Tag: Life is crap

Posted on in inspiration, lifestyle, mental health

The Crap Joy Ratio

Penny Marshall quote, "If you're not having a good time, find something else that gives you some joy in life."

Sometimes you find inspiration in the least likely of places.

I often glance at the obituaries in my local newspaper. This morning, I was reading the obit from an accomplished doctor, Dr. Nicholas Evans. The caption under his photo read, “I have used my days well.”

He was Chief of Gastroenterology at The Toronto Western Hospital and a world leader in the research of the gut-brain interaction. What struck me the most was the majority of the column was devoted to his family and life outside of work. One paragraph in particular captured my attention.

His family wrote, “He shared his life-long belief in the ‘Joy/Crap’ ratio with generations of family, friends and colleagues in need of guidance. Everything in life can be distilled down to one simple question—does the crap outweigh the joy? If so, you have your answer, follow the joy, ditch the crap and change what you can to ensure the joy always outweighs the crap.”

So my friends, what is your crap/joy ratio? This week’s #HappyAct is to make one change to achieve a healthier ratio. Ditch the crap. Find the joy.

And if you need a smile, along the same vein of dealing with life’s crap:

Posted on in Uncategorized

The Crappy Act

Picture of a bird pooping on a cartoon headA few weeks ago my husband sent me an email at work. The subject line was  “The Crappy Act”. It was three short lines that went something like this.

“Car wouldn’t start. Looked down while having my morning coffee and saw dog puke that needed cleaning up. Get to work only to have to deal with three burning issues. Think you should rename your blog.”

There are days when, let’s face it, life is crap, days when it feels like the entire universe is conspiring against you. If you’re lucky, they are few and far between and the good days outweigh the bad.

We all have bad days. The main thing is to not take it out on the people around you, but find a way to blow off the steam and hopefully salvage what’s left of the day.

This week’s Happy Act is to be kind to yourself the next time you have a bad day and  indulge in something that is going to make you feel better. Go to the gym, drink a glass of wine, eat a tub of ice cream, or escape from life’s daily grind and see a movie on the big screen. Do whatever it takes to make you feel better while remembering this too shall pass and tomorrow will be a brighter day.

What do you do at the end of a crappy day to destress? Leave a comment. A note about this week’s graphic: I’m a big fan of the retailer Life is Good. They make great t-shirts, clothes and dog products, but I love the Life is Crap brand even more. If you’re into writing or websites, check out their website, it’s hilarious with menus like, “Guy’s crap”, “Join the crap community” and their blog, “From the Crapper“.