Intelligentsia

Today I Feel Energized!

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More Energy Project Day #27-29

Getting more sleep definately has a great impact on my energy level. Even when I get tired I manage to stay in a fairly good mood.

Today I started practise for half marathon in June. I’m planning a training session three times a week for the next three months.

Today I feel more energized than I have for the past two years. I’m doing a lot of the things I wanted to implement to get more energy; and I’m starting to exercise more. The increased energy influence my other daily activities and my mood is getting better.

There are ups and downs in a project like this, but these days I’m experiencing an upturn.

 

 

Exercise

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Day #3 in my More Energy Project

I started they day with exercising at the gym. I joined a class of Bodycombat. After class I felt energized and I took a long shower and relaxed in the sauna.

I spend most of the day with my son. It has been a fine day; I am very tired but I’m in a better mood than I would have expected.

I also ate berries in a smoothie today. Dark berries should be very energizing.

Can exercise replace sleep?

Keep It Simple – One Habit a Month!

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162 - Juggling balls © by MrB-MMX

Today I was up at 6.26 and the habit of getting up early is starting get implemented. I have to keep working on this habit. I have tried to create other habits simultaneously but I failed and I realised it is because you can only create one or two habits at the time. Leo Babauta from ZenHabits suggests that you only focus on one habit for about a month and then you can start creating another habit. [6 Rules for Dealing With Habits vs. Tasks]

When I start I project I always get over-excited and I want to do everything at once. But a good and healthy habit takes time and it is worth waiting for. A habit can take as much as 8 months to qualify as a habit. That means you have to keep focus on this habit for 8 months before it becomes something you just do without thinking about it. That is why you don’t want to create more than one habit at the time.

I failed when I tried to add a new habit every week except from two habits: Getting up early and sitting and drinking a glass of water. I could manage these two habits at the same time because they are closely related and have simple rules.

In an article on Pick The Brain by Scott Young [Tips for Breaking Bad Habits and Developing Good Habits] he suggests that you keep the rules of the habit simple or you will fail. As he puts it: “Simple rules create habits, complex rules create headaches.”

I did exactly what he says I shouldn’t do; I wanted to exercise at least 30 minutes every day but it became hard for me to do because the rules were too complicated. I defined and scheduled different kinds of exercise that had to be done on specific hours on specific days. I managed to do this for almost two weeks and then I lost the desire to do the exercise. It became something I had to do but didn’t feel like doing.

According to Stephen Covey a habit consists of knowledge, skills and desire. If you don’t have all of them you will fail. I only had two and I failed. I failed because I didn’t keep it simple.

Reaching for Help Is a Good Habit

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Help! © by Dimitri N.

Kafka’s universe is starting to make more sense but the chaos is still there. Weekend is over and a new week has started with responsibilities that force me into some of my stabilising routines and habits. I was up at 5.30 today – although I usually aim at 6.28. But sometimes I have a client early in the morning.

I sat in quietude and let my mind wander – that is a good habit and a good start on the day.

The chaos inside me does not invite to carry out my habits because chaos is the opposite of habits. Habits are the routines that you repeat again and again to maintain inner peace. Chaos is not a routine and chaos does not stabilise; chaos is an inner earthquake that turns your brain upside down and confuses your brain cells to believe that they all need exercise at the same time.

My appeal for calm is useless; the only thing I can do is wait for my mind to calm down by itself. Sometimes the mind needs chaos because from chaos something new always develops. In times of change it is important to go with that change or you risk getting stuck in the past and your good habits will turn into bad habits. Thus, chaos is good although it doesn’t always feel good.

My brain cells all had their own seat and like in the cinema all the seats are numbered, but now someone has switched all the seats and it feels like my brain cells know what seat they are looking for but just can’t seem to find it. My head is dominated by confusion, but not by panic.

In situations like this you have to hold on to some of your habits to keep your foundation from falling apart. Some of it is crumbling but not all of it. Find the stable parts of your foundation and start building a new one as soon as your mind and brain cells starts to regroup and find order.

I use people in my network to support my foundation; people that already have a solid foundation that can hold my crumbling foundation are ready to help out. You should never be afraid to reach out for help when you need it. People around you also have a need to help you. Reaching out for help is a good habit.

Habits are Fragile Like a House of Cards

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House of Cards © by Indenture

Something happened. Something always happens in your life, something unexpected. Sometimes it’s good things that happen and other times it’s bad things. Then there are also the things that will turn your life around and you don’t know if it is good or bad.

Today I belong to the last category; something happened and I don’t know if it is good or bad, but my life will never be the same again. New habits are fragile because they do not form the stable foundation you need in times of turmoil. So, today I woke up at 7.30 instead of 6.28. I got out of bed at 9.00! I didn’t sit in quietude and exercise – forget it!

There is no doubt that all my new habits would have been a great help, but right now they take energy that I don’t have. Good and healthy habits have to grow strong over time and if you disturb them or poke them around then they will fall apart like a dry sandcastle exposed to a happy dog.

Somehow habits are like a house of cards; I remember how strong I could build a house of cards but in the process it was extremely fragile and if one cards skidded out then the rest would fall apart. It was frustrating starting over and over again building that house of card. I don’t even know why I did it… maybe it was because of the satisfaction of accomplishing my mission?

Today I have learned that I have to accept that sometimes life happens and it is more unpredictable than you can ever imagine. I have to find a way to continue building good and healthy habits under new conditions because they will help me get through hard times in life.