Ten years later, I am still convincing people to have a life and if they don’t have one, we talk about how to get one. It’s advice that I sometimes have to remind myself about. It’s easy for any of us to get caught up in work and decompress by watching hours of TV or strolling through Facebook while ignoring the activities we really want to do.

One of my doctors has been exploring his photography interest for the past couple of years, and he has been submitting his photographs to juried shows. Photography is more than a hobby for him. It’s a passion and is as much of a calling as medicine is to him.

Having a hobby is healthy and helps you reduce stress and increase your happiness. Like the saying goes, all work and no play makes us dull, lifeless, and stressed out. Your spark is missing.

So light your fire. Make time for your passion, your interests. Have a life. Get a life.

You learn a great deal when you move.  Throw in the fact that you’re moving into your first house, and it’s even more of a lesson. My brother had to remind me that I had a gas water heater and furnace so I needed to turn the gas on. I’m sure a few cold showers would have caused me to investigate, but it was good to know that before I moved in.  Suddenly, I have a lawn that needs mowing, drips that need to be fixed, and painted over outlets to replace. This time, I can’t just call the apartment office and have them to take care of it. I have to do it myself. So I’m definitely feeling more grown up. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

My new old house needs to come into the 21st Century. The kitchen hasn’t been updated since it was built in 1964, and the living carpet, the inside of the garage, a bedroom and a bathroom are pink — and not the good kind of pink. In addition to renovating the kitchen and de-pinking the house, I also need to update the tired and neglected bathrooms, replace outlets and doorknobs, and of course, paint. As this house gets into the shape, so am I. I’ve neglected my exercise routine, and it’s time to get back on the ellipitical.

This Old House and I are getting back into shape, and we’re going to do it one step — and one doorknob — at a time. I’ll keep you posted.

Go buy yourself some flowers, take the time to listen to your favorite tunes, paint your toe nails, or take a stroll through a museum or a park. You deserve it. So what kindness are you going to do for yourself?

It was a drippy, blustery day. After my haircut, I had put my short-sleeve shirt back on and was preparing to leave. I bid good-bye to Robin and Madison, and Madison said, “You’re going to be cold out there.” I shrugged and said, “Well, I have enough body fat to keep me warm.” It was one of those flip, self-deprecating remarks that so many of us make about ourselves. I wasn’t prepared for Madison’s response. “You said that about your body? That’s horrible, horrible, horrible.”

Her mother and I just looked at each other with that realism that women of our age have. We both laughed it off, and I went my way.

Later that day, I thought about what Madison said. And you know what? She was right. Negative self-talk is not helpful. How many of us say bad things about ourselves to ourselves? I’ve comforted so many clients who have beat themselves up for having clutter. It doesn’t do us any good and makes us feel worse about ourselves.

So let’s keep our self-talk positive. Or to borrow a phrase from Madison, let’s keep it positive, positive, positive.