Week 5 - See the glass as half full (1-30-12)

To recap:
Week 1: Drink 14 cups of water a day - I did much better this past weekend and get my 14 cups every weekday
Week 2: Get 8 hours of sleep per night - Still struggling with waking up in the middle of the night.
Week 3: Keep off the couch - I have been keeping busy in the evenings and getting up from my desk to walk and stretch every chance I get.
Week 4: Keep a food journal - Doing great with MyFitnessPal.  I've now logged my food every day for the past 30 days.

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This week's challenge is going to be a tough one for me.  While I'm not naturally a pessimistic person, I have been finding it harder to find the lighter side of things lately.  Trying to find the right mix of ADHD meds for Liam that can get us through the evenings, and the dreaded HOMEWORK is tough.  I'm not at my best parenting patience level after work, so too many evenings end in tears (both his and mine).  I'm really going to focus this week on letting go of the things I can't control, enjoying my life, laughing and believing in me.  Here are 10 tips from The Shrinking Jeans group for this week's challenge:

1. Shift self-talk. We are harder on ourselves than anyone else, and negative self talk is the very core of pessimism. This week, and going forward, let's work on avoiding self-criticism and instead practice self-acceptance.

2. Use affirmations. Yes they are hokey sometimes, but speaking positively about yourself and you situation is a great way to push out the pessimism. Make a list of positive things about yourself. Even if you don't believe them just yet. Start with: I am.......and read them every day.

3. Have a sense of humor! believe it or not (because I'm damn funny!), I really, really struggle with this. Daily. Just this morning as we were getting ready to walk out the door, my daughter dropped a full cup of milk all over the floor. I flew off the handle, and I'm not proud of how I reacted. This was AFTER I knew what our assignment for this week would be. This is common for me. I need to work on seeing the humor and try not to take myself and the tough situations I'm in so seriously. You, too!

4. Take care of yourself. It helps you have a more positive self image. Exercise also boosts feel good hormones.

5. Develop healthy relationships. Surround yourself with people who are happy and make you feel happy.

6. Practice gratefulness. Take time everyday to appreciate all that you have.

7. Let go of things you can't control. If you find yourself stressing over something you can't control, step back and ask yourself if it's really worth spending your time worrying and stressing.

8. Celebrate your strengths and accomplishments. List the things you're good at and the accomplishments you've achieved. Make a list!

9. Forget your fears. Push the fear of the unknown out of your mind because it only causes you to stress more.

10. Harness the law of attraction. Focus on what you want and what you want to attract to your life instead of focusing on the negative. Focusing on what we want helps us visualize positive outcomes, mobilizing you to make them a reality.