Sunshine Girl

Try

I'm participating in a 31-day blogging challenge called reverb10, responding to writing prompts that are designed to elicit reflections on 2010, and hopes for 2011. You can find out more about it here. I am challenging myself to respond to each prompt in 15 minutes or less.

Today's challenge: Try. What do you want to try next year? Is there something you wanted to try in 2010? What happened when you did / didn't go for it?

I know you can't blame me, but you know what I'm thinking. That crazy Yoda. "Do, or do not. There is no try." I think I know what Luke must have been wondering. "Huh? How do I just do something that I've never done before?" (Or, "How the &*!! does this crazy little alien think that I'm going to raise that stinking fighter jet out of the swamp?? It's impossible!")

I've been reflecting this morning on the psychology of "starting"; the first step, the beginning, moving past square one. I'm sure that Nike was on to something pure genius when they (or their advertising agents) came up with "Just Do It", but why is it so hard to "just do it"? If there are any psychologists out there with an opinion, please, by all means weigh in. I really want to know what it's so tough for me to change my routine. 

Speaking for myself, it's really tough for me to get started, but once things are under way, I find that I actually enjoy myself. This applies to so many different aspects of my life, from writing to exercising, to just simply getting out of the house and going to the movies. The initial push is ugly, but once I get past that, it's a different ball game, and I can relax and get comfortable. 

So what do I want to try in 2011? Honestly, I want to try to make 2011 different from 2010 in so many ways. I would like to live more fully in each day, and each moment, than I have been. This means paying more attention to the details and not taking things for granted so much. I would like to spend more time outside, and less time inside. I would like to move more, and eat less. I would like to write a little bit, every day, even if it's just a five minute timed exercise. I would like to not waste so much of my time, money and talent, and instead do something meaningful with them. 

This year, Glenn and I are committed to participating in the MS 150. I don't know how well we'll do, but we signed up for it, and we're riding as much as we can right now, to prepare our bodies. I guess this is pretty close to "just do it". We're keeping the second-guessing to a minimum, and acting under the assumption that we're going to be able to see this through. Maybe this is what Yoda meant. Believe that you can do something, and make it happen. Don't think too much. Stop analyzing, and act. 

Couldn't hurt to try.

 

Let It Go; 11 Things

I'm participating in a 31-day blogging challenge called reverb10, responding to writing prompts that are designed to elicit reflections on 2010, and hopes for 2011. You can find out more about it here. I am challenging myself to respond to each prompt in 15 minutes or less.

Today's challenge: 11 Things. What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life? 

11 Things

1) Self-doubt. I second guess myself a lot. Too much. So much so, that I think a lot of good ideas are dead upon arrival, killed in my mind before they've ever had a chance to manifest. I need to feel a little bit more free to make mistakes, and to be a little bit more gentle with my ideas. I think that creativity needs room for failure, if that makes any sense. It's okay to mess up sometimes - there might just be a great idea behind the bad ones, that's just waiting it's turn to emerge from my brain. Acknowledge an idea as good or bad, document it, and move on. 

2) Laziness. Imagine what I could do in my life if I actually made the most of my time, instead of griping about not having enough of it. Wow. Get moving, girl.

3) Materialism. Some people go to comfort food when they need consolation for their souls. I go to books, clothes, or office supplies. (Everyone is wired differently, yes?) I've been thinking a lot lately about the less fortunate. (This happens when you read, "A Christmas Carol".) I feel pretty certain that I could actually survive without these crutches fairly well; as a matter of fact I could benefit others by doing without my peppermint lattes and colored Post-It notes. Water wells in Haiti have been on my mind. 

4) Excuses. No matter how much I really want to accomplish something, sometimes it's hard to get past the starting line. I can't tell you how tired I am of this. I can amaze myself with some of the excuses I come up with for avoiding the hard or less fun things in life. Which leads me to...

5) The same old routine. It's killing me. Literally. If I don't get back to the gym on a regular basis, it's certainly not prolonging my life, am I right? Even my retired parents exercise every day at the gym. What's my excuse?? As Rick Ocasek once said, "Shake it Up". 

6) Self centeredness. Let's face it. If we've got the time and the resources to be reading this on a computer or any sort of mobile device, we are pretty darn wealthy by the rest of the world's standards. I would like to look outside myself a bit more, in 2011.

7) Regrets. "Shoulda, woulda, coulda, pal." Living with past regrets doesn't help anyone. The better move is to figure out how to make the future count. Better said by Ebenezer Scrooge, as things are finally sinking in for him, with that creepy spirit of the future: "Lead on! Lead on! The night is waning fast, and it is precious time to me, I know. Lead on, Spirit!" Amen, brother Scrooge, Amen.

8) Fruitless wishes. I've gotten better about this, but still, I'll catch myself thinking about what it might be like to have a new car, or maybe what things would be like if one of my loved ones were still alive. This is ridiculous, on both counts. As for the first, my five year old car is in perfectly good shape. As for the second, is there any amount of wishing in the world that can change this? Let it go.

9) Bitterness. Oh sure, I seem like a pretty well adjusted, happy person. But I'm just like everyone else. I've got some thorny issues in my past, which can flare up from time to time. Very unproductive, in the long run. I've got to make sure that I'm not getting stuck in the process of working through these things. Keep moving on, and let it go. 

10) Time-suckers. I recently hit the "statistics" button on my iPhone Solitaire game. Really? I've spent how many hours playing this game? And I've won how many times?? Someone, please, tell me again why I'm playing this game?? Honestly, I need to get a life.

11) Fear. So why am I so resistant to change? I think it all boils down to one word. Yep. I'm scared. Afraid of failure, afraid of what people might think, and maybe afraid of what might happen if I actually succeed in some of my endeavors. This is, once again, ridiculous. It's a mind game, much like solitaire, designed to make me come out the big loser. Letting it go. Feels pretty good.