Have You Overcome Adversity?

“Someone needs to tell those tales. There’s magic in that. It’s in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in way they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone’s soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words.” - The Night Circus

Do you have a story to share about how you have overcome adversity?

 Corresponding with the theme of the upcoming Peterborough SPEAKS event – “What doesn’t break you makes you stronger” – we invite you to submit stories about a challenge that you have overcome in your life. There is no story too big or too small to be told.

Select stories will be compiled in our blog, and two winners will be drawn to win two free tickets each to the Peterborough SPEAKS event, on 15 April 2015 at Market Hall (a $130 value).

You have until February 28^th to submit your stories to info@gphsf.ca. Winners will be contacted via email.

Peterborough SPEAKS presents an evening of stories and entertainment from six compelling, innovative individuals: senior design editor for Canadian House & Home Margot Austin, parenting expert and author Ann Douglas, Chief of Curve Lake First Nation Phyllis Williams, internationally-acclaimed artist Peer Christensen, President of BrandHealth and golf columnist Paul Hickey, and author, historian and former Dean of Sciences at Lakefield College School John Boyko.

They are joined by the musical guests Christopher Dallo & Brian Roman and emcee Linda Kash, who will present a pre-show to lead you into the main event.

Tickets are available for the Early Bird rate of $50 for purchase at Market Hall Box Office until January 31^st, online at www.markethall.org, or by phone at (705) 749-1146.

Do you need a good laugh? Of course you do.

It's that time of year where we all start to feel the looming pressures of the holiday season and the deadlines you need to meet before the end of the year.  And winter weather and darkness have pushed away any thoughts of summer....

They say 'Laughter is the Best Medicine' and this may be the cure for the winter blahs!  This event takes place November 28 at The Venue in support of your local family health team.  Come out to this great fundraising event where they will treat you like a queen...or king.  Either way, you will be spoiled with great food, amazing entertainment, and many laughs.

Click here or or call 705-740-8074 for more information.

Farewell

Its hard to say goodbye. After 15 years of fundraising and events work I am moving to a new role. However I will still be working in the nonprofit sector, I guess it's in my blood! 

For those who work in nonprofit, you will understand what I mean. The cause becomes your life. It's your passion and your hobby. To work in this sector is hard and yet the rewards are truly great.  

Where else can one work alongside volunteers, those who choose the work without remuneration, and often say thanks to you, more than you say thank you back.

And while the employees do occasionally become frazzled by the chaos and pace of the job, the volunteers remind us of why we do it, its just as much for them and about them, as it is about the cause.

Volunteers I worked with at the Heart and Stroke Foundation (my previous position before here) still remain in my thoughts.  What I learned, mistakes I made along the way, and survivors like Patti and Sarah who will be forever in my heart. 

Thank you for every one I encountered in my 5 year journey at the Health Services Foundation.  While there are too many people to mention by name, I will make special mention of my grandmother "Tee".  She always gets involved in wherever I work.  And while she no longer volunteers her time, the people in our office at 150 King Street benefit from her monthly delivery of baked goods. 

Farewell until our paths cross again. 

Hannah Routly

Festival of Trees 2012

Being Thankful

Given that Thanksgiving is this weekend and it seems to be the only thing crowding my mind today I thought, "Why not blog about it?"

For the past five years on this holiday I haven't had a Thanksgiving Day with my family.

I've had them with friends families, but never my own.

My dad works in another province and only comes home once every 3-4 months. My sister lives four hours away and my Mom doesn't want to make a big meal if no one is going to be there.

The only time we all seem to come together is Christmas.

I'm not complaining. I am very thankful for a couple of things in this situation:

•          Those that let me join in their families celebrations. They never make me feel left out and it's a really great experience to see what other families do.
•          When my family does come together it's a bigger deal than normal because we missed everyone so much.

A lot of people would look at my situation as a sad thing, but it isn't when you take a step back and look at the big picture as you can see. I want to encourage you to look at something in your life that may seem grim but turns out to be the complete opposite. I also want to encourage you to make a list of all the things you are thankful for, whether it is just a mental list or something you write down.

To help you with this list I will provide you with a small list of my own.

When you make the list pause and reflect on each thing.

It should make you really happy and want to smile when you think about it.

•         My parents - If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be half the woman I am today.
•         My friends – We share the best memories that leave me rolling on the floor laughing.
•         My sense of sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste – I get to see the colors of life. I get to hear the voices of my loved ones. I get too feel the hands of my loved ones. I get to smell and taste all the food I love.
•         My speech – Allowing me to express myself.
•         My health - It enables me to do what I want to do.
•         My legs - They let me walk, run, swim and play the sports I love.
•         My mind - Allows me to think, to store memories, and to create new solutions.
•         My school and teachers - These have provided me with an environment to learn and grow.
•         My fears – So I know there are opportunities for growth.
•         Music - For lifting my spirits when I'm down and for filling my life with more love.
•         Kind strangers – Brightening up my days when I least expect it.
•         Heartbreaks - This has helped me mature and become a better person.

Thoughts About Over-Thinking Things

I was writing a blog last Wednesday about a completely different topic and then it stumped me.
Stumped me so much that I had to do some research. This research drove me up the wall and back down again and because of this, I thought of a completely different topic....
 
One of my biggest problems used to be that I thought too much.

I overanalyzed any little problem until it became a bigger/scarier thing in my mind. I overthought positive things until they didn’t seem to be that positive anymore. I deconstructed things until the happiness that comes from just being in a moment and enjoying it fell apart.

Based on a lot of conversations I've had, I’m not alone in this.

So how do we not over-think things?
In today’s blog I’d like to share some things you need to stop doing to step out of your own way, simplify your thinking habits and make things so much easier.

Stop setting your day up for stress.
Crazy days are nothing one can avoid entirely. At least not if you want to live a full life. But if you have bad habits for how you plan and live your regular day then that can lead to a lot of unnecessary stress and over-thinking.

What to do instead:

• Get a good start. Nothing makes my day better then having a bagel BLT w/egg in the morning and going for a bike ride. So you should try the same: start your day with a few simple habits like a good breakfast, maybe a bit of exercise and then get started with an easy task.
• Single-tasking + regular breaks. As a woman, I understand doing several things at once is how we normally work but guess what! If you just work and work your whole day then your body and mind will become overwhelmed. Thoughts will start running wild and often down negative paths as stress rises in your body and mind. To prevent this and to do focused work without tearing yourself down schedule regular breaks every hour.
• Minimize your input. I love my social media as much as the next person but....too much information, too many times of  “just taking a few minutes” on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram clutter into your mind during a day. This shoots your thoughts off in more ways and gets your mind extra active. To keep your thinking simple, simplify and reduce the input.

Stop getting lost in the future or the past so much. When you focus too much of your attention on what happened and replaying it over and over or on imagining the future then that usually leads to worries.
What to do instead:

• Be here now.
• Reconnect with the present moment when you get lost.

Stop working without any firm boundaries.
If you have no boundaries for your work hours then you can easily get lost in working too much and in stressful thoughts about your job/school going round and round in your head.
Even when you are spending quality time with your family. Or as you toss and turn and try to go to sleep.

What to do instead:

• Set a stop time.
• Make a firm decision to spend your evenings with other things than thinking about your work. Fill that time with other activities that recharge and relax you.
• Remind yourself of the consequences. When you catch yourself with floating back into work thoughts or school thoughts, remind yourself of the consequences of doing so. Such as increasing stress levels, missing the other important parts of your life like friends and family. 

Chit's Post Internship Post ;)

I have been thinking of writing a blog post on how my experience as a social media intern at GPHSF helped me for pursue of my career. However, it is a little too late, but I guess it’s better late than never. First thing first, I am not really a good writer; my writing skill is super weak, so bear with me. As long as, you can understand my story, I am happy.

 I did my internship as a social media intern at GPHSF in May. I was there only for a month, but that experience alone helped me a lot during job-hunting period. First is the impression that I paid back the community I lived in by offering my internship at a non-profit organization like GPHSF. We are actively involved in social media, which in turn, showed the employers that being a social media intern is not just a position, but also an actual job and has distinctive publicity benefits. I told them in the interview, how we work together and how we enjoy working for the foundation, I find that the potential employers are impressed most of the time. But, that’s not the only benefit that I get from GPHSF.

During my internship at GPHSF, I learned that mistakes are lessons to learn and later to be used. Mistakes are not scary at all. Someone who never did anything wrong is most likely someone who never did anything. So, I learned how to challenge myself and be bold and be myself. I am very thankful both Hannah and Carol for teaching me and letting me how to be myself. Like I said, I did so many mistakes while I was working for GPHSF (you can see my very first post about my experience at Alexander Medical Center. FYI, it was hectic. ) However, that experience alone taught me how to handle in such situation. I am very thankful that our lovely executive director Hannah and communication coordinator Carol for being so supportive.

I have learned my lessons, but I guess they never really end. Life is going to keep giving me lessons in the form of mistakes. It’s up to me to learn them and used them to my benefits. Thank you all for reading my little post and keep on rocking Team GPHSF !!!!!

 Chit

Teamwork

Our 'Foundation 4' team at the corporate run and relay event. 

Chair Laura Boden, Hannah Routly, Carol Lawless and Orma Hogarth.