Quick!

What 5 things pop in my head as what I’d most like to wipe from my day?  Hard to choose just 5 … how do I know I’m choosing the best 5, oh my mind tends to wander and calculate and want to come up with the absolute best and not make any mistakes but the assignment said to quickly list the first 5 things so … here goes!

1. Thinking of every possible angle of every problem, pondering, issue spotting, afraid to take action because my action my not be the absolute best solution and I want to make the perfect decision, so it takes forever to get anything done.

2. Delaying action my gut tells me must be done to avoid having a worse problem in the future because I failed to do what my gut told me I needed to do because I really don’t want to do it and maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance I’m wrong and the bad thing won’t happen and then I won’t have to deal with it so, leave it for tomorrow because, after all, Tomorrow Is Another Day and didn’t that work out well for Ms. O’Hara?

3. Drinking wine with dinner every night … Dr. Lipman says it’s just liquid sugar and sugar is not something sweet little ‘ole me really needs, and besides it makes me sleepy and unmotivated and unlikely to accomplish much the rest of the evening

4. Forgetting to be mindful and to live in the Now.  Right this minute.  Breathe.  Now.  Yes, Just. This. Second. Right. Now.

5. Getting frustrated, depressed, angry about what I’m doing In The Now and Not Doing Anything About It other than thinking, delaying, ruminating, complaining, questioning, avoiding

OK I sense a theme here — apparently I need to take action.  So, what would it be to go through the Day having eliminated all 5 of those habits?  Let’s see …

I’d wake up with energy having not had any liquid sugar from the night before, with an organized day before me since before going off to bed I’d have had the motivation to list out my plans for the coming day and have ready what I needed to get off to a good start.  I’d then act on the matters before me, doing what my gut tells me needs to be done even though I really, really don’t want to do it and I can think of many reasons why I shouldn’t/may not have to/can’t do it.  But I’ll just do it.  And maybe what I do isn’t perfect, could be better, isn’t even the right thing to have done.  But it’s done but it’s unlikely to kill me and if it does then at least I had a full, well-lived day.  Where I lived in that day rather than worrying about what I did yesterday or don’t want to do tomorrow.

And I write and I read and I walk and I talk and I tell stories and I learn and I love and I go live the day fully, completely, perhaps wrongly but at least it’s lived and I spent it doing something worthwhile or joyful or relaxing or gratifying or helpful and not wasting it ruminating, worrying or procrastinating.

A day without my First 5 Habits I’d Like To Eliminate sounds like a pretty damn good day.  Maybe I’ll try it.  So glad for @postaday for getting me writing, blogging, and doing what I love.  Here’s a link to the challenge if you want to give it a try for yourself!