Mindfulness

Thankful Thursday | Post-It Notes

/ Luanne Shernisky / Leave a comment

Who among us doesn’t respect and appreciate those little yellow squares of paper that are easily stuck and then removed to multiple surfaces, multiple times?

Certainly not me, that’s for sure!

Particularly during this past week. It’s been busier than usual and I’ve resorted to an alarming number of Post-It notes, in a variety of places:

  • Refrigerator
  • Computer 
  • Desk
  • Bedside table
  • Bathroom mirror
  • Purse
  • Car dashboard

I may be forgetting a couple, but you get the idea.

Yes, I know my smartphone has ways to notate things that must be recalled at specific times. And I do use the methods that offer an alarm, because without the alarm what good are they?  But, that takes a few more steps than I want to do sometimes.

Not so with the iconic Post-Its.

Swipe, write, stick…easy peasy AND effective.

The History

Dr. Spencer Silver, a 3M scientist, was researching new adhesives in his lab when he stumbled upon one called microspheres; it sticks lightly to surfaces but doesn’t bond tightly. Silver spent years trying to come up with an idea that would put his discovery to good use.

Post It Notes

In the meantime another 3M scientist and church choir member, Art Fry, was using small scraps of paper to mark the songs in his hymnal. However, they constantly fell out. Fry realized that he needed a bookmark, which would stick to the paper without damaging the pages and be easily removed.

Needless to say, it was a match made in adhesive heaven. The two partnered on developing a product and Post-It Notes were born.

Initially, the notes were tried out on 3M corporate headquarters and were a big hit. However, a test run in four cities under the name Press ‘n Peel, drew mixed results. But, marketing decided to go ahead with a bigger sampling effort and 90% of those consumers said they would definitely purchase and use them.

Silver said that like many groundbreaking innovations, theirs was a product nobody thought they needed…until they did.

Post-It Notes 2.0

Modern day Post-It Notes have come a long way since then.

Post-It Flags came next; a way to organize with color coding, filing and indexing. Then Easel Pads, which help brainstorming sessions everywhere. 

Super Sticky Notes were an additional option to the regular ones and ideal for vertical surfaces. Refrigerator magnets met their match!

Post It Big Pad

A highlighter that offers neon ink + flags became a favorite among students. Super Sticky Full Adhesive enables users to go mobile, taking an entire pad of notes with them, adhered in binders, journals, etc.

Big Pads (a bit smaller than Easel Pads) allow teams to collaborate and the initial yellow notepad now comes in a wide range of sizes, colors, and lined varieties.

The Post-It brand eventually partnered with Evernote, the organizational note-taking app. With your smartphone’s camera, you can snap, save and share your Post-Its in addition to creating auto-tags, reminders and notebooks.

Today, these classic notepads are available in 150 countries with a product line of 4,000! The adhesive is now plant-based and Post-Its are definitely here to stay.

Office with yellow sticky notes on every surface.

Which is a good thing. As long as I stay busy, I can never have too many!  😉

How many of you in the blogosphere utilize these little helpers?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thankful Thursday

/ Luanne Shernisky / 3 Comments

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As part of the audit I’m doing with my blog I’ve been thinking about how to write more on the mindfulness aspect of it. That was one of the objectives when I created Following Seas, along with self-reflection and living intentionally. 

Mindfulness is defined as the state or quality of being mindful or aware of something. We can’t appreciate things if we’re not aware of them.

So, to be more grateful we must be more aware. Aware of all the things that make us happy, both large and small. The big things always get the attention, while we don’t think much about the small stuff.

I recently wrote a post about  Simple Pleasures, which gave me the idea for Thankful Thursday. My goal here is to recognize one thing each week that brings me joy. We generally think of these as “important things,” like people, special events, milestones, great accomplishments, and such.

Of course I’m thankful for my family and friends. I’m also thankful for continuing good health and having a job that I enjoy. But, the rule here is to choose something ordinary and nondescript. The things we don’t consider when counting our blessings. Those everyday items or occurrences that go unnoticed, but are truly valuable to us in some unremarkable way.

It’s also important to acknowledge what makes us unhappy…and why. 

I’m not setting any kind of requirements for this; no specific word count, structure, etc. Nothing is too silly or strange. It may be a picture with a couple sentences. It may be a longform essay. Regardless of the delivery, it will be something I’m grateful for and makes me smile.

I hope it inspires you to be aware of the little things that are special in your own world. And please, do share!

I believe if we look hard enough we may just see the extraordinary in the unassuming ordinary!

 

How To Be Victorious in One Postive Step

/ Luanne Shernisky / Leave a comment

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Some of the toughest battles we fight are with ourselves.

Whether it’s having that second piece of pie or getting the last word in a disagreement, we often act impulsively instead of deliberately with careful thought.

Everyday life is filled with external stress that comes from our relationships, jobs and a multitude of other places. While it’s impossible to control these outside circumstances, we do have the power to control our attitudes about them.

I’ve written before about the need for self-reflection when it comes to building a better life and relationships. Understanding ourselves fully will explain why we react to certain people and situations in the ways that we do.

In turn, this understanding teaches us to harness automatic emotions and use careful thought and reasoning when making decisions. Foresight makes hindsight unnecessary.

But, where do these automatic emotions come from?

If a given experience or person causes us to have a negative reaction then we’ll associate the next similar experience with suspicion and distrust. Sometimes simply thinking about the person/experience is enough to trigger bad feelings. This is called generalization of learning and can reinforce the self-defeating behaviors that often result.  

However, we must consciously want to develop this skill and that requires changing how we think.

None of us is 100% right all the time. Our different worldviews and histories shape our opinions and beliefs. We certainly have our unique perceptions of things, but that doesn’t mean the other person is wrong.

It simply means that your experience and his/hers are different, as well as the impressions that go along with those experiences.

When we think of being victorious it’s usually in the context of winning a competition with someone else.

But, many hard-fought victories involve ourselves. Understanding our habit of viewing other people and ideas in a certain way will help us identify the areas we need to work on. 

If we remain rigid in our opinions and unwilling to listen to another’s POV, then we’re destined to remain stuck. No personal growth is possible.

But, why do people choose ignorance over enlightenment? I believe it’s due to familiarity and fear. We’re more comfortable with things that are familiar and we’re fearful of looking incompetent.

Stepping outside our comfort zone and being vulnerable requires a lot of courage. We want to feel safe and that’s more easily achieved in a familiar environment. Being vulnerable means admitting we’re “less than perfect.” 

Research professor Brene Brown warns that perfectionism shouldn’t be confused with self-improvement. In this interview with Forbes magazine she comments that healthy striving is self-focused: how can I improve. Perfectionism is other-focused: what will they think?

To be conquered by our own negativity and narrow-mindedness is truly a shame. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Conquering those demons requires honesty about our fears and failings, which is never easy. We must acknowledge our weaknesses and work to overcome them. Realizing that other people struggle with their own doubts and limitations can help us change our perspective. Once we’re able to see through a more neutral lens our feelings and attitudes will change for the better!