Make It a Habit - Wrap-Up

It is Day 31 of my Make It a Habit experiment. I wrote for nineteen days straight and posted 27 entries altogether. I didn’t write for every one of them and I didn’t do it all in one place. In fact, I spread the wealth and created entries at my personal site, my blog for my small group, and the YITRI blog and my memoir site. Here are some things I learned:

• I think a lot about writing. Sometimes I think more than I write. This experiment helped me actually write about what I think. 
• I love a schedule. I am a better writer when I schedule the time, subject and focus of my entry. I learned that I need to be intentional about when I write and what I say. I've created a weekly schedule that I hope will lead me through the next 31 days of this experiment!
• I love to shake it up. I need to write on more than just makeovers. I need to branch out and write about personal adventures and memories of my mom! Plus, my creativity needs multiple outlets. I am not just a writer. I am into music and photography and cooking - and I need to write or post about these things, too!

Keep an eye out for more focused and intentional ideas on this site! There may be a shift in direction and there may not be an entry everyday, but we are on our way to our Ultimate Makeover!

Beth

A Makeover Story Part I

My first major makeover was in the spring of my senior year of high school.  I had been growing out my hair for months – maybe years – and I was tired of the whole bangs-and-pony-tail look that I sported. I admitted as much to the man who styled my hair and he invited me to be a part of a makeover show.

Let me preface this next part by saying that my stylist worked in the mall. His invite included a new outfit, a makeover at Merle Norman and a stylish new cut all in the middle of Wilmington’s Independence Mall. I was flattered and probably accepted immediately.

Let me also say that my luck in said mall was not the best. When I was thirteen, my birthday wish was to have my ears pierced. My entourage: Mama, Anna, Tina and Kristen all came at the Rings & Things – an ‘80s version of Claires; complete with orange shag carpet and mirrors lining the ceiling. It was on the ring of stores around the very middle of the mall near ‘the Hardee’s entrance’. It just so happened that anybody in the mall could watch the torture in the piercing chair as they walked by. It was not surprising that we were joined by our other friends, Lisa, Julie and Sherry Capell as they were doing some back-to-school shopping.

I’m not big on needles and that includes the very large nail gun that was/is used to pierce ears. I picked out my brand new golden bead earrings (that matched my add-a-bead necklace), sat in the chair at the front of the store and waited as the woman prepped the aforementioned nail gun. She marked both of my ears with green sharpie ink – making sure they were even holes. She sanitized the earrings. She aimed. She fired. She shot.

I was fine, really, I was. Until I heard my mother say, QUICK! Do the other one. Now! Now! Then, the world kind of got fuzzy as the girl quickly reloaded and shot through the green ink in the other ear. Before I knew it, I was on the floor of Rings & Things being hugged by orange shag carpet and watching myself in the mirrors above. I did not look well. Julie’s face came into view as she started singing the Kermit the Frog hit “It’s Not Easy Being Green”.

In an attempt to get me out of there, the torturer suggested that I get some fresh air. I don’t remember how I got outside but I soon found myself sitting on the curb outside of the Hardee’s entrance under an umbrella in the rain (sounds like a good country song, but wait, it gets better). There was a security guard hovering above me, talking to Mama. “Ma’am, I’m gonna have to get your name and number. There was a little ole lady who stopped and slipped onaccounta your daughter and she might sue the mall.” Turns out I puked in a similar shade of the orange shag carpet in the middle of the mall.

to be continued.......

Wedding

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to do the wedding make-up for a friend of a friend. It was a blast and it confirmed that there is nothing like a makeover. It was rewarding for me to see the transformation of each girl - in their own way and in their own style - love the way they looked. I caught the youngest looking at herself in the mirror on the table, behind the kitchenette, at the mirror in the hallway. For those hours, she felt her best, her prettiest, a new confidence and a new look.

I think it is our purpose to make others feel important. It is vital to lift another's spirit so that a new confidence can shine through. I think words or actions or a kind note or genuine compliment can make someone feel her best, her prettiest, her most confident. It may makeover a mood or an outlook or attitude. In turn, that may be passed on to someone else and then the world can be made-over. 

Ah, the positive idealist in me is revealed.

Secret Makeover

I skipped one day, I admit it. I have been writing, I promise. Or at least posting. I've been posting in other blogs that will be revealed in time. The experiment is working - although I have made over the rules. Now that would be a make-over story.


More to come......

Another Day of Hooky

I really didn't play hooky. I actually did write a blog, but it's not this one!
Here it is: http://tata-fornow.blogspot.com/2010/03/azalea-triathlon-2010.html

A Hooky Story

Today, I am playing hooky. The as-promised entry about my high school makeover in the middle of the mall will be revealed tomorrow. Unless I play hooky again. 


How does hooky help or hinder a makeover?

No one is quite sure about the origin of the phrase "playing hooky." We consulted the top three online word sleuths and found a number of intriguing explanations.

• The Phrase Finder offers a few possible origins, including "to hook it" or "to escape or make off." To "hook something" is also an old slang term for stealing, as in "stealing a day off."

• The Word Detective dates the first printed use of the phrase to 1848 and relates it to the 19th-century phrase "hooky-crooky," which means "dishonest or underhanded." The parent of this phrase is "by hook or by crook," meaning "by any means necessary."

• Word Origins suggests that the phrase comes from hoekje, the Dutch name for hide and seek.

The phrase seems to be waning in popularity with the younger folks these days. Most kids simply refer to skipping school as "cutting." But regardless of what it's called, the time-honored practice of playing hooky seems here to stay.

A Makeover Story

In the past week, I've been remembering. Thinking back to makeovers I've had in my life and how they affected me. I thought it would be fun to reminisce this week, maybe even dig out some old pictures, visit the ghosts of makeovers past and see what they are still whispering to me.

My first introduction to make-up was in fifth grade. Lisa C., who was a year older than me and one of the prettiest girls I knew, brought over her first compact. It was chock-full of the best eye colors that the 1980's produced. Lots of purples and blues. I can't remember much, but I do remember her applying the mascara and the eyeliner (both blue, thank you). Look up, she told me like a pro. Now, look down. Whish, whish. Blot. Blot. Blot. I'm sure I looked like Cyndi Lauper but I felt like I looked like  Brooke Shields. It didn't matter as long as I looked near as beautiful as Lisa! 

For many years, make-up was simply a costume. Something silly you wore in a play, or when I played dress up. My only cosmetics in high school were zinc oxide and Shimmering Shell lipstick. I am sure that I still have a tube of that somewhere. My first makeover happened my senior year in high school and I'll save that story (and the pictures) until tomorrow. 

Until then, I want to know your makeover stories! How many makeovers have you had in your life? Were they physical? Mental? Spiritual? Professional? Did it stick?

Baby You Can Drive My Car

My makeover mantra for the day: Speed. Power. KaChow! What's your mantra to makeover your day?

Mental Makeover

Tomorrow is my first triathlon of the season and I'm doing a mental makeover!  So, today, I'm cheating a bit. I'm doing a little cut and paste of an article I found from a fellow triathlete. 

The 5 Major Beliefs Of Triathlon Success
http://www.triathlonpsychology.com

What you believe is more important than anything when you are about to begin a triathlon.

Of course, thoughts are important, but your beliefs will actually determine your results.
So I have come up with what I regard as the 5 most important beliefs to remember when you are approaching a triathlon - instill these into your mind and make them your automatic attitude to all meets from now on.

These beliefs can transform your performance without even changing a single thing in your training - they create inner change which automatically creates the outer changes you desire. But creating these beliefs is the hard work which I leave up to you - this is where your discipline must come in.

Focus upon one of these beliefs each week, and allow it to wash through your mind regularly throughout that entire week. Then, the following week, focus upon the 2nd belief, and then the 3rd week on the third belief, and so on - until they become a normal part of your everyday belief system and mental attitude. If after 5 weeks you do not feel they have become part of your belief system, repeat this 5 week process again until they are.

As soon as these begin to become your firm beliefs, you will begin to notice a major shift forward in your results - and the results will begin to flow through much more easily.

Please note: These are purely thoughts you need to think only - NOT to be spoken to others.

______________________________________________________________________________

Belief No. 1 - I HAVE NO LIMITS
"I feel great today and there's nothing I can't do, and no-one I can't beat, today. What's to stop me? Everybody look out!"


You must know that there is absolutely nothing to stop you putting in a great performance. Think of yourself as unlimited, unstoppable, unbeatable, supreme and all-powerful.

Belief No. 2 - THESE CONDITIONS ARE PERFECT FOR ME!
"These conditions are perfect for me today! There's water for me to swim in, road for me to bike on, heaps of competitors....(etc), and it's a great day for a win!"

It doesn't matter what the conditions are - this must be your attitude regardless. Every day must be a perfect day to compete from now on. Don't let conditions get in the way of a great performance.


Belief No. 3 - I'VE DONE THE WORK, AND I BELIEVE IN MY ABILITY"I deserve to win this race - I've done the work, put in the hours, and somebody has to win it - so why not me? I know I'm going to give this race a real shake, because I'm good enough to beat any of these people".

Know that you can achieve your goal. Why shouldn't you? 


Belief No. 4 - NOTHING CAN AFFECT ME
"I'm a machine! Nothing can bother me or stop me today, not the competitors, not the conditions, not anyone else's opinions, nothing! I'm completely in control of my own thoughts. I'm untouchable".

Never let anybody's comments or attitude get in your way - stay with your own positive thoughts, and surround yourself with positive people.


Belief No. 5 - YOU HAVE ME TO WORRY ABOUT! 

"These guys must be worried about me in this race - I'm going to be very tough to beat today!"

Don't waste your time worrying about your competitors - let them worry about you instead.
Allow your mind to focus only upon positive things, leave it to your competitors to wallow in their doubts and fears.

"The Mind controls the body, and the Mind is Unlimited"

The best of success, Craig Townsend

Friday Night Makeover

I need a Friday night makeover. In the next week, I'm going to come up with a plan that a) helps me write this blog by 5:00pm; b) includes a feel-good - like massage, mani, pedi, yoga or movie and c) launches me into a productive weekend.


I will let you know how that goes in the next few days!


Until then, take care.


Beth

Five O'Clock Club

You are not going to believe this one either. And you definitely aren't going to like it, even if you do believe it. Become a member of the Five O'Clock Club. This club ain't for cocktails. This is the five a.m. club. Mary Kay Ash was known for being one of the hardest-working people you'd ever meet. As the founder of what she called the Five O'Clock Club, her day began no later than 5am! 

For years, I resisted the darkness before the dawn. Six-thirty is a respectable time, right? Even 7:00am. But, in the past few months, I've resisted the temptation of a second snooze and pulled myself out of bed. By 6:00 a.m., I've brushed my teeth, taken the dog out and fed her, let the cat in and fed him, eaten a small meal, read the front page, checked the weather and my emails, done five sun salutations, driven to the YWCA and warmed up for 15 minutes. By 6:00a, I'm working out.

I've seen the brightest stars and the heaviest frost. I've heard owls hooting and seen rabbits. I know quiet in the morning - which may be even better than sleep. By 9:00a.m. I've done more around the house than I can on one productive Saturday. And by nine I'm ready for my power hour: the hour that I try to knock out at least two of my six most important tasks. And I choose the hardest one first.

I admit, I go to bed earlier than your average bear. By 8:00pm, I've washed my face and I'm ready to change into PJs. I can make it through most of the Olympic Coverage and I can often stay up for LOST or GREY'S ANATOMY. But really, that's what DVRs are for, right? I'd rather read from the prone position from my comfy bed (no TV in the bedroom) or talk on the phone.

You may not be able to do it. Your productive time might be the hour before you go to bed. Your most productive time might be your lunch hour, but you will get more done when the phones aren't ringing, when the emails are less like to drop into your inbox, when the cries of your children for more, more, more aren't in the background. 


If you can't possibly get up at 5:00am. Get up and do it right now. After all, it's Five O'Clock somewhere.   

Worrywort

Growing up, before spelling tests or first days at school or new experiences or dates or meeting new people, my mom would implore me, "Please don't be a worrywart."  

According to Merriam-Webster, a worrywart is someone who worries or frets unduly. My grandmother was a worrywart. My sister is a worrywart. One of my best friends is a worrywart. They worry about EVERYTHING! Fortunately, I listened to mom's advice on this. I consider myself lucky. I don't worry excessively. Don't get me wrong, I do worry. Don't get me wrong, I'm not careless. But, I have a few ways to get me over my worry each and every day.

WHATCHU SAY? I've adopted two mantras that help me with my worry. The first is another phrase I learned from mom: It'll get better before you get married. She always said that if we got hurt or we were worried about something that had happened. Now that I am married, I substitute the thought: it'll get better before my nephew gets married. My second mantra is a quote from the movie Shakespeare in Love: Strangely, it all turns out well in the end. [How do you know? I don't, it's a mystery.] I have faith that it will all turn out exactly how it should turn out - whether I worry about it or not. 

WORRY LIST Of course I make a list! What is worrying you today? You may say EVERYthing, but are you really worried about everything? 

For the next week, I challenge you to write down exactly what you are worried about. Keep a little list on your six most important things sheet.  

I learned just this week that worry is connected to control. Most of the time when we worry, we live under the false assumption that we have control over it. In truth, we  don't! In fact, under each of your worries, I challenge you to write the answer to  these questions: If this were to happen, would I be able to handle it? How? List all the ways you could handle it.

For instance, if I were Henny Penny and I was worried, I'd write:

I am worried that the sky is falling.
Could I handle it? Yes How? Freak out. Freak out everyone else. Run to Farmer Ed's house. Find a hole to crawl in. Live to tell about it.

I have found that when I write down my worries, I learn two important things: what I value (my life, my safety, my pleasure, my family, my love) and what I fear (loss, grief, not being heard). Can you handle that? How? 

Working from an Ideal Plan Sheet

You are probably not going to believe that this works, but experience tells me it does! I have been working from an ideal plan sheet since 2001. I first learned about the concept when I started as a Mary Kay consultant and I haven't stopped using one since.

It's an ideal plan sheet and I use it every few weeks to plan what's important to me and my purpose. I use it to shape my IDEAL week! Truly, I want to decide when I work, when I spend time with family and friends, when I spend time doing homework (you know, the stuff that makes my home run right). For many years my schedule was mandated by others. After years of planning my work and working my plan, I've designed a schedule that I love.

Here are a few tips in using this worksheet:

• Color code your weekly blocks of time. You may want to color code FITNESS, SPIRITUAL, WORK, SOCIAL, FAMILY, DATE NIGHT, ERRANDS, HOME WORK, etc.
• Do not fill out the work part first. I know it probably takes up the most time in your week. I know that it may even be your purpose in life, BUT, do not fill out work first. I tend to fill out the spiritual or family time first.
• Leave margins. You'll notice that there is white space in my calendar. This is time for all those things that always pop up or all the fun stuff you want to do. Margins are key. Use them especially when you're traveling all over town and when you're meeting or talking with people.

More on planning and lists tomorrow!  

Practical Steps to Makeover Your Day - Lists

This week, I'm skipping the esoteric mumbo jumbo! Hooray! I want to tackle something a little more practical for a daily makeover. This week, I'm going to dive into some planning tactics that I've learned to make a change for the best in your life. 

In my very first blog, I mentioned making a six most important list everyday. For a constant daily makeover it can't be beat! Of course, I admit it, I'm a list-maker. I like to make lists of lists! I'm pretty old-fashioned when it comes to lists, too, so I write mine out or print it out every single day. There is something so satisfying in highlighting or crossing out a to-do! 

The first thing I do is create a master compass for the week. It's a task brain dump. Anything that I have to do this week goes on this master list. Whether it's an appointment, an errand, a phone call, a bill to pay, a note to write or a social event, I write it in my master compass. This page in my planner is the place to write my weekly deadlines, grocery list and even ideas for dinner!

The next thing I do is create my six most important list. I feel like my day is a success if I can mark off any of my six most important tasks. If I can mark off all six, I give myself an extra cookie after dinner! Seriously! I will say that if you want to start a new habit or make a change in your life, you must include that change in your six most important list! If you want to start working out, if you want to read a chapter in a book a day, if you want to call five new contacts on your sales list add it to your SMI list. In fact, I would add it as the NUMBER ONE item on your list! If you want to make an important change you have to make that change important. 

The next thing I do is create an agenda for the day. Sometimes I plug it into my Outlook or Google calendar. Other times, I have to write it out on paper. I fill the day with appointments first, my six most important tasks next and finally the miscellaneous to-do's that inevitably crop up during the day! It guarantees that I will do the things that are most important to a well-rounded life.

HERE is an example!

Tomorrow, I'll dive into more details and show you the importance of an IDEAL WEEKLY PLAN! 

Reboot Your Life - Step Up

In skin care, the protection stage is the one that I left out for too many years. I joke that growing up my skin care routine was zinc oxide and Cover Girl Shimmering Shell lipstick. I didn't know that the sun, the heat, the air conditioning, the everyday elements could increase wrinkles, freckles, and blemishes! In the past few years, I've found that SPF and foundation are the most important ingredients to protect my skin from the daily elements.

A friend of mine once explained that protecting your skin from the elements was as important as painting the exterior of your home. If you neglect the exterior, your home will deteriorate before your eyes. 

If you don't protect your new decisions, your new direction, your new vision, your new habits, they will deteriorate before your eyes. Negativity, discouragement, life can chip away at your resolve. One of the most important ways to speak what you believe.

One of my favorite scriptures is: 


Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. [Ephesians 4:29]


Words are so powerful. When used for building yourself or others they can change your world: your way of thinking, your habits, your character. I aspire to this verse because I've found when I speak positively it's like I can form a layer of protection around my dreams.


What are you saying to yourself? What are you saying to others? How can you protect with your words, today? 

Makeover Your Life

I'm not writing much tonight. I'm not even going to write about how to protect your skin, or your new life, or your new idea or attitude. My entry tonight is simply a list of links to makeover sites. Here are a fun few sites to check out a new hairstyle or makeup look for the spring.


The Daily Makeover


Virtual Makeover


The Hairstyler.Com


I'm off to continue the torture that is watching Carolina and Duke play basketball!

Reboot Your Life - The Next Step

In basic skin care, you cleanse, exfoliate, freshen, then moisturize. Whether you have dry, combo  or oily skin, it's important to moisturize. This is the first step that add something back into the skin. It's more than: just add water; but, most products renourish and restore. Most products today simply hydrate, firm, and smooth your skin. Many provide up to ten hours of hydration, prevent flakiness and strengthen the skin's protective moisture barrier. Some are filled with antioxidents that neutralize damaging free radicals (the rascals that cause skin to age).


Fine! But how do we apply that to our lives? If the freshen stage means we get to decide the next right step - what comes next? For today, I picture just adding water. In fact, I picture nourishment for the decision we've just made.


I guess it's could still be part of the planning step or it could be nourishing the follow-through, but today I'm imagining the nourishment is building up the resources. Tending your made-up mind. Today, I'm going to throw out one way to nourish the new plan: surround yourself with the right people. 


As a short anecdote that may or may not explain what I mean, I'll admit that this has been a bad week of  training for my upcoming triathlon. Not comfortable on the bike, knee aches, hamstring ache, very slow times in the pool. Yesterday, in the pool (a handy water reference), I moaned to the others that I was slow. Discouragement seeped out. After practice, one of the women in the group made a point to say: don't let this get you  down. It's an off day. Don't let it play with your mind. I decided she was right and quickly changed my attitude from: I should have never gotten in the pool to even with a slow time, I am  faster than I was a month ago! That was my fresh new thought.


This morning, my knee was hurting (different than an ache). I felt winded two minutes into my run. My 5K pace was impossible (eight-ish minute mile) and even my half marathon pace (ten-ish minute mile) felt like a chore. I simply kept thinking to myself: don't let this get you down; don't let it play with your  mind. I had been nourished the day before by a positive comment, from a  positive team member. She had poured into me and restored my confidence even a day later!


That's one way you can build your resources. Surround yourself with positive influences. I once was encouraged  to make a list of all the people in my life that I spend the most time with (either in person or on the phone). Once you make that list, put a + sign by the people who - when you're with them - make you feel better about your life, who pour in positivity and love and joie de vivre! Put a - sign by the people who make you feel worse when you're with them. Put an = sign by those who are neutral. Your next right  step: start spending more time with the + people  in your life!  

Reboot Your Life - Next Step

This week, I've explored what it would look like to REBOOT a facet of your life. To reload your operating system in an area of your life where things are running slowly or you keep getting error  messages or the software keeps shutting down.

For clarity's sake (mainly mine), I'll review and revamp what I've found. 

Step One: Cleanse   Shut down the system. You can shut down the way you've been operating. Even if it's for 10 or 15 minutes you can stop what you're doing. If you're operating out of fear, or discouragement, or pride, or depression or negativity; you can stop for a moment and stop what you're thinking or feeling. 

Next  Step: Exfoliate  [Like how I've turned my computer reference into makeover references?] In cosmetology, exfoliation involves removal of the dead skin to reveal the healthiest, youngest skin. Get out a journal or even your blackberry, go to your therapist, call on your best friend. List, describe, rant, dig. Rough yourself up with the questions: Why do I need a makeover? Why am I operating like this? What have I done? What triggered it? How do I do to get restarted? What have I got?

Next Step: Freshen   In skin care, a freshener is used to remove excess dirt, makeup and residue after the cleansing step. It rebalances the pH in the skin, reduces the look of pores and gives the skin a clean sensation. This may be my favorite step in the makeover! This is where I get to decide what I will do from where I am. I love to make a plan and set a goal.  What will I do differently now that I know what I know? What is the next right step? 

My next right step in the midst of my race disappointment was inevitably enter another race. Not just any race, but a half marathon!  I knew that it would give me direction, help me set a new training plan and me satisfaction. I want to operate out of that! The first one I found was sold out! However, this past Tuesday, the very race that was cancelled in February offered a half-price registration deal for runners in 2011. You can bet I took the step! Excitement, direction and satisfaction. How's that for a makeover?! 

What is your next right step?


COMING IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS: Moisturize & Protect!

Reboot Your Life - Another Step

I decided [between this post and last] that there is another first step in the rebooting process.  On your computer the first thing required to RESTART your operating systems is to actually turn it off. You can press the control+alt+delete keys or the power button to shut down the software you're running.

In your makeover manual this might look like: CLEANSE. In a cosmetic makeover, the first step is usually to take everything off your face: foundation, mascara, blush, lipstick, sweat, tears, daily gradoo and schmutz, etc.  That cleanse reveals it all - blemishes, skin tone, freckles, acne, etc. But, it's fresh. It's true. It's you. Recently on Oprah, Carson Kressley attempted a make-under. One woman from Canada had hidden her true self behind a Pamela Anderson look-alike facade for years. Getting ready each day took up to FIVE hours! One major step to reboot her look was to cleanse it all: and keep it that way for one week. Kressley's rule: "Until I see you in Chicago, no makeup—foundation, coverup, eyeshadow, lipstick—no tanning bed, no bronzer," he said.

Can you CLEANSE the facets of your life? What does that look like? Certainly, you can't rinse your life of your job if you need to reboot your professional life. You can't sanitize your life of all your friends and family if you need to reboot your operating systems for relationships. But there must be a way to cleanse your physical, spiritual and professional life. 

I'll have to revisit this concept for each facet in the future. For now, I'll uncover what I did to cleanse my spiritual life in recent days. I did one simple thing: I got quiet. It took a few days, but I found about an hour last week. The house was empty, the dog was on the porch, hubby was on the golf course, the Olympics weren't on the air and there were no errands to run. I sat on the floor of my bedroom for a bit. I usually pray with pen and paper and that day was no exception. I asked for forgiveness and guidance and blessings for all the people in our lives. Of course, that led to the next step (which I wrote about yesterday)!

After her week-long cleanse, Dawn went on the Oprah Show for a make-under. She rebooted her look and this is the result:

Reboot Your Day - Step One

BOOT: [verb] to cause to load (especially an operating system of a computer) and start the initial processes; see also BOOT UP. REBOOT: [verb] to restart the boot process; in serial fiction, it means the discarding of much or even all previous continuity in the series, to start anew. ..


Have you ever wanted to reboot your life? Discard much or even all of the previous continuity in the series of your life and start anew? Realistically (and thankfully), it can't be done. You wouldn't want to discard all that came before - all that formed you and the life that you live. You wouldn't be you.


Lately, though, I've felt like I've needed a reboot button for a couple of areas of my life. Physically and spiritually, I've needed a reset. I've noticed that this often happens when I reach a milestone or a goal I've set. For instance, I set a goal to run a half marathon in mid-February. I actually didn't reach that goal because the race was cancelled due to snow! I felt out of sorts and disappointed afterwards. It took me a few days to access the good, the bad and the ugly of an unexpected outcome. 


Spiritually, I've needed a reset, too. I stopped practicing the things that keep me in step with my walk with God. I skipped a Sunday at church. I skipped a few homework lessons to prepare for my small group. I skipped a week of tracking gratitudes in my journal. 


Like a computer glitch, one of these things alone is not enough to make me want to pray for a restart. But all together, it added up. I needed a hard reset in both cases. I needed a  control/alt/delete: I had to create a way to get my operating system back on track. 


Here are a few steps I found to reboot:


Step One - Get Grateful: A wise man once said: maturity is marked by gratitude and stability. The one thing I was not doing in either case was looking at the gratitude in what I did have. In the case of the race, I started listing all the things that I was thankful for: my feet were not cold and wet and blistered, the wind was not in my face for nine miles, I did not have to run 13.1 miles, I got to eat pancakes, I could go home early and play in the snow with my dog, I could go home early and pick up my nephew from my parent's, I was not going to be sore for three days, etc. Eventually, I felt like I was handling it like an adult.  Plus, I'm still adding to my list. AND, I'm ready for next year!


STAY TUNED TOMORROW FOR STEP TWO!

Make it a Habit

I've heard that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. I don't know what happens in those 21 days. Do you fall in love with action? Do you simply begin to make time for responsibility? Does second nature take over?



I've decided to embark on a 31 day adventure in blogging. I am inspired by a friend and brand-new blogger. She spent the past month writing about her adventures and the about the attitude that makes every day an adventure. I want to see how I can makeover my habits and round them into something that makes each day an adventure. I made the decision to spend my March writing for this blog. Let the habit-forming begin.


Anything you do with repetition and emotion will become your reality. If you’re not satisfied with your current experience, examine your habits. - Dr. Andrew Weil


Thoughts lead on to purposes; purposes go forth in action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny. -  Tryon Edwards