secrets to my success

The lovely Emma at How to Italy has tagged me to share five things I do nearly every day to be successful. I love this idea. For me, it's inspiring to read about others' good, productive habits especially since we so often hear the harmful, destructive ones (which we all have as well).

But first a word on success--a slippery word that can and should be defined by each of us individually. I consider myself successful if I can end the day with a smile and the feeling that I did what I could as well as I could've. Does it happen everyday? Hardly. But I like to think the following habits make it more likely:

1. After I wake up, I spend fifteen minutes sitting on the balcony with Luna and my beverage of choice, usually coffee but sometimes fresh-squeezed orange juice (season-permitting). When I say "sitting on the balcony," I mean literally. I plop my bum down on Luna level, and we have our own pettie and snuggle time in the sunshine if the weather cooperates, and if the weather doesn't cooperate, we share our moments inside in the kitchen. These quiet, relaxed moments before the day kicks up are important for me.

Here are some photos from a recent pettie and snuggle session:




2. While we're on the subject of Luna, we take at least 3 walks per day (usually more). I probably wouldn't do this on my own without a canine companion, so thank goodness she's with us. Being in touch with nature gives me inspiration, thinking time, and an overall calm feeling that everything around me is exactly as it should be for one reason or another. It also gives me an excuse to take even more photos despite the fact that the locals think I'm a tad wacky getting so close to trees and whatnot.


3. I tell someone I love them. Always P, but if I've spoken to my mom or dad that day, I've told them too. For as long as I can remember, my mom has always told me she loves me at the end of every phone call--and this was when we lived just a town apart. It's something I've continued with my family members over the phone and with P in person, daily. I don't think you can ever say "I love you" too much.

4. I go on the Internet (when Telecom cooperates). This may sound odd, but since I've had the Internet installed in the house about a year ago, I've felt so much more in touch with the world and comfortable with my life here. Whether it's the news, celebrity gossip, other blogs, or personal emails, I need and crave this contact with civilization outside of southern Italy. It makes me feel more alive and part of something larger, and that's a good feeling.

5. I write. Could just be a blog entry (no offense readers!) or an email or thirty, but every day I write something, which they say is good for a writer. In fact, blogging has increased my "other" writing productivity as ideas spring up at every turn--finding the time and discipline to follow all of them through is the more difficult part. Back to number 4, though, and reading other writers' blogs inspires me to continue.

So there are my five things. I won't tag anyone, but I do hope you'll make such a list even if it's just for your own eyes. A lot of times we focus on what we're doing wrong because finding flaws is so easy (many of us even have people to help us if we can't find them!), but it's also useful to see what we're doing right.

If you do post a list, please leave the link in the comments for others to find you.

Buon weekend!