Last Sunday I began a 90 Day Transformation Challenge. I had no idea where the Challenge was going to take me and to be quite honest, I still have no idea where I will end up once it is completed 81 days from now. What I can tell you is where is has taken me for the past 9 days. On day one, I made the conscious decision to stop texting or talking on my cell phone while I was driving in my automobile. I am, in fact I am sure everyone is, aware of how dangerous texting or talking on your cell phone is, however I never thought twice about using my phone while driving in a vehicle. Even after hearing about daily accident that occur on a road I travel on every day, or listening to the local morning radio discuss how dangerous it was. I would nod my head in agreement then five minutes later send a text. Now, after 9 days of not using my phone while I am driving, I have become much more aware of the gross negligence of those around me. I now see people swerving between lines, driving slow or not moving several seconds after a red light has turned green. The examples are never-ending, but I think I have made my point. Every car I see drive by me while I am waiting at a red light or looking at the car next to me, behind me or even in front of me and I have found so many of my peers doing the same thing I did. Except I didn’t notice it before. On the second day, I chose to stop drinking soda. Diet Dr. Pepper contains carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel coloring, phosphoric acid, natural and artificial flavors, sodium benzoate and caffeine.Coca Cola has almost the exact same ingredients.I may not be a rocket scientist but I’m sure drinking acid, and whatever benzoate is, can’t be good for me. To my surprise, I found eliminating soda from my daily diet was much easier than I thought it would be and I find myself enjoying drinking the best alternate counterpart, water which was the third thing I decided to change. Now that I think about it, drinking water may have made detoxifying my body from substances concocted by chemists easier than it would have been otherwise. Let’s face it, I had always known, well perhaps not always but definitely for quite some time, drinking water was good for my body. What I didn’t know was just how much water I needed to drink. After realizing that I needed to be drinking 3 liters of water a day, I was certain my eyeballs would be floating instead of being securely in their respective sockets but I had to replace the soda with something. I could have chosen coffee but I don’t think I could drink any more of that than I already do. Well, perhaps I could but people make enough comments about the amount of coffee I drink, so drinking more would only them shake their heads at me. I have come to realize I actually like water and drinking it has now come as second nature. After only drinking it faithfully for 6 days. On the fourth day I decided to change things up a bit. Oftentimes, I will admit, when someone would talk to me I may have not given my full undivided attention. It wasn’t much a concern...until I was not given the full undivided attention of others when I would speak to them. Very much like the cell phone concept, I understood how hurtful not actively listening could be and when I heard someone doing it or it would be done to me I would get irritated and comment on disrespectful someone was being by not giving someone their due diligence of paying attention, but I never saw myself as being that person. Not giving someone your full attention includes responding before the other person has had the chance to finish communicating their thought, feeling or idea. When I decided to actively listen to everyone, I began hearing things I had never heard before, however I can also guarantee had I been truly listening, not only would I have heard, I would have grown a bit more into the person I am yet to become. I have this one things from all of this so far. Change comes from within and with that, if you want to see change in the world it has to start with you. Or in this case, me. So, I decided I would begin to actively listen to those who were speaking to me, whether it was on the phone or face to face. Since I have made that decision, I have begun to realize so many other things I am excited to implement. Although, if I did them all at once, it wouldn’t be a 90 Day Transformation Challenge, would it? On the fifth day, I made the decision to implement the “2 hour rule” after reading up on it and noticing how I’ve had acid reflux or indigestion more consistently lately but I will also tell you it’s been the most challenging decision to date. It takes serious discipline for me not to eat after a certain time. Who doesn’t go after the ice cream, sticky buns or whatever your craving is when you get snacky all of a sudden? Again, this is where creating a love for water becomes very beneficial. Now, that you are updated, here are the 4 most rcent changes I have decided to make since Thursday. Day 6) Become More Involved. It‘s about time I became more involved in the lives of those I interact with. Sparking conversations, asking questions, reading a story, playing catch and creating a small group at church...these are examples of how I can be more involved. Not only does it help others feel important and cared about, it’s internally rewarding as well. Day 7) Slow Down Too often we feel like we don’t have enough time in the day to do everything that needs to get done. I’m slowly learning that not everything has to be done here and now. It’s difficult to slow down when I am trying to do a million things all at once. Instead, I decided it was time to make a conscious effort to do less. Actually, not less, just less at the same time. Multi-tasking, while appearing to be productive also is a destroyer of time. I have discovered the more tasks I do at once, the less time I have to actually complete any given task, which then completely disrupts my ability to manage my time. What I am learning is that if I put space in-between appointments and tasks, I can become more efficient and therefore a better time managing manager. Day 8) Eliminate Sweets There is no nutritional value to sweets, especially after adding all the dyes and preservatives, sugars, sodium....let me put it this way, I love the king size, two piece Butterfinger bars. That single wrapped two piece of sugar goodness is the equivalent of three servings with each serving being 160 calories. If I only ate that one bar my 2000 DCI or Daily Caloric Intake is reduced to 1,520. If I am supposed to have 3 meals a day and three small snacks, is the Butterfinger really my wisest option? Let me repeat, that’s IF I only ate the one Butterfinger king size, two piece bar. Which catches us up to today... Day 9) Eliminate Fast Food From My Diet. Have you seen Super Size Me? Enough said.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Oct 2013 05:55:41 +0000
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