JUST Do It!
Well, it’s coming down to final 2 weeks and I feel I have learned a lot.
First, none of this is easy. I really needed to actively set aside time for mental and physical health, or it just went along the wayside. A routine is absolutely key! Luckily for me I have a bit of a routine already built in each day. At 8:40am each morning I need to get my son on the bus, so I have built my routine around that. On nice days, which there have been many, that is where I start my long morning walks. The bus pulls away and I am off. On the not so nice days I do a quick walk with the intention of finishing it off on the treadmill in doors. Intention is the key word in that sentence. As soon as I am back inside the excuses come a lot easier.
5,4,3,2,1… GO
What I have found is that I can’t think about it. I just need to count down from 5 and do it. I didn’t come up with this on my own. It comes from a book I am listening to by Mel Robins called The 5 Second Rule. I plan on doing a full podcast on it when I am done, but the gist is any time I think about procrastinating (I am the king) I count down from 5 and JUST DO IT! It really has worked for me.
- I don’t feel like getting up in the morning 5,4,3,2,1
- I don’t feel like getting on the treadmill 5,4,3,2,1
- I don’t fell like writing this blog 5,4,3,2,1
Kicking it into High Gear
As of writing this I have two weeks before I leave on vacation for a week. I have lost 3 pounds so far, but my goal is 5 and I would love for it to be even more. This is the week I kick it into high gear. I never have enjoyed running, but I think my long walk can only get me so far. Tomorrow is going to be a new routine. Get Henry on the bus and then 5,4,3,2,1 RUN! My motivation is thinking about morning runs on the beach in two weeks! This will be my first vacation since getting sober and I am looking forward to taking advantage of it. Last year early mornings started at 10am and usually involved a morning beverage, which obviously lead to more. When I look back on those vacations and think about all the wasted time. Not this year. I envision early runs/walks on the beach and then back to make breakfast as everyone else is slowly waking up. That really sounds good to me and is not something I’m known for.
Mental makeover
The mental part has come easier for me. As I stated I didn’t just want a physical makeover, I wanted to focus on a mental one as well. Once I had a better understanding of how my mind works (Ep 15 The Disease of Addiction, and Ep 16 A D.O.S.E. of happiness) I started setting myself up for success each day.
- Start of each day with a meditation/reading
- Each day make a list, even if it’s mental, and start it off with some easy things to cross off to get the dopamine flowing
- Stay out of the social media trap
I’ve found that with just these few easy steps I feel better about myself each day and feeling good about myself makes for a more productive day, which also makes you feel good. It really is contagious and you start WANTING to do it each day very quickly.
Your So WORth it
So far I feel I have made a lot of progress on what I set out to accomplish 28 days ago, but I am not done yet. I know if I finish strong I’ll feel so much better about where I am on this vacation and I’ll come back rested and ready to keep it going. 5,4,3,2,1 here we go!