I decided to simply get going on my resolutions, since most of the time, when I get an itch to do something and then wait until an appropriate marker (like New Year’s, or Advent, or my birthday) to begin, I lose my itch and my motivation and end up failing. I also read an article that said if someone is going to make a large life change, they are better off not telling people until they have been working at it for a while.
When we tell people our plans for reformation, they congratulate us and are supportive and that increases our dopamine levels, so we feel really good for a short time. After about two or three months, people stop congratulating us, because let’s be real, after that long, just do the thing already, and why do we need to keep telling you that you’re awesome, but we should actually. Keep telling them they are awesome for doing that thing. In reality, we do need to keep that excitement up, because once that dopamine feed wears off, we are way more apt to stop the good new behavior and return to the old destructive one. For example, smokers quitting smoking. Let’s just encourage the shit out them forever, so they get that dopamine, which is better for you than nicotine, supposedly,
Let’s see if this year is the golden one. Let’s see if this is the one where I do the things I know are good for me.
I started this morning, a practice morning before I get my flip phone, by getting up and checking my smart phone from which I removed all of the apps last night. I checked it ten or twelve times before my brain was finally convinced that I didn’t need Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to start my day. I did give in and check the news, but there was nothing new there.
I can tell you what this experience feels like so far: not having social media or any apps feels like when you chip a tooth and you have to keep checking it with your tongue, even though that tooth is really fucking sharp and keeps cutting your tongue. You just have to keep revisiting it.
In fact, when I came here to type this, even though I had been reading Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey Mountain to prepare my brain for thinking mode instead of social media mode, my fingers typed “facebook” into the search bar, instead of typing “wordpress” like I asked them to. I do need to go on record as being someone who finds great value in social media, some of the time, and when I say I got into thinking mode to come here, not like social media, I mean that the preponderance of social media is done in snippets, because that it its purpose: quick, little bites of information exchange. You’ll probably agree with me that it’s a little jarring when someone posts a long, beautiful, well-thought-out piece of writing on Facebook, and that is because we’ve used it for quick bits and advertising for so long that we’ve forgotten it can be used for other things.
Keep in mind through this year, that I am not a social media hater; there is a place for social media, and its very handy for what it is, but I can’t handle it obviously, because three to four hours a day, when I could be doing just about anything else I love during that time, is way too much. All of the to say, I hope my writing improves this year, I hope my brain grows, and I hope you enjoy the journey.
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My goals for 2019:
- No social media, except this blog. No smart devices.
- Swim, walk, or run every single day. Hopefully run a 50K in October.
- Read at least one book each month.
- Meditate for 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening.
- Practice silence and listening, with intention.
- Eat mostly real food and fewer carbs, specifically sugar.
My mantra for 2019:
Make every day the best day.
Reason Breeds Insanity 