Year: 2022

Revert to the mean: life is like the stock market. You will have bad days and you will have good days. Make sure regardless of the up or down of today, you are investing in yourself and on the path going upwards over time.

For example, You may have a bad day while in college. Yes this is a down day, but your life is on the trajectory up. Invest in the index fund of life, individual stocks/days rocket and crash, find the balance, the index fund, that goes up with both up and down days. Bad days will be bad, but they will end. Find the index fund that regardless of the up and downs end up up, over time. 

We don’t have to wake up and conquer the world. “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, “how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time”, etc. 

If we just put a little more effort into doing the extra, that extra becomes huge progress when done consistently. “The journey of 1000 miles begins with one step”, baby steps in the right direction consistently, is all it takes. 

I have found that a lot of life advice comes from the stock market. Watching costs, trying to beat the market/life, etc. Let go, you don’t plant a seed and dig it up the next day to see how it’s doing. Stop messing with life, accept it, invest and let go. 

Anyways, reversion to the mean is a statistical anomaly that a price will converge to the average over time (generally). How similar is that to life? We have good days and bad days, highs and lows, peaks and valleys days of heaven and days of hell. 

So, like the market and investing (at least for a bogglehead like me) the best way to beat the market is not trying to. Why look for a needle in the haystack when you can buy the hay stack? Don’t worry about your highs and lows if your average/life is on an upwards trajectory. Sit back and invest in the index fund of life. 

Whatever is going on, no matter how bad it gets, just breathe. its easy to hold our breath in heightened stress and anxiety. slow down, breathe, analyze, then execute the plan and be as flexible as possible.

I am new to dealing with the massive effects of complex PTSD and the attacks that come with it. Having a mini essential oil in my pocket, car, work, and home has helped. The scents are very powerful and inhaling them during an attack bring you right to now. They have a variety pack of minis, grab em for on the go. 

Next up shower – going to see what shower bombs are about. Stay tuned 

“Dont just do something, stand there!” is a great one too. Not a lot of things are good when done frantically.

Sometimes.. Alot of times… Ok MOST of the time, slow down, breathe, and get your wits, look around, calculate, and be precise.

Last night in court, I was in an elevator full of attorneys on our way up to our individual courtrooms. We were there for a trial skills course, tonight we would all be doing a voir dire. There was a judge in there with us too who said “ok. Everybody CALM DOWN. Remember: have fun with all this. I can hear you all breathing hard. Remember to have fun.”

My paralegal said the same thing to me when I was burned out and lost preparing for my first trial. She wrote “smile” on a post it and wrote “have fun with it” on another at different points. To save space, I combined the post it’s and voila- we have what my paralegal told me, a judge told me, and how Smile in the ARENA came to be. 

Smile, have fun, if we aren’t having fun what are we doing any of this for? Smile, I’ll see you out there! 

I couldn’t agree more. Even the little things are huge opportunities to connect. But if we give away every stick, you are without gum.

Even the Bible says “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion.

There are wolves in sheeps clothing and those who will take advantage of you. There will always be people who complain you didnt lay flat enough as they walk all over you.

So take care of yourself, take care of your family, and give with your heart like no one is watching. Smile. Be kind. Always.