Before you get worried, this isn’t a strive for nothing type of post. Goals are not expectations. Goals are important and meeting them should be a huge deal. Expectations have more to do with how or when or where you meet those goals. Throughout my life I haven’t allowed myself to enjoy many of the goals I hit because they didn’t happen the way I envisioned them happening.
Early Wake up
You know it’s early when the puppy isn’t even able to stay awake after breakfast!
I was out of bed at 5:30 am. It’s strange, I’ve NEVER been a morning person but I always wanted to be. I saw all these movers and shakers in the business world getting up at 5 am and kicking ass before anyone else is even hitting the snooze button for the first time. I could handle it for a week or two but after a while I started to hit the F-it button and rapidly fell into my old, familiar routines. Perhaps a life change like that requires a greater goal than just keeping up with the Joneses.
Gratitude
At the end of the year I’m going to have to do a post or perhaps a video about the weirdest and most fun things I have put into my gratitude journal. Today’s gratitude had to do with getting stuff done and venting.
- Car Rides (to clear my head)
- Manual Labor
- Work Boots
I always feel at home in a garage or workshop. Or even on a construction site. Perhaps I’m meant to work with building materials instead of financial products. A thought I had today in my morning meditation was, “I need to build a dinner table.” Out of nowhere. Perhaps I will when the workshop in the garage is finished.
Red Light Therapy
This is the first I’m talking about this because it hasn’t been a staple in Jocelyn and I’s morning routine for a minute. But it is something we both want to get back to with a degree of regularity. The following are potential benefits of red light therapy (from therapeuticbeams.com):
- Collagen Production
- Skin Health
- Hair Growth
- Weight Loss
- Muscle Repair
- Chronic Pain Reduction
- Wound Healing
I also think it is somewhat helpful with seasonal depression. Typically that would be treated with a full spectrum light array but I believe some people can be helped by the IR/Red light.
My Expectations Ruin Things Too Often
Especially when it comes to my relationship with Jocelyn and the kids. Very frequently, I have expectations about when, where, or how something should be done. And even when the goal is met, I may get irritated because it wasn’t met in my time frame, where I wanted it done, or in a manner that I thought was best. Even worse yet is when these expectations get in the way of goals that might have been met but my dissatisfaction interfered with the eventual attainment of that goal. This is especially difficult when it comes to a household with a very spiritual mama and three unschooled children. Everyone thinks differently in a beautiful way. But when I can’t let go of my expectations, I fail to see the beauty and just turn into an ass. I need to begin focusing more on the outcomes. If they’re positive, who gives a crap how they happened?
My Wife Has a Superpower
At least, to me it’s a superpower. She can move on from most things without holding onto resentment or letting it negatively impact what comes afterwards. For the longest time, I couldn’t even begin to understand this ability. I would obsess over things and they would ruin the whole rest of my day. And for her, most times, they just float away. And if she needs to come back to them, she does in her own time without it ruining much for her. She is light years ahead of me in terms of emotional and spiritual balance. I probably wouldn’t even be on this 30 day journey if it weren’t for her knowledge and experience that has led us to this point.
FOOD!
Today was pretty tame. Tea, fruit, and a half a smoothie for breakfast. Eggs and grits for ‘brunch’. Baked sweet potato for lunch. And yummy mushroom and potato stew done in the instapot for dinner. Plus throughout the day, Jocelyn made raspberry, lime, mint water. It was a good day for eating. I’m a week in and it almost doesn’t really feel like a cleanse anymore. It just feels like taking care of myself. I hope that continues for the next 23 days!
ONE WEEK DOWN! 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS TO GO!
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