I was talking to a friend this week about making poor lifestyle choices. I’d been starting to live a life that wasn’t bringing out the best in me. I knew it deep inside, but didn’t want to admit it.
Anyway, I realised that if you start studying yourself (start a bug book – more on that in another post) it’s quite easy to spot what’s going wrong.
For me, the tell-tale signs were:
- I was feeling frustrated a lot more than usual
- I was getting overly judgmental about others (I’m usually pretty indifferent to how others choose to live)
- I was becoming short-tempered
- I was experiencing sudden shifts in mood, getting overly emotional about stuff
- I was laughing less
I was feeling, shall we say, “a mess,” and I knew some journaling/introspection was needed to get to the bottom of it. I realized I was getting some of the basics completely wrong.
Some wayward thoughts/beliefs/lifestyle choices had crept in without me realizing it.
These were:
- Not getting enough sleep. Going to bed too late (1 or 2 in the morning), and with kids in the house and school-runs needed at 8AM everyday (I get woken at 6:30 whether I like it or not) was leaving me with 4 to so hours of broken sleep. I justified it as “I’m a night owl”, but that’s idiotic.
- When I stayed up late, I invariably looked at a screen. Not good.
- I wasn’t getting daily exercise. I walk the dog, but that’s not the same as a cardio workout.
- I wasn’t reading enough. I’d fallen out of the habit of reading, and honestly, reading is a non-negotiable. If I had to chart the times my life had gone off the rails in the past few years (something I should do), I’m sure I wasn’t reading all that much when it had.
- I was drinking too regularly. I’d perhaps not drink Monday or Tuesday, but from Wednesday through Sunday, I’d have at least a couple of drinks each evening.
- I wasn’t talking to enough people. I really love chatting to others, especially friends who like to “go deep” on subjects.
- I wasn’t writing. I love what writing does to me. I can’t define what it is, but it sorts me out. I’ve been writing journals for the past few years, but I’d fallen out of the habit. I figure, by sharing my thoughts in public (this blog) it might spur me on to do more.
Those are some of the main reasons my life felt like it had gone awry. Anyway, back to the conversation I mentioned at the start of this post.
My friend mentioned something that really struck me, and it’s so true (and what I needed to hear). It was this:
” Every action is a vote for the future you”
I just love it.
This week, another term jumped into my consciousness from who knows where: “the adjacent possible.” There must always be a way of making changes to your life, to correct bad habits, etc.
I’m going to try because, frankly, I wasn’t that happy anyway. It’s nearly midnight, so I’m off to bed now to read 🙂
That’s not Meghan Merkle in the image, by the way 🙂