Patience.
The ability to wait.
Shakespeare: “How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?"
Benjamin Franklin: “He that can have patience, can have what he will.”
Most days, I find myself to be a very patient person. I interact with hundreds of people a day: my husband, my 2 children (7 & 3.5), my 2 dogs (9 & 6 months), my students (90 per day on average, ages 11-14), and my colleagues. However there are moments that my impulses prevail and I react before I think or breathe. I honestly think there is a set amount of patience per day, and when that runs low I no longer have the ability to be proactive.
My go-to method for Patience is BREATHE. Simply take a breath before responding. Easy to do, but challenging to remember at times. Sometimes I add COUNTING in some way to the breathing. Count to 5. Breathe in and out 5 times. Count to 10.
Something I need to do is to figure out my TRIGGERS. When I do lose my patience, is there a pattern to the situations? Is it what is being said? Is it what is being done? Is it a time of day?
Two tips that I will start using to help with Patience: HUMOR and FORGIVENESS. When I feel impatient, I can use humor to defuse the feeling. Laughter can truly be the best medicine. And I should remember to forgive myself for being impatient. It will be impossible to be patient 100% of my life, so I need to take it easy on myself.
It will be interesting if I remember to use these tips this week and I find myself a little short on Patience.
Resources:
http://www.tinatessina.com/practicing_patience.html
http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Patient
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43383729/ns/today-today_health/t/type-hurry-learn-patience-heres-how/#.UPLPxUQZwnU
http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2010/09/16/patience/
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTCS_78.htm
Showing posts with label resolutions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resolutions. Show all posts
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Monday, January 2, 2012
The UnDiet
It is the time of year where almost everyone is posting resolutions, and just about every set of resolutions has something about losing weight or getting fit. Not mine. (Of course, I don't set "resolutions"... see my last post).
Yeah, I used to be part of that crowd: trying different diets, shelling out the cash for fitness programs, and just hoping to figure out the mystery of the "skinny people."
The summer after I graduated college, I bought a health book that actually seemed to work. I did not own a scale, however I could feel the difference. Looking back now, I realize it was not the book itself but what the book was guiding me to do: eat unlimited fruits & vegetables and eat certain types of foods at the correct time of day for that food. Also, I was pushing myself to run or jog almost every day that summer... that was not in the book, although exercise was mentioned.
Fast forward to the year before my first pregnancy. I vowed to get back in shape prior to getting pregnant. I met with a trainer and a nutritionist at the gym where I had a membership. I LOVED the trainer!! He really listened to my fitness goals & what I like to do at the gym and tailored a plan that I wanted to do. I still see him occasionally around town; I'm sure he doesn't remember my name but he always recognizes me and stops to chat. The nutritionist mostly listened to me and created a meal plan that was pretty good (I don't like rice, sheesh), however she did not include chocolate.
Now there are many things I have cut out of my life in the spirit of "good health," but some things are REQUIRED to stay. Chocolate. Coffee. Wine. Seriously.
I followed the meal plan anyway, although I did have 2 pieces of chocolate every afternoon :) Between the training and the meals, I reached my goals.
Then I got pregnant. Then I gained 60 pounds, including the baby. And when 2 weeks after the baby was born I still had 40 pounds to lose (you mean to tell me they aren't born at the weight of a 3-year-old?), I pulled out the good ol' meal plan. I tried it for a couple of weeks and decided that I do not like to be told what not to eat.
I remembered the fruits & veggies book, but couldn't find it on my shelves or remember what it was called. So I got an app for my phone (Old School: Palm Treo... yeah, baby!) and decided to just log my food, count the calories, do physical activity, and WANT it to work. Oh, and my work was doing a "Biggest Loser"-type contest so I joined in that fun bit of motivation. I won the contest and 14 months after the baby was born, I was back to being me.
Whenever I feel that I am physically not at my best, I go back to eating more fruits & veggies, and try to squeeze in more activities. The second pregnancy was better: I only gained 40 pounds total and lost them all in 7 months. No, my body is definitely not what it used to be (Is THAT my belly? MY boobs look like that?!?), but I am healthy and happy and definitely not food deprived.
I do not claim that what works for me will work for anyone else. I listen to my body and figure out what I need, and that usually works. Although your needs may be different, I bet if you listen you can figure it out.
Yeah, I used to be part of that crowd: trying different diets, shelling out the cash for fitness programs, and just hoping to figure out the mystery of the "skinny people."
There is no mystery.
The summer after I graduated college, I bought a health book that actually seemed to work. I did not own a scale, however I could feel the difference. Looking back now, I realize it was not the book itself but what the book was guiding me to do: eat unlimited fruits & vegetables and eat certain types of foods at the correct time of day for that food. Also, I was pushing myself to run or jog almost every day that summer... that was not in the book, although exercise was mentioned.
Fast forward to the year before my first pregnancy. I vowed to get back in shape prior to getting pregnant. I met with a trainer and a nutritionist at the gym where I had a membership. I LOVED the trainer!! He really listened to my fitness goals & what I like to do at the gym and tailored a plan that I wanted to do. I still see him occasionally around town; I'm sure he doesn't remember my name but he always recognizes me and stops to chat. The nutritionist mostly listened to me and created a meal plan that was pretty good (I don't like rice, sheesh), however she did not include chocolate.
Now there are many things I have cut out of my life in the spirit of "good health," but some things are REQUIRED to stay. Chocolate. Coffee. Wine. Seriously.
I followed the meal plan anyway, although I did have 2 pieces of chocolate every afternoon :) Between the training and the meals, I reached my goals.
Then I got pregnant. Then I gained 60 pounds, including the baby. And when 2 weeks after the baby was born I still had 40 pounds to lose (you mean to tell me they aren't born at the weight of a 3-year-old?), I pulled out the good ol' meal plan. I tried it for a couple of weeks and decided that I do not like to be told what not to eat.
I remembered the fruits & veggies book, but couldn't find it on my shelves or remember what it was called. So I got an app for my phone (Old School: Palm Treo... yeah, baby!) and decided to just log my food, count the calories, do physical activity, and WANT it to work. Oh, and my work was doing a "Biggest Loser"-type contest so I joined in that fun bit of motivation. I won the contest and 14 months after the baby was born, I was back to being me.
Whenever I feel that I am physically not at my best, I go back to eating more fruits & veggies, and try to squeeze in more activities. The second pregnancy was better: I only gained 40 pounds total and lost them all in 7 months. No, my body is definitely not what it used to be (Is THAT my belly? MY boobs look like that?!?), but I am healthy and happy and definitely not food deprived.
I do not claim that what works for me will work for anyone else. I listen to my body and figure out what I need, and that usually works. Although your needs may be different, I bet if you listen you can figure it out.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)