I want to start by saying, I don’t have a five year plan. I should, I know. As a small business owner it’s a question that comes up a lot.
“So what’s your five year plan?”
“Where do you see yourself in five years?”
“Let’s just blue sky this, Dani, where do you want to be in five years?”
“Blue sky” -ing my future - in addition to sounding like something the late, great Chris Farley would have yelled in a Matt Foley motivational speaker sketch, gives me more anxiety than clarity. Too much to think about all at once, too many variables a.k.a. things I can’t control.
Instead of five years, I'm going to go with five months. That gets me to May at which time I can re-evaluate. In keeping with the numerical theme, I’ve thought of five adjustments/habits I can implement that according to reputable studies will vastly improve my life. If all goes well I’d love to make them part of my five year plan. I will report back.
1. Talk to people more. Thanks to Laughter On Call, I am lucky enough to travel with two of the most generous and talented comedy people Lauren Pritchard and Nikki Ghisel. I mention them here because these women talk to people all the time. Drivers, flight attendants, baristas, hotel clerks, they take every opportunity to engage with other humans. Lauren once bought the entire flight staff candy bars and passed them out. Nikki and I go to conferences together and in the time it takes for me to check into my room she has made ten new friends. This exuberance is contagious. And also directly contributes to our happiness. This study claims,“assessing the social interactions and happiness of over 50,000 people reveals that interacting with a more diverse set of relationship types predicts higher well-being.” BOOM!
2. Eat less sugar. This is a tough one for me. Eating sugar in handfuls is one of my few remaining vices. Notice I didn’t add “give up caffeine,” because I don’t make promises I can’t keep. Also caffeine is now proven to reduce your risk for Alzheimer’s. As for sugar, not so much. In fact it’s considered inflammatory. Inflammation is the culprit of so many diseases now including cardiovascular problems, Alzheimer’s, some cancers, even asthma. The National Institute of Health calls sugar an “accomplice to inflammation.” Why, then, is it the thing I want most in life other than my children to out live me? As everyone who has ever struggled with addiction will tell you, asking why is not helpful. Or as Alfred Tennyson said, albeit in a much different context, “Ours is not to question why ours is but to do or die!” His poem literally says, “do and die,” but in my battle against my impulse to make cookies my only food group, I prefer the more colloquial interpretation. But I have to stop turning a blind eye to all the research now, and opening my mouth to sweets. As we say in Improv when someone makes a lewd, inappropriate suggestion, make a new choice. Dani, make a new choice.
3. Have more fun. This may not seem like an obvious one to someone with a laughter-focused life. And yet, fun is never, ever, on the top of my to do list. That must be why I laughed so hard at Robby Hoffman’s new comedy special “Wake Up.” “I don’t play games, I don’t like pranks…” etc. Yes...and! Having said that, it’s a new year and time to lighten up! Not exactly sure what it’s going to look like, but I did just hear about The Bob Baker Marionette Theater in LA with mesmerizing marionette puppies that I’m pretty excited about. In addition to finding laughter where I least expect it, it’s time to add fun to the quest!
4. Wear shoes that fit - well. Granted this probably sounds like a strange goal. Let me explain. I was recently working with a guy to get my alignment in order - this is what happens when you get older - there I said it, I’ve aged. Anyway, we were doing this squatting-type exercise and I was complaining about knee pain. “Take your shoes off,” he said. I did. We started again and poof! No more knee pain. “I knew it,” he said. Don’t wear those shoes.” Those shoes were my “travel sneakers.” They have been in all my suitcases for at least ten years! They’re slim and packable and apparently a threat to my knees. I didn’t even know this. Suddenly, I’m aware of all the items that I use until they are completely spent. Admirable eco-conscious life, borne of my fear of making choices from menu items to shoes to cars, all of it overwhelming. That’s right, I also drive a car with 220,000 miles on it. But it’s time for a new me - health and safety first when it comes to my body. I marched those sneakers over to the trash.
5. Sing. You’ve probably heard me talk about the value of singing before. Oxygen to the lungs, connection to others through music and all the neurological benefits of music. This year I am finally, actually, singing again. I started out as a musical performer. Until I got to NYC and stood outside audition rooms listening to Broadway singers! I pretty much retreated to the car alone after that. A few weeks ago I had coffee with a woman who told me about Voices Rock in Los Angeles. Aging hipsters singing rock songs. Twenty four hours later I was registered. Singing with people weekly is the perfect confluence of all the above aspirations. I’ll have to talk to people, it doesn’t involve eating sugar, I’m not doing any solos so no pressure - I can just have fun, and I’ll be standing so I have to wear shoes that fit well!
There it is! No five year plan, no expected R.O.I. other than feeling good in my day to day life despite the onslaught of reasons to be fearful and distressed. I hope you’ll join me in any of these. Drop me a note - I’d love to know which appealed to you, or a different one that speaks to you! Happy New Year kindred spirits!
