It's easy to do something good for someone else. But how often do we really take the time to do what is good for us?

Here's a place for us to talk about what we have found is good for us.

I know that certain things are always good for me:

• Getting enough rest
  
• Regular aerobic exercise
  
• A light-hearted attitude
  
• Eating my vegatables
  
• etc.,...
  

One thing I'v found that is great for me. It's winding down my brain as I go to bed, and just before I drift off to sleep, I think positively about how I am going to start and conduct my next day. I imagine, getting up, putting on my gym clothes and gladly heading for the treadmill to ramp up my heartrate.

When I wake in the morning, my mind is already thinking about getting up and doing the first thing good for me!

Hi Tom, welcome aboard and thanks for kick-starting a new topic!

Positive imagery is a big help and practicing it night like that is great. It's a bit like goal-oreinted meditation I guess. You get to relax and focus.

I find that if I'm getting caught up in a pessimist frenzy doing just one positive thing on my to-do list can get me back on track. It seems like there's a big struggle between inertia and momemtum. The one small task can get me rolling again, building momentum and knocking off goals.

Next?

Tom,

I agree that we don't often take enough time to take care of ourselves. This can leave us a bit empty at times and hurt our chances of long term success.

One thing I've started to do is to set small wins for myself. If I want to do something fun or indulge myself (aka slice of cheesecake) I make sure I take on a small task that I've been meaning to complete. This way, I get a bit of motivation, a bit of achievement, and a bit of reward - all in a nice and tidy package.

Next time you want a little reward, set yourself up for a little victory and remind yourself what winning feels like. You may be surprised how great it really feels.

Thanks, Tom for kicking off a new topic - I love it.

Matthew

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quote:

Originally posted by Matthew Poepsel:
set yourself up for a little victory

I think I may have posted this before when the conversation was about motivational songs, but Matt Nathanson has a great song called "Little Victories". The chorus ends with I learn to get by on little victories. I often play that back over and over in my head when I'm having a tough run (just get to the next telephone pole and that will be a little victory!) or when I'm trying to clean the gunk out of the shower tiles (one square done! two hundred or so to go...) or whatever the task might be.

Having the middle steps of a task identified and giving yourself credit - or whatever reward works for you - as you complete each step, instead of waiting until you're done with the WHOLE task, certainly keeps me motivated to keep moving forward, one step - one little victory - at a time.

I have Fibromyalgia and hurt almost constantly. Which makes me depressed and want to sleep too much. I know being still too long is NOT good for me. So I force myself up in the morning to get the kids to school and force myself even harder to NOT go back to bed when I get home.
I love to walk so I try to get on the tred mill once a day, which I don't always do and then mentally kick myself on the days I didn't.
Eating right I do better at, I just don't make junk available in my house.
But every day is a new day to do the right thing!

quote:

Originally posted by Cherioles:
......every day is a new day to do the right thing!

Wow! That's motto-licious! Good for you for taking action for yourself. And a good reminder to the rest of us. Thanks.