Recently, I had the pleasure of having dinner with some amazing people. One of which was Dr. Jonathan Burdette, a professor of Neuroradiology at Wake Forest School of Medicine. He is working on important and inspiring things with VR (Virtual Reality) and has previously worked {read more}
Storytime Recently, I shared a link to my blog with an acquaintance. At first this was just a passing, “Oh I wrote a blog post about that.” Meaning, I didn’t think to worry about being judged. However, within a few days anxiety started to creep {read more}
Alllright be honest what word came to mind after the … ?
Sweet? Good? Blah? Don’t even want to talk about it??
Our lives are made up of lots of days, (according to google women live on average to be about 78 years old which is 28,470 days). Measuring life in days really can change the perspective… thank goodness we get a chance to start all over again everyday. And the other good news is we have the opportunity to influence how most of our days are spent!
The goal of today’s post is for each of us to identify the elements we need to keep ourselves ‘on’ and make sure these elements are sprinkled in everyday. What does this have to do with a pilot light you ask? Let’s dive into some story time!
Have you ever heard of the cold shower trend? Simply put: people take cold showers to force themselves to feel uncomfortable intending to build up tenacity, mental toughness and overcome fears?
I did not participate in this trend very long, however I will say I can see why it was so effective! One day (not a planned cold shower day) my shower water was not warming up… having no idea why this might happen, I called my cousin who proceeded to teach me what a pilot light is and its importance. I never became brave enough to light it myself but quickly learned the importance of such a small flame. The pilot light’s purpose is simple:
Now is the time to ask yourself – is your pilot light burning and if you needed additional energy would it be available now?
Reflecting on what ignites you: activities you find to be enjoyable, calming, empowering or energizing.
Think back to the last time you had a full day filled with ‘goodness’. A day you can remember smiling or laughing until you cry. Or maybe even a day of sadness but that brought you closer to your friends and family.
Write down a list of about 10 things that stand out to you when you think of the good days. If one of your days includes a once in a lifetime celebration or event – think about what made it good – the music? the people? the outfit? the pictures? Even though we might not be able to recreate a specific event over again, we can still take from the elements that made it amazing!
My list includes (in no particular order):
Obviously I wrote 11 instead of ten… 11 is a lucky number though so we will go with it! It isn’t every day that I get to spend by the water or hike a mountain, and at this point even see friends which is why this list is even more important now.
Each day I have started making sure I do at least one activity on the list and keep the activities balanced over time. While work is on my list (which I realize might be rare), going too long without a good workout or without reading or listening to something educational causes issues. Tending to either get into my head wayyyy too much or my little pilot light goes out all together.
What is on your list? Any activities you can add to your schedule TODAY? Can you plan a few for a future ‘today’? Are there one or 2 which you could do everyday?
One last note before we end today’s blog – being present in the moment while doing these activities, even as simple as sipping coffee and enjoying the taste and temperature can make a difference. I noticed the biggest difference on how I was approaching my yoga practice – if I stayed in the moment in each posture versus thinking of it as a way to check something off a ‘to-do’ list, my overall day felt more meaningful.
Lastly – I want to know if anyone else has work on their list! Comment down below <3
Thank you for so many sweet comments, texts and messages on the vision board and goal-setting posts. Happiness fills my heart to know that this site is becoming a source of inspiration! Now that we’ve explored the visual and verbal side to our goals, it {read more}