When I am on vacation, I do my best to stay present with the people around me. I keep my computer shut off. I keep my cell phone at bay. I try to remain "disconnected." Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it doesn't. But, without fail, I always return from vacation with the reminder of two things.
First, I'm not a fan of "keeping up" with the people around me. Deep down, I know that you can't prove anything by owning the best of everything. I know true value is not attached to objects, but rather actions.
But, that doesn't mean I don't get caught up in it.
And second, I'm not of fan of "forcing" things to happen. (Note: there is a difference between forcing something to happen and working hard at something). Things that are meant to be, will be. And if I am constantly pushing and pushing to make things happen, they probably shouldn't be a part of my life.
But, that doesn't mean that I don't push harder than I should at times.
I came home from our recent trip feeling like I needed to refocus. Feeling like I needed to reassess how I am spending my time. And feeling like I needed to decide what people and things deserved my attention and what could fall to the wayside.
So, I'll be downsizing some aspects of my life.
Commitments that I don't really want to be committed to.
Obligations that don't excite me.
Fillers that are just taking up space.
I want my actions to have purpose. I want to do things because I want to, not because I have to. And I want to share those things with the people I love, because in the end, they are all that matter.
Showing posts with label simplicity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label simplicity. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
November Rewind ...
Holy Cow! It's December, which means that a BIG holiday is coming up quickly.
My birthday - there are only two months until I turn 29. And you probably should start planning your gifts now. I accept cash, checks, credit cards and running gear of all kinds. And if you are feeling really generous, go ahead and send me a Christmas present too.
Or, if you want to send me a gift to commemorate all I accomplished last month, I'm not going to stop you. And so that you have a reference point, here is my November 2010 in review ...
Miles Planned/Miles Ran: none - for the first time in forever, I ran without a training plan/140.67 (which brings me to 1609.15 on the year)
Rest Days Planned/Rest Days Taken: 8/9
Highest Mileage Week: 11/22-11/28: 34.3 miles
Long Runs Planned/Long Runs Completed: 4/4
Donuts Burned: 97 (my favorite statistic on Dailymile)
Current Book: None, unless children's books count. Which I don't think they do. Especially considering I have most of them committed to memory.
Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Cream Puffs. Have you ever noticed how I have a thing for desserts? Well, I do. And thanks to a $2.00 off coupon at BJ's, I have almost single-handedly consumed a box of 70 cream puffs. God, I hope J has been sneaking them too ...
Current Colors: Pink and Charcoal Grey
Current Drink: Dunkin Donuts French Vanilla Coffee. With the temperatures dropping, I find myself drinking it non-stop just to stay warm.
Current Song: Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida
Current Triumph: My 3:04 PR in the 8K two weeks ago. And a complete purge of my closet. And my pure awesomeness, of course ...
Current Goal: A new 5K PR at my December 26th race. Rebuild my base before heading into marathon training on Jan 1. Not go broke while on vacation at Disney.
Current Blessing: Pretty much everything. Life is pretty sweet right now. And I don't take that for granted.
Current Excitement: Did I mention that we are going to Disney? Like in 14 days? And that my kids have NO IDEA? (Note: We surprised them with a Disney trip in March. It was classic. You can see their reactions HERE.)
My birthday - there are only two months until I turn 29. And you probably should start planning your gifts now. I accept cash, checks, credit cards and running gear of all kinds. And if you are feeling really generous, go ahead and send me a Christmas present too.
Or, if you want to send me a gift to commemorate all I accomplished last month, I'm not going to stop you. And so that you have a reference point, here is my November 2010 in review ...
Miles Planned/Miles Ran: none - for the first time in forever, I ran without a training plan/140.67 (which brings me to 1609.15 on the year)
Rest Days Planned/Rest Days Taken: 8/9
Highest Mileage Week: 11/22-11/28: 34.3 miles
Long Runs Planned/Long Runs Completed: 4/4
Donuts Burned: 97 (my favorite statistic on Dailymile)
Current Book: None, unless children's books count. Which I don't think they do. Especially considering I have most of them committed to memory.
Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Cream Puffs. Have you ever noticed how I have a thing for desserts? Well, I do. And thanks to a $2.00 off coupon at BJ's, I have almost single-handedly consumed a box of 70 cream puffs. God, I hope J has been sneaking them too ...
Current Colors: Pink and Charcoal Grey
Current Drink: Dunkin Donuts French Vanilla Coffee. With the temperatures dropping, I find myself drinking it non-stop just to stay warm.
Current Song: Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida
Current Triumph: My 3:04 PR in the 8K two weeks ago. And a complete purge of my closet. And my pure awesomeness, of course ...
Current Goal: A new 5K PR at my December 26th race. Rebuild my base before heading into marathon training on Jan 1. Not go broke while on vacation at Disney.
Current Blessing: Pretty much everything. Life is pretty sweet right now. And I don't take that for granted.
Current Excitement: Did I mention that we are going to Disney? Like in 14 days? And that my kids have NO IDEA? (Note: We surprised them with a Disney trip in March. It was classic. You can see their reactions HERE.)
Monday, November 29, 2010
simplifying ...
I've mentioned my OCD tendencies one or twice or a thousand times. I don't like clutter. Or excess. Or disorder. Or unfinished projects. Or spontaneity. I am far less stressed when there is structure and schedules and I know what to expect. You might say that I am lack excitement or I am boring, but I like to think of myself as well-prepared and task-oriented. It works for me. And it seems to work for my family. And recently, I have noticed that being slightly OCD can help me simplify my life.
For as long as I can remember, I have been a purger. I have no problem getting rid of the things that have lost their purpose in my life. Old clothes that don't fit, items that I no longer use. I have never really felt the need to hold on to something because I might need it some day or because I associated it to a memory I have.
Recently, I stumbled across THIS blog post and I thought it was an interesting concept. The post sets a challenge to the reader to limit their wardrobe to 33 pieces for three months. Ultimately, the project is intended to show you that you can live with less, something I think most people can benefit from.
So, I decided to accept the challenge with a few modifications.
1. My challenge was not going to last three months. It was going to be a permanent change. Anything that left, was NEVER coming back. And anything that comes in new, MUST replace another item, not "rebuild" my wardrobe.
2. My challenge limited my wardrobe to 35 items, all which have year-round versatility. Items that don't count in the 35 items are wedding ring, underwear, sleep, in-home lounge wear, and workout clothing (you can only wear your workout clothing to workout). In addition to these items, which were part of the original challenge, I also didn't include my 10 pairs of shoes (which include three pairs of running shoes currently in rotation) and accessories (i.e. my watch, my necklace and my RoadID).
And that was it. I cleared my closet and my dresser. I kept only the things that I LOVE and that FIT me properly. The rest was donated.
That was one month ago. And do you know what? I haven't missed a single item that I got rid of. I never wanted to wear something that wasn't there and I never second guessed something I kept. (It's worked out so well that I am planning on reducing my daughters' wardrobes to 35 items as well).
Plus, the challenge has come with added benefits.
For as long as I can remember, I have been a purger. I have no problem getting rid of the things that have lost their purpose in my life. Old clothes that don't fit, items that I no longer use. I have never really felt the need to hold on to something because I might need it some day or because I associated it to a memory I have.
Recently, I stumbled across THIS blog post and I thought it was an interesting concept. The post sets a challenge to the reader to limit their wardrobe to 33 pieces for three months. Ultimately, the project is intended to show you that you can live with less, something I think most people can benefit from.
So, I decided to accept the challenge with a few modifications.
1. My challenge was not going to last three months. It was going to be a permanent change. Anything that left, was NEVER coming back. And anything that comes in new, MUST replace another item, not "rebuild" my wardrobe.
2. My challenge limited my wardrobe to 35 items, all which have year-round versatility. Items that don't count in the 35 items are wedding ring, underwear, sleep, in-home lounge wear, and workout clothing (you can only wear your workout clothing to workout). In addition to these items, which were part of the original challenge, I also didn't include my 10 pairs of shoes (which include three pairs of running shoes currently in rotation) and accessories (i.e. my watch, my necklace and my RoadID).
And that was it. I cleared my closet and my dresser. I kept only the things that I LOVE and that FIT me properly. The rest was donated.
That was one month ago. And do you know what? I haven't missed a single item that I got rid of. I never wanted to wear something that wasn't there and I never second guessed something I kept. (It's worked out so well that I am planning on reducing my daughters' wardrobes to 35 items as well).
Plus, the challenge has come with added benefits.
- My laundry load has become lighter.
- I can ALWAYS find exactly what I am looking for.
- I don't stress about which outfit I am going to wear. There aren't enough options for that.
- Simplifying my wardrobe has motivated me to simplify other areas of my life. I've been clearing out the excess in all areas of our life, creating more space/better space management.
- Eliminating the excess items has also pushed me to cut back on the "time-suckers" (i.e. Facebook, blogging, my BlackBerry). I am trying to have a few "unplugged" hours each day. Over the Thanksgiving weekend (Thursday - Sunday), I did my best to avoid "time-suckers" all together. I left my phone at home when I went out. I didn't touch the computer. Instead, I spent time with my family and friends without the interference.
- We are managing our finances better. Eliminating the "need" for excess items has curtailed our spending and is allowing us to pay off our debts. We are more thoughtful with how we spend and we have axed our credit cards, hopefully FOREVER.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)