About five years ago I was a slave of my own
complacency. I ate too much. I drank too much. I worked and tried to be a good parent and
hubbie but really didn’t do much more than that. I watched a lot of sports on television. I watched a lot of television in
general. I was bored and unready to make
changes in my life…until I came back from a vacation and saw pictures of me and
the shape that I had gotten into. It was
a wake up call. It turns out that Dean
Wormer from Animal House was right. “Fat,
drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life.”
I was tired of sitting on the sidelines….watching the
athletes on TV…not taking part in anything.
Long story short, I began running.
OK…I had always been sort of an off and on runner. Now I made the commitment. I dropped weight. I drank less.
I didn’t eat less but could now justify the additional helpings. Things changed. I changed.
It was a process.
Nothing happens overnight. I had
to change my way of thinking. One of the
reasons I was an off and on again runner was I would go balls out from the
beginning and inevitably hurt myself and take a prolonged layoff before
starting again. This time was
different. I started slow. It was as much about changing my mental state
as it was changing my physical state.
Through the process I became a runner, I became more mentally tough, and
I became a better person.
That was five years or so ago. I am still a changed man. I still run.
I have not packed the pounds back on.
I spend a lot less time in front of the television and happy to be
taking part in my life as opposed to watching life pass me by from the sidelines. However, once again I feel the itch to make
changes…to improve on life. Once again,
it involves living life more fully but this time I think it will be an all
mental game.
I feel the need to change.
I have flaws…a lot of them…but I am a work in progress. It’s time to teach the old dog new tricks and
I am not entirely sure how to do it except to make the commitment and continue
to improve as the days go on. Though I
think I am a pretty positive person, I feel that POSITIVITY is the key to
living the fullest possible life
.
When I started taking my running seriously I followed a
certain set of rules for myself that would help me achieve my goals. Just basic stuff: eating healthier, running
regularly, not being a complete lush, etc.
I didn’t write the rules down but I knew what they were. This time I am making a list so I can refer
to it when I am faltering…a little reminder of the track I am supposed to be
on. Some items are things that I try to
put into practice and some are things that I fail at but all are geared towards
making my own little world a better place.
1.
Be thankful.
2.
Be kind.
3.
Be joyful.
4.
Treat each new day as a new opportunity.
5.
Try different things.
6.
Forgive.
7.
Don’t sweat the small stuff.
8.
Practice openness.
9.
Listen to music.
10.
Read books.
Being thankful. I am
just as guilty as anyone for forgetting what it is all about. I am lucky in what I have. I have all I need and there are a lot of
people who don’t have that. I need to
try to think about this every morning when I wake up. Some thankfulness with my cup of coffee.
Being kind. I suppose
I am a pretty kind person. I try to help
people out when I can and I don’t go out of my way to be mean. However (and this is something I work on) I
can get sucked into the negative vortex of trash talking people that piss me
off. It isn’t helpful and I need to stop
doing it.
Being joyful. This is
what everything is all about. It shouldn’t
be hard but as I get older it feel s that the weights of the world do get
heavier. Work pressures are unceasing
and the bills don’t stop coming in but it is the same for most and it’s time I
started being conscious of how I am feeling.
A bad mood can be pretty sneaky if it goes unchecked. There is a lot to be happy about and I need
to remember that.
A new day, a new opportunity. This is another area I struggle in. Getting up for another day at work can be
difficult. There are a lot of variables
that I can’t control. I need to treat
those variable for what they are and concentrate on what I can control. I need to look at each day as a new
opportunity to learn and have fun.
Try different things.
I started doing this a few years ago.
Whenever I wind up at a half decent or nice restaurant I try something
new. Variety is the spice of life and
who knows what you are missing when you don’t take a chance on something
different. Mixing things up a bit in
life makes things more fun and interesting.
Forgive. I am pretty
good at this but there is always room for improvement. Forgiving doesn’t mean you have to forget
that people have wronged you. It just
means that you can let it go. Why do I
want to carry a burden of hatred or hurt because of the actions of someone
else. All that does is make my life
harder.
Don’t sweat it.
Sometimes I am good at this and sometimes I fail. I need to remember it…especially with my
kids. I guess pressures build up and
everyone flips out over the small things on occasion but I want to stop doing
this. When I get frustrated I need to
give myself a timeout before I react.
Generally, the small things, though they build up, are not worth getting
worked up about.
Openness. This is a
difficult concept for me. When I get mad
at someone or just feel someone isn’t worth my energy I shut down and close up…not
just with that person but across the board.
I need to get past the individual events and just be more open to other
people’s ideas or thoughts
.
Music. What more
needs to be said. More music. Less television. It calms the savage beast.
Books. Expand the
mind and the imagination. Don’t let
someone else tell you how to view the world.
Reading allows you to explore unknown worlds and because it is only
words, you can picture it without bias (or at least without someone else’s
bias.)
That’s it. A ten
point plan for better living. I feel
that if I can improve in these areas I will become a happier person…which will
make me a better person.
