Goal or habits
This year I have a couple of goals I’m trying to get to. These new goals require a few new habits. I’m still in a position where work is out of the question so it gives me a certain amount of time. However a reduced capacity for income means that I have to be careful about my spending. Some “easy” things I’m trying to do:
1) cold showers, not easy for sure. The act of getting under that cold water is difficult. There appear to be few researched based reasons for this but one of the pertinent reasons for me is just simply to do something difficult. I want to have a stronger mind set to deal with more difficult situations.
2) more cardio. I hate cardio. Hate it. Before cancer I could get easily anywhere between 15,0000 to 20,000 steps a day and sometimes top out at 25,000 even. Now, I get less than 5,000 if I’m lucky. I need to get moving. I’ve got a couple different pieces of cardio equipment at the house since it’s still questionable for me about leaving the house and getting out in public. So a bike and rower it is. At least 20 minutes for now. That’s usually in one bout or spread across 2 sessions. The goal, as my ass gets more used to sitting on a bike seat is to spend more time on the bike. The goal will be eventually an hour a day broken into 2 30 minute sessions.
3) continue my journaling. This is something I started last year and will try to refine and continue. It took me some time to find the right journal and how I like to journal. I have three things I want to do with my journaling practice. One is just simply to create a schedule. That schedule helps me to refine my day and maximize the tools that I use to optimize my day and habits. Two is to practice my gratitude. It’s not simply being thankful but being truly mindful of what I have to be thankful for. You can thank a friend for dinner but it’s something entirely to have the thought of gratefulness for their companionship and the warm feeling that came with the continued bonding over that meal. Three is to make sure I find things to look forward to. This stems from the idea that we can get caught up in the chasing of goals without realizing that certain steps along the way bring with them their own rewards. Breaking a big goal into smaller steps and realizing those mini goals. The feelings of accomplishment and reward I get from that, and sometimes it’s just simply looking forward to a new tv episode or an amazon package arriving.