Focus

"Winners focus, losers spray" is a popular mantra among personal achievement gurus. Fine, be that way. Now how many things can I focus on at once?

I teach Michaela how to juggle tennis balls while the rest of the tribe is actually hitting them with rackets (no no no! not the same balls we are juggling!) "Throw it up and focus on it! When its all the way up, throw up the next one and one watch IT. When it's all the way up throw the NEXT one up and watch it! Just let your hands figure out how to catch the ones coming down...."

For maximum personal achievement, send as many fun-colored balls skyward as you can. Focus intently when they are at their peak, then let your mind let them go as they descend. Trust your reflexes, your past learning and the systems you've created to catch them before they hit the gound. At the same time, focus on the next soaring ball.

If you drop a few, laugh hysterically, create better systems, and start again with fewer balls if you wish. DON'T GET CRANKY! It's part of the game you signed up for.

If you wimp out and decide you hate juggling, you can always put one ball on the table and stare at it intently. I guess that's a kind of focus, and you won't risk dropping it that way. But what is really WRONG with dropping balls, other than what we make it mean? Actually it's kinda reassuring to know gravity isn't doing anything unexpected. And ask yourself, if you really hate falling balls, why the heck did you want to juggle to begin with?

...If you get REALLY aggravated, you can always grab a racket and whale the heck outta that ball!

Leveraged Leisure

Spring has returned with a stronger (and more welcome) vengeance than winter here in almost heaven, West Virginia! This mountain mama's springtime schedule barreled in like a lion and is showing no signs of gentling down to a lamb. My apologies to those loyal readers berating the lack of new posts!

So how can one jam the life of liesure into the cracks and crevasses in the insanity? Well, the cardio cinema at the gym is an ingenious invention. For the upwardly mobile multi-tasker looking to leverage a few spare moments, though, nothing beats Movie-in-a-Moment (tm). The Laughing Gypsy is proud to highlight that swashbuckling yet compelling social commentary, Men in Tights: