today, i put aside of my typical routine of 'hit snooze button three times. then, turn on phone and sift through emails, messages, instagrams, facebook things i HAVE to read to be able to function. then read essays from emails i receive monthly (this is important to my brain functioning). then, about an hour later, get out of bed - angry at myself for having wasted all that time in bed, and now i don't have time for the gym, and what are you DOING with your life jamie??'. instead - in an attempt to make time for health, and still accomplish all those things in the morning that i personally deem necessary for survival - i woke up, and did not touch my phone (ok. i hit snooze once. full disclosure). i brushed my teeth, i washed my face. still didn't touch my phone. (remind me that i need to add 'grab a bite to eat' before i go to the gym in the mornings from now on) and headed off in my workout gear to ride the stationary bike - the most boring thing in the world.
you know what makes the most boring thing in the world less boring? doing all the things you typically do in the morning, lying in bed, before you even begin your day. i sat on that bike, set it to some sort of preset bike-workout-thing, and for the first time all day, turned on my phone. i responded to emails, i scrolled through facebook, i read an essay on a crime stopping group in NYC.
and, when i looked up from my phone, i had been on that bike for 30 minutes.
and there you have it friends. i have - in an instant (well. 30 minutes to be exact) - solved two of my biggest gripes to date. laying in bed too long, and therefore never having enough time, AND, hating that the only form of consistent exercise my back can handle (still) at this point is a stationary bike in a gym. put them together..... and voila. a perfect storm.
i'm making a strong effort to make changes to small things in life - because it's the small things that equate to the large. a day filled with small things. and in conversing with a group member - a member of a group that i have become part of as a result of a course i'm taking - we chatted about our misunderstanding of making large changes. of being able to identify large scenarios during which we can stop ourselves and make a shift. and it occurred to us that perhaps it's not the large moments that define those shifts. of course, the time will come when a large, defining moment will approach, at which point we will be able to identify it, and make that move to a new space. instead, maybe we look to those small moments in time - the ones we feel in complete control over - to make large changes. things like putting the phone aside for a bus ride, and opening up a book. things like sitting down to dinner at a dinner table, instead of in front of a tv - to engage in conversation with the person in your life who means something. things like opening your computer to write, instead of making lists of all the things you have to do.... lists don't get things done. doing things gets them done.
today, i'm feeling productive. plus - i have 45 minutes on a stationary bike under my belt.
you know what makes the most boring thing in the world less boring? doing all the things you typically do in the morning, lying in bed, before you even begin your day. i sat on that bike, set it to some sort of preset bike-workout-thing, and for the first time all day, turned on my phone. i responded to emails, i scrolled through facebook, i read an essay on a crime stopping group in NYC.
and there you have it friends. i have - in an instant (well. 30 minutes to be exact) - solved two of my biggest gripes to date. laying in bed too long, and therefore never having enough time, AND, hating that the only form of consistent exercise my back can handle (still) at this point is a stationary bike in a gym. put them together..... and voila. a perfect storm.
i'm making a strong effort to make changes to small things in life - because it's the small things that equate to the large. a day filled with small things. and in conversing with a group member - a member of a group that i have become part of as a result of a course i'm taking - we chatted about our misunderstanding of making large changes. of being able to identify large scenarios during which we can stop ourselves and make a shift. and it occurred to us that perhaps it's not the large moments that define those shifts. of course, the time will come when a large, defining moment will approach, at which point we will be able to identify it, and make that move to a new space. instead, maybe we look to those small moments in time - the ones we feel in complete control over - to make large changes. things like putting the phone aside for a bus ride, and opening up a book. things like sitting down to dinner at a dinner table, instead of in front of a tv - to engage in conversation with the person in your life who means something. things like opening your computer to write, instead of making lists of all the things you have to do.... lists don't get things done. doing things gets them done.
today, i'm feeling productive. plus - i have 45 minutes on a stationary bike under my belt.