Sep
2

Is It Possible To Change?

Here are two thought-provoking questions I want to answer from my friend TV’s post, Can You Change After…

“Have you identified a quality you’d like to change in yourself particularly around/after 30?  If so, were you able to change it and how did you do it?”

Since I turned 30, several qualities in myself had to change.  1)  Be more consistent.  2)  Be more observant.  3)  Become a morning person.

My husband and I were just talking about this on our 8th Anniversary celebration.  I attribute many of the changes to our marriage and having children.

1)  Be more consistent.  Prior to getting married, I wasn’t consistent in many areas of life.  I have many interests and got fairly good at all of them, but was not consistent to excel at any one of them.  Talent does not equate to long-term success.  By necessity as a stay at home mom, I trained myself to follow a regular routine.

2)  Be more observant.  I used to assume more than I observed.  Part of a mom’s job is to be observant and listen well, if I want fewer headaches :)   Hubby was the one who pointed out to me that I wasn’t observing others’ needs very well at the time.  It was humbling and I’m so glad he did, cuz I didn’t have a clue!  Now, I do my best to be more conscious of others’ needs and listen to them first before assuming I know what they need!

3)  Become a morning person.  I was a night owl all the way up to college graduation.  My health suffered a little, then a lot more after giving birth to children.  Eventually I just got tired of being tired all the time, so I began to eat better, wake up earlier, give thanks in the morning, and do my exercises.  Now I prefer the morning air, it’s crisper and more rejuvenating.

So there you have it.  A quick look at things I changed after 30.  I don’t always succeed at being 1, 2, 3 – but I give it my best shot everyday!

Here’s another one.  My kids started school this week with my youngest beginning kindergarten.  I’m feeling bittersweet as many parents do.  I’ll be adjusting to my smiles & giggles being elsewhere for half the day.

At the same time, as business is taking off, this blog will see some changes too.  Starting next week, I’ll be posting 2 (maybe 3) times a week instead of 4.  It’ll be an adjustment period as I gain some sense of balance among all the things I juggle.  I hope you’ll continue to drop by.  I read all my comments and will do my best to get back to you.  I appreciate you so much!  Have yourself a wonderful weekend!

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Posted by jinnialow Appreciation, Art of Listening, Marriage And Family, Work Family Balance Subscribe to RSS feed
  • Yummyjones

    The changes you’ve made are changes I am in the process of making and have changed. My biggest problem is staying consistent as I get discouraged so easily it seems. I like how you’re going about things and how you appreciate your husband’s honesty rather being offended. Being observant is very important in maintaining all relationships. Great post!

  • tvs take

    Great thoughtful post Jinnia! Consistency is a very good quality. We are morning people as well and appreciate the peacefulness of the morning. Have a great day!

  • http://jcmfamily.blogspot.com casey

    Good for you for working on balance! I think that is what I need to get a better handle on more than anything right now. With working full time and getting off to my fussy, teething baby and getting up all night with her I’m not quite sure how to fit in time for much of anything else these days. I took today off because I was up all night with Daisy and instead of resting, I decided to have the nanny come over so I could clean the heck out of my house. It feels great! haha:) I will visit your blog even if you only post once a week! Hope you have a great weekend!

  • http://mommyonlyhastwohands.blogspot.com Heather Jones

    Well hey I guess you and I are more a like in more areas then our lack of domestic skills. ;) I was a big night person. When I worked at the station I worked from 3pm til 11pm, I’d go to bed at 12:30, 1am. I’d wake up at 10am! 10am these days is like middle of the day for me. Then I quickly had to get into the 8am to 5pm schedule because after I was laid off I got a job as an office manager and waking up before 10am was soo difficult for me. Now days with a toddler, I am never in bed after 7:30….and usually wake at 6:30. My how things change. I am 29, but I still think you can change after 30…I plan to. :)

  • Anonymous

    It’s a funny thing – I was never a morning person until we got our cat. He missed me so much when I went on a holiday that when I returned home he started waking me up every morning at 5 for snuggles. How can you say no to that? Once I’m awake I have a difficult time going back to sleep because the ole brain switches on. I started getting up and having breakfast on the deck with the birds singing for most of the year, enjoying a quiet time of meditation, and having some time to myself before everyone else woke up.

    The cat still wakes me up – he doesn’t get the concept of sleeping in – and now the dog joins us too!

  • http://jinnialow.com Jinnia

    Hi there, thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. I understand the getting discouraged bit. Staying consistent can be harder than it seems sometimes. I’m glad you’re making these changes, they’re worth the effort in my opinion :) Hope you have a great weekend!

  • http://jinnialow.com Jinnia

    Thank you TV! Appreciate it. Have a great long weekend!

  • http://jinnialow.com Jinnia

    Good for you cleaning the house! It’s probably one of the first things that go when things get busy, you know? And you work full time, taking care of a little little one – makes time a tricky thing to balance. Kudos to you for wanting to get a better handle on it, I believe it starts there :) Hey, enjoy your long weekend, Casey – you deserve some nice time with your beautiful family :)

  • http://jinnialow.com Jinnia

    Yes you can, good for you for planning to :) You’ve already had quite the changes in sleeping/waking schedule! What station did you you work at that you had those kind of hours?

  • http://jinnialow.com Jinnia

    Cassiopeia, that is the cutest thing!!! Having your cat be your alarm clock, LOL. Sweet how the habit stayed with you, what a blessing instead of a loud *beep beep* you get a request for snuggles! I love this.

  • Kerry Mccullough

    thanks for your comment on my blog. i’m your newest follower. looking forward to reading more :)

  • http://mommyonlyhastwohands.blogspot.com Heather Jones

    Well most people who work at a TV station have crazy weird hours. So when you wake up at 7am and put on that pot of coffee and flip on the news, those anchors and people behind the camera have been there since 4 am, which probably required them to wake up at at least 3am to get ready. I worked the morning side on occasions and it was like death to me especially if I worked the night side the night before. So a lot of evening crews have 2 to 3 shows they prepare for. My first show was at 6pm and my second at 10pm, so I worked from 3pm to 11pm preparing for the show and closing the show…its definitely crazy hours….but that is TV for you anywhere ya go. Now I’m a stay at home mom and loving it. :) P.S. I worked at KNAZ, but Gannette downsized and laid us all off…the station is now closed.

  • Mamaslittlechick

    Jinnia I truly believe that if a person wants to change something they have to have the want, desire, drive and dedication to change it. It is possible to change at any age, but the work needs to be done in order for it to happen. Reading your post and how much your husband and you have such a great communication, I can see that it would be easier to listen and change things. Like your being more observant and listening. Sometimes we hear things about ourselves from others and we put a wall up instead of actually trying to work through something that can be changed a little. It is great that you listen to your husband when he gives great advice. It shows that you are open to change and that is the key to everyone being able to actually change their ways. If you want to do something, you just have to set your mind to do it and it will get done. Have a great day my friend!

    Mama Hen

  • http://jinnialow.com Jinnia

    Absolutely, welcome to my little corner of the blogosphere :)

  • http://jinnialow.com Jinnia

    Now that is fascinating to hear what it’s like behind-the-scenes in a TV station. Definitely crazy hours, how long did you work there and how ever did you survive? Coffee? Well I’m glad you’re loving it as a stay at home mom now :)

  • http://jinnialow.com Jinnia

    Yes – well put, Mama Hen! Thank you for speaking encouragement into our communication, that is uplifting. I hope you have a great night too!

  • Anonymous

    I would love to know how you learnt to be a morning person. My husband is good at mornings… I am not. If I could learn to wake up more easily, that would definitely be a benefit :)

  • http://jinnialow.com Jinnia

    You’ve probably heard it said to wake up more easily means to sleep earlier. I’ve battled with this for years…having said I was a night person b/c my internal clock functioned better then. What I’ve learned though, is you can train your body to sleep and wake any time you want. You’re the master :) That being said, it took a long time for me to even WANT to be a morning person. What finally convinced me was my health declining and I was sick and tired of being sick and tired so much. For the most part, I’m amazed at the changes that I didn’t think were possible before. Granted, sometimes I still have a hard time waking up in the morning because I went to sleep too late, that’s just a signal to me what I need to do next if I want to keep this habit I worked so hard to attain. It’s worth it for me :)

    One thing tangible I trained myself to do – when the alarm sounded, I determined that instead of hitting the snooze button, I’d pop straight up in the bed with my left arm folding the covers down at the same time. That may sound detailed but for me, it worked. Hope this helps!

  • http://giveitsomethoughts.blogspot.com/ Takie

    I am so much the same when it comes to being more consistent. I’m pretty much taking interest in so many things. I make jewellery, I play a little bit of guitar, keyboard (will definitely want to go for violin one day too), I write(I published one book years back), cook,draw, even sing! I’m fairly good at all of them, but still very far from the point I myself would be satisfied. It’s quite irritating at times, I can’t really say I’m excel in any of them. My DH always says I should consider seriously come up with a project and write. I think it’s a good idea but to be consistent require lots of discipline which I am working on it every single day. :)

    Great post once again. Thanks for sharing !

  • http://jinnialow.com Jinnia

    Hi Takie, thanks for sharing! I can relate to you in so many ways, lol. I’d love to know what book you published?

  • http://giveitsomethoughts.blogspot.com/ Takie

    Hi Jinnia, the book was a poet book published in Thai language way back when I was in second year in Uni. It wasn’t bad, but I don’t write poems about love any more these day.

  • http://jinnialow.com Jinnia

    That sounds like a neat accomplishment. Perhaps being a busy mother makes it harder to write poems about love these days?