Actually, attempting to stay positive is like a complete reworking of my brain. I think the natural human condition is to think the opposite way. The cynical, this-is-never-going to work, that-could-never-happen-in-real-life way.
Since I started on this "journey" in the Real World, this is the one thing I have the most trouble with. It's easy to sink into the "whatever" mindset. It takes actual work to maintain positivity! Plus getting knocked down is way easier than being propped up, ex: no temp work for a week, four consecutive blown internships interviews, bad grades, gaining weight.
I wouldn't be honest if I said that this journey is an easy one, but I've noticed that thinking good things seems to bring good things. It's like putting the vibes out brings in better ones, as long as you keep the flow going. Inactivity seems to be my biggest enemy... I'm extremely good at hibernating at my parent's house.
Tonight, I decided to let go of my grilled cheese/pasta and cheese diet and actually get my act together. Part of overall health is your diet, after all. I know I feel terrible after downing an ice cream the size of my head. Or eating a muffin from Dunks because I was too lazy to pack and carry something healthy.
I'm attacking this health thing from every angle: diet, exercise, and stress. I've learned what a difference stress truly makes on health. And not just because I study it!
There is truth in the notion that thinking positively lowers your stress. Easier said than done, especially commuting anywhere in Boston. But I have learned to just stop myself, breathe in the moment, and think long-term. The commute lasts half an hour, then what?
I know now that to be healthy in this life, I need to think ahead a lot more than I do now. I need to get my homework and studying done, and not the night before. I need to make time for the gym. Make time to cook. Plan ahead!
I'm going to Memphis in a month and I need to set some personal goals:
1) Spend time every night working on school work.
2) Spend less time hanging out on my parent's couch.
3) Gym! Enough said.
I think I've had a good starting point and now I'm getting to the hardest part: maintenance through the rough part of the semester. But as anyone knows, you can't just give up. If there's one thing a person should define themselves on it's this.
The actions of someone who gets back up and tries again speaks volumes more than the person making excuses.
Random recently-self-learned health 'advice'
ReplyDeleteI don't know if everyone is like that, but I go through 'waves' of food likes/wants. E.g. I recently had a peanut butter phase (I don't normally eat nuts, so PB that is just peanuts and a little salt was a perfectly valid source of nuts, I think); but that turned into greek yogurt. I went through a serious soup phase for lunch, but recently got into/back into salads. Easy way to get tons of veggies, and I can throw fun things into it too. I choose not to worry too much about the 'fatty dressing' issue; it's not calories, it's vitamins and vegetable goodness I'm trying to capture...
On gym stuff, I've realized one thing that keeps me coming back is having one day that I'll go to even if I don't do anything else that week. It has to be something that's more feel-good than serious workout--yoga, for me. But it's my 'gateway workout'. If I'm still doing that, it's way, way easier to add other days back in.