Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
I’ve spent a lot of my time lately thinking about what it means to have a good attitude in the face of painful things. Like having a good attitude about the future even when we’re worried about the big world outside looking uncertain. Or coming to work with an assumption of progress and joy, even when projects are late or budgets are tight. Or just allowing ourselves to feel good when we’ve been swimming in a pool of bad for a while.
It’s the decision to Choose Up.
To choose to lift yourself up. To choose to lift your community up. To choose to lift someone else up. Not because you have to. But because you know deep down that choosing up is the right thing to do for us all.
It would be easy to say that this is just some petty play at positivity. I understand that. But actually, hear me out, because it’s not.
In the last year, I was hospitalized, lost my beloved stepmother suddenly, went through the pain of sudden widowing with my father, went through legal hell, supported my partner through an equally unimaginable death and all the while tried to hold myself together for my business. It was a heavy year. And a heavy time in my life.
There were moments where the bottom felt like it had no ending. Where I would seriously find myself thinking: “What the fuck? How does this get worse?”
And in those moments I would get the same pleasantries that we all get from our family and friends. I would hear things like: “This too shall pass.” And “If you have a positive attitude, good things will come.”
But all I could imagine was this moment, right now, with the pain and the questions and the fear. And somewhere along the way - I started saying to myself. “I just gotta get one step up from this dark bottom.”
See, I stopped aiming for the impossible - blissful happiness. Joy. A carefree feeling.
And as soon as I stopped wanting for those big, lofty dreams of the heart and mind - I started to be able to focus on what I could move forward with in that moment. I started to see that I could make my way up - one small choice at a time.
By choosing to just compliment someone for no reason.
By choosing to go to bed an hour earlier and allow myself to rest.
By choosing to be happy about the perfect coffee.
These small little moments were my way of choosing up. Because it was all the control I could muster over my mental and emotional well being.
And it parallels nicely with my new vision of my career as a woman entrepreneur in a time where things seem uncertain on a global scale. I don’t have the patience or the capacity to drown in that fear. So instead I choose up.
That was the theme of my conversation last week with Lizelle VV of Women Who Startup as part of our new Mighteor Monday live stream. And it’s the theme of my entire next quarter at my business. We are going to focus on choosing up for one another. Because it’s the right thing to do.
I know that our minds can’t always control where we are at. Believe me, the prescriptions I stare at tell me this too. But I do believe that part of every healing journey is in making choices. And this isn’t a compass. The directions are 2 dimensional. There are other choices. There are directions that we didn’t even know we could define in a cardinal way. Choose a direction that makes your life better.
I have been in a shitty mood lately. And I’m not afraid to admit that. I’ve been feeling overwhelmed. Overworked. Overtired. Over it. It’s easy to think that the cure to these problems is just hunkering down and focusing in on the things that stress us, but really, that’s not always the medicine we need. For me, the medicine I often need is a total distraction. A total escape from whatever bullshit my brain is choosing to wake me up at 3:30 in the morning stressing about.
If you’re like me and you want to escape into total childlike glee, give these things a try this weekend:
1. Skip a real meal and eat all your favorite desserts for one meal.
Pie. Ice cream. Cake. Whipped topping. Sprinkles. Chocolate chips. Cookies. Candy Bars. Or if you’re more of the salty type: Chips. Pretzels. Fries.
2. Rent a Vespa scooter and tour your city in a new way.
A day rental is most cities is only about $50 and I truly recommend taking a training course first to make sure you won’t injure yourself or anyone else. But, if you’re quick to learn and even just a little bit brave - this is the kind of thing that will lift the adrenaline and make you feel totally free. Wind in your hair. Sun in your eyes. Nothing but road ahead.
3. Binge Bee and PuppyCat on YouTube. Twice.
Do I need to explain this? I guess I do. It’s silly. It’s colorful. It’s like being high on catnip, human style. I really can’t explain it more perfectly than that.
4. Go volunteer to play with kittens at the animal shelter.
Perhaps I’m just kind of obsessed with cats of all kinds, but most animal shelters and humane societies need people to come brush kittens, play with kittens and be nice to kittens. After spending your morning binging Puppycat, you’ll be working very hard not to bring home your own leather jacket lusting furry companion.
5. Engage in a glittery craft project and don’t worry about the damn mess.
Glitter will make you feel like a child. It’s impossible to control. It’s best used in crazy whips of joy and silliness. It’s generally unimportant what you do with it - as long as you enjoy the process.
6. Invent an all new pancake recipe. Including the toppings!
You know what makes me feel like I’m a kid again? Thinking about how my parents used to make pancakes or french toast every Sunday morning before church. So maybe you don’t have that memory. But if you have a similar one, I recommend getting the basic ingredients for pancakes and going wild. Blueberry white chocolate with almonds and cinnamon. YUM. Bacon siracha and peanut sauce. SALTY.
7. Organize a late night Skype session with all your best friends and agree to each bring a bottle of wine and a juicy bit of girly gossip about your sex life.
Most of my best friends live in different cities from me. I truly believe that spending time with the people we love makes us all happier. We laugh more. We smile more. We relax more. So if you need to, you should organize a Skype date. Just make sure you have a naughty agenda.
8. Go skydiving.
I tried this for the first time last month with my mom and I have to admit, I had no idea what to expect. I knew I should be a little scared, but mostly, I was anxious to know how it would FEEL. And you know how it feels? Freaking ridiculous and insane and invigorating and giggly and wooooooooot.
9. Get an artful manicure with a crazy pattern.
As a girl boss, I always get boring manicures. Solid colors. The occasional glitter. When I’m feeling crazy, I’ll get two colors or a stripe. Well, here’s a fun idea: go get the words: LOVE HATE on your nails. Or little smiley faces. Or peace signs. Get rainbow colors on every nail. Just do what your 5 year old self would do.
10. Be naked. All day.
Have you ever just hung out in your apartment naked all day. I have. And it’s damn liberating. It reminds me of being a child, because as a little girl, I hated my uncomfortable tights and itchy sweaters. Now as an adult, I still hate it, but I have a ton more patience with clothing, in general. Going without clothing is like channeling my teeny self all over again.
What makes you feel childlike glee?
It’s the song you always turn up. Roll down the windows. Make it loud. Pull your hair out of your pony and shake it back and forth. I love a song that makes me act like a fool. Or just makes me feel like I could spontaneously burst into any of the aforementioned activities while singing along like a karaoke superstar belting out the last tune before bar close.
Last week’s post about movies that are happiness makers struck a chord with more than 3 of you. So here’s my top 10 songs that make me feel like a giddy teenager:
10. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts: I Love Rock and Roll
Joan Jett is the fracking coolest. And since so many songs on this list are going to be in the Rock and Roll category, this seems like a fitting way to start.
9. The Who: Baba O'Riley
Pretty much anything by The Who is a happiness maker for me, but this song in particular gets me all dancy. I think it’s that repetitive synth.
Films, more than any other thing in my life, are like a shot of Xanax right to the heart when times are tough. Whether I’m stressed or sick or jealous or tired, these ten movies lift my spirits every time. I call them, “Happiness Makers”.
10. Roman Holiday
Be prepared to have Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck charm the hell out of you. I like to imagine myself going on a trip like this one, wearing flouncy dresses and getting into trouble with my Boyf, scooting about here and there.
9. Midnight in Paris
I am obsessive about this movie. I know it’s polarizing, but I dare you to not be completely charmed by Adrian Brody’s Dali. Hear that? I dare you.
JK Rowling announced today that she’s going to write a novel for adults. Cue the heavens!
Here’s my top 10 reasons it’s the best news of 2012:
1. The pain of Downton Abbey being over is tempered… And now Downton Abbey is the second-most anticipated British property on earth. (Julian Fellowes may have been getting a bit too smug anyway.)
2. She’s Jo *FREAKING* Rowling.
3. She must miss her readers as much as we miss her.
4. I was just lamenting that there weren’t any big *it* books to read yet this year.
5. Probably should just say it again for good measure: She’s Jo *FREAKING* Rowling.
6. When the book is released, there will be more interviews. I love reading news stories about Jo. It’s always so insightful and inspiring.
7. If the HP books were for children… and they got as dark and intense as they did… JUST IMAGINE what Jo can think up for adults.
8. The hashtag #RowlingReturns may appear in every tweet I write between now and the release of the book. Perhaps longer.
9. I will be able to experience waiting in line at a bookstore at midnight for the first time ever. (I never did it for HP and I’m ashamed.)
10. For fun? She’s Jo *FREAKING* Rowling!
