Just like today is a new day, I want to have a new day, meaning, I want today to be different than my usual day.
Today I want to focus on what I have, no matter how much I might have trivialized it in the past.
Today I want to magnify what is good and I want to minimize what I have perceived as being bad.
Everything is about getting back to basics in this new path.
Strength Training, Walking and/or Swimming as a daily routine is fairly basic and repetitive.
No one complains about being repetitive when it comes to breathing.
We do it all of our lives and we are completely grateful that we can!
So today I thought as I woke up, that I want today to be different.
I am human, I see my faults, I see where I can improve, I want to and hope that I can continue improving.
I acknowledge that most mornings I have woken up thinking about the greatest hole in my life, which has been the separation from my children.
Today, I wanted to focus on what I have that can put a smile on my face and take the sulk out of my presence. It seemed to me that the most basic thing I can be grateful for is being alive, being able to breathe, feeling healthy, getting healthier, pushing myself to get stronger, challenging myself to learn more.
And every time today, when my thoughts turn to my kids, I will focus on that which I can also be grateful for, that they are healthy, that they have their own opportunities in life and that they have their own journey.
I want to feel energized today, to take action where I can, to clean up everything that I can, both physically, mentally and spiritually.
I want to clean house, actually and metaphorically.
Today I want to be thankful for even the small breadcrumbs and realize that they are not breadcrumbs.
Breathing is life itself, shouldn't that be enough to give me a sense of appreciation, keep me smiling.
Today I want to eat healthy foods, enjoy the day, get in my swim, no pushups today because I did them yesterday, get some paperwork done that I have been procrastinating on, do my homework (yea I am still in school), start on my final project, clean house, have healthy thoughts for breakfast , lunch and dinner and keep moving forward.
There is no question that this is a challenge.
We are creatures of our own habits.
Who knows where we picked them up, some when we were kids, some from parents, some from teachers, some from movies, some from our own natures.
The point is to identify those that are glitches, that really do not improve our life experience and work on replacing them with habits which are really valuable.
I think we are all entertained, or admire a person that develops in their abilities.
Typically we apply that to physical abilities like baseball, football, basketball, olympic sports.
We even pay to watch them swing a bat in a game or swim at a meet.
Can we also not admire our own efforts to develop ourselves?
Breaking the habit of focusing on what is negative is not simple.
A habit is ingrained.
The thoughts pop in your head without you asking for them.
Breaking whatever habit you want to axe is not easy, whether it is smoking, overeating, moping, sulking, complaining, jealousy, these are not easy habits to break.
Is there anyone here who has a habit that you want to break?
Is there anyone here who wants to work on today being different than all previous days? (in respect to those habits).
Is there anyone here who wants to focus on having the best day possible, which includes minimizing those thoughts, those habits that produce pain or will produce anguish for us in the future and maximizing the thoughts that will keep us energized and feeling good?
I am not expert at this, I am just going to do my best, I know I have a huge challenge in front of me, but I think we can all support each other in making changes which are good for us.
Even the great athletes want, need, appreciate support from their fans who encourage them to hit the home run, ace the serve or score another goal.
Why shouldn't we apply that here?
Why not apply the same principles.
Every player has a bad at bat.
They strike out, foul the balls, never get hits, go into a slump, but every coach and fan knows that it is more helpful to encourage them.
Even the player knows that you have to move forward and not concentrate on the slump.
So we have had some painful at bats.
Some are more painful than others, but we are still in the game, we are still on the field, we are still playing, so let's focus on having great at bats today, stay positive, swing at the good pitches, meaning concentrate on the good thoughts, the good habits that will build a better me and let the bad ones meant to trick us into swinging, let them go.
Play ball!
Rich is a