Monday, February 11, 2013

Weekly Commitment 2: drink more water

My first weekly commitment was to eat mindfully. It was more difficult than I expected. The first couple of days I forgot about it quite a few times, but even when I remembered it was not easy. Just eating felt inefficient and unproductive. I felt líke I should be checking my email, reading a newspaper, or even watching the tv.

But it got easier, and eating more mindfully helped me to eat healthier as I became more aware of how the food actually tastes and makes me feel. I realized that some of the things that I grab as treats, actually make me feel bloated and bad.

This week it is simple: drink more water. I constantly forget to drink water. Most of the liquid I consume during the day is coffee. Sometimes tea. I rarely drink juices or sodas. According to health experts it is very important for your body to get enough fluids to work optimally, and even slight dehydration can apparently drain your energy and make you feel tired.

From what I read 6-8 glasses is approximately the amount of water one should drink during the day. I'll start by drinking at least one big glass of water each time I sit down to eat something, that should be about 5 big glasses per day...and is definitely considerably more than I am currently drinking.

Cheers!

Friday, February 8, 2013

February: Impeccable Love

This month I am focusing on love and kindness.

Marriage: With two young children (I use them as an excuse for everything;)) it is easy to forget to nurture and take care of the relationship with your spouse. The goal for this month is more hugs, more kisses, more talking. Perhaps even a date.

Everyone: Love and accept everyone as they are. Put more love into all relationships, all interactions with other people, love unconditionally. Do random acts of kindness.

Myself: Love and accept myself as I am. As Ashley puts it: "Loving yourself is the key to loving others." This is something I've been working on for a while, and I know that I still need to put effort in here. I think that this list of "How to Love Yourself in 17 Ways" is a great inspiration.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

January: wrap-up

January was a bit chaotic, and things did not always go as planned. But that's life, and when I look at my goals for January, I actually think that I did quite well.
I....
  • made meditation part of my daily routine
  • wrote in my journal almost every day
  • read again about the 1st Habit in Covey's 7 habits, although I didn't and blog about it
  • wrote a blog post on the Now Habit
  • re-established my exercise routine, practicing yoga for 10-15 minutes every morning (including the wide-legged forward bend), and 2x a week I do longer workouts with push-ups, sit-ups etc.
  • improved my diet. I tried one week of mindful eating which definitely helped me to eat better. My eating habits are far from perfect, I have a weakness for lattes and croissants....but I've been indulging less and less and instead I've been eating more fruits and veggies.


What is left is to define my health goals, and do more random acts of kindness. I am sure I will get to that at some point:)

Overall, I am very happy about the progress I made in January. I've been more proactive, and have become better at standing up for myself when needed. I have also been more present, more in the "now", than usual...and I believe that is one of the keys to live a happier, more meaningful life.

In February I am focusing on love, marriage and kindness:)