It's Summer: Dive in to Something New

A few posts back I decided the baby steps mantra was bad news.  After studying how Dr. Dean Ornish got people to clean out their arteries without surgery I decided his system could be applied to the Live Like Vacation mind-set.

He threw people into a high intensity program.  No baby steps.  Even babies don't take baby steps.  People practicing baby steps get nowhere.  They stay put thinking they have a lot of time before lifting the leg and eeking out another step.

The exercise schedule, the diet, and group support are intensive.  Meaning, the folks were immersed in the program daily.  No time off.  No delays.  No down time to get you down.  No opportunity to slide backwards.  This immersion helps you develop the new habits to stick with it.

So, once you are sleeping better, and authentically and have daily routine with wiggle room, it's time to immerse yourself in things that bring you joy.

**New **
     Step 6

Yes, it's time for Step 6.     (BTW....here's 1-5 to review)

Step #6.  Get your joy hobby in gear.  (Now that you've ditched the unproductive....Immerse yourself.)

J   join
O  outlet
Y  yearn

J. join others in a social supportive context.  Church worship, charity, exercise group, a class, or just plain togetherness with like minded people.


O. Find your outlet for creativity.  Make things, beautify your home, cook great food, learn an instrument, write, Make your mark on the world with your brain.

Y. Yearn for new information, try new things, read, teach yourself something, find a unique way to tweak your best traits.

It's summer time.  Things are laid back.  So start something new while it's warm and relaxing.  Joy hobbies can be very energizing.    Ready....Set....GO!

90 Day Check Up: No Faith in the 21 Day Rule

I've been blogging  about the live like vacation lifestyle since February and can honestly say, I've hit the 90 day slump.

When they say it takes 21 days to establish a habit.........they are wrong!!!!!
Don't believe it.   It takes months!  

If it only took 21 days, we'd solve all the world's problems thousands of years ago!

Here's my assessment and where I think I began to slide.

1.  Still getting enough sleep?  Self  Score  80%
Weekdays I get to bed by 9:30.  One day I had to cram in some paperwork and stayed up until 11:30.  I just had to get it done or I would not have been able to sleep.  Weekends have not been easy.  They day really flies by and who wants to get to sleep early when you could enjoy two or three more late hours......  Maybe my score should be around 70 or 65.

2.  Is my day systematized?  Self Score  90%
I am giving myself a higher score on this because I do like my routines.  The downfall however is that this is still worker bee stuff and i am locked in busyiness and not seeing any forward movement in work or hobbies.  I seem to be locked in some stagnation.  I feel calmer and more easy going, but would like to be more productive.

3.  Knocking out the unproductive  Self Score 70%
I could do more with my time in the evenings.  I waste a lot of time reading on the internet, short fluffy things like Facebook.

4.  Make your work joyful to yourself and others   Self Score 90%
I like my work days.  I feel less overwhelmed.  I work with my members where they are and try to teach them new things.  I would like to be more creative however.  I could offer more services, but I need to plan it out with some type of system that will still allow for individualized attention.

5. Wiggle Room and Taking Control of My Plate Self Score  90%
 I have wiggle room in my day.  I have taken some things off my plate lately.

6. Domino Effect Self Score  95%
I've resumed more healthy habits that have provided a ripple effect in my day, activities.  The sleep factor has been impactful.  I've been more focused on diet/fitness.
(Future topics in the works here)

7. The Principle of Comfort Zone Inertia  Self Score  60%
Yeah, I show no mercy to myself here.  I want to do more, learn more, be more creative, pursue a spiritual vocation outside of my work in health care.   It's still on the back burner.

I want to develop this blog more.  I haven't unveiled the radical health makeover portion that I have hinted about.  I am experimenting on myself, obviously, the work is ongoing.

My average score is 82%.  Is it a reliable, valid score?  Who know.....but it was fun to look back at the last 90 days.  I would say the last 30 were a bit regressive because I wasn't blogging as often as I did early on.  For that reason I should lower  my score.

So, definitely toss out the 21 day rule.  Keep the focus....daily.

More to come.

What's a Clock Cushion?

(Check out these cushions.)
When you admit you are human and not super-human you use a clock cushion.

A clock cushion is extra time set aside in your day to handle unplanned things that come up.

A clock cushion is when you over estimate how long it takes to run an errand to take into consideration driving time, traffic hold ups,  getting interrupted, running into someone you hadn't seen in a while.

A clock cushion is when you set aside time to go to the bathroom.

No joke!  There are days when it seems nearly impossible to get a bathroom break.

The clock cushion is sort of like the Principle of Wiggle Room, but the clock cushion is for smaller time frames.

The Principle of Wiggle Room should be a reminder to not over book yourself.  Don't bite off more than you can chew......

It Has Not Been a Live Like Vacation Week: Enter Wiggle Room

The last 2 1/2 days didn't go as planned.  I was overbooked, over tired, and had to make a late evening bank run.  There was a sick kid, paper work not done.......and I was wolfing down lunch.  At least it was a salad.

Not all days are relaxing.  Some days are downright irritating.  But you keep pushing forward.  It doesn't last.  I remained focused enough today to get the paperwork finished and clean up the mess on my desk.  The recovery period doesn't take too long if you keep up with the steps.   One day isn't going to throw you off track.

This is where the Principle of Wiggle Room comes in.

If you leave space in your schedule for down time or catch up time, you can prevent the untimely melt downs that make you declare you had a bad day.

You do it for bigger events in your life, so do it for the daily plans.

When you take a long drive you schedule in time for rest stops or slow traffic.  It helps to apply the principle of wiggle room to your routine.

Melt downs can be averted.  Use the Principle of Wiggle Room.

Okay, so I don't sound original.  It's just the same as taking extra breaks during your day to relax or catch your second wind.........  if you're ready for fast balls, the minor upheavals won't sound like major upheavals.

Control the World or Inspire the World

This is Holy Week and I'm getting some good pearls of wisdom listening to the radio.  I am listening to Relevant Radio.  I just heard a profound message from Dr. Ray Benedetto.

His entire segment was profound because this is the first time I heard of him.  He promotes character based capitalism, which is something the public probably has a hard time believing can exist.

He talked about "trying to control the world," which we know deep down is a rotten idea, yet we still try to do it.  In our own "I can do it better" selves we insist we can control part of something.

We are control freaks.  How do you know?  When you have a melt down.  The melt down is a sure sign of your controlling self.

If we want to live like vacation, we do need to pare down our lives and follow step #4: Knock out the unproductive.

We also need to use the principle of wiggle room.

Also there is one "control factor" that helps you return your life back to you, when we tend to pile our lives full with what other people want.  This is the principle of taking control of your plate.

So, this sounds as if I am contradicting myself, but there is a part of control that is actually a self discipline.  The principle of taking control of your plate is about not overloading your schedule.  It is about prioritizing and not taking on things that are going to be harmful to you and your family because over scheduling is unhealthy.

So, let's get back to the question of the day. Living like vacation means we are not escaping life but enriching our daily lives.

While you are involved in the world, are you trying to control the world or inspire the world?

Coming Soon.....The Principle of Wiggle Room

Just a little reminder to myself, so I can stay organized and on track.

I want to delve more into the principle of wiggle room.  It helps us with stay focused on our bigger goals.

So, be patient.  Thank you.

Vacation Fail: Remember Small Steps

Yesterday was not a good day.  It wasn't a completely bad day, but that's because I was determined to not let the unexpected fires define the entire day.

It's a work in progress.

Just get back on the horse.

Things are going to happen and you roll with them.

Now that the day has gone by, I am trying to recall what had me in a tizzy.

Oh yeah......

1) I had to make an emergency trip to the bank in the next town.  It took my entire afternoon break and I barely had time to wolf down a fast food salad before my afternoon appointments began. Meals during the week days are important, similar to the sleep factor.  If I'm going to be at my best for clients, I can't have any blood sugar crashes.  I was disappointed that I had to become so side tracked to put our this small fire that I had caused because I was not careful making a purchase for the office.  I was able to solve it, but the rest of my errands had to wait until the next day.

2) Also, I wasn't feeling well that day.  Woman stuff.  Enough to say about that.  I could right a book on this topic alone.

3)  Our morning routine was a complete meltdown for everyone involved.  It only took a second for all of us to snap and turn into the King Kong family. Take in that imagery for a second.  Yeah, we felt awful.  This is not how families stand together for each other.

What I loved about vacation was the fact that I was not bogged down by errands and stuff. (You know all about that stuff.... ugh)  I can't avoid it during the work day, so flexibility is key.  Also, leaving yourself wiggle room for last minute changes is important.

The last point here is, this is a slow process.  We can get into the Vacation-Feel but small steps will make it successful.

Take the pressure off, but get back on the horse.