Body: TOTAL WIN! (dancing, walking, yoga, diet, sleep)
Mind: TOTAL WIN! (dancing, blogging, meditation)
Spirit: TOTAL WIN! (dancing, walking in nature, dog, visiting with friends, corresponding with family)
The check-in for yesterday is the first day of the new format for check-ins. Since it was a dancing day, that makes a total-win sweep pretty easy. Tonight will be swimming, which should have a similar effect.
Wednesday, 4 February 2015
Hope vs. Aphorisms
By the time this posts, it'll be near the end of my fourth week in Victoria. I've been making a new ninja lid at the start of the each week, and been having fun applying themes to them.
The picture above is this week's ninja, and I have yet to settle on a theme, though I'm getting close: it's something along the lines of Hope or Possibility, which I'm starting to think are the same thing. Hope, I figure, is the emotion you experience when you see possibility. I've begun to see the possibilities for my future, whether that's school, work, or hobbies, and it makes me hopeful.
Not that this week-long meditation on hope and possibility has all been wonderful, of course. Sunday night I was actually quite emotionally distraught, because I lost my sense of hope about certain things--namely, I lost faith that a 36-year-old man with little dating experience could ever find a partner amongst the jaded ex-wives and mothers who currently dominate the age-appropriate dating space. Without the ability to see possibilities for positive outcomes, I lost hope.
Examining the possibilities for my future education and career was quite cool, though. There are many exciting options. This is what shook me out of my negative mood, because I could again see the possibilities. And whether that's being a TV writer or a kinesiology student, I realized I would still be a pretty cool guy, doing pretty cool things, hanging out with pretty cool colleagues. The future looks fun again.
Related to ninjas and depictions thereof, I'd like to change my check-ins so they better fit the ninja theme that I started this blog with. The content will be nigh identical, but the arrangement will change. Instead of physical, willpower, emotional, social, I will start breaking things down this way:
- Body
- Exercise
- Diet (and water)
- Sleep/Rest
- Mind
- Learning new facts
- Training new skills
- Concentration (willpower)
- Spirit
- Emotionally uplifting experiences
- Social contact
- Sense of accomplishment (willpower resulting in the completion of a task)
I'll have to just try the new format for a while to see if it works well. If not, it can be reverted. I just think it would be fun to pursue my ninja training as a pursuit of body, mind, and spirit, a trinity that makes a lot of intuitive sense to me.
Tuesday, 3 February 2015
Check-In: 2015-02-02 (Monday)
Physical: TOTAL WIN! (walking, diet, sleep)
Willpower: WIN! (rest, exploring U Vic, investigating universities online)
Emotional: PASS (walking in nature, dog, exploring educational options)
Social: WIN! (visiting with friends, corresponding with family about education)
My mood restored to cheerful and buoyant. A little bit of rest on the physical and the willpower, plus a little bit of exploring my options for the future, managed to do the trick. Or maybe it's just a matter of time if you keep getting physical, willpower, emotional, and social wins every day.
In any case, I checked out the University of Victoria campus and a bunch of programs online. Kinesiology at the U of A is starting to look attractive. My parents seem to be having a ball discovering different ways that kinesiology and video gaming go together, and it looks like there's some very good work being done in stroke rehab with that combination (plus neuroscience and such).
Neat stuff.
Willpower: WIN! (rest, exploring U Vic, investigating universities online)
Emotional: PASS (walking in nature, dog, exploring educational options)
Social: WIN! (visiting with friends, corresponding with family about education)
My mood restored to cheerful and buoyant. A little bit of rest on the physical and the willpower, plus a little bit of exploring my options for the future, managed to do the trick. Or maybe it's just a matter of time if you keep getting physical, willpower, emotional, and social wins every day.
In any case, I checked out the University of Victoria campus and a bunch of programs online. Kinesiology at the U of A is starting to look attractive. My parents seem to be having a ball discovering different ways that kinesiology and video gaming go together, and it looks like there's some very good work being done in stroke rehab with that combination (plus neuroscience and such).
Neat stuff.
Monday, 2 February 2015
Check-In: 2015-02-01 (Sunday)
Physical: PASS (walking, diet)
Willpower: PASS (rest)
Emotional: PASS (walking in nature, dog)
Social: WIN! (visiting with friends, corresponding with family, skype with friends)
Yesterday was definitely a willpower rest day. It's my first in a long while, so I'm happy to call it a pass without any guilt.
Sleep did not go well, so that looses me some points in the physical category, though I did get outside a fair bit and I did eat well, so that's still a pass and a pass is still winning. I didn't lose the sleep for a silly reason, like browsing the internet late at night, so Project Own the Night is still going quite well. That's good.
Less good is the fact that my sleep was lost due to a sudden burst of emotional distress. I will probably follow up on this with a thought for Wednesday's post, but the short version is that I had a temporary collapse of confidence and patience and became upset that my life wasn't instantly and miraculously better in all ways. Not the most mature or sensible of emotions, but emotions do that.
I'm already feeling better and it isn't quite lunch yet, so this doesn't appear to be anything serious. Physical wounds don't heal overnight so it's reasonable that emotional wounds will ache sometimes too. I'm still ticking off passes in all categories, which should help my mood rebound quickly.
I think I could use some yoga today, though, for a good rush of endorphins and some meditation for a mental reset. I'm also headed to the U Vic campus today just to check the place out, so that should be a positive adventure. I've also decided to bring my step goal down so I don't need to spend so much time walking to hit it. That'll help me fit in other positive things like writing and planning.
We'll see how it goes. The critical thing is: don't panic. Emotional turbulence is part of life. It's not something to worry about, but something to be noted, monitored, and moved on from.
Willpower: PASS (rest)
Emotional: PASS (walking in nature, dog)
Social: WIN! (visiting with friends, corresponding with family, skype with friends)
Yesterday was definitely a willpower rest day. It's my first in a long while, so I'm happy to call it a pass without any guilt.
Sleep did not go well, so that looses me some points in the physical category, though I did get outside a fair bit and I did eat well, so that's still a pass and a pass is still winning. I didn't lose the sleep for a silly reason, like browsing the internet late at night, so Project Own the Night is still going quite well. That's good.
Less good is the fact that my sleep was lost due to a sudden burst of emotional distress. I will probably follow up on this with a thought for Wednesday's post, but the short version is that I had a temporary collapse of confidence and patience and became upset that my life wasn't instantly and miraculously better in all ways. Not the most mature or sensible of emotions, but emotions do that.
I'm already feeling better and it isn't quite lunch yet, so this doesn't appear to be anything serious. Physical wounds don't heal overnight so it's reasonable that emotional wounds will ache sometimes too. I'm still ticking off passes in all categories, which should help my mood rebound quickly.
I think I could use some yoga today, though, for a good rush of endorphins and some meditation for a mental reset. I'm also headed to the U Vic campus today just to check the place out, so that should be a positive adventure. I've also decided to bring my step goal down so I don't need to spend so much time walking to hit it. That'll help me fit in other positive things like writing and planning.
We'll see how it goes. The critical thing is: don't panic. Emotional turbulence is part of life. It's not something to worry about, but something to be noted, monitored, and moved on from.
The Mountain
Sometimes it is good to look up the mountain and see how far you have to go.
Sometimes it is good to look down the mountain and see how far you have come.
Sometimes it is good to just feel the slope and the steady pace of the steps carrying you up.
Sunday, 1 February 2015
Check-In: 2015-01-31 (Saturday)
Physical: TOTAL WIN! (walking, diet, sleep)
Willpower: TOTAL WIN! (walking, cleaning, scribbling, reading)
Emotional: PASS (walking in nature, dog)
Social: PASS (visiting with friends, corresponding with family)
Yesterday was the last day of January, so the Fitbit leaderboards got a little feisty as several people put in some extra effort for the "sprint" to the end of the race--including me. Mark and I got a lot of walking done, especially in the evening, just to make sure nobody came from behind to steal our places. Mark took first in all categories in the Victoria group. I managed to edge into 5th on step count and held 3rd in active minutes, which is good work considering I started a week behind everyone else. There was a brief struggle against other people who were gunning for 5th, but I managed to pull out ahead.
Yesterday I was also still enjoying my new-found willpower, tidying as I go and otherwise trying to be mature and responsible while still enjoying life. I'm feeling a little moody today and I'm not sure why, so I may call this a willpower rest day just so I don't spoil a good thing. And Sunday is a traditional rest day. Tomorrow there will be lots of opportunity to be a Proper Adult, including doing a scan of the UVic campus and programs.
Willpower: TOTAL WIN! (walking, cleaning, scribbling, reading)
Emotional: PASS (walking in nature, dog)
Social: PASS (visiting with friends, corresponding with family)
Yesterday was the last day of January, so the Fitbit leaderboards got a little feisty as several people put in some extra effort for the "sprint" to the end of the race--including me. Mark and I got a lot of walking done, especially in the evening, just to make sure nobody came from behind to steal our places. Mark took first in all categories in the Victoria group. I managed to edge into 5th on step count and held 3rd in active minutes, which is good work considering I started a week behind everyone else. There was a brief struggle against other people who were gunning for 5th, but I managed to pull out ahead.
Yesterday I was also still enjoying my new-found willpower, tidying as I go and otherwise trying to be mature and responsible while still enjoying life. I'm feeling a little moody today and I'm not sure why, so I may call this a willpower rest day just so I don't spoil a good thing. And Sunday is a traditional rest day. Tomorrow there will be lots of opportunity to be a Proper Adult, including doing a scan of the UVic campus and programs.
Check-In: 2015-01-30 (Friday)
Physical: WIN! (exercise, diet, rest)
Willpower: TOTAL WIN! (cleaning, reading, scribbles to bits)
Emotional: WIN! (walking in nature, dog, visions for the future)
Social: PASS (visiting with friends, corresponding with family)
I did get a chance to type this up yesterday, and now I've forgotten most of what happened on Friday. The days around here really do blend together sometimes, as they consist mainly of walking in nature, reading, and typing.
If I recall correctly, I felt a bit tired on Friday, either due to low calorie intake or getting to sleep too late. So I've knocked the physical category down a notch for getting to sleep too late. Fortunately, that has been corrected in the last couple of days, so that will recover in coming reports.
Willpower: TOTAL WIN! (cleaning, reading, scribbles to bits)
Emotional: WIN! (walking in nature, dog, visions for the future)
Social: PASS (visiting with friends, corresponding with family)
I did get a chance to type this up yesterday, and now I've forgotten most of what happened on Friday. The days around here really do blend together sometimes, as they consist mainly of walking in nature, reading, and typing.
If I recall correctly, I felt a bit tired on Friday, either due to low calorie intake or getting to sleep too late. So I've knocked the physical category down a notch for getting to sleep too late. Fortunately, that has been corrected in the last couple of days, so that will recover in coming reports.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)