Thought for the Day

Over on MizFit today, there's a guest post by Aishchai and a discussion about meditation. Lots of good stuff, but what really grabbed and shook me today was a comment #42 by Kel:

"When I don't take the time, the consequences are worse than taking the time."

"Whoa!" I thought to myself. "How true is that, on so many levels! And what a struggle, too!"

Food: Obvious! Packing my own lunch, taking the time to make a nutritious breakfast, not eating too fast, taking the time to fuel myself with a good choice rather than grabbing a worse one, to think before I eat...all better than the consequences, especially when you've got type 2 diabetes.

Exercise: Well, there's the obvious part, taking time to exercise trumps the consequences of being sedentary. Taking time to set my workout clothes out or pack for the gym the night before makes it easier to accomplish my workout goals. But there's also the taking time to build up to activity, which isn't so obvious. It took time for me to safely work up to running from walking. And I definitely should have taken the time to work more gradually to a heavier weight in BodyPump class! (Back is still a little tight and gets sore when I sit for too long, but otherwise good. I'll be taking the time to walk around at the office when it gets tight, and I'll be taking more time to stretch after working out, too, since I read that back problems can result from insufficient stretching.)

Work: Good, accurate writing takes time. It takes time to learn new tools effectively. 'Nuff said.

Family life: This one is my biggest struggle. How many times do I walk through my front door, eat my dinner, and then just want to go and spend some quiet time reading? Thing 1 and Thing 2 get squirrely when they don't get enough Mom-time, which makes me want to pull away even more. It's really a struggle sometimes to be present and to fully give them time on brief week nights (there are bedtime stories, but sometimes there's only time for that!). And on the weekends, after a LOT of kiddo-time, why do I still feel like it wasn't enough??? (Ugh, that darn Cat Stevens song!!!) I wish I had a good answer for this in general. I think I'll be pondering the mindfulness/meditation tips Aishchai mentioned in his guest post and figuring out a way to apply them here. Same, of course, goes for taking time for Mr. Handsome-and-Handy, and helping ensure that he gets time to recharge his batteries, too.