Do one thing every day that makes you happy.
We're talking about turning behaviours into habits using the habit loop in WW virtual workshops this week (I'm on at 9.45 in Wolverhampton group if you haven't been on one yet) and the behaviour I want to turn into a habit is eating fruit, I've just eaten this bowl full - 2 satsumas, 1 pear, 2 small apples, I've decided getting the fruit out of the way first thing is the way forward, before I clean my teeth and also by cutting it up (thanks for the tip on virtual) makes it easier to eat.
I'm a big fan of eating the frog first, it's from a book by Brian Tracey and a training technique WW taught us once. There's an old saying that if the first thing you do each morning is eat a live frog, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you're done with the worst thing you'll have to do all day. In the normal world eating a frog is a metaphor for tackling your most challenging task - but also the one that can have the greatest positive impact on your life. Okay I know eating fruit might not have the greatest positive impact on my life of everything I could do but it's a start, it's the first step on my journey back to taking better care of myself. If I plan to do things first thing in the morning when I'm at my best, they're more likely to get done. I've proved this, take the pint of water that I drink every morning now, I've been doing that for a long time now, if we look at that habit look we're talking about in workshops
The cue to drink my water is the glass with the straw, it's always either by the side of my bed or on my desk, initially it lived on my desk, so in a morning when I turned my computer on, I'd see the glass and fill it up with water, I'd agreed with myself I would drink a pint of water before allowing myself a cup of tea. The behaviour was obviously drinking the water. The reward was the big mug of tea afterwards. The long term reward that wasn't so obvious initially is that I'm hydrated. It's become so much of a habit that I now fill the glass up at night too and take it to bed with me, some nights I drink a pint through the night, I have a sip when I wake up and if I've had a true menopausal hot flush night, I'm thirsty and glad it's there.
Yoga was the last behaviour I decided to start building into a habit, I wanted to make it a regular thing, initially I'd planned a few times a week but I've managed to do it every morning for the past 6 weeks. The cue is my yoga mat on the floor beside my bed, initially I'd roll the mat up because I was doing it in the kitchen or living room but that wasn't helping me make it a habit as it wasn't easy, see the thing is the easier a behaviour is to do, the more likely it is to become a habit (oh that's good or bad habits too remember!). Also the more you do a behaviour, the easier it gets, but no behaviour happens without a cue, so the yoga mat on my bedroom floor is the first thing I tread on when I get out of bed, it's not actually the first thing I do but it reminds me, you're coming back here when you've been to the toilet and sorted mom! Yoga is obviously the behaviour and the reward for me was at first the satisfaction of knowing I was actually doing something I said I was going to do and sticking to it, also proving to myself if I try I can find the time and a way to do some things that are important to me despite my situation. Now it's also that the yoga is making me feel flexible again not just in my body but in my mind, it's helping to calm my mood at times and I enjoy it most of the time.
And yeah now to work on the fruit, oh and I don't plan to eat 4 or 5 pieces a day either, I just fancied all that this morning, some days it may just be one apple and that's okay, the important thing is to make it a habit and to try and have a variety. The cue is having the bowl of fruit on the side in the kitchen by the kettle which I know I'm going to use in a morning (as soon as I've drunk the water!), the behaviour eating it, the reward, well initially because I'm just a big kid really, it's the 'yeah check me out, I'm eating fruit' feeling I get when I've done it, I actually give myself a clap because I'm a little bit proud of myself for doing it, for trying to improve my healthy eating habits.
What habits have you built, or would you like too?
The thing with bad habits is they are like comfy beds really easy to get into and really hard to get out of and I've realised some of my bad habits are slipping back into place, so I had got to a point where I was having a fruit or vegetable at every meal time, I haven't been bothering with that the last few weeks! Slipped back into my old ways and it's got to stop!
Now something I heard on a virtual yesterday (I was gutted I had to log out early because mom was kicking off) was 'pick a day and start' and it was like a sign, because I'd only said yesterday on this blog how Monday is the first of the month and I do love a reset on a Monday and with it being the first of June well it's a sign. Monday June 1st is the day I pick and plan to start. I've got some treat meals in the fridge that I plan to eat this weekend, it was a meal deal thing and I'm not wasting it.
Oh you will be proud of me though, well I was of myself, another clapping myself moment if I do say so myself. I'd bought chicken Kievs (11SP each, what was I thinking!) but there's 2 in a pack and mom didn't want one, now usually I'd cook them both, but instead I cut the label off the packet and wrapped it up and managed to squeeze it in the freezer, did the same with the spare muffins so I don't feel I have to eat one a day if I don't fancy one. Yeah I had a little realisation yesterday that this is what I need to start doing, split the packs and freeze the other half and actually start eating the food in the damn freezer!
I've spent the last few days sorting my finances and if I actually eat the food I've got I could probably pull back the cost of Alfie's vet bill over the month! I rang Sky yesterday to cancel stuff too, I thought I can live without box sets and movies and our call plan we rarely use the phone mom uses it for emergencies. Well the chap was brilliant, He saved me £40 a month! The 02 man called me the day before to try and sell me a new phone but I didn't need one so he actually said well change your call plan cos you're paying to much and he almost halved that for me! BONUS, it really is worth checking. The only thing I haven't changed yet is my gas/electric supplier, I've never changed and really dubious to do so, oh and I'm not on a water metre which could possibly save me some money too, but we ain't had any bloody water for two nights anyway lol. It's really made me appreciate what we do get and think it's worth every penny! I'm quite frugal with our usage, I do water my hanging baskets but use a watering can, I have taps upstairs on the sink that turn themselves off - that was because mom flooded the bathroom when she forgot to turn them off once.
Anyway, I'm waffling now, I can hear mom moving about downstairs so I'll go make her a cuppa, I can clean my teeth now I've eaten my fruit too. I've got a busy morning, on virtual workshop from 9.15 - 10.15, then I need to decide whether to do my stock take today and get it done, or do it in the morning, mmm decisions, decisions.....
mwah, luv ya, have a great weekend
Love me xx
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