Versus

I have a bunch of This vs That things I've been thinking about writing so it makes total sense to write one Versus-themed blog!

Awareness vs. Action

Not to "toot mine own horn", but I am pretty good at creating awareness for myself. By this I don't mean being observant (cuz I am not), I simply mean I am aware of my strengths, weaknesses, areas I want to improve, what I'm doing well, etc. And when I am interested in a topic, I am pretty good at doing all the research, reading and being enthusiastic. However, where I tend to fizzle out is on the Action side of things. I had a check up with my psychiatrist last week and she pointed that out...when she said it I was like "yay, I totally have to work on that". LOL Then, I had my MindBody session after that and it re-enforced the idea to me. I don't feel as though I have put the same energy and excitement into my MindBody fitness course these last two weeks as I did the first week. BUT, one of the reasons I like the program I'm on right now is that I have weekly check ins so things don't spiral out of control. I have re-committed myself and have done a few things to help me stay focused on my actions.

1. I bought some letter beads and some suede strips to make my own bracelet. The idea behind it being that the physical reminder on my wrist will help me remember my goals throughout the day, instead of just at night when I'm checking off if I've met them or not. I bought a lot of beads so I change the word I am wearing. My first word is "Harmony" as that is what I'm really aiming for in my life.

2. I've decided to adopt the Resolution Chart from The Happiness Project into my routine. Basically it's like a spreadsheet with your daily goals on top & the days of the month along the left side. Then each day you give yourself a check mark under the goals you have completed.

My daily goals for this month are:

-5 minutes of exercise,

-1 set of affirmations,

-1 glass of water,

-one minute rule (if something takes less than a minute to do, I have to do it right away, rather than procrastinating i.e. putting my jacket away),

-meditating (once a day),

-Blog or Journal (10 minutes &/or one entry),

-15 minutes of reading,

-eating 2 servings of vegetables.

Some of these may seem minimal, but that is sort of the point. If I have a goal of the minimal, I'll meet them more often, but will hopefully exceed them most of the time.

Balance vs. Harmony

It is nearly impossible and in my opinion, undesirable, to create balance in your life.  Balance, by definition means all things equal, so to have true balance you would have to put as much energy and time into each area of your life.  For most people, each life area is weighted differently on their priority scale.  What we are usually seeking is harmony: a consistent, orderly, or pleasing arrangement of parts (as per http://www.dictionary.com/). I'm looking for each part of my life to pleasantly flow and overlap together. For instance, I want a career that compliments my personal life & relationships  (as oppose to competing with it), that pays our bills comfortably, that I'm passionate about and that utilizes my skills while simultaneously causing me to challenge myself and grow.   Sound like a lot to ask for? LOL Well my motto today is "If I can dream it, I can achieve it." I didn't make it up, I heard it somewhere before, but I love the sound of it.

Hereditary vs. Choices (aka Victim vs. Warrior)

I could easily be a "victim" and claim that my struggles with weight are due to my genetics. My biological contributer is overweight and my mom has struggled with it herself. However, it is much more empowering to instead say that I am overweight because of the choices I have made. It's empowering because although I am accepting the blame, I am also accepting the powerful position of being able to change those choices and live my life at my ideal weight. I've names this versus a.k.a. Victim vs Warrior because this philosophy can be applied to virtually any area of your life. In reality we might not be 100% in control (like my weight might be more difficult to take off than someone else's), but it doesn't really add anything to our lives to think negatively about it. It doesn't "serve" us to think like a victim. I've chosen to be a Warrior.

I challenge you to 1) apply this philosophy to your own struggles, & 2) find an area that this can't be applied to.  With our modern world, you would be hard pressed to find something for #2.