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I'm such a sucker for Top Ten lists, so I actively watch for them as I'm perusing the blogosphere, and when I saw Jodie's 10 commandments for dropping 10 pounds and 10 years, I prepped myself for the typical "take the stairs instead of the elevator" and "park the car at the back of the parking lot" insipid tips that make me hate the world. Except these are pretty brilliant. The first six are all dietary: avoid white sugar and flour, drink green tea, eat nuts, avocados and omega-3s and the whole "eat like a king in the morning, a merchant in the afternoon and a pauper in the evening" thing, but the true brilliance comes in the second half of the list. Blow your diet 20 percent of the time. Exfoliate your skin. Visualize yourself as perfect. Love yourself unconditionally. Seriously, if that's not brilliant, I don't know what is. Aside from the fact that I cannot expound enough on the importance of exfoliating your skin, who would have thought that a Top Ten list could achieve so much zen? Love that! I have a few additions for my own personal brand of happy, healthy zen: - Value your talents. Screw modesty! You're awesome! Some people find the story of Grandma Moses to be inspirational, but I always wonder why she waited so long to start painting. Think of what she could have done if she had started 20 years earlier! If someone needs cupcakes
for the charity bake sale but you wanted to spend the time writing /
photographing / painting / practicing your zither, don't you dare let cupcakes be more important than your talent!
- Make your grandmother's recipes. Don't save comfort food for times when you need comfort, make them a part of your weekly food plan. Okay, your grandmother's recipes are probably loaded with butter and salt, but taste and smell is an immediate way to reconnect with the true you of childhood. If you don't have any recipes, search the Internet for the ingredients you remember, or just think of other tastes and smells that remind you of being a kid. For me, every Sunday after church, my grandmother would throw together a quick cold lunch of something like canned pineapple chunks, pickled beets, cottage cheese, boiled ham sandwiches on bakery white bread smeared with real butter and tall glasses of milk. Not a single thing homemade there, but nothing can bring me back to her kitchen faster than a forkful of cottage cheese followed by a tangy beet.
- Wear sunscreen religiously. Think of how much brief exposure you get just walking through parking lots. Chances are it adds up to way more unprotected solar time than the few days you get to hang out at the beach. Not only is it about the Big C, but you'll look younger too.
- Avoid debt.
Sure, big ticket items like mortgages and student loans are hard to
avoid, but carrying any kind of balance on a credit card is a gigantic
stress that you don't need.
Plus, we won't even speak of the terrible interest rates on those
things. It goes without saying that you'd be better off getting a loan
from the mafia than going to one of those payday loan places (the mob
actually has a cheaper interest rate).
- Only buy the things you truly love. Wait,
didn't I just say that you should avoid debt? Well, of course, but this
goes hand in hand. I used to go to Target every weekend, drop $100 on
things I couldn't resist, and then a week later, lather, rinse, repeat.
Could I even tell you what I bought
on any one of those visits, other than laundry detergent? Probably not.
And how much of that stuff got sent to Goodwill during one of my decluttering phases? Probably a lot.
- Buy quality even when it costs more. I know that Payless shoes are
cheaper, but a single pair of Clarks will last longer than 10 pairs of
cheap shoes; plus, you can extend their life by getting them resoled
for about $10. Another example of this: I fell in love with a light
blue Kate Spade bag and knew that it had to be my own, even before I
learned that it was 30 percent off. It's sitting on my desk right now, serving
its third tour of duty as a spring purse. The leather is still in great
shape, the hardware is still bright and unblemished, and I still get
compliments. I have no doubt that I'll be using it again when spring
2009 rolls around, which brings the cost per use down to pennies per
day. Can a cheaper bag get that much mileage? I don't know, but definitely not one I've ever had.
- Develop other families. Does
your mom disdain the size of your thighs? Does your sister love to rub
in the fact that she's got a bigger house than you? You can't pick your
relatives, but you can choose to surround yourself with non-traditional
families. Suzanna calls her other family a "tribe," which sounds kind of awesome because it brings to mind protective circles.
- Treat yourself as you would treat your child. I'm always struck by my friends with their elaborate diaper bags, filled with educational books and yummy snack packs
for their kids. Can you imagine how pampered you would be if someone
put this much forethought into your happiness, to remind you to take a
nap when you're tired and to be there to protect you from playground
bullies? Of course, your Mom
probably has other things going on and it's not likely that she can
follow you to work anyway, but even when you're holding the rest of the
world together, you can still place importance on your own needs for
food, sleep and happiness. Does that mean you should put your Starbucks into a sippy cup? No, but planning for balanced nutrition and respecting your body's need for rest
is a start. Also, you wouldn't let anyone say the things to your
daughter that you might say to yourself in the mirror. I admit, I
struggle with all facets of this, big time.
- Make a list of goals for yourself. My friend Mo has a list of escapades and has been steadily crossing them off for as long as I've known her. Like Anne, I'm in the process of writing mine down
as I think of them, but so far, I know that I plan to go on a
shark-watching expedition, have a story published in Glimmer Train, and
visit Buchenwald at some point in the not-too-distant future.
- Listen to your friends.
And by friends, I mean you. Tell the comments what words of wisdom or
instructions for living you have gathering in your lifetime!
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FEED ME
When my mom got cancer she got all the "ra-ra" inspirational catalogues in the mail. The one thing she loved and purchased was a small leather braclelet with the words "Nothing is worth more than this day." on a silver charm.
It was a christmas present to herself and her three sisters, and sadly she never got to give it to them. I wear her bracelet every day - and because of it am inspired to live my life fully. Such as a solo trip to Italy (snogging an italian guy on the streets of florence! what grandma wouldn't want to tell that story in 50 years?) taking writing classes, moving into my own place, and coaching elementary school girls.
I have many more things to do- but constantly growing not only keeps you happy but healthy too!
mag-bloody-nificent stuff... and i really love Mo's list. I always wanted to go to Lego World and her list has reminded me... it's only a couple of hours to Denmark from here, omg.
1. No matter how uninformed you suspect you are, if you put on a suit that fits you fabulously, stand up straight, and talk with conviction, very few people will suspect a thing.
2. Nothing is easy. (Like clothes or shoe shopping.) But that doesn't mean the process can't be lots of fun and the end result ridiculously rewarding. (Like clothes or shoe shopping.)
3. All problems can be solved by going to the gym, blasting the most cheesy pop/angry thrash/crazy punk/fabulous runway music and pounding it out. No matter what, it makes you feel better afterwards.
4. Pesto (garlic, basil, pine nuts, salt, olive oil) with fresh tomato and buffalo mozerella on bread is a totally awesome sandwich. It tastes like summer and gardens.
Lovely post Weet.
My word of wisdom is " Breathe".
Simplifies a hell of alot for me.