As I wrote about before, I’ve been coddling myself to get through the tough times. Now, I feel strong enough to start working toward goals and have some discipline in my life. This is how I typically get from OK to good, then good to thriving.
The key elements for me have always been: nutrition, exercise, and sleep. Based on some reading I’ve been doing, I also want to add some things that could help boost the effects of the trifecta. If you haven’t heard of it, there are supposedly 5 types of hobbies everyone should have. These hobbies are designed to: build your knowledge, help you socialize, keep you in shape, make you money, and promote creativity. Right off the bat, I’m dropping the money one. I get too obsessive about tracking and making money. I make enough at my day job right now, and I don’t need to add more obligations to my life. I’m also going to start off without the knowledge one. I hope to add it at some point, but I started a new job in a new industry 6 months ago and I feel like my learning plate is full. That leaves me with:
| Socialize | Archery, Salsa Class, Proactively planning things with friends |
| Fitness | Strength training, Salsa |
| Creativity | Guitar, Piano, Building Models |
Social: I’m taking an introductory archery class on Thursday (it will probably be me and a bunch of kids). After that, I may do some private lessons, but I can always just go to the range after work to shoot and socialize with people there. I signed up for a 6 week intro to salsa dance class with my friend, Beth. She is already an accomplished dancer, but wants to take the intro course to learn the lead part, so I have a built-in partner! I have 3 people who I consider close friends in my city. I will be more proactive in reaching out to schedule things with them. There are also a couple people who I can work on strengthening friendships with by reaching out more.
Fitness: This one is kind of a give away. I started working out consistently about 5 years ago (which was completely out of the ordinary for me). Now it’s such an engrained habit, I don’t have to push myself to do it. I DO need to increase my intensity. I’ve been slogging through workouts because I know I’ll feel bad if I don’t do them. I need to put more effort in and have some goals. I want to be able to do a pull up. I’ve tried a few times before down that route but never made it very far. I do have a lower body weight after 2 months of intense anxiety impacting my appetite, so maybe now is the time to go for that. Salsa will also be good because I don’t do much cardio in my gym routine.
Creativity: I’ve played the piano off and on. I’ve downloaded some popular songs that I think will keep me motivated. I’m also trying to play and sing at the same time. I’m about a week into learning guitar basics through an app, and it’s fun but I can’t overdo it yet because it hurts my fingers.
Sleep: Ugh. I used to say sleep was my superpower. No matter what was going on, I could still get a good night’s sleep. I can still sleep, but I’m using crutches. Lately, I’ve only been able to get a good night’s sleep if I’m either sleeping with Austin (Fri, Sat, Sun nights), sleeping on the couch, or if I take a sleeping pill. It’s good that I have the 3 nights with him, but the sleep I get during the week is hit or miss. I usually wake up sore if I sleep on the couch, and I don’t like being dependent on sleeping pills. I need to start consistently sleeping in bed, unmedicated. It’s tough, because when I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t sleep, that’s when my thoughts really spiral. I’ll try some things like setting a good bedtime routine, getting up to do something different if I can’t sleep, or meditating when I wake up.
Nutrition: As I said, I’ve lost 20 pounds in the last few months. I had started doing it intentionally and slowly, but then, when the wheels fell off, I dropped a lot more very quickly. I don’t have much more I can lose, but I am happy to be in my smaller clothes again and I do feel more confident at a smaller size. My appetite is better but not back to normal. I’m going to use this as an opportunity to keep a close eye on my macros and see if I can make a little more progress on body composition while trying not to lose more muscle. I’m eating more vegetables and making sure my protein intake is high.