There is a reason you think. There is a reason your lungs soak up oxygen and your heart pumps blood through your veins.
Every day that you open your eyes is a day you can't start over. Don't waste it.
Take what you've been given -- time, resources, talents -- and invest in life.
You were not given a beating heart to accent a dull, tuneless life. Your heart is beating to join in the rhythm of the waves, add to the whistling of the wind, and play a part in the symphony of life that surrounds you.
Join in.
Take stock of what you have: 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Decide what's important to you. Start living.
Be the stone that starts the ripples -- not the boulder at the edge of the pond.
Step One: Evaluate your schedule and routine.
Map out your week hour by hour, marking what time is taken for work and other responsibilities and nonnegotiables. Plan specific times for other important things, like family and sleep. Note the empty spaces.
Step Two: Think through your interests and decide what to pursue.
Depending on your point in life, this may be very easy or very hard. If it's very hard, visit a library and venture into the non-fiction, Dewey-decimaled section. Look for Idiot's Guides to . . . well, everything.
Once you have a few ideas of what you'd like to try, evaluate your resources and choose what works with them. (Tip: Think creatively.) Work these things into three to five of your schedule's empty spaces.
Step Three: Leave some blanks.
In your schedule -- not on people's faces.
These remaining blanks are for extra time to yourself, with others, or in creative and enriching pursuits. No Facebook or World of Warcraft allowed.
If someone gives you a blank look, tell them you're avoiding a midlife crisis by exploring the adventure of life. Pay attention to their reaction and share it in a comment.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
If It's the Inside that Counts. . .
. . . then stop caring so much about the outside.
Yes, you should have good hygiene. Yes, your clothes should fit and match.
But, no, your appearance should not consume you.
When you get up in the morning, you should be thinking about what you can do to make this day the best yet -- not what you can do to make yourself the best-dressed.
3 Tips to Lowering Concern for the Outer Appearance
1. Turn around or cover all of your mirrors.
You can tell without a mirror whether your clothes fit and match, or not. And makeup is rarely required for the job. If you have unruly hair, keep a portion of the bathroom mirror uncovered -- and only stand in front of it long enough to put your locks in place.
Keep your mirrors out of sight for at least a week. Use the time you'd normally spend on your appearance for something else, like learning a new dance step or cleaning the shower.
2. Stop reading fashion magazines.
Sure, you can play it off as enjoying beauty, but all that "beauty" impacts your self-image. And probably not in the best of ways.
Instead of spending time examining the glossed-up images of others, find ways to enjoy the body you've been given.
Pick up a new exercise routine, find a group to play a few games of volleyball or frisbee with. Even if you have zero experience and skill, you can enjoy these things. You may even discover talent you didn't know you had.
3. Work on your insides.
And this is meant in the least gross of ways.
Think about who you are, how you treat others, and identify ways you can improve. Maybe you find yourself judging people or writing them off without giving them a fighting chance. Maybe your thoughts horrify you and you wish they'd just shut up.
If you're going to criticize yourself, then do it constructively on the things that matter -- not on your appearance, which in ten years will be outdated and in twenty years will be coated with wrinkles.
Yes, you should have good hygiene. Yes, your clothes should fit and match.
But, no, your appearance should not consume you.
When you get up in the morning, you should be thinking about what you can do to make this day the best yet -- not what you can do to make yourself the best-dressed.
3 Tips to Lowering Concern for the Outer Appearance
1. Turn around or cover all of your mirrors.
You can tell without a mirror whether your clothes fit and match, or not. And makeup is rarely required for the job. If you have unruly hair, keep a portion of the bathroom mirror uncovered -- and only stand in front of it long enough to put your locks in place.
Keep your mirrors out of sight for at least a week. Use the time you'd normally spend on your appearance for something else, like learning a new dance step or cleaning the shower.
2. Stop reading fashion magazines.
Sure, you can play it off as enjoying beauty, but all that "beauty" impacts your self-image. And probably not in the best of ways.
Instead of spending time examining the glossed-up images of others, find ways to enjoy the body you've been given.
Pick up a new exercise routine, find a group to play a few games of volleyball or frisbee with. Even if you have zero experience and skill, you can enjoy these things. You may even discover talent you didn't know you had.
3. Work on your insides.
And this is meant in the least gross of ways.
Think about who you are, how you treat others, and identify ways you can improve. Maybe you find yourself judging people or writing them off without giving them a fighting chance. Maybe your thoughts horrify you and you wish they'd just shut up.
If you're going to criticize yourself, then do it constructively on the things that matter -- not on your appearance, which in ten years will be outdated and in twenty years will be coated with wrinkles.
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