Friday, September 27, 2013

Gratitude Week 4

This last week I tried to be grateful as I was checking off the completion of my habits.  I should have done it as I was about to do the habit, but it was still nice.

I've really enjoyed this Gratitude thing.  It's all been very subtle, but whenever I did it, I was always happier afterward.  Can't complain about that.

I'm going to continue these two habits (3 things I'm grateful for before going to bed and being grateful while performing habits) for a while.

Next week is Reduce/Eliminate Debt.  The idea here is obvious.  The habits you're going for are 
  1. Face debts
  2. Be conscious of spending
  3. Automatic debt reduction
  4. Regular review
The problem with these habits is that they aren't daily.  These can be developed but take 1-2 years.

To form these long term habits, we start with a daily Intention habit of declaring how you're going to be I guess.  It's kind of like a daily affirmation, but it's something like, "Today I intend to be conscious about my spending…."

Personally, I'm pretty good with these long term habits already.  I've had everything in Mint.com for years.  I know my debts, assets, network, payments, etc.  All payments are automatic.  I review and categorize all charges once a week.  

The only thing I don't do is watch spending.  I basically buy whatever I want, but I'm naturally against buying stuff.  I get trapped on buying perishable things like food (restaurants), drinks, services, etc.

I think what I'll do is make my daily Intention focused on spending to help me make better short term choices.  Then I'll take 5 minutes a day to identify something I can eliminate and actually eliminate it (I'm looking at you Earth Class Mail).

Friday, September 20, 2013

Gratitude Week 3

I've been doing really well on the Gratitude habit this week.  I've found it works really well to just think about what I'm grateful for as I'm going to sleep.  Maybe that'll subconsciously do something for me too.

I really like Leo's article on Using Gratitude to Form Habits (that link to sea change members).  Basically, you think about being grateful for each of the steps of forming a habit (choose a habit, commit, do it, check in).  This let's you feel good about the steps before you even see the results.  I know I've accidentally done this in the past, and it works great.  In fact, I wonder if that's why it's easier in the beginning of forming a habit, because you're pumped about getting to do it (maybe not).


Now that I've been successful so far, I think I'm going to incorporate gratitude into my other habits (mobilizing, self tracking, crossfit, paleo, etc).

Friday, September 13, 2013

Gratitude Week 2

I basically forgot about this until today.  I lost the reminder on my wfx app.  No excuses.  Play like a champion!  


This is the weakest post ever.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Gratitude Week 1

No posts in a while.  That's mostly because I'm lazy, and I haven't been doing a good job on these Sea Change habits.  Wanna fight about it?

This month is about Gratitude.  Each night, I note 3 things I'm grateful for from the day.  I setup a habit and reminder in the WellnessFX iPhone app.  Sometimes they're a little cheesy, but it's simple, and I feel good about it.  This is also something that Angela and I can easily do together.


I'm going to put one more week toward this, then try one of the other gratitude habits.