Karma in Practice

I'm taking "you get what you give" to heart this year. Having already resolved to "be more conscientious" in 2015, I'm adding some goals, admittedly stolen from inspired by Kelsey Gryniewicz's post "15 Ways to Start 2015 with Kindness".

I'm not going with all 15 ideas, because let's be honest, change takes time and that's just too much kindness in one shot ;). I whittled it down to nine that really spoke to me, two of which will look familiar (and I've kept up with!!!).

1. Year of Kindness Box - the idea is to fill up the box with things like thank you notes (Who writes those any more? Sadly, hardly anyone), compliments received (I can't believe I already have something for the box), moments of kindness witnessed or done, inspiring quotes, etc. Then I get to review at the end of the year or any time I'm having an off day. (side note: hello artsy-crafty project!)
2. Create a Gratitude Journal - well you've already seen this on my resolutions list. I'm glad I went with doing a weekly journal instead of a daily, because I've already failed on my other daily aspirations. Much easier to set aside 5-10 minutes once a week, instead of a few minutes every day. I know, lazy me.

   

   Simi's Weekly Gratitude Journal - 2015

3. Three Compliments - Compliment the first three people you talk to. If I stuck to the first three, it would always be my family. I think I do this any way, but it won't hurt to be more conscientious about it.
4. 52 Thank You Notes - Write a thank you note every week to a different person. I've "missed" the first two, but I'll definitely be doing this all year. And no email business. I picked up cute thank you cards from Target (a lot of them!) before I even read about or considered this "challenge." Thank you fate.
5. Daily Positivity - Every day, think of a random person. Send them a positive positive message (text, email, social media post, phone call, letter, etc.). This is another one of those I'm sure I do this every day without thinking about it, but, again, it'll be good to put some real thought into it on a daily basis. Putting positive energy in the world should only mean that positive energy comes back, if Newton was really, really right ;).
6. Volunteer - Another one that had already been on my list. Now to figure out how to accomplish this.
7. Smile - Smiling is all sorts of good for you: release of endorphins, boost your immune system, and more. Say cheese!
8. Self-Kindness - Do one kind thing every week for yourself - enjoy a treat you love, exercise, do something you love and rarely have time to do. For now, this is going to be my Art/Craft project of the week. If and when that becomes a part of my routine, I'll move on to something new. 

Now, to figure out what my bad habits are and which one to break. Introspection is hard! Who's going to help me with this one? ;)

1 Year Anniv with iDoneThis

It's my one year anniversary with iDoneThis. *does happy dance*

(I mentioned them last year in my 10 Tweeps You Should Follow post ... and they'll always be on that list!)

My buzzwords since last year have been accountability and self-improvement. Considering my always long lists of resolutions (2012 and 2013), iDoneThis is a particularly handy app: I get an email every night at 8pm asking me to "take 30 seconds to write out what [I] got done today."

(You can, of course, tweak it so the reminder comes at any other time of day you prefer.)

And see, iDoneGood!

Ok so I fell off the grid for a bit from end May to beginning October, but picked it back up when Ginni - the Chief Happiness Officer - reached out to me via email to check in. How cool is that!? I don't know about you, but gestures like that really make me love a company.

So I don't know whether to call this a cheat, a side benefit or just abuse of an opportunity available to me, but I also use my iDoneThis updates as mini-journal logs. I like to journal and would love to do more of it in general, but most days I either forget or am too tired/lazy. When iDoneThis asks me what I got done, I take it as an opportunity to jot notes of the significant and trivial bits, creating a weird collage of moments. Some of these jots are elaborated into proper journal entries, but some just stay as little sticky-note reminders of life.

Anyway, I haven't missed a day since October 2, 2012 (woah! My brain remembers that it's Gandhi's birthday...absolutely bloody useless information unless I'm ever on Jeapordy). I have the best intentions to not miss a day again ... but no promises.

Thanks for keeping me on track with my goals and helping me hold on to random memories iDoneThis!!!

To those reading: try iDoneThis out for a week and tell me what you think. It's free and good for you, so you have no excuse ;)

Too many resolutions! And how I handle them...

In a fit of enthusiasm and optimism I created a list of 13 resolutions for 2012. Once Jan 1st rolled around I realized just how daunting it all seemed. Now that April 1st is approaching (T-5ish minutes), I'm starting to sweat a little at just how many expectations I've set up for myself. But I'm determined to get through it all because I really want to achieve Resolution #13 in particular!

Making so many changes and achieving everything I have set myself up for will take a lot of effort. To keep myself from floundering through the year and allowing room for failure I've resorted to tried, tested & true  strategies

Lists
-My first list is the 2012 Making a Change Resolutions list - my "master list" so to speak
-Some of the resolutions require sub-lists as they aren't a one step process
-On days that are super busy I have a checklist so that I can  prioritize my work and get through the important stuff

Mini Goals
-These are basically the broken down versions of my main Resolutions. Setting up mini goals goes hand in hand with creating sub-lists for the resolutions list.
-Bite sized steps allow me to stay on track, get things accomplished in a timely manner and feel motivated towards the ultimate resolutions. It's more manageable to say I want to establish healthy eating habits in January than to continually remind myself that I have/want to lose 30lbs by Dec 31, 2012.

Timelines/Deadlines
-If I don't set up a deadline for myself, things seem to go on forever. I come to a deadline by estimating how much time the process will take. This helps make my expectations more realistic. While I prefer that the deadlines be pretty firm, the first three months of 2012 have taught me to be lenient and flexible as needed. This does not mean that I keep pushing things off to a future "some day" because we all know that day doesn't really come around very often.
-Google Calendar is amazing!!! No seriously. I've got 5 calendars for various activities/occasions/deadlines. Everything is color-coded. I have several email reminders that keep me on track. It syncs to my Droid and my chrome extension button does a little dance when deadlines/events are approaching. I have never been late in paying a bill or missed a birthday thanks to my Google Calendar.

Accountability
-This really varies person to person. I've realized I can't just promise myself that I'll accomplish GoalX or TaskY. I chose to turn to my blog in order to fulfill this strategy point. I've been so gung-ho about accomplishing all my resolutions and have given an accurate update of progress over the past three months now, that it would be really embarrassing for me to have nothing to show for it all on Dec 31, 2012.
-If you're not the public-humiliation sort, you could always just turn to your friends, family, colleagues, etc. Once you put it out there, you kinda have to live up to it. If you don't, you're axing your own feet!

Cheerleaders
-My accountability system also provides me with a fantastic network of supporters and encouragers. When I start hitting a slump it's really nice to turn around and find that my family, friends and www-network is cheering me on. When my own faith and resolve starts dissolving, their smiles and 'you can do its' keep me going.

Carrots
-When I reach a certain deadline or achieve a mini-goal I reward myself with something relevant and good for me. (ie: a leisure read book after a particularly strenuous session of preparing for Resolution 2, not a donut after a good workout)
-Whether it's material or otherwise, a little incentive keeps me motivated to reach my goal and is extra-sweet to revel in when I have achieved something.
-For those wondering where the stick went, kindly look above at the Cheerleader section. Not all of the cheering is entirely, erm, positive. Some of it comes in the form of "well you wanted to accomplish this, now get your behind in gear!" That's enough of a stick for me!

I really love my lists. BIG list fan. So I take some time at the beginning of each month to create a goals list for the next 4 weeks and to review my accomplishments from the past month. Such a satisfying feeling checking off every item and realizing you got everything done! (Maybe it's just me...)

What's your favorite strategy? Do you have any add-ons?

Birthday wishes & 2012 Resolutions

Today I became a year older. I can honestly say that I am a year wiser as well.

It's been a year of introspection, self-discovery, and better understanding of who I have been, who I am and who I want to become. There's been a lot of emotional maturity, intellectual development and mental readjustment. All this change is just the beginning though. My birthday wish this year is that I can push myself a bit harder to move ahead quite a bit further. I'm hoping for good health, lots of wealth and a little bit of lady luck in all endeavors.

I'm using this last month of 2011 to wrap up loose ends so that I can start fresh in 2012. And to go with that fresh start is an ever-evolving list of Resolutions.

Making the Most of 2012
1. Put myself first. I have a hard time with this. Turns out I put everyone else ahead of me. Something I never consciously realized earlier. It's time to stop that and start paying attention to ME!


2. Personal goal. This one's very important, just not something I care to discuss on a public forum. I'm already working hard at it, and hopefully I'll be able to report my success sometime early next year (April-ish).


3. Lose 30lbs over the year. I've blogged before about this. It's partially a vanity thing. Mostly a health thing. It's time I got really serious about it. Pity this doesn't involve having my cake and eating it as well.


4. Go to India. This is as a reward for achieving success with Resolution #2. Since I haven't been to India since 2004, I can assure you, I am working especially hard on #2.


5. Clinical Rotations. Preferably in Chicago. It's the city I love. Clinicals are the best way for me to learn. So it'll be a win-win.


6. Explore my new city. Explore it thoroughly & exhaustively. I want to enjoy everything any city has to offer. There's a lot of history and culture in every place you go and I intend to make the most of my time wherever I end up.


7. Scrapbooking. I've got more WIP ideas than actual scrapbooks. Those ideas need to be translated into physical scrapbooks pronto!


8. Read. At least 4 books over the year (a book a season?) If I can push myself, 12 books. And by books I mean pleasure reads. Just for me, no expectations attached kind of reading.


9. Learn a new skill. Anything! No limitations. Just expand on my capabilities by learning something new.


10. Blog more often. At least 2-3 times a month.


11. 365 photo challenge. A photo a day - clicked, post-processed & posted. The posting might not happen on a daily basis, but I shall try.


12. Cross off 1 item from Bucket List. At least one. If I can accomplish more from my bucket list, that's even better. Additions to the Bucket List are also welcome.


13. Accomplish all goals on Resolutions List. That'll be a first!


Resolutions 6-12 are in no particular order of priority. I won't be dropping a single resolution from the list. The challenge is to accomplish them all. I may add. I may tweak. I don't intend to remove any.

Resolution #10 should work out just fine as I intend to update on the progress of my resolutions throughout the year. Resolutions #1, 2 & 3 are going to be the hardest.

Wish me luck! I'd love company through this process. If you're blogging about your resolutions for 2012, or would like to provide feedback and encouragement through comments, I'd love it!

*fingers crossed* Let's do this 2012!

Oops... I did it again

Or rather I didn't do it again. These past four days have been very bad P90X days. After Thursday of last week, I've been out of the P90X mode. It's much easier to stop after a lax day, than to pick up and get right back at it.

Friday was my birthday - the 2nd most boring, sad birthday I've had in all of my 21+ years.

Saturday was rest day and I took it as that. And once I got into the (2-day) habit of not doing P90X I couldn't muster up the energy or care to start week 3 on Sunday and do jump into Plyometrics today. Horrible! I feel very guilty. It's much harder to pick up the self-created slack when there's no one doing it with you and encouraging you along. Blast!

But I'm motivating myself to get back into it tomorrow. I have to. It's my parents Silver Anniversary in a month and a weeks time. I am pushing myself to look my best for this big event. So, back to P90X it is. I'm going straight into the scheduled exercise of week three, despite having had a horrible start to it.

Just keep swimming...

Rolling out of bed, walking, tucking my hair behind my ear ... it's all PAINFUL! Muscles that hadn't worked in years, if ever, are protesting to the sudden and vigorous exercise. And they make themselves heard loud and clear throughout the day.

Blogging is working as wonderful motivating tool for me. I feel like I've put myself out there and would be a fraud if I didn't continue with the P90X.

Thanks to the combined power of blogging and tweeting I've gotten some really positive feedback. It's nice when others take time out of their lives to provide encouragement.

Seeing P90X through? I really badly want to give up because of how much it hurts. But then I look in the mirror and I'm not happy. More than that, I'm scared of my future if I don't make the effort now. I gotta tell you, it's taking every ounce of determination and will-power to keep pushing. For the moment, I just want the soreness and pain to go away.