Help from Lists

In an attempt to focus on positive thinking, self-love, and overall well-being I have been trying out a new method that I learned about from some inspirational blogs I have been reading. It involves making a ‘to-do’ list of sorts for each day, of 3-5 little things that I will be able to complete before the day is over. The point is to be as specific as possible so your mind is able to hone in on exactly what needs to be done and therefore adds more focus and motivation (I think). For example, instead of writing “go for a walk” you could say “go for a 30 minute walk in the park after breakfast” or something. Once you complete things on your list, you get the wonderful satisfaction of ticking it off! I have been making my list the night before, as well as doing a little journal entry about how the day went, how I feel etc.

The Airfield where I went running the other morning, in the rain!!

Although I’ve only been doing it for four days, I feel that it is really helping me to not only gain a sense of accomplishment but to also live in the present moment...focusing on TODAY and RIGHT NOW! My lists have been including things like ‘write a blog post’ and ‘go for a 30 minute run in the morning’ and ‘say 3 nice things about yourself every time you look in the mirror’. It could be ANYTHING you want to accomplish. It feels good to wake up each morning with a sense of purpose. And although you may not complete each thing on the list the exact way that you intended or not at all, it’s so important not to be hard on yourself. I am learning slowly but surely that beating myself up only creates more procrastination. A couple days ago I had set a goal to go on a 30 minute run and when I woke up, I really didn’t want to go!! Sure enough, the negative self-talk began to rise to the surface. Yes, on day two of trying this list idea, I was expecting perfection! I ended up going for a walk into town with Clarissa a bit later and counted that as my ‘run’ instead. “It’s okay, it’s okay...” I’ve been telling myself all day, “it’s okay that you didn’t go for a run.” After so many years of beating myself up, I need a lot of consolation!

I wanted to share this because I am just excited about it I suppose. I am still learning, but I feel that my life is moving in the right direction.