Welcome to the Year of the Earth Pig!

This week millions of people around the world celebrated the Lunar New Year. According to the Chinese zodiac, 2019 is the Year of the Earth Pig.

Fun searching on Google tells us that “A pig represents luck, overall good fortune, wealth, honesty, general prosperity, symbolizing a hard working, a peace-loving person, a truthful, generous, patient, reliable, trusting, sincere, giving, sociable person with a large sense of humor and understanding.”

Part 5 of My Compelling blog series continues with the letters MNO & P which stand for Molding Novel Outlooks and Perspectives.

Scroll past the pigs to see some new ideas.

Photo by Steve Smull

Random Thoughts and Suggestions

• Feeling stuck or in a rut? Break out clay, Playdoh or coloring books.
• Listen to Pink Floyd’s Animals album.  “Pigs on a Wing” and “Sheep” are two of my favorites songs.
• Read interesting and thought provoking books like:
  • Teatime for the Firefly by Shona Patel
  • Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
  • The Code of the Extraordinary Mind by Vishen Lakhiani
  • The Art of Dancing in the Rain by Garth Stein
• Listen to podcasts to get more in depth analysis and nuance an various subjects (Fresh Air, This American Life, Good Life Project).
• Take a different route on your way to work or the grocery store.
• Read Dilbert comic strips.
• Instead of making lofty new year’s resolutions in January- try setting smaller monthly goals and objectives.
• Don’t be afraid to wear silly hats.
• Listen more than you speak.
• Read about another country’s history.
• Take more time to pet your cats, dogs, or other pets.
• Ask a young child what they think about a specific subject.
• Watch classic black and white movies.