In a mini little decisions interview, Victoria speaks with Caleb Smith of Utah. Caleb spends his free time giving away pineapples as a random act of kindness. Caleb and Victoria met on the Pineapple nation Facebook group. Listen to this quick but fun little decisions interview! 

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Episode 4: know who you are
Segments:
Words Matter
Quotes
Question of the Week
Local News 
Experience the Market
Affirmation
Serendipitous 
Hello and welcome to little decisions. I’m your host Victoria Cooper. For you new folks, This podcast is about kindness, connection and community and today’s episode has been my favorite so far to make! Why? Because today’s episode is called: know who you are. Today’s episode will start with Words Matter, explaining what I mean about being familiar with your authentic self. The quotes this episode will be throughout, setting up some segments, finishing others. We then go to the Question of the Week followed by a new segment: Local news! This is news for the Athens/Winterville, Ga area. Another new segment follows that titled: Experience the Market. I’m excited to finally have mastered audio editing enough to share with you some of my recording from the Marigold Market this past Saturday! I have an affirmation to briefly share and then we head into coming soon and another new segment: serendipitous. I believe this is going to be my best episode yet so stay tuned. 
    
Little list of ways to know yourself:

1.       Define your core values and beliefs. 

2.       Allow yourself to grow, evolve & change. 

3.       Change your environment—not yourself. 

4.       Overcome limited thinking problems (perfectionism, overthinking, etc)

5.       Challenge your self -image, update the story of you daily (know your real strengths & weaknesses)

Core Values & Beliefs Exercise: -----

Victoria's Sample Work: -----
    “It’s important to take stock. See where I am. The only way I know what I really believe is by keeping watch over what I do.” (thank phoebe judge from criminal for introducing me to her quotes through this one)  by Sister Helen Prejean, death penalty abolitionist. 

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Victoria sits down with former advisee and wonderful human being Wren Krupczak to talk about what it's like to be your authentic self, how you navigate that in serious relationships all while trying to be a kind human. 

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In episode 3 of the little decisions Podcast, Victoria talks about practicing self-care, sharing the 8 slices of the self-care pie! Life is not a pie, but self-care is. The 8 slices and suggestions for self-care are below:
 Physical
Psychological
Emotional
Environmental
Spiritual
Social
Professional
Personal

 the World Health Organization’s 1998 definition: ‘Self-Care is what people do for themselves to establish and maintain health, and to prevent and deal with illness. It is a broad concept encompassing hygiene (general and personal), nutrition (type and quality of food eaten), lifestyle (sporting activities, leisure etc), environmental factors (living conditions, social habits, etc.) socio-economic factors (income level, cultural beliefs, etc.) and self-medication.’

-          The international self-care foundation has written a manifesto for Self-Care” which has several areas of note. 
Question of the Week:  Self-care survey: 12 in person responses, 2 digital responses. Almost 70% of total responses define self care as: The practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health. 
In the news… 

a.      Drug overdose deaths in 2020 hit highest number ever recorded, CDC datDrug overdose deaths in 2020 hit highest number ever recorded, CDC data says this week. This is an increase of almost 30%, going from 72,151 to 93,000 and that’s just those reported. Addiction is a coping skill gone terribly awry; it’s also a deadly form of self-care.
b.      Netflix’s Fear street has a retro twist to it! Part 1 Is set in 1994, part 2 in 1978 & the conclusion will go Way way back to 1666 (series finale this Friday). Loosely based on R.L.Stine’s novel with the same name, its another streaming experiment with closely staggered releases of each part (in 3). The 990s were a golden age of horror, teens exploring the genre through movies like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, which became “classics” of the era. There was also Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Are You Afraid of the Dark that were also popular at the time.  Books by R.L. Stine also contributed to the “spooky” feeling the 90s had.
c.       This is neat. International Self-care day is coming up on July 24th. The month and day were chosen purposely, (the 7th month, the 24th day) since the benefits of self-care can be experienced 24 hrs a day/ 7 days a week. !

On this day, July 15th: 
a.      1988 "Die Hard" directed by John McTiernan and starring Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman is released in the US
b.      1972 "Honky Chateau" becomes Elton John's first No. 1 album in the US, includes hit "Rocket Man"
c.       1996 Prince Charles and Princess Diana sign divorce papers

At the Market:
a.      Thank troublesome farms and mayor Dodd for their hospitality last weekend in hosting a small gathering of us market vendors to celebrate the start of the season in style. 

b.      Thank the piper (which is a bagpipe player) for the serenade to end the market). He was playing for a funeral and I’m reminded of the phrase “memento Mori” , “remember you must die” and hope that you find joy and kindness in all the little decisions you make today.  

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        In the first interview for the little decisions podcast, Victoria talks with Christian Montcriol of Winterville, Ga, a lovely market patron who on occasion, can be found at the Marigold market playing his accordion. This is where I first met Mr. Montcriol and asked him if we could meet for an interview. We met at Pittard Park recently to discuss kindness, connection and community through topics that include local jobs, Winterville specific community favorites and how each of us appreciates the town of Winterville and it’s citizens! The audio at times can be hard to hear because we were outside at a park, this is the interview almost in it’s entirety. 

Below is specific follow up information to the interview, including links to places and things you might not be familiar with! Enjoy!  
 
 -Mr Montcriol has been blogging since November 2007, when he arrived in the United States of America. 
 - You can subscribe to Mr Montcriol's blog here: http://americano.over-blog.net/
 Winterville locations specifically mentioned: 
 Train Depot

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In episode 2, Victoria talks about how to live and be kind. Thank you first to Josh Green for his help with the new theme song for little decisions! Why be kind? Often you have a choice, so choosing to be kind (especially when someone else isn't) can be a powerful thing. Being kind is also a life philosophy and part of my moral compass. 
  In "Words Matter", kindness is defined as being attentive, considerate & thoughtful both to others and to yourself. Try to be kind through all your decisions, especially those little automatic ones. Being kind does not require self-sacrificing. The next episode will discuss  more on being kind to yourself through the lens of self-care. 
 In "Question of the Week", Victoria asks listeners & Marigold market attendees: "Are you a kind person? Why or why not". She discusses both the commonalities found in people's answers as well as some surprises that appeared! Victoria also discusses the power of self-criticism and just how important being kind to yourself really is. 
  In "Quotes", Victoria shares the following quotes for inspiration. 

1.    “A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal” (true for me with kindness towards myself)- Steve Maraboli 

2.    “I think probably kindness is my number one attribute in a human being. I’ll put it before any of the things like courage, or bravery, or generosity or anything else” – roald Dahl (famous author) 

3.    “kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind.”- eric hoffer 

4.    “a part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve.”- joseph Joubert 

 In "Connections to the past", Victoria discusses the ideology of peace, love & understanding which dominated the psyche in the 1970s and why that is important today. 
 In "Community", highlights from recent and next Marigold market are given! 
 The episode ends with a "Call to Action" where every listener is encouraged to find fun & unique ways to be kind to others. 

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Episode 1 Choose Gratitude
   This variety show styled episode includes a wide perspective of the idea of gratitude. The episode begins with the Words Matter segment, in which gratitude and how to practice it are discussed. After discussing kindness and gratitude as a way of living, Victoria shares some quotes related to the topic of gratitude. These quotes from Princess Diana, Franklin D Roosevelt, Mark Twain & Oprah are used to inspire one to put these ideas into practice. Since Victoria was not at the Marigold Market last weekend, the question of the week is simply explained. The market is the best way to become a guest on the podcast! We then travel back in time to the Nostalgia Corner to discuss how the Care Bears embody gratitude! Victoria then ends the show with a preview of what will be next at the market this weekend and on the next episode of little decisions! 

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The official trailer for  the Little Decisions Podcast.  Presented as a fictional voicemail left for one of her grandmothers, podcast host Victoria Cooper provides all the information needed to subscribe to the newest podcast about kindness. Victoria discusses the process of creating a brand logo, what the 3 pineapples stand for (kindness, connection & community) and information on how someone can participate in the podcast! 
   Victoria is at the Marigold Market at Pittard Park in Winterville, Georgia on Saturdays from 10am-2pm. A new episode will be released every Thursday; the first episode is scheduled to premiere this Thursday, July 1st! Subscribe on Youtube or wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss a single episode! 

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