"I know you can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be.... whelmed?" -10 Things I Hate About You
Do you remember that silly comment from such a classic movie?
I want to be whelmed. I'm an extremist, and labeled as dramatic by my friends and family often. Everything always seems to be the best ever or the worst ever. I'm typically under impressed or raving about an experience. Nothing is ever just fine. What I'm really saying is, I lack balance, but strive for it constantly.
I started a pen and paper list last week of general goals to help achieve balance. This is my list, but maybe it will help you make your list. We're all so great at setting new goals when newness comes. New year, new job, new home, new relationship... but we don't need to rely on change to create change.
Who's with me?
READ MORE. I often let my mind believe I have writer's block. Really I think I'm just tired and after a 12 hour day can't creatively write for the blog. I'm determined to read more. Some of the best advice I've ever gotten was, "If you want to be a better writer, be a better reader."
SAVE MONEY. I'm fairly good at this already, but I'm better at spending it. I set a new goal for my savings account, and it's important. We're adults. We can LIVE, but we can also be well prepared for LIFE.
EAT CLEAN. I have such a love/ hate relationship with food. I'm sure it's something I'll forever struggle with. Clean food makes me happier than junk food, once I've established routine. I need balance here more than anywhere in my life. That doesn't mean a kale smoothie followed by Ben & Jerry's. The two don't cancel each other out, (but trust me I've tried believing that).
WAKE UP EARLIER. I'm a natural night owl. The problem is, after working all day, I still have a blog, emails, and life waiting for me. Those things only get 50% of my energy after a long day. I need to be most productive in the morning, so I need to have a bedtime, and a wakeup time, both setting me up for success.
MEDITATE. We're all so busy. The little time that we aren't busy doing something, we're caught phone in hand, Breaking Bad on, and thoughts on steroids. I'm really dedicated to working on meditating regularly.
VISIT GRANDMA. Family is so important, and I come from a damn good one. Living away from literally everyone I love isn't easy, and it's important to make time for family. Laughing is medicine, and my family makes me laugh until I cry. I'm actually laughing out loud thinking about them.
SWEAT 5x A WEEK. I'm so guilty of the "I don't have time" excuse. My body is too important to not make time for. I'm more motivated now than EVER. PS. If any of you wanna work out together I'm always down!
PAY IT FORWARD. If you can afford Starbucks, you can afford to hand the cashier a $10 bill, pay for the person behind you, and leave the rest for a tip. You might just make someone's day. But paying it forward isn't always in the form of payment. I challenge all of us to find little ways to pay it forward, and make someone smile when the need it. We're all in this together.
SCHEDULE DOWN TIME. I work in my down time, I don't take days off, I email from bed when I should be sleeping, and I sometimes feel like time is passing me by. Starting this week, I worked in a little bit of down time. Me time. Without down time, many of the other things on this list aren't possible. Consider it recovery time : )
SHOW THANKS. "Thank you" is one of the most powerful phrases for me to hear. I assume that means it's as nice for others to hear it. Saying "Thank you." and SHOWING "Thank you." are two very different things. I think we can all work a little harder to show how much we appreciate the people in our lives and the strangers that we meet.
XO AJ
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