I was 41 last August. In 2008 (12th July) 'Life is a multitude of small projects' I said that I was going to change my physique and get fit ...... I started then and despite a huge number of setbacks I have made significant progress.
I have dropped about 8lbs, toned up considerably and since the 1st of January I have been going to the gym 2 days per week. I also got a medicine ball to strengthen the back and that has been exceptionally successful. Hopefully this will all continue.
No lesson here, I am just bragging that I actually started something and managed to stick out at for so long!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Not thinking, just being
Item 9: Make meditation part of your daily life.
I found meditation about 2 years ago. While I don't have the opportunity to do it every day it is something I keep coming back to. It provides such a level of internal comfort and just calms the soul. Amazing when you practice!
I found meditation about 2 years ago. While I don't have the opportunity to do it every day it is something I keep coming back to. It provides such a level of internal comfort and just calms the soul. Amazing when you practice!
Good research pays off
Item 8: Study the fundamentals of CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy).
This makes perfect sense and will indeed allow you to become your own emotional guide!
This makes perfect sense and will indeed allow you to become your own emotional guide!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Old people are not that mad after all
My mother's father ..... who I didn't really get on with (I was too soft for his liking ... unfortunately he mixed up physical and mental toughness).... used to say:
Item 7: Plant them straight and they will grow straight
This is a fundamental lesson and ageless. If I had to pass on words of wisdom before I croaked I think it would be this line. Recently I met up with a group of friends and a guy happened to mention that a 7-year old boy hit another boy on the football pitch. When he was sent off the parents went 'mad' and defended his actions. What shocked me about this story was not the events but what one of my friends had to say. 'It's genetics, some children are just born bold!' Now this guy has 2 children under 3 and another on the way which leads me to believe that he hasn't considered the first thing about parenting.
Like a new plant children need to be fed and watered. They need sunshine, protection from the elements, occasional support and constant monitoring and when needed they need to be adjusted to avoid growing in the wrong direction. Simple really (oh yeah)!
Item 7: Plant them straight and they will grow straight
This is a fundamental lesson and ageless. If I had to pass on words of wisdom before I croaked I think it would be this line. Recently I met up with a group of friends and a guy happened to mention that a 7-year old boy hit another boy on the football pitch. When he was sent off the parents went 'mad' and defended his actions. What shocked me about this story was not the events but what one of my friends had to say. 'It's genetics, some children are just born bold!' Now this guy has 2 children under 3 and another on the way which leads me to believe that he hasn't considered the first thing about parenting.
Like a new plant children need to be fed and watered. They need sunshine, protection from the elements, occasional support and constant monitoring and when needed they need to be adjusted to avoid growing in the wrong direction. Simple really (oh yeah)!
Coming back again
Sometimes simple persistence is the answers to achieving your goals and I am going to apply this to my blog so I am back after over 6 months. (I now I posted something in November that was small.)
Sophie is now sleeping well but we learned a very important lesson out of it
Item 6: If you don't sort out your sleeping arrangements with kids everything will suffer.......so the answer is routine, routine and more routine and then use the Controlled crying method if you are not getting sleep http://www.askbaby.com/baby-sleep-training.htm
There is a lot of controversy over this method of getting a child to sleep but the plain fact is it saved our lives and if we had done it with the eldest I might not have suffered palpitations and dangerous dizzy spells when trying to work.
There are a lot of "great books" out there about this subject and we followed loads. None worked but Controlled Crying was recommended was sorted everything out. In fact Sophie is also a happier child as she gets her full complement of sleep now and also sleeps better during the day.
I am sure however if she ever reads this that she will think that this has something to do with whatever problems she has (and we ALL have the no matter what). But when we did this we were very very close to breaking point operating on 2-5 hours of broken sleep for nearly a year. So to all those who critise the solution I say, "when you have 2 other school-going kids (who are incidentially suffering and beginning to show signs of resenting their younder sister) and a child who goes to bed fine but wakes for 3-5 hours in the middle of the night crying until she is picked up .... and you do this for 12 months despite all the 'expert advise' AND you can provide another solution THEN you can comment."
We did what we thought was right and it worked a 'dream!'.
Sophie is now sleeping well but we learned a very important lesson out of it
Item 6: If you don't sort out your sleeping arrangements with kids everything will suffer.......so the answer is routine, routine and more routine and then use the Controlled crying method if you are not getting sleep http://www.askbaby.com/baby-sleep-training.htm
There is a lot of controversy over this method of getting a child to sleep but the plain fact is it saved our lives and if we had done it with the eldest I might not have suffered palpitations and dangerous dizzy spells when trying to work.
There are a lot of "great books" out there about this subject and we followed loads. None worked but Controlled Crying was recommended was sorted everything out. In fact Sophie is also a happier child as she gets her full complement of sleep now and also sleeps better during the day.
I am sure however if she ever reads this that she will think that this has something to do with whatever problems she has (and we ALL have the no matter what). But when we did this we were very very close to breaking point operating on 2-5 hours of broken sleep for nearly a year. So to all those who critise the solution I say, "when you have 2 other school-going kids (who are incidentially suffering and beginning to show signs of resenting their younder sister) and a child who goes to bed fine but wakes for 3-5 hours in the middle of the night crying until she is picked up .... and you do this for 12 months despite all the 'expert advise' AND you can provide another solution THEN you can comment."
We did what we thought was right and it worked a 'dream!'.
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