At this time of the year, at least in the United States, national holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are the focus of attention and this is a time where friends and family reconnect after time apart. This past week, during Thanksgiving break, my wife, son, and I visited my parents who live in Connecticut. It was a usual November in Connecticut – the leaves had all fallen from the trees, it was a crisp and cold 40 degrees (Fahrenheit). So, in the evenings, we all sat in the living room near a warm fire and chatted about many things. My brother Russ who is in sales and personal development, and I, chatted briefly about the importance of personal renewal as a way to make progress in life. We both agreed on both general points and details of this discussion, unlike many other things we discuss. So, I took a few notes from this conversation, and have decided to turn this into a blog post. Technical Writing, among other writing areas, can be demanding on the mind and nerves. There are many things you need to take into consideration as you write. Hence, stress build up and you need to learn to renew yourself. Here are a few recommendations that I encourage. Note that I am NOT a doctor and in no way should this advice be taken apart from formal advice about your physical and mental health from your primary health care provider, such as your doctor. These are just speculations that are the result of a really positive and well-meaning reflection. Please ask yourself the following questions.

1. Do I get enough sleep?
2. What can I do to sleep better each night?
3. Do I eat nourishing meals? What can I do to eat better quality foods?
4. Do I exercise? What schedule can I establish to exercise every day?
5. What does my overall weekly schedule look like? Am I too busy?
6. How is my relationship with God and the universe? How is my faith?
7. What are my attachments? Do I have too many attachments?
8. What are my doubts and fears? What can be done to absolve these?
9. How do I gather information and process it? Am I wasting precious time?
10. How do I interact with other people? Do I trust them? What can be done?
11. How do I handle stress? Am I over-reactive or am I relaxed?
12. How do I handle my finances? Do I spend much more than I make?
13. How do I deal with people of different ages and generations?
14. Do I deal with others and include the quality of compassion?
15. Am I able to make decisions based on faith as opposed to fear?
16. How do others see me? Does it really matter?
17. Are my goals reasonable? What are these goals?
18. Am I reading a good book?
19. Do I have a life apart from work or school?
20. Do I call my parents (if possible) at least once a week?

Again, these are merely questions to ask in the quest for personal renewal. Sometimes, slowing down a bit to ask these questions and address important ideas is like taking a break from a long trip to change the oil, tweak the tire pressure, and check the liquids (like steering wheel fluid) in your car’s engine. It is better to discover a problem in the mechanic shop than out on the open road.

Enjoy your weekend, Keith

Note: I selected a Dunkin’ Donuts Latte image as the theme of this post because when you feel great about life, it is like drinking one of these in the morning as you start your day