Good wet morning to you!
Rain, rain, more rain, rain! hahah :)
Well! ... It's at the end of September... the end of Quarter 3 for 2019... how are you doing? We've got 90'ish days left of 2019... the final turn for the year. How does now compare to the start of the year? Is there anything that you've not been able to do that you need to do??
Or...
Has 2019 just been a total kick in the ass for you? and you're gonna ride out the last of it trying to keep your head up and maintain?? There's plenty of reasons to feel that way... I'm right there. So far it's been one of those years that's going to be hard to forget - even though you desperately want to.
There's a lot of bad shit out there that one can easily focus on - and I'm super optimistic! but it's even a slippery slope for me too.. so if you're feeling like that... you're in a safe place. On the flip side though, if you're intentional, and slow down some, you can find some good stuff that's come of the year. Maybe this has been a hell of an awesome for you.. then man! hell yeah! :)
At the beginning of the year I made a post about the reflection of one's self.. honestly, as I re-read that post, it's probably one of my better ones.. I really liked it. haha
In short the post was about reflecting on where you're going and what you've set forth to become, to not do, do differently, etc.. I also talked about how I name each year and how it sets the president for how I'm supposed to feel throughout the year.. my guide post if you will.
So, this year was named "Have the Discipline" One of my biggest challenges - since forever - was having self discipline. This year I needed to work on my own self discipline and not just talk about it.
As I started the conversation this morning, we're at the END of quarter 3... here, I'll say it differently.. there is only ONE quarter left.. literally 90ish days of 365.
AND...
For the first time this year!,
since week one, I have successfully accomplished my week intentions / goals. This may sound silly, but it's true. This is the same task commitments for each week.. literally - All I have to do is:
Sunday:
try and not work, be present with the fam, be present for myself
Monday:
manage the money/projections/do office stuff
Tue, Wed, Thur, Fri, Sat:
work your ass off and don't break commitments
Thursday:
cat-box, take care of pool, (for this week) go to the chiropractor with Chas then grocery shop together.. (which is a monthly Thursday commitment) [you wouldn't believe how hard it's been to follow through on!]... there's always something more important, so... I cancel.
Friday:
Send a weekly picture & grateful message to my friend :)
That's it!...
Might sound simple, but with all the uncontrollable's going on it can be hard to swing... as I write these words to you I have the feeling of accomplishment.. which is pretty cool. It only took 39 of 52 weeks to make that happen... hahah! so now that I have that done for one week, finally, the next step is to repeat it again next week.. I feel inspired to make that happen.
As I intentionally reflect on 2019, looking for successes [because the failures are always easy to remember], I look back exactly 1 complete year from this month... Conveniently I have a picture that captured that moment... In 2018 DMV asked that I update my picture since the current was almost 12 years old..
Fast forward to about a month ago... I was a the bank and the teller noticed my DL picture... she said "whoa! who's that guy?!"... I was really caught off guard.. Looked and laughed. I was surprised, of the efforts.. so, I was inspired to go get a new picture... ironically, the pictures are almost days apart for being 1 exact year.
For the 17 years Chas and I have been together I have always weighed 265-275lbs.. and have attempted to go to the gym off an on every 5 years or so.. [ I've now not been to a gym in almost 8 years]... the pic on the left, embarrassingly so, I was pushing damn near 280lb.
This year's quiet-top-of-mind goal was to "have the discipline".. for the first time ever I was able to sustain a lifestyle change that my body and mind needed through the act of self discipline. Eating better, fasting off and on, the handyman biz keeping me on my feet... it's what I needed. :) I feel pretty good about those small efforts hammered out day by day. :) The next HUGE step, one that I am ALWAYS BREAKING will be having the discipline to go to the gym regularly... we shall see. ;) enrolled now... but it's been a month and all I do is drive by it! >D hahah
When I started my senior year of high school, 20 year's ago this August, I was 235lbs... as odd as it is.. my updated picture here, I weighed that day 235lbs. My big hope is that I can maintain the discipline to not let old habits work their way back. For further accountability I keep my old DL picture behind my current one. Beats looking in the mirror everyday, but it keep me mentally aware.
The important thing all of this tells me is that the efforts we're trying to make will feel like a constant failure, a repeated feeling of disappointment that makes continuing forward a struggle. I'm not sure why we're wired that way, but it sucks. That being said, knowing that's how your head is going to see things, next time, keep your head down and focus on the efforts of intentionality... soon someone will say something which will force you will look up... Then, your head will SEE the efforts you've been working on.. all in all, which will make it all worth it in the end; keep going.
The sun is setting on 2019.... but there's still time... there's still fuel to light that fire in the heart, in the mind. So when 2020 shows up you've already lit that bitch on fire and nothing is going to stop you. 2020 means focus, it's the best kind of vision out there...2020.. so, take these last 90 days, be intentional about them and be sure your new habits are underway.
I hope that you found some spirit of hope as we wrap up the last part of the year. If you need a buddy to go along with you, a friend, an accountability partner, Chas and I got you. :)
Have a grateful weekend friend! :)