EPTHalf of the blogs I've written have been about how I want to change things in my life for the better, and be a different person. I wanted to eat better, I wanted to change my habits, be more motivated, do this and that. I've struggled in the last year more than I have in a long time, and it's been a bit of a roller-coaster of doing better, then doing worse. No signs of consistency.
I've made good changes. Nearly all of it has come from a new job I got. I'm out in the sun, sweating, working hard, and doing work I don't like doing. I love it, though. Because I hate it, it's making me stronger mentally. My habits have changed fast- I can't spend 10 hours a day on the computer, because I'm busy. I can't eat crappy food all day, because one, that'll hurt me at work, and two, I'm working and can't eat.
I always said, I want to read more, rather than game. I bought a Kindle to help foster that habit, but haven't started reading it until recently. Now, I get home from work and I'm too tired to do anything but shower and lie in my bed and read. And it's really great. I've forgotten how amazing a habit reading is.
I haven't felt depressed since I started this job. I've had some pretty low lows. I feel like I've built up a pretty good resilience now. All of this comes because of a pretty radical change. At first, I was pretty terrified to start the job, because it's laborious and hot and sweaty. I haven't worked like that for a long time- I've just gamed. Going from 6 hours a day on the computer to 10 hours a day in the sun was drastic, but it's made all the difference. My motivation has spiked, my appetite has changed, I feel really good.
I always thought that thinking about my problems would help me fix them. I didn't think it was my actions that were going to fix things, but that was laziness talking. If I could just approach eating better a different way, I can make it happen, etc. But in reality, it just ended up skewing my thoughts about those things really badly. What I needed to do was just get out and get moving, and start doing productive things.
Lesson learned: Action will change habits faster than thoughts ever can.
