Summer cottage getaway

Posted on August 12, 2021 by Bhanu Misra Marya

With lockdown measures still in place, no vacation destinations requiring air travel are being planned – the next best thing is vacationing in your own backyard. The best way to do that in Ontario? Camping or for the camping-averse Cottaging!

A cottage is a great way to embrace the great outdoors, picturesque sunsets, time on the water and a change of scenery but still with the conveniences of home (sleeping on a bed, private bathrooms and better weather protection).

Camping is the same flavour but a lot more planning is required – in a good way because it offers an even more outdoor, nature filled experience.

That said, I am not yet ready for camping, maybe in a few years when the girls are little older and more able to help so for now we’ll take the cottage. We don’t have a cottage in our family, so we usually rent one or find a house near a lake.

Here are some tips I’ve picked up overt the last few years of cottaging!

Preparing for your cottage:
– plan your days as much as you can including travelling to and from, meals/groceries, packing and activities
– if travelling with other families, divide up grocery shopping and cooking
– pack for the elements (even if you have a house to escape not ideal weather from, you may still want to enjoy the cooler evenings and rainy mornings)

When you are there:
– spend as much time as you can on the water & drag your kids out as much as possible
– let the kids run free (safely)
– eat every meal OUTSIDE
– take lots of pictures & video of the grounds and all of the activities
– Find any reason to celebrate ;)

Before you leave:
– leave the cottage in the same condition you found it (especially the kitchen!)
– make sure to put away any boating equipment (these are more likely to get stolen which means you don’t want to get caught paying for replacements)

How to find your why + a small exercise!

Posted on December 27, 2020 by Bhanu Misra Marya

You might have heard the popular sayings:

Come back to your why!

What’s your why?

Find your purpose!

I’ve been hearing it for years. But I’ve only recently made the connection. This is the way I see it: Passion is a day dream, but purpose is a S.M.A.R.T goal on your “life’s to-do list”. Passion is about doing something because you have an emotional connection to it. Purpose is direction and the reason for which something is done. Purpose is fuelled by reasoning and usually the reasoning is the answer to a why question.

It’s the answer to your why aka your why statement that gives you motivation to do what you do. Your why statement will be the reminder you need to keep moving in the direction of your purpose. For individuals your why statement is not only your purpose, it’s who you are, your cause, what you stand for or your belief. Of course many companies and organizations identify their why statement as a way to keep employees motivated in their work. So why shouldn’t individuals have a why statement for their lives?

Your individual why statement is evergreen. That means it makes sense and is applicable to any part of your life, whether that’s your career, your hobbies or your life overall. It is simple, actionable and expressed in affirmative language that resonates with you.

Employees who have identified their why statements are clear in their direction and therefore are more inspired to do the work they feel compelled to do.

Organizations who see this as a win will support employees and employees will be more engaged at work. I recently participated in an innovation program at work. The experience was both challenging and awakening.

Part of that awakening was determining my why statement. Here is an EASY exercise to find yours.

Tools: poster board, post its notes (standard size & few different colours), permanent markers, chart paper.
You don’t need any of these tools, but using actual paper products, pens and a wall helps your body and brain align and really get into this activity.

Step 1: Think about your life and brainstorm 5-10 times you felt most successful and then felt most challenged. Once you have these memories are listed (on your post it notes, piece of paper or word doc), review everything and try to notice any patterns. You may start to see some themes pop up like “team work”, “technology”, “lack of control” or “creativity” – the number of themes doesn’t but finding the themes does.

Step 2: Based on your themes, take note of your motivators. This will help you understand what your contribution to others lives will be and the value of those contributions

Step 3: Write your why statement with this format “To ____, so that _____”. The first blank is your contribution and the second blank is the impact of that contribution. This should come easily but also may be an iterative process (ie: write down your statement, then tweak it a bit, write it out again, change a little something and write it again – continue this process until you have something you feel good about).

Step 4: Share your why statement. Share it with your partner, your kids, your friends, your co-workers. Share it on twitter, on blogs, on IG and in whatsapp/teams/webex chats! It will be easy to share your why statement because it’s all you so there will be a level of pride and excitement.

And in the spirit of sharing, this is my why statement:

To create and lead an agile team, so that we build transformative solutions, achieve goals and inspire people.

Also it’s okay if you aren’t ready to share it or if you feel like the wording is a little off. Keep at it, you’ll get it to where it needs to be and be thrilled to share it with the world!

Exploring Glen Stewart Ravine

Posted on August 11, 2020 by Bhanu Misra Marya

The last few months of the shelter in place with the people in your own household was challenging and rewarding experience. On one hand, we were with each other all the time without the help of our village and on the other hand we got to spend all this time together that I always felt we were missing out.

When some of the restrictions lifted it was nice to enjoy the warm weather which worked really well as some of the first areas to open for public use were golf courses, open space parks and trails.

We have some great friends and family who made plans / did the research to figure out where to go and what to see (Nokiidaa Trail, Moccasin Trail and Wahoosh Falls) and then finally got out of my energy rut and found Glen Stewart Ravine and knew we had to check it out.

Glen Stewart Ravine is a lush, deep forest albeit short trail walk in the middle of the city is pure magic. There are number of streams, downed logs for seating and lots of shade.

There are a few different entrances (Beech St, Glen Manor Dr and Kingston Rd), we came in from Kingston and there were a few 100 stairs to make it down. We managed to see the cute stream (pictured below) and then found a cute shaded area to eat lunch (pictured above).

The middle of the trail is the entrance from Beech and it literally looked like we were in Hawaii!

The trail is not stroller friendly so keep babies in a carrier and leave the bikes/scooters at home. The air is fresh and the way the sun pours in through the trees is amazing – you’ll just wish the trail was much longer :)

My Evolution Of Journaling

Posted on January 8, 2020 by Bhanu Misra Marya

Looking inward to find ways to be better for myself is by journaling.

For free writing and diary type entires, I’ve relied on my @dayoneapp. I can write long, free-form and always had an option to export my entire month or year of journaling to a PDF.

I started using the @fiveminutejournal 3 years ago because I wanted to be more present and grateful. It was by far the easiest way to keep me grounded.

When my mornings got to busy and I couldn’t even find 5 minutes to write in the morning because I didn’t have the time to myself I started using the app version of the journal. I would use it on my morning commute – it and made gratitude journaling more convenient.

A few days ago, I found out that I can combine my free form journal writing with my gratitude practice with the ease of an app! I still use paper and pen daily but having everything available on the go without the bulk of a book is a game changer!

Do you journal? Which app do you use or do you prefer a paper journal?

5 Ways to beat the winter blues & a trip to TO Christmas Market

Posted on December 13, 2019 by Bhanu Misra Marya

When the whether dips, it’s not uncommon to feel seasonal depression. With the sun no longer shining as much, the need to bundle up all.the.time and the persistent search of a warm getaway – it’s easy to lose perspective. I am learning to give in a little bit. Enjoy the warm soups, choose sautéed veggies over cold salads and drink as much tea as I want.

Here are a few other ways to enjoy the colder months…

Get cozy: fleece PJs (matching with family members? even better), fuzzy house coat, warm slippers and turning on the fireplace…!

A mug of your favourite warm beverage: Tea, coffee multiple times a day. Better enjoyed with a friend.

Watch all the best movies or series: Ok so it’s true, Friends is leaving Netflix but there are tons of Holiday movies to enjoy this time of year.

A warm cozy bed: I love love love the feeling of getting into bed with clean sheets after a hot shower. Switching to a duvet at this time of year can be wonderful.

Being grateful: Every morning and every night or really any time of day when you feel your mood slip. Take a moment to breath and give thanks.

Another important thing to do in winter? Get out of your house. For a walk around the block, to an seasonal event or a winter activity. Take a little more planning but you really won’t regret it.