October 14, 2014 When our comfort zone becomes a rut #shericonaway #blogboost

This image or one like it has appeared on my Facebook page repeatedly, 

posted by  me or another of my friends. It always gives me pause when I see it, but today I realized that there’s more to it than meets the casual eye.

Our comfort zone was never meant to be our permanent residence.

Just as the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results, a comfort zone becomes a rut when we fail to realize that it’s time to change things up, break down a wall or two, and move forward.

Most of us don’t watch the same movie or read the same book over and over. We look for something new which will entertain and maybe even surprise us a little. So why would we choose to do the exact same things, day after day, year after year? I don’t know about you, but the very thought of living like that scares the hell out of me! I’d die of boredom if my life was that predictable. I’ll even admit to this while my legs and abs are screaming in pain more than 24 hours after my last trip into the unknown. Would I do it again, knowing I’d spend the next couple of days walking like an arthritic old woman? Hell, yes! It was fun. It was different. It changed up a tired, old routine, and maybe even gave me that extra motivation I need. I’ve put it on my calendar for the next few weeks, but may still change it up by doing a yoga class or pilates with a different instructor on a different day.

It’s like these produce boxes I’m getting. Today’s is absolutely amazing as you can see.
This week’s box sent me off to the web to find a recipe to make use of this wonderful array of veggies! I got three ears of multi colored corn, two leeks, the biggest head of cabbage I have ever seen, cucumbers, jalapenos, oranges, carrots, green beans, green leaf lettuce…all things I know what to do with…more or less. But I got a couple of things which are new to me as well; fennel and rainbow chard.

I searched the net for cabbage soup, read and discarded quite a few from different sites. Finally, I clicked on one which was billed as a vegetable minestrone (as my mind said “Aren’t they all?”) which used a large quantity of cabbage. I’d have never even thought of using cabbage in minestrone! But I can use the chard instead of spinach and I still have zucchini left over from last week. New, different…amazing!

Sorry, I got so excited about my vegetables that I completely jumped the track, topic-wise. Let me take a deep breath so I can get back to the topic at hand.

Actually, my topic change is the point. When we leave the old, beaten path, we find an excitement we lack when we do the same things all the time. Much as I love seeing my friends, even dancing on the same nights in the same place every week isn’t always what it used to be. Breaking it up when I miss nights to go see my daughter helps, but the feeling that I need to venture out and do some different things is getting stronger all the time.

I think I’m outgrowing my comfort zone

Have you ever watched a snake shed its skin? It wiggles and twitches, pauses for a bit, then wiggles and twitches some more. It’s a lot like trying to get out of a pair of tight jeans that are soaked with sweat after a night of dancing. But once the skin or the jeans are shed (depending on your species), the feeling of relief and freedom is indescribable.

I know that, for many people, change is scary, but I’m not saying that those steps have to be giant leaps. They can just as easily be baby steps. The trick, like everything else in our lives, is to just get moving. A body in motion stays in motion, so once you get going, moving out of your self-imposed rut we generously refer to as “The Comfort Zone”, you’ll find that a little taste, like one potato chip, isn’t nearly enough. You’ll dip your hand in that bag called “Life” over and over until, one day, you see someone living your old life and you can no longer remember why you wanted to stay there so long!

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful that I’ve learned how much I like living where the magic happens.
2. I am grateful for opportunities to leave my safe little rut and spread my wings.
3. I am grateful for new tastes, new places, new people, new experiences and new feelings.
4. I am grateful for the opportunity to share my thoughts, whether with a few or many, in hopes that I, like so many do for me, will inspire at least one person out there to truly live their greatness.
5. I am grateful for abundance: opportunities, flavors, people, places, surprises, friendship, love, joy, health, harmony, peace and prosperity.

Namaste

October 14, 2014 No more excuses #shericonaway #blogboost

Sending those excuses where the sun don’t shine!

I promised myself, after I found I was falling into really bad habits, that I would do a reset and get back on track. I’m like the Nike ad now. Day one was reasonably successful. I did get up when the cats started getting obnoxious (what better alarm clock than a cat who wants their breakfast?) and didn’t drag my tushie around for hours until I’d wasted half the day. I was even out of the door in time to run into a dance friend who talked me into taking the Pilates class. So far, nothing hurts. I can only hope it lasts!

As I have to go out and pick up my produce box tomorrow and drop another package for my son-in-law at the post office (that’s a weight lifting job in and of itself!), it seems only reasonable that I hit the gym again and do the chest and tricep workout I didn’t get to today.

New habits are easier if we take them one day at a time.

Yes, I’ve set this habit before. And yes, it fell by the wayside when I either got lazy or busy with other things. Most often, it was the former, I have to admit. But I’m becoming increasingly unhappy with my lack of stamina and saggy dragginess. I know that the healthy eating alone will not tone my muscles as they need to be toned. As my friend pointed out today, I really do feel better after I work out. My skin is healthier, my stamina returns, I sweat out toxins…nothing but benefits arise from just getting out and moving my body for an hour or so. Sad to say, the dancing is not enough, even if I went five days a week. There are some things that only pumping iron will do, and my aging body needs those things.

I had to laugh, though. The Pilates teacher told us that exercise reverses the aging process so by the time we left her class today, we’d be younger! Now, it’s true that none of my dance friends look their age because, one way or another, they get regular exercise. But being the analytical sort, I have to ask the question: Do they look younger because they exercise, or do they feel younger so they’re more inclined to exercise? I just love “chicken or the egg” puzzles because a smart person can argue either side convincingly.

So, measurements were taken and recorded on MyFitnessPal today, food was put in as best I could since it’s hard to gauge exact quantities on homemade dishes. I even got a little bit of work done on my copywriting class. It’s clear that the little attitude adjustment I gave myself is already bearing fruit. Yet still, it has to be one day at a time.

I’m going to do something novel and keep this really short tonight, avoiding throwing topics around like confetti. I had a few ideas for topics earlier today, but they seem to have left my brain for now, but I’m sure I’ll retrieve them in a day or two, so be warned!

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful for a successful first day of resetting healthy habits.
2. I am grateful for my surprise in tomorrow’s produce box. I never know what they’ll contain until I get ’em!
3. I am grateful for all of the small things I accomplished today.
4. I am grateful for a lack of pain, even if it’s only temporary.
5. I am grateful for abundance: energy, motivation, inspiration, health, family, friends, love, joy. harmony, peace and prosperity.

Namaste

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