Okay, maybe I'm not good with commitments. Remember the ones I made on December 31st when I was just starting my cross-country journey?
1. Every day that I drive, I will stop and take a picture...well nope, haven't done that.
2. And post that picture on my blog...I've only written one blog since I've been out here. Which about equals the number of pictures I've taken.
3. Everyday that I have a long drive, I'm going to get up and run...that ended before it began.
This is what I HAVE done:
1. Started training for a half marathon. Already ran 2.5 miles today, baby!
2. Studied my German...for an hour...3 whole days in a row!
3. Begun cooking. I mean, I can't cook like your mother yet but now I know how to make homemade popcorn, whole wheat chocolate chip cookies, and roasted veggies. And I have attempted chicken, mahi-mahi, and the ever elusive brown rice. Overcooked chicken with a side of undercooked rice, anyone? I ate it.
4. Read every morning. Something edifying, in fact. And I've been learning things!
You know how they say that if you want to lose weight, or start eating less or healthier or whatever, all those fad diets might fix the problem temporarily, but then they're ultimately going to fail? And eventually you're going to gain back all the weight or fall back in to all of your old patterns, because the goal that you have in mind--"to lose weight"--is not sustaining, or satisfying. Soon enough, the reason for not eating that cookie is going to be forgotten in the midst of other life stressors and you're going to cave.
The proverbial "they" DO advise that if you want to make a change and be a better you (when it comes to dietary health) you need teach your body that it wants the good things. No restrictions or high-reaching goals necessary. No guilt for eating that cookie.
When we fail in our obligations, even those self-inflicted, we tend to respond with feelings of shame. But it doesn't work for dieting and honestly, I don't think it works for life.
Goals are important to me, but sometimes the goals I set for myself are a bit too restricting or specific, and the fact that I'm not fulfilling them (because let's face it, sometimes they're dull and not worth getting out of bed for) weighs me down. And I hate myself and I hate my goals and I hate my life.
In traveling, you get down time. You eventually figure out what to do with that down time and it might not be the most "productive" thing you could think of. But that doesn't mean it's not worth doing. Or that you're not becoming a better person or living a happier life because you're doing it.
I like what Aldous Huxley said: “Your true traveler finds boredom rather agreeable than painful. It is the symbol of his liberty-his excessive freedom. He accepts his boredom, when it comes, not merely philosophically, but almost with pleasure.”
1. Every day that I drive, I will stop and take a picture...well nope, haven't done that.
2. And post that picture on my blog...I've only written one blog since I've been out here. Which about equals the number of pictures I've taken.
3. Everyday that I have a long drive, I'm going to get up and run...that ended before it began.
This is what I HAVE done:
1. Started training for a half marathon. Already ran 2.5 miles today, baby!
2. Studied my German...for an hour...3 whole days in a row!
3. Begun cooking. I mean, I can't cook like your mother yet but now I know how to make homemade popcorn, whole wheat chocolate chip cookies, and roasted veggies. And I have attempted chicken, mahi-mahi, and the ever elusive brown rice. Overcooked chicken with a side of undercooked rice, anyone? I ate it.
4. Read every morning. Something edifying, in fact. And I've been learning things!
You know how they say that if you want to lose weight, or start eating less or healthier or whatever, all those fad diets might fix the problem temporarily, but then they're ultimately going to fail? And eventually you're going to gain back all the weight or fall back in to all of your old patterns, because the goal that you have in mind--"to lose weight"--is not sustaining, or satisfying. Soon enough, the reason for not eating that cookie is going to be forgotten in the midst of other life stressors and you're going to cave.
The proverbial "they" DO advise that if you want to make a change and be a better you (when it comes to dietary health) you need teach your body that it wants the good things. No restrictions or high-reaching goals necessary. No guilt for eating that cookie.
When we fail in our obligations, even those self-inflicted, we tend to respond with feelings of shame. But it doesn't work for dieting and honestly, I don't think it works for life.
Goals are important to me, but sometimes the goals I set for myself are a bit too restricting or specific, and the fact that I'm not fulfilling them (because let's face it, sometimes they're dull and not worth getting out of bed for) weighs me down. And I hate myself and I hate my goals and I hate my life.
In traveling, you get down time. You eventually figure out what to do with that down time and it might not be the most "productive" thing you could think of. But that doesn't mean it's not worth doing. Or that you're not becoming a better person or living a happier life because you're doing it.
I like what Aldous Huxley said: “Your true traveler finds boredom rather agreeable than painful. It is the symbol of his liberty-his excessive freedom. He accepts his boredom, when it comes, not merely philosophically, but almost with pleasure.”
