Here is your Seven-Bullet Monday
1. A quote I am pondering:
"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." - Robert Brault
Regularly practising gratitude for all the little things in life keeps us on an even and positive keel. This 1) makes our lives more enjoyable, 2) we envy less, and 3) it helps us be more pleasant to be around. After all, who likes spending time with someone who complains a lot?
2. A question I am asking myself:
What would the most powerful version of me do in this situation?
This question goes to the core of how I should respond in a problematic situation instead of instinctually reacting. By asking the question of myself, it helps me take the higher road, which is not necessarily the easiest at the time but has the better long-term outcome.
3. A book I am reading:
The Mountain is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery - Brianne West
If you are anything like me, you tend to put yourself down and underestimate what you give the world around you. In that case, this book will help because it talks about self-sabotage, why and when we do it, and how to stop. It also talks about why we resist efforts to change, even when the choice seems obvious. Depending on the cause of your resistance, there are different tools to apply. Brianne West does an excellent job of covering all of these and providing the various means depending on the specific circumstance.
4. What I am learning
The many colours of hydrogen creation, depending on the carbon intensity
I saw this a couple of weeks ago and found it quite interesting. I had heard of blue and green hydrogen but not the host of other colours. Hydrogen presents an exciting and challenging opportunity for the mining industry. It can be used in internal combustion engines and fuel cells, making it remarkably flexible. The former potentially presents a fast way for surface miners to decarbonize without completely replacing their expensive haul trucks. On the other hand, hydrogen is still costly to manufacture, and it isn't easy to transport and store because it is the lowest-density element on the planet.
The attached chart is courtesy of the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering.
5. The highlight of my week
I had several highlights this week, and here are my top two:
1. Becoming a Canadian Citizen
Having first moved to Canada in 2008, it has taken me far too long to get my citizenship. But now, at least, it is done, and this week I officially became a Canuck hey. The ceremony was on Zoom but was still wonderfully put together. Doing it with the 100 or so other new Canadians on the call, many decked out in red with Canada flags flying everywhere, was very moving.
2. Visiting my son, Ben, in Kingston, Ontario
My son, Ben, is already in his third year at Queens University, and I haven't yet had a chance to visit him in Kingston. I managed to do so this last weekend, and we had a wonderful couple of days together touring the town, eating in his favourite dining spots, working in the Queens library and working out in the Queens gym. #LoveYouSon
6. Hugh-bits
Enjoying Ben Rector's hit – Living My Best Life
This is a song to get you up and pumping – especially in a cold shower! I love the words, especially the chorus, and I think it's so true of my life and hope for your life too.
I'm living my best life
I wake up with the sunrise
It does not look a thing like I thought that it would
I've been getting my steps in
And I sleep with my best friend
It's the best that it has been in a long time
I'm living my best life (living my best life)
Yeah, yeah, living my best life, yeah (living my best life)
7. My challenge for you for this week
Take action on something you are stalling
Procrastination is a progress destroyer and a confidence eroder. So this week, instead of pushing that big to-do thing out another week, say to yourself, "Let's do this", and take the plunge, send the email, make the call, make the payment, whatever you need to do to break the inertia. Once the ball is rolling, you will have to keep moving forward, and I bet you will look back in a couple of months and tell yourself, "I'm sure glad I did that."
Have a wonderful week