Days Thirteen, Fourteen, and Fifteen: Off on a trip!

Will catch up on Monday!

Day Twelve: No Theme

 

I’m not sure if I should start posts with the 30 Day Challenge entry, or end with them, or make them a separate post. I know my entries get, er… a bit lengthy.

I think maybe I’ll do them last, so they’re easily skipped if not something any readers are interested in.

Today is themed NO THEME. I don’t have a particular point of discussion to share. I did some new small things I’ve been trying. Like, when I get up in the morning now, I do some stretches to warm my body before dealing with my joints. I’ve been drinking two glasses of cold water right when I get up to get my body going (apparently it’s good for the internal organs — I don’t know if it’s true, but… water is good, and because I don’t have a colon, I need more of it, so I’ll just go with it.)

The nicest thing that happened today was when I tried smiling, greeting people, and looking them in the eye when I meet them somewhere. I’ve always tried to be polite, say hi, hold doors, etc., but I always kept my eyes down and didn’t engage. Today, I did, and I can’t believe the difference it made. People were really nice, and I even struck up a conversation with another patient in the waiting room. Positive! Cheerful! I mean, what is the worst thing somebody could have done when I smiled and said “Hi!” Snarl and say, “Go fuck yourself.” Or maybe punch me — but I think that’s fairly unlikely in the nice gym where my PT is held.

Anyway, that was a really nice experience. I’m going to keep it up — who knows who I might meet!

Another new practice might be troublesome in the long run, but I’m adopting it until I feel more solid in my positivity. I’m staying away from places, people, and activities that I know will do nothing but raise my blood pressure. Another character flaw I’ve realized, that directly related to “Stop being a know-it-all,” (have I shared that one yet?) is that I spent a lot of time in the past actively seeking things that made me upset. For instance, politics.

Day Eleven: Difficult People

Let’s start with the 30 Day Challenge first, because then I’ll move on to a different kind of challenge.

Three Things I’m Thankful For

1. Free Will — In most matters, I have the ability to choose which way I go. Ultimately, the way I live and the way I feel is in my hands. There are limitations, of course, but everybody has something. At least I know that no one is going to shoot me or throw me in jail for the kinds of things I want to do.
2. Electricity — Another weird one, I know, but… just look around at all the things in our lives that simply wouldn’t be possible without electricity.
3. The Big Bang — Talk about possibility.  We’d be sort of… non-existence without the originating event of the universe!

One Meaningful Thing That Happened to Me in the Past 24 Hours

I’ll talk about this more today, and it took me a while to decide that it was meaningful, and a blessing — I was challenged by my difficult relationship…

Day Nine: Gratitude

Today is a low energy day. Despite a VERY successful (is that the right word? Is meditation success or fail?) meditation session last night, I had a great deal of trouble getting to sleep, and as a result, am tired and run-down today. So this is going to be a challenge for me — the first real one. I need to actively seek happiness, and push away the doldrums, the urge to go lie down and nap (also encouraged by the fact that it is COLD here today!) I adore fall — it’s my favorite time of year, and this is my favorite kind of weather. But my mood and energy also tend to get a little more low key, and considering I’m almost no key as a rule, that’s not necessarily a good thing. It’s time to learn how to pull myself up and move with a bit more vigor than is my habit.

So what’s that graphic above?

15 Things You Should Give Up to Be Happy

I’m working on today’s regular post, but I wanted to share this list, sent to me by a friend/reader, first. I don’t take credit for it, and she’s not sure where it came from, but I like it. (Addendum: this list was most likely created by The Purpose Fairy,  Luminita Saviuc. It originated in an article on her site, and I believe there is a book about it now!)

15 Things You Should Give Up to Be Happy

1. give up your need to always be right.
2. give up your need for control.
3. give up on blame.
4. give up on your self-defeating self-talk.
5. give up your limiting beliefs.
6. give up complaining,
7. give up the luxury of criticism.
8. give up your need to impress others.
9. give up your resistance to change.
10. give up labels.
11. give up your fears.
12. give up your excuses.
13. give up the past.
14. give up attachment.
15. give up living your life to other people’s expectations.

Discuss. I will after the break.

Day Five: FAIL

I “failed” yesterday. I let myself fall back into old, easy habits, and managed not to move forward. I didn’t track my food, purposefully, because I ate an entire box of baked mozzarella cheese sticks, and my subconscious decided it wasn’t as bad if I didn’t write it down. Or at least, it would be easier not to punish myself for it next week when I haven’t lost weight if I can’t go back and say, “hey, that’s right, I ate all those mozzarella sticks last Tuesday.” And yes, eating just one high fat snack like that can ensure that I don’t lose any weight this week, or even that I might gain a point. Thanks, endocrine issues. (You may also notice my disordered eating and body image there. It’s not just anorexics and bulimics who judge and punish themselves for “eating wrong,” it’s also part of compulsive/addictive eating as well.)

I also didn’t do any stretches or yoga. I didn’t do any writing besides this blog. I failed all around. The only thing I managed to accomplish was meditation before bed, and even that I didn’t do sitting up with proper posture — I pretty much laid in the comfy position that I sleep in, and only did a “scan” meditation (which is going over different parts of your body one by one and relaxing them.)

Yes, I know how terrible those entire paragraphs are, and the thought patterns that led to it. Failure is the ultimate negative mindset, and the entire purpose of this journey I’m on is to change my negatives to positives.