Get it?
I figured I would give a quick update on my progress over the past couple of weeks. Things have been going well so far. I've hardly watched any TV (unless you count the two night marathon of the 5th and final season of Friday Night Lights that just came out on DVD), I've been getting to work on time (or darn close to it), cooking more, drinking (a little) less soda, trying to squeeze in some reading (I wish I had time for more), and I've now flossed 5 times in 2 weeks! I feel pretty good about these first two weeks and am really looking forward to continue with the improved me. Hopefully I'll give a more detailed post later on, but I'm getting tired and would like to get a little reading in before I fall asleep. Let's hope week three goes just as well as the first two!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Ch-ch-ch-changes
So I've been saying it for a long time, but it's time to make some changes...and this time, I mean business. For the most part, I'm pretty happy with my life, but for a long time, I've also felt a bit complacent. In the past, I have tried to convince myself that I would make a change (eg. getting up a bit earlier to have breakfast), only to see the attempted goal fizzle within a week or two. I have read that it takes 30-40 days to truly make a change (form a new habit), but as I'm sure you all know, those first 30 days can be pretty rough. Seeing as those 30 days are so hard to overcome, I have always tried to make it easier on myself by only taking on one change at a time. However, since none of these have stuck, I'm going about it a different way this time. I'm going all in. I will be working on all of the things that I have been wanting to improve upon or change in my life at the same time. I figure that maybe by doing numerous things at once, if I start to regress on something, the other progressing changes will make me feel bad about it and get me back on the wagon (or is it off the wagon?). I'm not sure if that makes sense to you (or me), but that's what I'm going to shoot for...I'll let you know how it goes.
Improvements, changes, etc... (in no particular order. Feel free to suggest additions):
I'm sure there are plenty more things that I could and should list here, but it is getting late and I need to get to bed so I can get to work on time. PLEASE help keep me on track! Call me, text me, Facebook me, whatever, and ask how my progress is going. Don't be afraid to scold either. If you happen across something you find interesting that relates to the fields above, please pass it along.
I know all of these things won't happen overnight by any means, but I feel like they are definitely doable, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens. I'm not sure where this motivation came from, but I have a couple of ideas. Lately, I've been so busy with work and other things that I really haven't had time for much TV or video games, and I just saw that I can actually live without those things and not miss them all that much. Also, in two short months, I will be moving into a new apartment, either by myself, or with a roommate, but the plan is to carry all of these changes into my new home. I'm not even going to get cable when I move. I'm sure that I will watch some TV shows on my computer, but I don't need an actual TV with cable...it just creates problems. Finally, someone recently came into my life that accepts me as I am, but at the same time, has made me want to become a better person, the person I know I can be. I just needed a reason to do it.
Improvements, changes, etc... (in no particular order. Feel free to suggest additions):
-Stop being so goddamn lazy:
this could be the whole list by itself, but the main focus is on just doing the small things that need to be done, especially since 'it' only takes 2 minutes and won't be in the back of my mind every time I'm around 'it'.
-Watch less TV
-Play less video games:
already happening actually
-Read more:
I actually started a book (see right hand column). I actually enjoy reading, but I just don't do it because I spend too much time watching TV. Stupid. I'm ready to read and educate myself.
-Educate myself:
I don't want to turn into one of those people that spends hours online pouring over news articles, but I'm waaaayyyy to apathetic right now, and could use a little more information in my life. Not just educate myself on current events either, but on life and philosophy and other things. The book I'm reading now is quite good so far, and the kind of thing I've been wanting to read for quite a while. Good ol' Naturalism.
-Eat less fast food:
I enjoy dinning out, it is my biggest vice and money guzzler, but as long as it is decent food, I don't see the problem. However, I still eat more fast food than I should, and I would definitely like to cut more of that out.
-Cook more:
I enjoy cooking, it is just hard to find time for it. I use climbing as an excuse a lot, since I go to the gym after work then get home around 8:30, who wants to cook? But really, climbing is only a few days a week, and I should have leftovers from the other nights.
-Cook healthier, real meals:
A lot of times when I do 'cook', it is Chef Boyardee or Hamburger Helper. Is that really cooking? Although I like that stuff, and there is a time and place for them, in general, I need to start cooking lighter, healthier meals; not because I'm trying to lose weight or anything, I just feel that I could be a much healthier person, which would give me more energy, which would make me want to do more, which would make me less lazy, which would...oh, you get the idea.
-Drink less soda (pop):
I drink WAAAY too much soda right now. By no means will I cut it out completely, because man, do I love me some soda, but it has gotten a bit ridiculous.
-Take better care of my body:
See above. Also, I finally started taking my vitamins. Day 1.
-Start taking better care of my teeth:
I have decently healthy teeth (surprisingly...knock on wood), but I really need to start flossing. Tonight will be night 3 of flossing out of the past 5. Not bad right? (it won't ever become an every night ritual, but it's better than once every 2 years).
-Get more done around the house:
I definitely need to contribute more to the overall cleanliness of our apartment.
-Get to work on time:
I have gotten in a bad habit of rolling into work late. Not just 5 minutes, but sometimes up to 20. Some of that is because I can get away with it (for now...who knows how long that would last), but I need to take charge and stop taking advantage. It really isn't that hard: just get to bed at a decent time by not watching so much TV and wake up well rested so I don't have to hit snooze 15 times...
-Be more considerate, less self-centered:
Sometimes I can hide it, sometimes I can't, but deep down, I'm a pretty selfish person, and I don't like that. I definitely spend too much time thinking about me. 'If I do this for someone, then I won't be able to do this (read watch TV) for myself.' How crappy is that?
this could be the whole list by itself, but the main focus is on just doing the small things that need to be done, especially since 'it' only takes 2 minutes and won't be in the back of my mind every time I'm around 'it'.
-Watch less TV
-Play less video games:
already happening actually
-Read more:
I actually started a book (see right hand column). I actually enjoy reading, but I just don't do it because I spend too much time watching TV. Stupid. I'm ready to read and educate myself.
-Educate myself:
I don't want to turn into one of those people that spends hours online pouring over news articles, but I'm waaaayyyy to apathetic right now, and could use a little more information in my life. Not just educate myself on current events either, but on life and philosophy and other things. The book I'm reading now is quite good so far, and the kind of thing I've been wanting to read for quite a while. Good ol' Naturalism.
-Eat less fast food:
I enjoy dinning out, it is my biggest vice and money guzzler, but as long as it is decent food, I don't see the problem. However, I still eat more fast food than I should, and I would definitely like to cut more of that out.
-Cook more:
I enjoy cooking, it is just hard to find time for it. I use climbing as an excuse a lot, since I go to the gym after work then get home around 8:30, who wants to cook? But really, climbing is only a few days a week, and I should have leftovers from the other nights.
-Cook healthier, real meals:
A lot of times when I do 'cook', it is Chef Boyardee or Hamburger Helper. Is that really cooking? Although I like that stuff, and there is a time and place for them, in general, I need to start cooking lighter, healthier meals; not because I'm trying to lose weight or anything, I just feel that I could be a much healthier person, which would give me more energy, which would make me want to do more, which would make me less lazy, which would...oh, you get the idea.
-Drink less soda (pop):
I drink WAAAY too much soda right now. By no means will I cut it out completely, because man, do I love me some soda, but it has gotten a bit ridiculous.
-Take better care of my body:
See above. Also, I finally started taking my vitamins. Day 1.
-Start taking better care of my teeth:
I have decently healthy teeth (surprisingly...knock on wood), but I really need to start flossing. Tonight will be night 3 of flossing out of the past 5. Not bad right? (it won't ever become an every night ritual, but it's better than once every 2 years).
-Get more done around the house:
I definitely need to contribute more to the overall cleanliness of our apartment.
-Get to work on time:
I have gotten in a bad habit of rolling into work late. Not just 5 minutes, but sometimes up to 20. Some of that is because I can get away with it (for now...who knows how long that would last), but I need to take charge and stop taking advantage. It really isn't that hard: just get to bed at a decent time by not watching so much TV and wake up well rested so I don't have to hit snooze 15 times...
-Be more considerate, less self-centered:
Sometimes I can hide it, sometimes I can't, but deep down, I'm a pretty selfish person, and I don't like that. I definitely spend too much time thinking about me. 'If I do this for someone, then I won't be able to do this (read watch TV) for myself.' How crappy is that?
I'm sure there are plenty more things that I could and should list here, but it is getting late and I need to get to bed so I can get to work on time. PLEASE help keep me on track! Call me, text me, Facebook me, whatever, and ask how my progress is going. Don't be afraid to scold either. If you happen across something you find interesting that relates to the fields above, please pass it along.
I know all of these things won't happen overnight by any means, but I feel like they are definitely doable, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens. I'm not sure where this motivation came from, but I have a couple of ideas. Lately, I've been so busy with work and other things that I really haven't had time for much TV or video games, and I just saw that I can actually live without those things and not miss them all that much. Also, in two short months, I will be moving into a new apartment, either by myself, or with a roommate, but the plan is to carry all of these changes into my new home. I'm not even going to get cable when I move. I'm sure that I will watch some TV shows on my computer, but I don't need an actual TV with cable...it just creates problems. Finally, someone recently came into my life that accepts me as I am, but at the same time, has made me want to become a better person, the person I know I can be. I just needed a reason to do it.
- I'm not trying to change who I am...just what I do. -
-Quotes that have jumped out at me from the Aldo Leopold book I'm currently reading:
"A March morning is only as drab as he who walks in it without a glance skyward, ear cocked for geese. I once knew an educated lady, banded by Phi Beta Kappa, who told me that she had never heard or seen the geese that twice a year proclaim the revolving seasons to her well-insulated roof. Is education possibly a process of trading awareness for things of lesser worth? The goose who trades his is soon a pile of feathers."
"The drama of the sky dance is enacted nightly on hundreds of farms, the owners of which sigh for entertainment, but harbor the illusion that it is to be sought in theaters. They live on the land, but not by the land."
"How like fish we are: ready, nay eager, to seize upon whatever new thing some wind of circumstance shakes down upon the river of time! And how we rue our haste, finding the gilded morsel to contain a hook."
"A March morning is only as drab as he who walks in it without a glance skyward, ear cocked for geese. I once knew an educated lady, banded by Phi Beta Kappa, who told me that she had never heard or seen the geese that twice a year proclaim the revolving seasons to her well-insulated roof. Is education possibly a process of trading awareness for things of lesser worth? The goose who trades his is soon a pile of feathers."
"The drama of the sky dance is enacted nightly on hundreds of farms, the owners of which sigh for entertainment, but harbor the illusion that it is to be sought in theaters. They live on the land, but not by the land."
"How like fish we are: ready, nay eager, to seize upon whatever new thing some wind of circumstance shakes down upon the river of time! And how we rue our haste, finding the gilded morsel to contain a hook."
Sunday, February 6, 2011
New Photos
I finally got around to updating my Flickr page. Maybe someday soon I'll get around to updating my blog. Check out my photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/drodino/
Climbing has been going all right. My gym's bouldering competition is this coming Saturday. I've decided to bump myself up to the top division this year. My goal is to just not get last! (there will probably only be 5 - 7 people competing in the elite division.) Wish me luck!
Climbing has been going all right. My gym's bouldering competition is this coming Saturday. I've decided to bump myself up to the top division this year. My goal is to just not get last! (there will probably only be 5 - 7 people competing in the elite division.) Wish me luck!
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