I spent this past weekend evaluating several programs designed to scale up my business. I’d see a program that looked like it was the most amazing thing ever, and while it said it offered a key feature I wanted, it didn’t. This must’ve happened 7 or 8 times. I’d give them my info, start plugging things in and then I’d look for the scheduling features and they just weren’t there. This got me thinking about the FAKENESS that is everywhere in our society.

I got my first taste of "modern medicine" while caring for my mother in 2015. She was in the Emergency Room four times in four months. She ended up in four different emergency care centers. Each time they changed her meds without checking why she was on them, gave her new meds that disagreed with her and sent her home.

Much of what I do as a hypnotist is helping people correct their self-talk, what I affectionately call "un-hypnotizing my clients." Each week, I hear people say the same things (and these are just a few examples):

I saw Star Wars when it opened in 1977. I was 8 years old and loved it! Raised on Disney-esque movies like "Escape From Witch Mountain" and "Pete's Dragon," Star Wars was very different. There were so many characters in it that everyone could personally relate to at least one of them. Princess Leia was beautiful, tiny, and tough. Luke Skywalker dreamed of doing greater things than working on a solar farm. Obi-Wan Kenobi was wise in the ways of the force, reluctant to come out of retirement. C3PO was intelligent but lacked social skills. R2D2 was the background hero, always saving the day and without much credit. Darth Vader was menacing and desired to rule the galaxy. The Storm Troopers were dutiful followers, equally sinister, wearing those cool white and black costumes. Han Solo was a bit of a rogue, street-smart scoundrel…with his loyal companion Chewbacca, the futuristic equivalent of a 7 ft dog…that could shoot laser pistols. The list of characters grew with each movie…captivating generations.

I just returned from my “honeymoon,” a Royal Caribbean cruise. I needed a trip badly because I hadn’t had a vacation in 4+ years. I’ve been on plenty of trips, but all of them were work-related. This honeymoon would be unique because I wanted nothing more than to RELAX. I selected 3 of our four excursions; a submarine trip that took us 118 ft below sea level, a day at the beach under a tiki hut, and a Mayan Healing Ritual (which will likely be another blog post). I didn’t like the Royal Caribbean excursion options for Belize, so Doug began researching other options. He found and selected a cave kayaking trip that seemed to fit in with my health limitations. A 30-minute drive in an air-conditioned van and then a moderate, 20-minute hike to the river. No problem! Doug thought of everything and purchased biodegradable sunscreen, water shoes, and a $40 waterproof camera for pictures.

For the past four years, I've been learning how to "leviwand" and "spin poi." Leviwand, if you've never seen one, is a baton with a string that you hold on to with a finger loop or a ball handle. Poi is two balls (or other objects) on a line or cord, also held with a finger loop or ball handle.

My last real vacation was in October of 2019. A real break, as in I didn’t have to perform, see clients, take classes, teach classes, or be accountable to anyone but myself. Every trip I’ve been on in the last four years has been work-related. I may have done lots of fun things on those trips to break up the monotony of work, but it was never a clean break from work. Even on my “excursions,” I answered phone calls, met with staff, took appointments, and did what I needed to keep my business going. It’s one of the “perks” of being self-employed.

A little over a year ago, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism. It seems weird to think that 30 years of my body doing strange things were easily answered in a simple blood test from Quest Diagnostics. Hypothyroidism is becoming very common in women my age, however, a proper diagnosis of hypothyroidism can take 20-30 years. Hypothyroidism mimics many other auto-immune conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, menopause, acid reflux, and ADHD. Even the best-trained doctors may miss all the signs of the disease only treating the obvious symptoms they see. My doctors missed it, even when I had a cyst on my thyroid eight years ago.

It was a beautiful weekend here in Florida…and I spent 99% of the weekend inside. My husband is on antibiotics for an infection, and I’m recovering from a fall the previous weekend that left me with a skinned knee. We decided to make the most of our weekend by being productive. We moved into this condo a year ago and had 2 closets that were not being utilized properly. Doug made shelves for the closets and went through the garage and storage unit, and I went through drawers and bins in the kitchen, bathroom, and craft room, and began pitching stuff we no longer had a need for.

The next blog in April, our month of Foolishness and Forgiveness, is about doing the WRITE thing. That’s right…errr…write!

Doing the WRITE thing is about writing a letter. It’s a letter where you dig deep into your soul, get in touch with your feelings, and pour your heart out into a letter. There are two kinds of letters you can write, and I recommend you write at least one of each.

Hello, my name is Traci, and I’m a huge procrastinator. And if you’re reading this, later, because you know, you put off reading it…it’s because you’re a procrastinator too. I wish I could wave my magic wand and make all of the things I’m putting off doing would just go away, but they persist. And then they compile. And compile. And compile. And then the feeling of overwhelm hits me like a ton of bricks

The end-of-year-holidays are supposed to be all about taking a break from work and spending quality time with friends and family. Unfortunately, with the current economy and inflation…money worries often get in the way of having a truly carefree celebration.