Todd Lyden

#Reverb10 #10 What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?  Now this I can play with. Sorry about the last one.  I don't make decisions. My wife and I do. We might take input from the children if it concerns them, but we still make the decisions. The wisest one we've made in a while is one that actually happened several years ago, but culminated this year. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to be home a great deal for the first two years of our youngest's life. It has turned her literally into daddy's girl. My wife felt some of the slight, but in large part because she was working not too long after she was born. Not too long after, opportunity and chance made it so that my wife could stay home full time and we agreed that she would so long as the youngest was not in school full time. Well, she entered kindergarten this year, YEAH! And my wife was back on the job market.  It's worked out GREAT for us. Related articles #reverb10 ( b...

Dear #Reverb10 folks,  I've enjoyed writing posts for the other prompts thus far, but have seen backlash against different ones. Consider this mine for day 10's: December 9 – Party Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans. Seriously? I find myself hard pressed to deal with this. I guess someone else can see the value, but I am not. Consider this my break day... 

  Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. I remember the book distinctly. I wish I could find it. I read it when I was 15 and it talked about the  "four temperaments." This was before the Myers-Briggs thing REALLY hit big and before personality testing was used for everything from hiring to finding a babysitter. This one focused on the ancient idea of the humors of the body: you were phlegmatic, melancholic, sanguine or choleric . Guess which one I was? Give up? Choleric, which Wikipedia describes as such: A person who is choleric is a do-er. They have a lot of  ambition, energy, and passion , and try to instill it in others. They can dominate people of other temperaments, especially phlegmatic types. Many great charismatic military and political figures were cholerics. They like to be leaders and in charge of everything. I...

Fifth in the series. Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why? There are people we need in our lives and those that we do not. As hard as we might struggle to keep certain people in, it is sometimes wisest to let them go. Why? We need them. It truly does not get any easier than that. That sounds very utilitarian, but think about it: you don't invite random strangers into your home for no reason. Even if you are helping someone by doing them a favor, if nothing else for that moment, you "need" them.  Yes. I realize this does not fit the standard notion of need. But for the most part, we keep those closest to us that are most meaningful and beneficial to us. Again, it sounds VERY self-serving, but relationships are two ways streets. Or at least, good ones are. If you are on a one way street, you probably need to get off it- at least in terms of relationships. Photo:  osde8info Related articles What philosophy tells us about the happiness index | Clare Carl...

Number four in the #Reverb10 series:Wonder.  How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? I'm doing it. Blogging on a regular basis has REALLY amped my questioning, wondering, and curiosity this year. A while back I promised that I would post at least once/day and this series is forcing me to ramp it up. I am SEMI-counting this as part, but if I have something that ABSOLUTELY needs to be said, I will post it anyway. Double dip! I think one of the benefits of this series is that I am going to discover some new bloggers to check out. Think I am going to head out now to do that, join me by checking out the #Reverb10 hashtag on Twitter or Delicious! Related articles #Reverb10 Day Two: Writing.  (sydneyowen.com) Reverb10: Wonder  (eemusings.wordpress.com) Three Acts to Make 2011 a Wonder Year  (psychologytoday.com) Zemanta  helped me add links & pictures to this email.  It can do it for you too.