The Habits that Hinder

*It is intended that you read this blog while listening to "Let's Get it Started" by the Black Eyed Peas*

When I was in elementary school, I have fond memories of having pizza and ice cream every Friday. My sister and I would get to watch TGIF (oh, man, this blog ages me). It was such a treat and my favorite family time memories. My sister and I didn't get along too well when we were growing up (she is five years older than me and I believe that having a little sister probably wasn't part of her life plan). But Fridays were magical - we had our favorite junk food and our favorite shows - it was my favorite day of the week. As an adult, I still don't like to go out on Fridays - they are still my TGIF days. Except now they are usually filled with a delicious meal (sometimes delivery from our favorite indian place) and watching a movie or my favorite show with my husband. Habits have a funny way of sticking to you, without you realizing it.

Last month I started to read The Power of Habit, as I was trying to work on being a more productive person in the office. However, as I started reading the book, I realized how so many of the things that were standing in my way from being a more focused and productive individual had more to do with the habits that I had in my personal life - the little things. For example, it takes me a bit in the morning to wake up and as a technology addicted individual, I turn to my phone. I usually spend the first twenty minutes waking up by checking my email, reading Facebook and checking the New York Times. While this might not seem like the worst habit in the world, it actually leads to me feeling anxious about the day ahead and thinking far too ahead in my day. My morning then either begins with unhealthy habits, like eating too big of a breakfast or not eating one at all or feeling so anxious that I run out the door as quickly as possible to tackle the day.

Part of these habits began when I joined Teach For America as a corps member. As a teacher, your every moment is devoted to your students and I woke up each day with a very specific and focused purpose. My kids needed me and I had a very specific job to do. Part of the reason why I left the classroom was because I didn't believe that I was the teacher that my kids deserved - it didn't come as naturally to me as others and while I loved my kids and believed in the importance and power of an educator, it wasn't the place where I could be of most value to my kids and communities. When I then got a job outside of the classroom, I wanted to tackle it with the same intensity because I wanted to make sure that I was truly serving my community to the best of my capacity. But this has just led me to create habits that bring out my insecurities and anxieties at their fullest, which no matter how you slice it means that I'm not bringing my best self to my work.

While I am really proud of all the work I have done in my apartment in the first two weeks of my happiness project... (See my newest organizational triumph to report. We were able to consolidate all of our books, media and particular supplies (scrapbooking, stationary, journals, crafts, etc) into one beautiful bookshelf!)

I have not really started to tackle enough of the items to make a huge impact in creating a true Balance of Calm (the theme of this month). I believe that my habits have contributed 90% to this fact. In order to truly create calm, I have to do the things that elicit this in myself. While stress is a natural and, in small doses, healthy part of life, it is the ways that we consciously choose to face it that make a difference. By allowing myself to anxiously read my email the moment I wake up, I am creating a constant state of panic as a part of my morning routine. I don't empower myself to face the day, instead I start off my day already worried about all of the things to come.

So what am I going to do about it? Here's my first real hurdle - how am I going to overcome it? Here's the plan! I am going to turn off my email every night when I close out my work day and not turn it back on on my phone until I actually get to work. I am also going to force myself to exercise every morning - on days when I wake up feeling particularly stressed, I will do some yoga or pilates to calm my nerves. On days where I have more energy, I will tackle a run or a more intense Jillian Michaels video. I will also give myself enough time in the morning to calmly eat breakfast, read the news and enjoy my newly organized apartment. I truly believe that this has the ability to positively impact the rest of my day and my mindset going into it. Yay!

Okay, so in other news, one thing that I didn't make as a goal for this month that I also think I need to keep in mind is my ability to truly let go and enjoy myself after a hard week. Yesterday my husband's company had their yearly celebration and I lived it up, as if I were 21 again. See us below on the steps of City Hall.

All right, friends - I promise to update you all on how my morning routine goes, as well as how the new items I need to start tackling (book club, finances, and continuous exercising goes).

Until next time!