March 29th, 2010
In an effort to be more aware, I am stopping behaviors that aren’t working or that don’t feel good.
In an effort to be more healthful, I am creating new habits that will help me feel good.
For instance, I’ve broken my cigarette habit. Haven’t been a smoker since Christmas. This is not to say I haven’t smoked– I have smoked tobacco from a pipe and every once in a while will still smoke a cigarette. But apparently I can do this without craving cigarettes when I’m not smoking them. I don’t feel like a cigarette is a good coping mechanism, and frankly lately it’s been a rather blase’ form of entertainment. This is precisely what I was going for: break the habit, and then break the attraction to it. I believe that is how I create the most permanent changes. It’s like outgrowing a drinking phase, only with slightly less drunkenness.
In addition to the tobacco thing, I have also begun doing more physical activity. For the last several months, a majority of my lunch breaks have involved me listening to audio books while walking on a treadmill at work. Last week, I added a little bit of light weight lifting to the lunchly routine. Today, I added to that by committing with my NeighborFriend to walk or exercise at 5:00 AM. Understandably this is a little insane, especially considering that we went for our walk this morning in complete darkness. However, I am pleased and excited for this new habit to kick in– I can see that half hour every day as being something I truly look forward to. She and I are both morning people, too, and we’re both committed to ending our sedentary lifestyles. This is an excellent start!!!!
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In a quest for more positive change, I’ve found a site that produces excellent articles on motivation. This is a link to one of my favorite articles on positive change. Personally, I like to make lists with check boxes because I get some sort of twisted gratification by checking boxes once I’ve completed a task. Obviously this doesn’t work for everyone, but for me, it’s a beautiful thing.
Good for you – the quitting smoking thing. When I quit, I chose a different route. Cold turkey. It was miserable. But I also found a mental device to help – that did help. I told myself it wasn’t ME that wanted the cigarette so badly – it was my Addiction – and I wasn’t going to give in to my Addiction – because *I* didn’t want to smoke anymore. And besides – I’d given “Quitting Cigarettes” to my then pregnant wife for Valentine’s Day – and once you give something to Annie, you’d better NOT be about trying to take it back.
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