"Life's too short to waste one day."

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Hi + Hello

Happy Week 15! Shout out to the people who freely give compliments! You never know what those kind words may do for the receiver. I aspire to do it as often as it comes to mind. I’m working on it.

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✍🏾 #RandomSessionNotes

1. You can't know yourself out of emotion.

2. We're either running toward what we want or away from it.

3. Trust you know who you're dealing with. Trust the limits of your knowing.

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More on those values, defined as the core principles that shape how we think, what we choose to do (or not do), and how we move through the world. Perhaps we’ve always known what those values are, or we’ve been trying to discover them as we move through life via reflection or intention (see some assessments that help with the intentional discovery: short and less short), but how often do we reflect on where those values have come from? We know they shape us, but do we know what shaped them? Take some time to consider where those values came from and when you feel most connected to them. Was it instilled by a loved one or born out of an experience? Our values can come from anywhere and, depending on their origin, deserve some thought as to whether they should continue to be upheld with the same fervor and rigidity as others. We generally think of values as unchanging, but I think they’re worth auditing regularly to ensure that those values instilled at a particular time in life still serve their intended purpose: to be the best guidelines and guardrails for our operating system that we have access to.

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😏 Unrelated Musings

I’ve been consumed by Strangers for the last week. If you haven’t heard about it yet, I congratulate you, and I apologize. If you have, I’m curious to know how, for no other reason than I am nosy. I first heard about the memoir from Medium Size Meech, a brilliant, snarky writer who questioned just how close to the actual entire truth this iteration of the narrative is (after watching interviews, reading other articles, being around when the news dropped, etc, I presume). From his words alone, I had no intention of starting the book, though he wasn’t pushing either way. Weeks later, the book came up in conversation with a friend, and she encouraged me to read it. For whatever reason (reason forthcoming), it truly took no persuasion. I didn’t mind pausing the book I was reading at the time because, 1- this would be about the same demographic of people (I’m reading strictly for anthropological reasons aka the reasons we watch reality tv!), and 2- the book was basically awful (and I feel terrible saying that about someone’s art/creation/hard work, but man, it’s very not good, even this critic said so! But I will continue to read it because it doesn’t have to be good for me to finish it, and that says a lot more about me than the book! And also, it didn’t seem to make it to the screen, so the book is all I got.) I digress… I started (and finished) Strangers and have been down rabbit holes ever since, googling the people mentioned, finding reviews and wedding announcements and articles and old society pages and photos by Bill Cunningham, canvassing Google Maps and Streeteasy, researching referenced apartment buildings and homes in the Hamptons and on Martha’s Vineyard, and - centering myself as we tend to do - thinking about what I was doing when all this was going down. The story itself is heartbreaking and leaves you asking a lot of questions, but if you get far enough into the book, past all the privilege that seemed to be a hang-up for folks (not me, though!), I think there’s something to be learned about which questions are the most important to ask, and to whom. First question: Why Gwyneth Paltrow?

My favorite possible self writes another blog post in approximately one week! My mantra says I follow through, so I must! See you there!

xo janelle

ps. If you’re in the market for free custom workouts, I make them and update them every Monday here. For unrelated personal chaotic workout videos, random photos of my life and happenings, and more, come hang on IG =)

| Microdosing Wellness 15mg 💊