{Five Things}

I love that I have friends who motivate me to be a better version of myself.

Alejandra told me about the show Ruby when we were talking the other day.

Have you seen it? If I understand the gist, it's about this woman who was over

700 pounds. She's already lost 300 pounds on her own -- a fairly amazing feat

-- but then she hit a plateau. She wasn't sure what to do but knew she wanted to

continue her journey and weight loss. She got the advice to change five things

in her life.

Changes for Ruby included hanging mirrors around her house so she could be

honest with herself about her size, getting rid of her enormous chair and replacing

it with new one that was true to her new body, and giving up diet soda.

Make five simple changes. Hmm.

So, Alejandra and I decided this is something we want to do together. We're

both working on our lists now with a plan to share them with each other soon.

I've been thinking about change ... making new habits. I've heard it said that habit

is the intersection of knowledge and desire. (Is that a Dale Carnegie thing?) I know

true lifestyle changing habits aren't born over night, but I certainly think, if you're

ready, you can implement change and stick to it.

When I look back over the last year or so, I can see I've made quite a few life changes.

A lot of them have been mental, but the short list of quantifiable changes includes:

* Going completely vegetarian

* Committing to a sleep routine -- to bed at 10PM, up by 6:30AM

* Drinking a lot less alcohol then I ever have before

* Adding daily supplements to my routine

* Actually taking my birth control everyday and at the same time of day (instead of

forgetting it and having to make it up the next day. That process wreaks havoc on

your hormones. Sadly, it took me 15 years on the pill to change my attitude towards

it and just take it for ME.)

* Setting three monthly goals for myself that push me in the direction I want to take

over the next 30 days.

It's been interesting to honestly evaluate where I am and where I want to go.

I know it's time to take another step in the right direction. I'm just trying to

decide what exactly I can and will change today that will ultimately give me

the results I'm looking for. I want these five things to be something I can really

commit to, stick to and potentially make into lifetime habits. I also want them

to help me further evolve into a better version of myself.

So, that's where I am -- what I'm thinking about today -- what I'm working on.

To be continued ...

p.s. How perfect that I randomly took a picture of that #5 when I was in New Mexico.