★Changing Perspective on Health

I was in bed. Started a new little journal. Wanted to share some thoughts here on bmindful with regard to one of the things I was journaling about. It has to do with “health” for those of us who have never really got excited about talking about “health”. I was thinking about how uninterested I am in that topic. I’ll talk about all sorts of things with interest, but, for me, health just bores me to death. I think maybe lots of people are like that. How can I get more interested about something I have never been particularly interested in. Something so important deserves some thought. Here are some words and phrases that come to my mind.

Change perspective of “health” altogether. Instead of thinking of health as health, perhaps I could look at it in different ways. A game and skill that could be honed with practice. I don’t seem to have a problem wasting time playing useless video games. I enjoy learning. What if I could look at “health” through this lens.

Another tack. (tac? too lazy right now to look up correct usage). Anyway. What if I tied “health” to things like “my values”. Can I tie it to something in my character. Getting healthy is a long term game/destination. I am a task oriented person who likes to plan something, do it, and finish it. You can’t really do that with health. It is a life long thing. If I can tie it to something I enjoy or respect rather than having it tied to something that bores me to tears, then maybe I can make a change.

So, values, long term, determination, characteristics I admire, planning, small steady improvement with consistent drive to play this life changing game. Measuring results in the real world. Overcoming initial inertia. Making diet and exercise work together for me. How to use leverage and 80/20 thinking to win a game and improve who I am at the same time, not cause it is something I “have” to do, but, rather, choose to do for ME.

I’m sure I could ramble on, but, I’ll stop for now. Maybe some of you would like to share your thoughts.

A few more thoughts.

I feel like in some ways I have reached at least some small measure of wisdom over these last few years. That isn’t saying much and I don’t mean to make it sound like I am boasting or being arrogant. What I mean is that I have reached at least some measure of peace and contentment in my life. I don’t, however, want to confuse contentment with laziness or “giving up” on bigger dreams. I want to do more traveling, I want to get healthy, I want to keep learning, and maybe I want to have another relationship or two as I approach the end of my journey. It is why, I guess, I feel like it is time to get off the couch and stretch a little. My new journal, it is a small notebook I bought at walmart for about fifty cents (school supplies are out now, some great bargains, I bought a couple of new pens and several notebooks just cause) is bright neon green. It is on my night stand. And here is what I wrote on the cover.

Toward Actualization.

Don’t know why I wanted to share these thoughts, but, there they are.

Someone remind me to tell you about my t-shirts. No, I’m not trying to sell you anything, just a fun, cheap thing you can do with old t shirts if you have a mind.

˚ a state of Self Care Joy  

Posted on 16/07/2016.

In response to Smart_Routines_With_Enthusiasm’s post:
Thanks Jeff for your thoughts….

You’ve hit on some wonderful things as usual!

For myself… it isn’t health alone … (as you say) … that ‘turns me on’. It is attached to many things… And I’m so glad you created this thread!!! Need to go to sleep now, though you’ve sparked some big thoughts/feelings on a topic I’ve been rethinking… even though I think you think … this health thing just flows out of being(: And writing about it will assist me with a bit more clarity too.

Love the notebook element!

note to self:

remind Jeff about t shirts

and get back to this thread Sat eve(:

I LOVE music and playing and if I were to tie health into improved musical ability (which would encourage performing) I might get some long term benefit. I go through phases with my music stuff, but, perhaps they would re-enforce one another. Improved health, improved energy, improved singing, improved appearance, improved confidence.

Still need to add post about t shirts.

I haven’t posted in a long time and I keep having random thoughts I want to share.

Here is one.

Think about 80/20 for a second. Well, now forget about that for a second. Consider whatever your current ratio is. I suspect many folks are at 10/90, or even 1/99. Here is what I am thinking. If you are at 10/90, or even 1/99, or even say 50/50. Consider what just a small change could make in your life.

How much improvement would a 1/99 see in real world change by simply moving up to 10/90? I think they would see a huge change. So keep the idea. The 80/20 and apply it the best you can, but, don’t discount even small improvements.

I hope all that makes sense to you guys without splanin.

Good night now, fo real tho.

˚ a state of Self Care Joy  

Posted on 17/07/2016. Last edited on 19/07/2016.

In response to Smart_Routines_With_Enthusiasm’s post:
wonderful thoughts SRWE.

you said I am a task oriented person who likes to plan something, do it, and finish it. You can’t really do that with health. It is a life long thing. Actually you can do that with health(: You simply think of what you want to experience … and work backwards… with a zest for that thing you love…. and with health… as it changes you … your goals grow naturally … progressively…

For myself… I think of a time in my life (petite as I am) I truly was into body building… worked out lots! I didn’t think of it that way at the time… I was making changes to create better health for myself-when i needed it.

It gave me real purpose, and my life changed for the better -2 major pluses. And now whenever I am focusing on wanting more of anything for myself-I go to that place… It made discipline FUN, and gave me needed structure. And after awhile I simply had to think-of the ‘next right thing’ for me … and I enjoyed…
Currently, I am going back to that place in my minds eye. If I did it once I can surely do it again… and hopefully in better ways that serve me for whatever this time of my life is now showing me. And as far as the 80/20 rule or less (: -> just gradually adding whatever works… is awesome!

i love what you said… about music and attaching whatever you enjoy to make healthy mindsets/action more pleasurable. It really does work. And I so appreciate your thread!! I love how you express these important and viable ideas! I wish you continued blessings, my friend(:

remember the t shirts !

In response to Smart_Routines_With_Enthusiasm’s post:
I like this especially the 1/99 to 10/90 and am going to relate it to self care as I really need it right now

In response to Smart_Routines_With_Enthusiasm’s post:
thanks for this perspective,my son told me recently “you know so much about health but you don’t take care of your self” and he is right.

I love the alternative and complementary therapies and have this vision of the person I want to be.
The me I envisage is at peace with herself and excludes this peace and calm wherever she goes. She has a daily yoga and meditation practice and has created a small sacred space in her home to provide a personal sanctuary. She eats a very healthy vegan diet but is open to vegan treats occasionally – actually no ignore “but is open to vegan treats occasionally “ because I realise that is because of other peoples thinking and comments as though having a diet full of fresh fruit ,vegetables ,nuts,seeds ,whole grains ,water ,herbal tea is a thing you need treats added to instead the actual food eaten being totally enjoyed and appreciated.

She guards her time and her home and surrounds herself with people who understand and respect her beliefs and lifestyle ( no noisy people dropping in at random times )She protects her time for walks in nature ,reiki treatments ( by self and others ) cfafts,sleep .

She works – either paid or voluntary in a job that honours her beliefs of peace ,non violence ,kindness, and truth.

She wears what she wants and feels comfortable in ,buying things that are ethically made and as much as possible, making ,recycling and repairing her clothes and possessions.Her home is lovingly cared for and only has things in that she loves and needs ,it is her nest ,loving built to comfort and protect.Anything not needed or loved has been given away to help others.

She forgives herself and others for past mistakes and lets it go.She lives in the present moment and looks after her physical ,mental and spiritual health so well that she does not fear the future but knows she will live every day in peace ,gratitude and love

She allows herself to be just that – herself – not who society tells her to be ,not who she feels she should be but who her authentic self truly is as she listens to the whispers of her soul and lives her life in the way that creates and protects her health and happiness

WOW ,that was a surprise and came from somewhere very deep inside ,thanks Jeff for opening the door to let this surface.It started because I realised reading how you can relate health to things that resonate with you ,I could do that thinking about the lifestyle I love and desire

˚ a state of Self Care Joy  

Posted on 08/08/2016.

awesome thoughts on this thread! very motivating! Thank you Jeff! Thank you flowergirl!!

In response to AppreciationView˚‘s post:
love this thread

˚ a state of Self Care Joy  

Posted on 08/08/2016.

In response to flowergirl’s post:
Flowergirl, it’s awesome what you wrote for yourself for you. Though, let me tell you, it was highly motivating for me (and I’m sure others reading it that- minds eye… or deep soul’s eye of who we are-description). It’s a truly perfect exercise to do, and this thread … has perfect written all over it.

˚ a state of Self Care Joy  

Posted on 08/08/2016.

I Am going to do this same thing soon, .. maybe on the site, though definitely for myself. I’m loving the explicit detail you wrote. It’s almost a recipe of flowergirl(: beautiful! thank you again.. Jeff, and flowergirl(:

this is definatly going in a journal ,I might even write a book ! feels as though I have unlocked a doorway

feel a vision board coming on too

˚ a state of Self Care Joy  

Posted on 08/08/2016.

beautiful! beautiful! beautiful!

Okay, FG and AV, about the t-shirts. I had some old white t-shirts that had stains on them so I dyed them, but, the neat thing is that I found out that they make these iron-on transfer sheets that you can print out yourself (if you have an ink jet printer) or you can simply take them down to Office Depot and have them print them out for you. There are two kinds of this iron on paper – one kind is made for ink jet printers and the other kind is made for laser jet printers. Be sure to get the right kind for your project. Also, some is made for light colored fabric and some for darker fabric. My advice, even though I got the ink jet kind and they worked really well, is to get the kind for the dark fabric. The girl at the print place told me that the dark fabric kind works better. (If you get the light kind, the color underneath affects the color of the finished product.) So, you go online and find some really neat pictures and save them to your computer. Adjust the image to your liking and save it. (Pay attention to the kind of iron-on paper you are using, some kinds, to work properly, require that you reverse the image and some don’t.) Put your images on a flash drive and take them to office depot. They can print the iron ons for you for less than a dollar each. When you get your printed iron ons you simply go home and use your iron (with no steam) and iron the images on your t-shirts. Get a pillow case and lay it out on a table with a hard surface. Iron the pillow case good and flat. (obviously, you don’t want to iron on a table you are afraid of hurting from using an iron on it) Make sure you have a ruler. Iron your t-shirt good and flat. Use the ruler and make sure you position the image very precisely on your shirt. Do that by making sure you have your t shirt good and square on the ironing surface. Take your time here, if you don’t pay attention your image will wind up being crooked or off center.

I found some great images on google images. I found an old movie poster from “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and several other really neat pics. For inspiration look up “vintage posters”. Lots of great looking retro stuff with neat colors and designs. The travel posters are awesome too. Also old motorcycle ads.

˚ a state of Self Care Joy  

Posted on 10/08/2016.

In response to Smart_Routines_With_Enthusiasm’s post:

AV here(: a great creative do it yourself. Love the possibilities, and money you could save. I’m wondering about the variety of clothing you could produce with this… novelty gift-shirts, beach or night shirts with perfect sayings … etc.

Thanks SmartRoutines!

♡ ˚Allowing Beautiful Thoughts  

Posted on 30/08/2022.

Changing Perspective On Health

Love this as a trigger to write about…Will return soon.