week: #mothersitting

Friday, November 15, 2019 Permalink

For reasons unknown I’ve not been in the mood to write any personal posts for a few weeks.

I’ve had a little bit on. My project management contract ramped up for a while there. I started a new part-time gig and then quit (long story). And my mum was in hospital for a couple of weeks so I was visiting daily.

She’s home now and I’m at her place (ie. my childhood home).

Of course just because I’ve not been blogging doesn’t mean I’ve not been blithering elsewhere…. #mylifeonTwitter

Just because you THINK you should doesn’t mean you should

Thursday, October 10, 2019 Permalink

because you think you should do something

I was at a writing workshop a couple of weeks ago and the facilitator shared a quote… I didn’t actually make a note of the reference but think it’s fairly well known.

It was a memoir and personal essay session and the quote went something like… Just because you think you’ve got a story to tell doesn’t mean you have to tell it.

I’ve mulled over this from a ‘writing about crap of interest to no one’ perspective for a long time, but also more broadly as it kinda relates to where I’m at ‘life-wise’. (At least in a professional sense.)

More on love – while gazing over Tuscan hills

Thursday, September 19, 2019 Permalink

I’d intended to post something today but was at a bit of a loss (and am also sick). I’m getting daily reminders (thanks Facebook memories!!!) that this time last year I was in Italy. Indeed on this very day last year I was perched outside eating gluten-free pasta with a delicious sauce while gazing at the Tuscan hills.

Recently I opened the notebook we received from Vanessa Carnevale at the writing retreat and found some exercises we’d done.

What is love?

Monday, September 16, 2019 Permalink

I decided to join Denyse Whelan’s blogging link-up today and the theme is… What is love?

I’m tempted to say… fucked if I know. But I guess that’s not true. I may not have been ‘in’ romantic love (which is kinda depressing given I’m 51 years old!). But I know love when I see it and I’ve certainly felt it (even though I rarely, if ever, say it!).

The decade of development

Monday, September 2, 2019 Permalink

I wrote a while ago about the TV documentary series 7-up (14-up, 21-up…. etc) and commented that I liked the idea of looking at life in summary format. It makes the negatives less dire, and allows me to focus on the positives. But more recently I’ve been pondering about how differently those years can pan out. They can reflect periods of consolidation or of significant change.

Self-care: cutting yourself some slack

Monday, August 26, 2019 Permalink

I was struggling a little on the weekend. There was nothing major, just a few things colliding Bermuda Triangle-style making me edgy and irritable. The ongoing unemployment thing is obviously ever-present… as it’s almost a year since I finished my contract. Interestingly a similar position has come up with the same government agency but my confidence isn’t quite what it was, and I continue to ponder on how I was perceived.

Mental health and those brave enough to speak about it

Thursday, August 22, 2019 Permalink

I know I’ve moaned in the past about those who go on and on about some issue or life crisis. Those who can’t get past it and lets it define them. I’ve certainly been like that about a few things in my life, including my eating disorder.

I saw my father – for some years after his heart transplant – allowing it to become ‘who’ he was (ie. man who’d had a heart transplant)… in some ways, his previous 60 years on earth disregarded because of this life-altering event.