Life, for instance is like a porch where we gather to talk about life. It has comfortable chairs, cookies, tea and coffee. Except you’ll have to provide your own tea or coffee. And the cookies. But you get the idea.
We’ve been meeting here since November of 2010. The User’s Manual is a selection, 121 questions – and answers, from the first two years. They are arranged in categories for easy access. Following each post is the conversation and it’s never too late to jump in!
Life, for instance is a community; a safe, caring, supportive place where the sum of our thoughts is much greater than the wisdom any one person can offer. The conversation is not complete without the sharing of your views, ideas, and life experience.
We gather for new conversations on Thursdays but you can drop by any time. Someone will be sitting here, sipping tea, contemplating life and anticipating a conversation with you. Subscribe so you won’t miss a single post. (The links to subscribe are in orange up and to the right.) Now without further ado I give you…
Life: A User’s Manual
How to use this manual: select a category that relates to how you are feeling right now and choose a post. You will be taken to the post and the conversation that followed. Feel free to respond to anyone in the conversation. Rinse and repeat!
How to Overcome Life’s Challenges
- Failure: an Ingredient of Success?
- What Drives You to Set the Bar High?
- Are You Using All Your Resources?
- Flight or Flight: How Do You Decide?
- Challenges: How to Harness the Power
- How Do You Respond to a Problem?
Dealing with Stress
- Overwhelmed: How to Push Your Reset Button
- Laughter: Sweet Therapy for Stress
- Anxiety or Fear: Calling a Spade a Spade
- Despair: How to Carry On
- A Life Without Problems
- Do You Long for an Easier Life?
- Do You Worry?
- Are You Carrying the Weight of the World on Your Shoulders?
- Are You Lost?
Inspiration
- Are We There Yet?
- How to Stay Inspired
- The Guru in the Bathroom
- Inspiration: 3 Simple Ways to Find It
- Who Inspires You?
- What’s Your Favorite Positive Affirmation?
- Why I’m Quitting – More Often
Relationships
- What Do You Admire in Others?
- How Important are First Impressions to You?
- What’s Your Deal-Breaker?
- Is it Better to Have Loved and Lost…
- Isn’t Three Still a Crowd?
- Do You Believe in Happily Ever After?
Passions
- What’s Your Ikigai?
- Are You in the Game?
- Are You a Maverick?
- Would You Rather be Rich or Famous?
- What Will Your Epitaph Say?
- What Will Your TED Talk be About?
- Have You Missed Your Calling?
- What Do You Want?
Life Values
- Honesty: Still the Best Policy?
- What Do You Think About?
- Talent or Skills: Which One Will Take You Farther?
- Gratitude is Not Enough: Here’s Why
- What’s Your Desktop Wallpaper?
Happiness
Just for Fun
- How Do You Celebrate?
- Have You Ever Done a Random Act of Kindness?
- What’s your Favorite Comfort Food?
- What’s the Nicest Thing Anyone Ever Did for You?
- What’s Your All-time Favorite Novel?
- Have You Ever Played a Team Sport?
- Where have you Traveled?
- How Do You Feel About Snow Days?
- The Fun Factor: 4 Ways to Keep Fun in Your Life
- If You Could Time Travel, Who Would You Visit?
- Would You Like to be in a Flash Mob?
- What’s Your Favourite Food Memory?
How to Organize Your Work
- Are You a Workaholic?
- Getting Off the Treadmill: How to Get Organized
- How to Hit the Ground Running in January
Healthy Habits
- Do You Exercise for Your Health or for Fun?
- Responsibility: Where Do You Draw the Line?
- Do You Take Your Own Advice?
- Do You Procrastinate?
- Good News or Bad News: How Do You Judge?
- Do You Think Too Much?
- Red Light Green Light: Which One Means Go?
- Are You Following the Crowd?
- Past, Present, Future: Where Do You Spend Your Time?
- Do You Observe a Day of Rest?
- Is Meditation a Practice For Everyone?
- Who Are We Talking To?
- How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep
- How Do You Let Go?
- How to Step Into the Now
Holiday Chatter
- What Things are on Your Holiday To Do List?
- What is Your Favorite Holiday Tradition?
- What was Your Most Memorable Christmas Gift?
- What do You do as the Year Winds Down?
- What do You do on Christmas Eve?
- Who Wants to Go Christmas Caroling?
- 7 Ways to Manage Stress Over the Holidays
- Do You Get Excited About Christmas?
Thoughts on Parenting
Self-care
- Do You Ever Take the Last Piece of Pie?
- What are the Dark Chocolate Moments of Your Day?
- Should You Keep That Secret?
Beliefs
- Free Will or Fate: What Rules Your Life?
- Coincidence: Fact or Fiction
- Are You Lucky?
- Your Reality – or Mine?
- What Beliefs Sustain You?
- Are You Superstitious?
- What if Life is Just a Dream?
About You
- Do You Know Your Worth?
- Who Are You – Really?
- Criticism: Why Does it Sting?
- Are You Competitive?
- Are You a Hugger?
- How Do You Handle Praise?
- Are you Shy?
- Do You Feel Guilty When You Say No?
- Do You Cry in Public?
- Do You Dare to Disagree?
- Are You Insecure?
- Are You a Perfectionist?
- How Would You Describe Yourself in Four Words?
- Do You Have a Nickname?
- Do You Like Surprises?
- What’s Your Greatest Pet Peeve?
Life itself
- What Do You Think About Life?
- What Makes a Good Day Good?
- What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?
- What do you Value Most in Life?
- Would You Like to See the Future?
- How Do You Make Changes in Your Life?
- Do You Love Your Life?
- Are You Asking the Right Questions?
- Is Chivalry Dead?
- What Is Real?
- What is Normal?
- What Do We Really Know About Health?
- What’s Your Myth?
photo credit: Tony Hall
Welcome to Life, for instance!
“Lori shares plenty of feet-on-the-ground advice and techniques for forming and fostering community... The newcomer to community building will get a solid foundation, and the experienced community builder will find a useful framework as well as some new tools for the toolbox.”
"Lori has put together a real
page turner of a book. With
great humility Lori has woven
together a very insightful
personal story of transformation...
and in the process has put
together a doable set of steps
that anyone can do and
follow to their own happy place."
