Ellington

(And that's not rocky road ice cream.) Someone once told me that the minute we humans decide on a course of action and make a commitment, the next thing that invariably happens is that all the reasons show up why we can't keep our commitments. "It's not a good time," "I don't have the money," "Whose idea was this anyway?" are among my favorites, regardless of the actual commitment. Hmmm... talk about a pattern of behavior.

I put down a whole slew of goals, but didn't bother to keep a copy. There's my first problem ... "What accountability?"

I'm in the reassessment phase of the project. Although it's been at the forefront of my mind, it hasn't translated into a lot of action, yet. Let me take it one at a time:

Drink more water. Work up to eight glasses a day. I'm drinking more (water, too). Just kidding. I keep a great big (16-ounce?) Newks cup that I refill fairly regularly. Doctors recommend a minimum of eight eight-ounce glasses a day. I'm up to maybe six. Could do better.

Eat healthier. Cut down on fried foods, sugar and meat; eat more veggies. We have a tradition at the JFP: When it's your birthday, we have cake. Today's was strawberry. I think I'm changing my preferred cake flavor to broccoli. Seriously, though, I'm eating more mindfully, even if I'm not always eating the right thing—slowing down food intake and waiting to notice if my brain sends that "full" signal. It's weak, but getting stronger.

Take a yoga class two to three times a week. Good grief. ... Did I say that? I teach two classes a week, but it really doesn't count. At one point I was taking four to five classes a week. OK. Checking the schedule now and will get back to you.

Walk. Can you say it's hot out there? I know it shouldn't matter. It does.

Meditate. Hmmm... right before the morning walk, methinks.

Say please and thank you; smile. I've been interviewing a lot of new interns lately, and I've been studying their faces. It's amazing what a difference a smile can make. I think I'm doing pretty well on this one. It's true what I've heard: regardless of whether the smile comes from the inside or the outside, I feel much better when I'm smiling. I remember "thank you" more often than "please," though.

Find one thing to be grateful for every day. Except when I teach a yoga class—when I thank God after every class that I'm able to share such a wondrous thing with others and not hurt anyone—I'm not doing it.

Use my personal days. Ha! Ha ha ha ha ha. ROFLMAO!

I will do better tomorrow.
RM