Let's try to form a new habit - UPDATE

by Edvard Munch

I guess if you would like to form a new habit you actually have to start to do it.

Last week when I decided that I needed to form a new habit I forgot to do one crucial thing, start.  Failure to launch.  Houston we have a problem. I did not jump off the deep end. I may have missed the mark.

The good news is it can only go up from here.  I at least recognized that I totally failed on starting a new habit.  I think the first step for me is finding a nice easy read.  If you are going to try something new it can be incredibly discouraging if you start with something too hard.  It's like going to school to be a mathematician and you start with Advanced Calculus instead of Intro to Calculus.

I'm not sure if I'm going to have a physical book or maybe just use my Kindle.  Books feel nice and are a constant reminder that you need to read.  They don't serve many purposes except to be pages that are read (or maybe a nice coaster) however that means I would 1) have to actually carry something else, and 2) I would only be able to read those pages.  So if the book sucked I wouldn't have anything else to read.  If I use my Kindle, when I download the books I can access them on my phone, computer and Kindle.  The cons of using my Kindle is that I can't read outside and I get super distracted.

Kindle Paperwhite

My birthday is coming up maybe I can convince my husband to buy it :-)

Not only am I a brat about it because I feel like I need multiple points of access I also don't want to have an email/phone call/text message distract me.  If I read on my Kindle Fire, computer or phone I may get distracted by Instagram (I have a problem).  If I used the Paperwhite I wouldn't be distracted by these things.

Gaahhhh!!!  As I type this out I know that I'm just making excuses for not doing what I'm supposed to do... read!!

Ok, so let's get this habit thing going again.  Tonight, my task is to find a good book to read and figure out a way to make sure that I don't forget to read it.

Step 1: Find a book
Step 2: Read the damn thing
Step 3: Repeat until it becomes a habit!

Anyone know of any good books to start with?

Work It!

So I'm hopping on the band wagon...

It's the beginning of the year and I need to get in shape.  I'm not going to sit here any and say that I need to lose weight (the truth is I need to but let's not get crazy yet) but I do need to get some fitness routine back into my life.

I used to be really good about the gym.  I've had a gym membership since I was 16.  At that time I didn't pay for it myself and still made good use of it.  By the time I was 23, I was making decent money that allowed for me to pay for my own membership.  I tend to be a bit tight on my money on most thing, excluding: shoes and food (usually).  I had to justify the purchase of a membership.  I did.

It is much too easy to start at the beginning of the year full of piss and vinegar about going to the gym, getting fit and losing weight.  I knew that when I purchased my membership.  I knew how many months it would be justifiable for me to spend that money so long as I went to the gym at a bare minimum of two times per week.  I was really good for like 5 years...

After that five years, I got pregnant.  Pregnancy has a way of making me feel like the energy has been Dyson vacuumed from my being and turns me into a pile of lard.  I tried for a good portion of time to stick with it even as my stomach grew.  My husband kept me motivated for quite some time but eventually the sciatica and the aches grew too much for my ever growing alien filled body.

Then this beautiful angel came...

After my daughter was born (in 2013) I never really found my way back to the gym.  I've been handing cash over the the corporate world of LA Fitness and not been reaping the benefits of it.

As the year has passed (much faster than I could keep up with) I found that I missed the gym.  That sounds crazy.  I don't even like to workout like that.  If I had my way, I'd just lift.  I like to lift weights but I don't always know what I'm doing.  My husband is great because he is the guy that went to college with the ambition at one time of graduating with his degree in kinesiology (aka sports medicine, physical therapy, etc.).  He writes pretty good workout plans.  When I do them they make my muscles ache the next day in the most painfully good way.  The problem is that I haven't been making use of the resource that I live with.

He goes to the gym.  Why don't I?  Well, because I make every excuse to do something else other than exercise for my benefit.  I claim that I need to __________(fill in the blank: do laundry, cook dinner, go grocery shopping, etc.).  The more I look at it the more I know I have been because I've been making excuses.

Excuse time over.  There is someone busier, with more kids and less time than me making sure that they are taking one hour per day to make sure that they are taking the time be fit.  I need to be fit not only for my personal wants and needs but also for me so that I can be better for everyone around me. 

So, with that said, I'm hopping on the New Year, New Me, Go to the gym bandwagon.  Besides I like leg day.  Squats and deadlifts are my favorite exercises.  Let's get it!!