The sun was missing in action yet again this morning.
But someone very special was out to cheer me up.
I couldn’t believe my eyes…
Fiona Shrek!
“He who would learn to fly one day
must first learn to stand and walk
and run and climb and dance;
one cannot fly into flying.”
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Friedrich W. Nietzsche
I’m thinking the Universe wants me to learn to fly.
Because no matter how strong my intentions are, I can’t get myself to walk for ONLY one hour. My body won’t stop till it gets at least two hours’ worth of walking.
And this morning, I discovered there’s a HUGE dog out there who’s also learning to fly.
Watch out for droppings!
REFERENCES: Going Up a Notch – THE PLAN — Notch #1 – GOALS for January — Notch #1 – BABY STEPS / Week of January 4 to 10
Here are the baby steps that were planned
and the progress that was made.
THE ROAD TRIP SHOW
BABY STEP:
Recording of Episode 1
must be 100% done by Sunday.
PROGRESS:
Not done. Not even close. I’ll be generous and say I’m 40% done.
So as of tonight, I’m not sure the show will be ready for its scheduled launch on Wednesday. Will know for sure by Tuesday. I’m crossing my fingers, as opposed to what I would have done in a not-so-distant past which is mentally crush them with a nail-studded iron bar.
Learning to let go.
Learning to be kinder to myself.
Learning to not make a big deal about a make-believe radio show — Hello?
JUSTIFICATION:
After listening to what I had recorded last month and finding it boooooring, I decided to destroy the tracks and start all over again. This means I had way more work to do this week than was expected.
Good news is, after a series of botched recordings, I finally began to relax and was therefore able to find the right tone and rhythm for the show. This happened yesterday — YESSS! I can’t begin to tell you what a relief it was for me to start having fun with this project instead of feeling the pressure to “perform.” Still, I have to be very careful not to get caught in the perfectionnist trap — darn that monster is hard to eliminate!
And I must add to this litany of excuses the fact I’ve been having problems with WordPress. It used to be I only had them with my French blog, but as of last Monday, posting on my English blog has also become a challenge. Will be updating both of them either right after the show’s launch, or before if the old version eats up too much of my time and energy.
ADJUSTMENTS:
I need to determine what my priorities are. This week, I should have concentrated on recording The Road Trip Show. It should have been my main creativity/productivity goal. Instead, I wrote 6 posts for my English blog and 5 posts for my French blog. A total of 11 posts this week. And that doesn’t include this update and its French version. For a grand total of 13 posts.
What was I thinking?!!
Of course this being the first week of The 12-Notch Plan, I had to present a detailed picture of what I had in mind as well as play by the rules and post an update. But I could have done without the post on the decline of my neighbourhood and the ones documenting my morning walks.
THE CONTEST
BABY STEP:
Create the product to be won
by 2 of the trippers on the Happy Bus.
PROGRESS:
Done! The illustration — which already existed but wasn’t “clean” enough for printing purposes — has been drawn over and is now ready to be sent off to CafePress.
THE HEALTHY ME
BABY STEP:
Walk at least 60 minutes every day.
PROGRESS:
Done… but overdone! I went from not taking the time to walk because I was too busy working, to walking 90 minutes yesterday and close to 3 hours today.
Not good for productivity.
ADJUSTMENTS:
Walk no more than 1 hour each morning, from 8 to 9.
And stop posting about my walks when I have more important goals to reach.
I have to mention how Julien Smith inspired me to make my morning walks a priority for both my physical and mental well-being. As I mentioned above, I tend to work, work, work, the day goes by, and I end up not taking my walk on account of it’s too late, too dark, I’m too tired, don’t feel like it, blah blah blah.
When I read Julien’s posts, How To Make Your New Year’s Resolution Actually Happen and Give in to the Machine, I had an aha! moment. It’s all about restriction… and creating habits. Check it out!
BABY STEP:
Eat 5 small meals every day.
PROGRESS:
Not happening. I’ve been eating mostly 2 meals a day. And pretty much the same thing every day.
JUSTIFICATION:
Because I don’t schedule it. Because I get absorbed by my work and forget about it. Because I don’t plan ahead to have food available and in a wide variety.
Because, because, because.
ADJUSTMENTS:
Plan ahead. Make sure I have enough food for the week. Set my timer and eat!
That’s it for this week.
See you tomorrow…
for another week of baby steps.
No sunshine, this morning.
But plenty of fresh air!
It was minus 15 Celsius when I left at 8:30 — minus 24 with the wind chill factor (+ 5 F / – 11 F).
Muffled up in the down coat my son and daughter-in-law gave me for Christmas, it felt more like 32 C / 90 F. Except when I pulled my mittens off to take pictures — ouch.
People were already on the ice, drilling holes…
It sure didn’t look safe to me — the river’s surface isn’t completely frozen, probably due to the heavy current. I hope they know what they’re doing.
And look at this…
Though the sky was cloudy all around, a patch of blue kept me company throughout my walk. Has to be a good sign, right?
Gotta say, this morning ritual is the best decision I’ve taken so far in 2010. Can’t wait to see what else I’ll come up with to make this year the best one EVER.
Okay, back to work I go if I want to bedazzle you
with my weekly update, tonight.
KEEP ON WALKING IN THE FREE WORLD!
I’ve decided to make it my number one priority
to go out walking first thing in the morning.
I’ll tell you why I’ve taken this decision — and to whom I owe it to — in tomorrow’s weekly update.
In the meantime, here’s a photograph I took this morning
during my walk by the St. Lawrence river.
And here’s the song that was playing in my head:
A Beautiful Morning, by The Rascals.
See you tomorrow!
Back in June, I told you about my goal:
to live till I’m 133 — MINIMUM!
Ever since then, I’ve been reciting Deepak Chopra’s age-defying mantra not only as soon as I wake up in the morning and right before I doze off at night, but numerous times throughout the day, be it while taking a walk, taking a break, taking a shower, or taking a leak.
Now that my brain is convinced I’m 49, I’m ready for the next step: to perceive my body not as a fixed, material thing, but as a flexible, dynamic bundle of consciousness.
In Grow Younger, Live Longer - 10 Steps to Reverse Aging, Chopra explains that in order to reverse the aging process, you must use the words energy, transformation, and intelligence as reinforcements to experience your body as it really is — a field of inexhaustible energy, in constant transformation, and as a physical expression of pure intelligence.
For this, you will start by visualizing your body
at a quantum level — use this illustration.
Once you have that image in your mind, consciously take a deep breath (do this several times each day), close your eyes, and mentally repeat the word Energy.
Similarly, when you eat your food, do it consciously and repeat the word Transformation, visualizing the light body in transformation.
Finally, every time you take a sip of water, silently repeat the word Intelligence and envision your light body as fluid and flexible.
It is said that as you repeat this ritual with breathing, eating, and drinking, you will be starting the process of restructuring your perception and the experience of your body from material to subtle.
Book excerpt:
Enlivening Energy (Prana)
Your vital energy animates both mind and body. Throughout the day, use the word Energy and experience the life force rejuvenating every cell, tissue, and organ in your body.
Think “Energy” whenever you:
Enlivening Transformation (Tejas)
The essential transformation force is the primordial fire of life. Throughout the day, use the word Transformation to enliven the transformational process that continuously converts energy from one form into another.
Think “Transformation” whenever you:
Enlivening Intelligence (Ojas)
When intelligence is abundant and freely circulating in your body, all your physiological systems — cardiovascular, digestive, neurological, hormonal, and immune — function at their optimal level. Throughout the day, use the word Intelligence to enliven nourishment in every cell of your body.
Think “Intelligence” whenever you:
Whenever you are performing a rhythmic activity — walking, jogging, swimming, riding your bicycle, or using a treadmill — silently repeat “Energy, Transformation, Intelligence… Energy, Transformation, Intelligence… ” or “Prana, Tejas, Ojas… Prana, Tejas, Ojas… ” with your full attention on your body.
After a while, your habitual way of experiencing your body will change because your perceptions will have shifted.
You may think this is all a big hassle, but it’s not. It quickly becomes a fun habit — at least it has for me. Reciting the affirmations about being 49 puts a smile on my face and gives me an instant energy boost.
Another advantage is that the more I fill my mind with images and affirmations about staying young, fit, and healthy, the less there is room for negative thoughts.
Come on, give it a try.
Say it with me…
Every day in every way, I am increasing
my mental and physical capacity.
My Biostat is set at a healthy ___ years of age.
I look and feel a healthy ___ years YOUNG.
I am reversing my biological age:
By changing my perception of my body,
its aging, and time.
Hey… you look younger already!
_____________
