Ever-Changing Reflection

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding... It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility.
~ Kahlil Gibran

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Extreme Makeover: Me Edition - Overcoming Obstacles


By now, I hope you have discovered Amber's blog for yourself and been introduced to this inspiring meme.

If not, quick run-down: Amber started the Extreme Makeover: Me Edition a few weeks ago where we concentrate on how to take time out of our hectic lives and days for ourselves. To make ourselves better. The empty cup cannot quench the thirst of those who need it. In the same way, we cannot be great mothers, wives, sisters, friends, daughters, employees, bosses, etc. unless we refresh ourselves!

Each week, we update each other on our progress and address a specific question...

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This week's question: What is your biggest obstacle right now?
How are you making plans to overcome/push forward?

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This week, my progress update can be incorporated into my answer, which is great for me.

A couple of the obstacles I've found myself facing are:

1. Being too lazy to exercise.

2. Becoming increasingly anti-social since working from home.

As far as #1, I have really made an effort to exercise in the past week. It helped when I realized I'm leaving for Palm Beach next Saturday, which means it is not long before I'm going to have to wear a bathing suit in public. And I would like to look somewhat toned.

Friday I spent an hour vigorously vacuuming the entire house, then did a few triceps chair dips, which I've tried to do daily. Over the weekend, I took the dog for a few walks and threw in some crunches. Monday night, I did the same while watching football, and then last night I did a 30-minute On Demand Yoga workout focusing on thighs and butt. Whew! That was a workout for the whole body! I plan on doing another 30 minutes of On Demand Yoga tonight as well. It's slowly incorporating little things every day, setting aside just a half hour to devote to exercise. I'm considering signing up for formal Yoga classes in another week or so to force me to continue my practice and help me address #2...

Working from home is an amazing luxury I'm so grateful for, but it has its downsides. Obviously there's the motivation/distraction factor, but I'm a pretty disciplined person when it comes to work, so that hasn't been my problem. The problem is that the only interaction I have during the day is talking to the dog. Especially with Jed traveling the past two weeks... I've had little human interaction outside of conference calls.

I've shared this feeling with a couple coworkers who offered for me to call them when I feel the need for real conversation. I also plan on making the effort to go into the office more just to socialize, be visible, catch up with people. Then there's the Yoga classes, and I'm going to make more of an effort to make plans the nights Jed isn't around just to share my day with someone.

So, there are my current obstacles to being a better me. What about you? What obstacles are you facing? Any tips on how to overcome them?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

This is great! I'll have to join in when I manage to pull the stick out of my own ass.

Morgan said...

Loved the comment you just left on my blog! Way to hold strong!! :)