Day 144 – Getting into the Groove

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week passed in a flash. Fortunately, today I can sum up this week with a loud and proud gorgeous roar. I’ve achieved what I’ve set on my agenda, that includes work, exercise (3/3) and getting healthier eating habits. To top it all of I’ve completed an exam and now only have to wait and dread (?) for the results to arrive in a couple of weeks.

It’s been hectic. It’s been chaotic at times. Also since I am now working when people  usually are asleep and vice versa, my socializing time has been diminished… Luckily, I’ve gotten some time before work to hang out with some friends but still wants to spend some more quality time. Looking ahead, next week I’ll have free from work and will have some free time at last! Maybe then…?

My favorite discoveries this week are:

Day 135 – Why do you keep on struggling?

Yes. There is no need for you to struggle. You can just let things go and work their self out. It will all work out in the end. Or will it?

It’s May already and it’s been all so fast since I started on this journey. 400 days, more than a quarter of that time has already passed. There’s been a lot of learning along the way, especially hindsight from mistakes.

The most exciting thing that has happened since this project is my journey on becoming an entrepreneur.Due to my extracurricular activities I’ve gotten into some interesting working environments. And I’ve somehow managed to get myself accepted for a workshop on entrepreneurship this coming August.  Now, the main challenge is getting up from the dip I’ve been and run the final sprint to finishing my BA in Economics. It is going to be a lot of work to finish the thesis but I want to stick to it and see what I am capable of.

What I’ve discovered from the journey so far is that it is a lot easier to just do things rather than psyching myself up to just simply doing the work. Sound simple enough, doesn’t it. Oh yeah, that’s the second learning point – things are usually just that simple.

With these lessons imprinted into my memory, I’ve worked consistently on changing my rhythm and get rid of some bad habits. The greatest achievement so far is surprisingly enough something as small and simple as “eating habits”. After having a little pep talk from a personal trainer I received a tip on eating every 3-4 hours to maintain a stable blood sugar level. Right after I received the tip, I’ve started on developing the new habit right away. Slowly but surely since that day in December 2011 I’ve learned how to eat regularly and also felt a positive change in my energy level. Although surprisingly, the unexpected change is that I’ve learned to appreciate eating bread, fruits and vegetable more.

After savoring the feeling of having control over my eating habits I’ve gone to the next step which is exercising. This week my goal was to got to Zumba 4 times. So far I’ve done 3 out of 4 and feeling very happy about it despite some of the muscle pain. Still there’s 2 more days before the week ends… Managing to change this basic routines have been nothing but a simple test. Also, there is still this challenge of erasing my greatest time thief of all, which is reading manga online… Still, I struggle lightly every day to achieve my goal. Yet today I feel somewhat happy, proud and victorious over my small achievements so far.

Day 105 – C’est la vie.

Today has been a very interesting day, full of activities, thoughts, discoveries & amusing dialogues. Never have I been as excited, enthralled, overjoyed, annoyed and hopeful for things to work out as I’ve planned… I’m a humble learner in this journey and as I move on, I realize, I have yet more to learn.

C’est la vie.

 

There are so things that I want to go through but don’t have time at the moment, so I’ll just note them down for now:

 

1. Career- Which career do I really want to pursue?
2. What about the wedding?
3. Tracking 400days-project
4. About relationships
5. About hobbies & interests
6. About financial independence
7. Personal development – does it really matter?
8. Decisions & commitment
9. Life changing experience(s)
10. Order…

So many things to go through… Can’t wait to get them all sorted out.

Have a good evening folks!

Day 65 – Remorse & Hope

Finally the weather is clearing up here in Stavanger. It’s been 2 months of gray weather & rain, and it is about time I got to feel some sign of spring! Some clear sky & shiny sunshine lights my mood up especially when my bank account is close to choking itself. I’ve made several mistakes, one after another. First, I knew I should have not gone for a trip to London and Ireland. However how could I not to when I have not seen my cousin for over a decade? It was a trip worth doing but now I am paying the price… Luckily I got to take extra shifts at work so I could get my hands on some extra cash…

Funny that – I am supposed to be the one studying economy yet I am unable to handle my own personal economy as I am too busy spending (what I don’t have)… Arg! I’ve accepted my fault and decided to solve this issue. Don’t know how it will work but I have to try something new too because obviously the system I had before didn’t work all too well. Also, we are moving to a new apartment this month, so that will be an extra cost as well. Along with the team building trip to Aberdeen next week… *sigh* I feel delighted and excited about the trip and just too happy that by that time I’ve had worked my share without giving up any work days to travel.

Things are moving forward despite my slightly pessimistic reflections. Sure at the moment I’m struggling financially – but all in all things are going well. I’m looking at the bright side of life because I have a job to go to and an alternative income source to develop if I just find the will to act upon it. Also, lately I’ve been able to hang out with mom and talk with our relatives in Philippines. Nothing compares to the wackiness, drama and excitement from chatting with our loved ones over the phone. I miss my grandpa, my uncle, my cousins and my aunts… Mom and Dad will be travelling to Philippines this summer and I can’t help but feel a slight twinge of jealousy but at the same time I’m looking forward to the stories they will share once they get back.

I am dedicating this year to develop myself and work on my weaknesses. Unfortunately, the usual trend has already set in. I plan, I make a good start then I start slipping off. Now – I am starting to slip off. Due to the after effects of travelling to London in January, I’m behind on my studies, my economy is at the edge of destruction and I’ve not been to the gym for 3 weeks. Fortunately, there’s some progress in some areas. I’ve decided on my bachelor thesis and started developing it. There’s also progress in developing relationships, so somehow it balances out.

What I’ve noticed these past few weeks is that despite the challenges and mistakes I’ve made, I’ve somehow managed to continue because I’ve had good friends to talk with and that I could always depend on mom for moral support. That and by simply not stopping to act upon on my goals. There is sometimes this feeling of uncertainty when I am doing something but despite this emotion – I urge myself somehow to just act, strengthen my resolve and create a result.

Day 18 – A quite confusing start

It’s the end of week 2 and I am trying to look back  on how this week has been. And to be honest, I am not quite sure how it really went. At the start of this week, I felt that things were going according to plan. Monday – I went to the library and studied for an exam and went to the gym. It felt like it was a good start. The day after however was a complete different thing. It wasn’t bad but I wasn’t pleased about it either. In short it was quite chaotic day because of how I reacted on the events during that day. From that day, things didn’t get any better. I had planned to go to the gym on Wednesday and Friday but I postponed my training til Saturday & Sunday…

 

There were a lot of surprises this week. Things that we’re written on the agenda we’re not performed due to external factors and due to my lack of motivation as well. I’ve come to realize this week that planning weekly allows me to be flexible but it also gives me room to adjust to sudden changes in the plan. Although, I need to train more on how I react to sudden “surprises”.

 

Some of the good things that happened during this week are:

1. I went to the gym 3x this week.
2. Studying went according to the plan.
3. Managed to clean the house as well.
4. Started to learn more about cosmetics at work.
5. Did a product demo at a friend’s party.
6. Visited my parents.
7. Learned a couple of more things about myself and how I work…
8. Our orchid sprouted a flower.
9. Gotten used to the new eating habit – consuming more healthy food.
10. Managed to stick with my weekly budget.

This week has been quite a confusing experience as it has been the first week where all my activities in all my target areas intertwine. It’ll take some time to get used to and I hope that I’ll be able to show the patience and will needed to stick to the plan.

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Day 15 – Emotional Rollercoaster

At morning I was moody. Mid-day I was melodramatic and in the afternoon wicked. This evening I choose to be hopeful.

Week 1 – Impossible is Nothing

The first week of January has gone by and it’s time to check what I’ve done this week…

Health – I went to the gym 3x this week Also, the habit of eating light and often is becoming natural to my daily activities.

Career – I worked for 3 days this week. The muscle pains from working out did affect my performance at work though…

Education – Sorted out my documents and set my weekly schedule for studying this week.

Relationship – Booked a ticket to London. Going to visit my cousin on January 23, 2012! January 14 I’ll be visiting my folk’s in Egersund

11th day = Looooooooong day

Another day has gone by and today seemed all so much more longer than the days before. I wonder why? Thankfully, I had a wonderful start today – a simple yet wonderful breakfast with a good friend and my boyfriend. Lovely! Then I went to work from 13:00-22:00. It was a rather calm day at the airport today. Thus, when it was time for me to go home I was very delighted.

All in all, it was a pretty good day. Albeit, a bit slow… At days like this a good movie and a good inspirational video quicks me up

400days – New Lifestyle

After planning the work for 2012 in December 29, 2011, I’ve started to act on some of the things that I listed on it. As mentioned on my earlier posts, I started working out – almost long before I wrote the physical plan itself. Still I discovered that there was a special thing about December 29,  2011 -  that is from this day til the last day on January 2013  it will be exactly 400 days in between. (The idea was to develop the plan in December 2011, work the plan in 2012 and test  the result in January 2013.) It was a surprise and it was not my intention to get exactly 400 days in between the dates. However, I thought that since that’s the case I might use the coincidence for something. Like for a name to my year plan…

Let’s start the countdown!

OMG – It’s working!

 

December 29, 2011 I created the annual and budget plan for 2012. Aiming to reach my targets in education, career, health and relationship, I’ve started setting weekly goals for each subject and considering that it was holiday and there was no school, I focused on doing what I can on the career, health & relationship sections. The main challenge was the health – going to the gym and working out. With a goal of going to the gym 2-3x a week, I was concerned that I have yet again taken more than I can handle. Yet today I discovered that the plan is actually working. It’s a nice surprise and hopefully the progress will remain steady forward.