A new year is the perfect excuse to kick out some nasty habits and cultivate some new ones. In an earlier post, I chatted about setting realistic goals. There is no point in setting yourself up for disappointment.
We are halfway into the month of January 2021 and the magic wand that was supposed to erase the terrible 2020 has gotten lost in the mail… and probably been washed out to sea. We are still in lockdown, although not as stringent as originally and the infections are at what they refer to as the second peak. People are getting very sick and dying and this all is creating angst and tension. To top it all off a lot of schools are not opening. The Lilliputians’ school is luckily private and very small so I was of course the first parent there on the first day. Don’t get me wrong, I love them, but I was relieved to be able to hand off two three-year-olds to the professionals.
Getting into the routine after holiday has also been a bit of a challenge. My team is still working remotely and I struggle with deligating if I cannot run into someone’s office. The Engineer has also been working from home, which brings all those fun discussions about dishes and washing into our workday as well. Little spurts of dialogue indicating my displeasure at him not noticing the toys he keeps climbing over.
Exercise has been going well. I have realised that my whole exercise regime, possibly my whole existence rests upon a reward system. Basically, I will run for wine. Which is interesting because I was never really a runner, and may not be considered one by actual runners, but in a weird sense I do love it. I am motivated not only by wine but also by getting a little better every now and again. A little faster, adding a few km in a particular week and just getting outside. And then the following resonates with me: you will stick to what you enjoy.
Echoed in many articles about training programmes and weight loss and post graduate study and even job satisfaction, the experts all agree: if it is going to feel like a punishment, you will probably give up. And I believe that this is where a mindset comes in.
One will always be able to find both positive and negative things in any endevours. Let’s face it, we all have a friend. The one that always works too hard, and is never appreciated by anyone. The one that is always negative about crime or weather or the petrol price (or all of the above). The one that always experiences bad service. The one that always wins that competition of whose life sucks the most. Hell, I have upon occasion been that friend.
And no, I am not saying that you have to be annoyingly peppy all the time, but there is some truth in seeing the positive side of things. Some suggest a gratitude journal for this.
I myself realised that I want to only keep and take with me those people and those things that inspire me. Things that humour me, elevate me, energise me and resonate with me, that motivates me. And perhaps these can fill up my tank for those days when everything is a bit grey, a bit depressing or a bit hard. Perhaps this mindset may be useful to your approach as well. Since being back at work, I realised that what currently motivates me is motion. Going forward. Addressing things or even just acknowledging them. Motivated by motion! I like that. It can be a topic for another post.