Day 93: Reconnecting

[Jay Ey]

Wow, Day 93 and I haven't written a blog since New Year's Day, which was Day 55 for me. This past month has seen me hit some real lows; so it's a good time to stick my head up and try to see the light.

Here's what's been going on with my intentions for my challenge:

TAKE BETTER CARE OF MYSELF. I've been relatively good at exercising lately, especially since it's been hard to get myself to do it. I usually feel better afterward, but I never believe it before or during it! My appetite hasn't been high, but I have been able to at least have an energy bar for breakfast and a large smoothie to get my fruit/vegee intake for the day. I've been sitting in front of my light box each day to try to improve my moods.

IMPROVE MY SOCIAL LIFE. I haven't been doing enough here, mainly because I haven't had enough work and a social life costs money. I'm at least getting out and seeing old friends, even if I've put the search for Ms. Right on hold for now.

IMPROVE MY FOCUS AND MINDFULNESS. I had a good run earlier in the challenge with keeping up-to-date in my journal, but less so these days. I did take a big step in my life to start a meditation practice, and I've been faithful to this since I started it a month ago. I read that there have been studies that mindful meditation has helped people that suffer from chronic depression; and I'm committed to trying this for myself.

REDUCE CLUTTER. I've gotten a lot better at not wasting time on some on-line activities, and I've made a minor dent in my off-line clutter. This is something I need to refocus on.

GET SOME BASIC THINGS DONE. I've made some progress at putting together a budget and tracking my finances. Not too much progress on my list of projects.

FIND A VOCATION. I've been meeting with a few friends on this every week. Last week I started to put together a "life story" that I will eventually condense for job interviews but now is serving as a way to try to figure out what I want to do with my life. That's always been a struggle for me and continues to be. I did start working with a non-profit here on a pro bono strategic planning project; hopefully that will help build my self-esteem.

HAVE FUN WITH THIS. On 11/8/08, the day I started this, I wrote that, "I often let life become a chore; for 100 days I want to remember something Tom Robbins wrote a long time ago: 'Life is hard if you think it's hard.'" Ah, old habits are SO hard to break.