This December I Will....
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Hi Everyone!
How are you doing?
I’m continuing to make progress on my “I will’s” 😄
Today, I remember a family member - very dear to me - who died wayyy too young...♥️
AND I celebrate my recent, amazing lab results for my new healthy body & transplant ...🍀
The juxtaposition of these two extremes, it dawns on me, is, I guess, Life. Horrible things that we come to terms with & Most Wonderful things that we celebrate. By focusing on the Little Things each day, & practicing gratefulness, I am buoyant & able to weather the rest.💪We are ALL stronger than we know.
Sunny weather, trees & leaves, the feel of my cat’s fur, seeing family & friends - and calling them much more often, a more ordered home, a more beautiful home, drawing a face doodle & seeing who appears, how my body feels as I move, the taste of each bite of food, the texture of my soft blanket, a breeze on my face...
What are your Little Moments of Gratefulness...?
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@MadisonMolly2017 How insightful... you made me really think about the little things I'm grateful for. I keep a gratitude journal in which I write 5 things I'm grateful for each day. Sometimes it's a big thing, and sometimes it's as small as seeing a flower or having a hot shower (which isn't that small if you ever experienced staying somewhere without running water!).
My little moments of gratefulness include blue skies, the sound of birds through an open window, the way fresh snowfall looks laying on pine branches, a hot cup of coffee, my dog napping on my lap (even though she really is not a "lap" sized dog), the feeling of contentment in a home that I once wanted to sell for more "space", new friendships, being able to walk without hip pain, really appreciating off-work hours now that I have a real 8-4:30 M-F job, and just so much more.... Taking the time to use the Calm app and meditate, thinking before reacting, finding time for self-care...
and I'm grateful for this wonderful supportive caring group.
Peace and joy...3 -
littlebear0121 wrote: »@themedalist, great job with your activity for the week!
This week was a good learning experience for me. I went to bed on time only one night out of seven. What I realized this week is how often I react to stress by choosing activities that are unhealthy for my body. For example, one night this past week I received disappointing news and instead of going to bed on time, I wasted time for a while and stayed up too late. It was a stressful week because my daughter has been sick, and we've had some medical appointments to try to figure out how to help her. I handled the stress more often than not by making unhealthy choices.
To help myself in the future, I made a list of healthy choices I can make as well as a list of unhealthy choices. If you'd like to share which choices would be on a list for you, that would be great! I'm going to post these lists inside a kitchen cabinet.
This week will be busier, but I am more motivated to get to bed on time after seeing the results of my staying up late this week.
This is very insightful, @littlebear0121. I think a lot of us struggle with unhelpful responses to stress and coming up with better responses is key to making progress. As to your question, here are a few of my “better responses” to stress (in no particular order)
1. Close my eyes and deep breathe for a few minutes
2. Go for a 10-15 minute walk
3. Take a hot bath
4. Short meditation with a focus on impermanence. (That everything changes. No bad or good situation lasts forever.)
5. Do something that requires my full focus and concentration, thus a mental break from what’s stressing me. For me, this is playing the guitar.
6. Have a cup of tea and come up with a workable plan to deal with the stressful situation. Not just ruminations on what’s stressing me— a focus on practical responses.
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texasgardnr wrote: »In the middle of the month I wrote the above. Tracking with the little pink check mark has helped me track my progress better. I see that my pattern is that on the days that I exercise indoors, in the morning, it is much easier to drink my early morning water because it is right there in the area. It varies on other days, so I am still working on that. I am consistently refilling the bottle and putting it back after exercise.
I am doing a little better with my during the day water. I used to be really good about this, but I really don't know when or why I stopped paying attention to that. So this month I've been working on that also and making progress, so that is good!
Next month I definitely will be working on my end of day routine... because I truly need to be getting more sleep than I have been. And continue improving not only my water in the morning but tweaking my morning routine.
Just catching up with this thread for the last week in December!
Blessings,
texasgardnr :flowerforyou:
@texasgardnr, the pink check marks seem to be helping you drink water and that’s terrific! So much of habit formation is trial and error and figuring out what works best for you. Which makes it a slow process. But one that’s well worth it.
I think getting more sleep is a terrific goal for January!
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MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »Hi Everyone!
How are you doing?
I’m continuing to make progress on my “I will’s” 😄
Today, I remember a family member - very dear to me - who died wayyy too young...♥️
AND I celebrate my recent, amazing lab results for my new healthy body & transplant ...🍀
The juxtaposition of these two extremes, it dawns on me, is, I guess, Life. Horrible things that we come to terms with & Most Wonderful things that we celebrate. By focusing on the Little Things each day, & practicing gratefulness, I am buoyant & able to weather the rest.💪We are ALL stronger than we know.
Sunny weather, trees & leaves, the feel of my cat’s fur, seeing family & friends - and calling them much more often, a more ordered home, a more beautiful home, drawing a face doodle & seeing who appears, how my body feels as I move, the taste of each bite of food, the texture of my soft blanket, a breeze on my face...
What are your Little Moments of Gratefulness...?
What a great question, @MadisonMolly2017! My little moments of gratefulness include hot coffee and hot tea, the way the sun peeks between trees sometimes when I walk through my woods, how my dog Abby always wants to kiss me, and how absolutely glorious it is to be able to walk again as much as I’d like thanks to two artificial hips. And speaking of walking, I’m also really grateful for my e-book reader. I shied away from reading books for many years because I’ve seen what a lifetime of sitting and reading does to one’s health. Reading while walking slowly on my treadmill has been my most impactful, life changing habit.3 -
@themedalist Thanks for sharing! I never think to bring my tablet with me on the treadmill. I have both the Kindle app and the Nook app installed with so many books! I don't know why I haven't thought to do that. <slap forehead with palm of hand>
@MadisonMolly2017 Last night while walking Maddie, I had another one of my little moments of gratefulness come up. There is one section we walk at dusk where I always hear the hooting of an owl. I've only seen it twice, but everytime I hear that owl, we both stop and silently listen to it. It's kind of a serene moment because it's dusk, it's quiet and right now there are so many beautiful Christmas lights lit up on the street. It's one of my favorite moments of the day. Silly, I know, but I love nature and it's a bit of nature in the middle of the city for me! xoxo3 -
@PackerFanInGB, Believe me, I know the feeling of overlooking what an amazing asset the treadmill is. I’ve had my treadmill since 2003. And I used it regularly to exercise, but that’s it. About three years ago, when we started to become aware of how horrible excessive sitting is, people started buying treadmill desks. And I had the greatest epiphany of my life: that I could use my treadmill for far more than just exercise. I could read books on it! I could read and respond to emails on it! I could watch my favorite TV shows on it! It really was a watershed moment— I could do so many of the things I want and need to do, but do them in a far healthier manner.
Most of you know that I’m a pretty ardent proponent of sitting less and moving more through my website quittingthesitting.org. Many of you have shared your stories of how moving more has enhanced your life and many of you have participated in Sit Less Boot Camp. Both much appreciated! What I haven't shared until now is my inspiration for the website and the “movement movement”. It’s my wonderful Mother, who after raising her kids, retreated to her chair and reads almost a book a day. So many of her medical challenges are related, I believe, to her sedentary lifestyle. Now, almost 80, she keeps falling and can’t walk more than a minute or so. Sure, I know some of this is due to her age, but I believe, and public health research is demonstrating, that it’s our lifestyle choices that are the principle determinant of how we age. “Use It or Lose It” hits the bullseye! We can choose our actions, but we don’t get to choose the consequences of our actions.
I know that there’s nothing I can do to help my mom which is heartbreaking to me because she’s falling about once a week now. There’s nothing I can do because she doesn’t want to change or believe that she can change. But the way I look at it, through QTS I’m maybe helping other people’s Moms, and Grandmas, and Dads, and Brothers?
If you’re intrigued by the thought of having a treadmill to do things that you now do while sitting, but are put off by the price tag, I have a couple of suggestions for you. Use the treadmill at your local gym or at a friend or neighbor’s house and just see how you like using the treadmill for these other purposes. See if it’s a good fit for you. Then if it is, just wait and be patient. A lot of people are buying top grade treadmills this time of year to fulfill their New Year’s resolution to exercise more. If you wait just a few weeks until the end of February/March, you’ll be able to get a top grade treadmill for 90% less than what someone just paid for it. I regularly see treadmills listed for $200 to $300 that I know cost $2000 to $3000 new.
This whole post “typed” entirely while walking on my treadmill using the iPad microphone tool.
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I've really been having time deciding what to choose as my December goal: But I finally decided that I want to do some real sewing which I have been doing for the last 3 days.
1. My goal for this month (This December I will sew more)
2. The small actions I’ll be taking to accomplish this goal - spend at least 5 minutes doing something sewing related.
3. The trigger or cue to remember to do my habit hmm - haven't figured this out yet.
4. How often will you do your new habit (daily is best if possible) 3 days per week - daily is the goal, but I don't want to make this too difficult
5. What reward will you immediately give yourself for doing your habit? In another challenge I created a bingo card with healthy habits and I included craft 3 times in one square and just seeing that card reminded me to sew. So I'll make a similar bingo card and fill i in a square each time I sew.
6. What help do you need from us? Encouragement like you do
7. What does success look like to you at the end of December? At least 3 complete sewn items as well as 3 repaired items.
Mission accomplished! This month I DID finish 3 items and I did repair 3 items! So hooray for success! In addition the last quarter of 2018 has been filled with success! I am now practicing French, reading for pleasure, and doing yoga daily. I’m also sewing more and have a better handle on my essay grading task.
This group is such a wonderful encouragement, and I so appreciate all the support and great ideas I’ve learned in this group.
@themedalist , thanks for all your hard work keeping the energy going in this group. I’m looking forward to 2019!4 -
What an amazing bunch of people belong to this group! I have been encouraged and inspired by everyone’s posts this year. One thing rings true for us all...we are not quitters (except for the sitting!). We plan and hope and work hard to meet our goals. We succeed, we fail, but we never give up. I feel proud and happy to have met all of you. Best wishes to each and every one of you in 2019!2
