midlife tuneup?

i read this long piece on doing a midlife tuneup in the nytimes today. some of it seemed a bit meh and perhaps even patronizing- exercise, eat right, get enough sleep (blah, blah, blah). although i'm skeptical of the mindfulness/life coach madness that's about in the world today, the section on mindfulness and what it does for the ageing brain seemed a bit intriguing, so i kept reading. the following section on a midlife mission statement also spoke to me (being inclined to the odd personal manifesto (hmm, that one still rings pretty true...)). i've already been actively trying to have better bedtime habits (no phone nearby being the main one, tho' i fell off that wagon after a late coffee one day last week and did NOT sleep well for a couple of nights). also, i appreciate the irony of the fact that it's currently 12:44 a.m. 1:13 a.m. and i'm still at the computer. but the last section - about building up your resilience really spoke to me. all year, i've been writing intentions in a journal and they have been optimistic and positive. it hasn't always worked and there have been some dark times of late with reorg turmoil at work and the departure of my wonderful boss, but i faithfully continue, confident it will eventually seep in. i like the advice in that section - there are several things i feel i can actually use - rewriting the story i tell myself in my head, helping others and i've already taken a stress break when i could see that a situation was going to be more negative and unproductive than i needed it to be. the stress break really helped, even if the effects don't last long enough. i also like the idea of finding my discomfort zone - as long as it doesn't involve heights, that sounds rather intriguing. and i would do well to remember the times when i came back from adversity. perhaps the best start to it all would be that good night's sleep they talked about...

this week i do solemnly swear...

do you ever feel you're just swimming along the stream with everyone else, not thinking about life, just going through the motions? i've decided i don't want to feel like that this week. like just one of the ducks. this week is going to be different, this week, i'm going to:

~ carry a camera everywhere i go (i've gotten a bit lax about this). inspired by spudballoo's CCC, i'm charging the P&S (point & shoot) as we speak.

~ create something every day (i've also gotten lax about this).

~ systematically clear out my to do list (happily, i've already started on this).

~ exercise - this is eternally on the list, but now after reading murakami's what i talk about when i talk about running, i'm feeling inspired. maybe not to run and certainly not any great distances, but to push myself physically in order to better be able to push myself mentally.

~ take one bag of unused clothing to the local version of the good will.

i realize this list sounds rather mundane, but i figure by putting it out here, where people know about it, it will help me to stick to it. i promise to be back later with something much more entertaining.