motivation

Sticking to an exercise routine

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Will walk for a double espresso with 3 brown sugars.

How many times have you tried to encourage or enforce a certain behaviour simply with fear of punishment?

In my case, plenty of times. In fact me think self-flagellation may be my default-mode😫. You can read all about my torture chamber here and I can’t even promise I won’t be back Workout that delivers: 30 min hit

The carrot and stick method

According to Wikipedia The phrase “carrot and stick” is a metaphor for the use of a combination of reward and punishment to induce a desired behaviour.

An example of “stick” I’d try to beat myself with in order to exercise regularly:

Me to myself: “Do you want thighs that look like Swiss cheese?”😛

The vision of a future me with “Swiss cheese thighs” kept me motivated for like 5 seconds after which I ate an enormous piece of french toast.  Plus it’s not like I walk around with my thighs around my neck where everybody can see them, so that wasn’t motivation enough.

“With the proper carrot, there’s absolutely no need for a stick of any kind. It’s a simple case of something to look forward to VS something to be afraid of.”

Instead of a “stick” (punishment), I decided to use the “carrot” (reward)

Lately, I’ve been averaging 8,000 – 10,000 steps a day…effortlessly…no matter the weather.

My secret? There’s a little coffee shop located in the bus station nearby our house so to motivate myself to walk for 45 minutes every morning, I decided that instead of taking my morning coffee at home, I’d walk 20 minutes back and forth (total 45 minutes) to go and get my coffee at the said coffee shop.

Since I am addicted to my morning coffee anyways I might as well couple it with something  healthy and beneficial, like walking.

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Will walk for a double-espresso with 3 brown sugars. I feel so accomplished I could cry😎!

Doesn’t matter if it’s windy, slippery, rainy, cold, humid, I’ve got to get my coffee so I’ve got to walk. Period. I am not even doing it for my health, as sad as this sounds, I am doing it for a double espresso with three brown sugar. Yes I know sugar! the shame of it all! BUT it gets me walking.

I forbid myself to take my first cup of coffee at home.  At first it was a bit difficult since I usually take my morning coffee with dear husband. So I’d leave the house before dear husband wakes up so I am not tempted by seeing him drinking his coffee.

It’s been working pretty well so far and I intend to keep going. I suppose you have to know what motivates you and try a few things before settling on anything particular.

Anyways, I hope I was able to motivate you even if briefly to try and stay active any way you can during those quarantine times.

If you have something that’s been working for you, please do share. I’d love to hear it! Bisoux!😘🐍

Staying positive in this COVID-19 mess

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In the current climate of COVID-19 hell, lets do our part to stay positive by not only following health guidelines but also thinking bright summery thoughts. I stay positive by thinking happy summer thoughts and looking at things that makes me happy however temporary. Among those things are jewelry. I like to mix and match and stack them up depending on my mood. For this post my inspiration is my mother-in-law.

Nobody can do a stack up like dear mother-in-law. She is French after all.

Let’s focus on whatever makes us happy until the storm passes! Bisoux!

 

Life is a marathon, not a sprint!

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“If life’s a bitch isn’t it better to sprint through the crap than taking a leisurely walk?

I used to hear people say that all the time (Life is a marathon, not a sprint) and it used to get on my nerves. Why can’t life be a sprint? Now with a couple of hard-earned lessons from the school of hard-knocks under my belt, I am forced to realize there is some truth in that…

Growth is the law of life. You see it never stops. You reach a goal, that goal creates a new goal which creates new levels which creates new devils. Of course there is also satisfaction and joy somewhere in there however brief.

“Life is a marathon, not a sprint so get comfortable in the fight cause you don’t get to pause that hamster wheel just because you think you’ve made it. Some things take time. You don’t get to rush them. You can simply work your hardest and wait.”

Now this does not mean we shouldn’t try to solve our problems as fast as we can. Some of life puzzles can be solved rapidly if we work hard and smart, it simply means not all things can be solved as fast as we want it. Some things take time no matter how hard we work and how fast we want to go through them. Things like keeping healthy, building strong ties with family and friends, knowing self and finding something one is good at are ongoing challenges and do not stop just because we’ve reached a milestone or have been crowned 30 under 30 (Insert slightly bitter over 40 emoji here).

There’s no guarantee so take time to enjoy the scenery and smell the flowers along the way.

There is no guarantee. Just because you spend every waking moment building your dreams, relationships and health doesn’t mean they’ll last or that you’ll even get to enjoy them. Death happens to us all. Sickness happens to all of us. People change. Which is why it’s important to enjoy life while chasing that goal and make time for living.

I must say it took me a long time to get there as I sincerely thought I could speed up everything. But recent life events have forced me to reconsider.

What about you my dear readers? What do you think? Do you consider life to be a sprint or a marathon? There’s no right or wrong answer. Gros bisoux 🙂

Sticking to a healthy diet: The challenges

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Currently reading the compound effect by Darren Hardy. In this book, it says a positive environment carries a powerful impact in ensuring the successful implantation of good habits. The right environment can be the difference between success and failure.

“So many times we set goals but we forget to take into consideration those stumbling blocks be it people or situations that can derail us…”

In other words, when you’re trying to implement a new behavior, you must put your environment to work for you. I thought about that and realized this is something I don’t always take into account when making grand plans. For example, dear husband and myself are trying to keep a healthy diet by eating good nourishing food most of the time. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we don’t. But I have noticed that some environment (like watching TV late at night) may not be helping. Every single time we went off track, it was while watching TV late at night, especially Friday evenings, etc.).  There’s also something to be said for bad company but since I obviously can’t get rid of dear husband (not sure I want to go back to the dating scene again…) I feel pressed to figure out other ways to stay on track. So, below are a couple of steps I am thinking on implementing. It would take some practice but I believe they could help steer the boat in the right direction.

“When dieting, the very idea of cheat days is problematic. It’s like cheating to keep your marriage interesting…. Not the best strategy. “

The first thing would be to eliminate TV time during weekdays. In a fit of transparency, I feel obligated to mention that most of the times, I am only awake for 30 minutes max🙄, favorite TV shows or not… so, I can’t logically cut out TV time when I am sleeping through it😴🤤. Dear husband is a patient man but there are limits. Consequently, I must find a solution that won’t make me look bad. As a Libra, I am all about finding solutions that make me look good, even if they’re bad😜.

The second thing would be to plan ahead which means plan our weekly menu ahead of time and making sure the fridge is stuffed with healthy options. Also, it would be a good thing to plan our treat days days ahead and find delicious alternative to add to our cheat day menu! I know some people are against cheat days and with good reason. Some people can cheat and keep it classy but some go hog wild🤣

When dieting, the very idea of cheat days is problematic. It’s like cheating to keep your marriage interesting…. Not the best strategy. No good can come out of it and it always backfires.

So in that spirit, we decided that on Fridays, instead of ordering out we’d get back to making our own treats which are way more delicious and cost way less. Of course, that won’t stop us from overeating but at least we take pride in our willingness to experiment and see what work😏. 

If I am being honest, number two is a lot more realistic for us right now so we’ll try and stick to it as best we can and give it time.

What about you, dear readers? Do you have any strategies for implementing new habits or sticking to good one? Please do share!

The importance of being nagged: The key to motivation

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“Finding your passion is not enough, you’re also gonna need someone to nag the hell out of you when you try to quit”.

I was talking to a friend the other day and she was noticing how constant I have been with publishing on the blog lately. After thanking her profusely and gobbling down the compliment I was forced to come clean and admit it had more to do with the constant nagging of my husband rather than any new found sense of purpose on my part.

Thinking back I now curse that day I jumped the man’s back and accused him of not helping me accomplish my “purpose” (here’s that word again, a favorite of tortured artists the world over…). I accused him of not supporting me in setting up the blog you guys now know as the FFliles. And supporting me he did. I am still paying for that moment of temporary insanity. My husband nags me day and night about producing blog posts.

” People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily. “ Zig Ziglar

I am at a stage now where I can’t even go home without being interrogated about the state of my ambition and discipline.  Napping on weekends is out of the question since that time could obviously be used to get a head start on future blog posts. It’s like living with my parents all over again except this time I have no hope of ever getting out. That is unless, of course I am willing to go back on e-harmony and recruit another husband. Which quite frankly I don’t want to do. So I am left with  the only option of producing content under inhumane threats. The latest of those threats: No new blog post, no brunching at Mirazu. If you read my post on Mirazu, you can gauge how cruel that was! Hopefully, you’ll be inspired to say a little prayer for me lol.

The second cruelest thing he did to me was every single time I try to give him advice about his career, he asks me about the publication date of my next blog post. This is the cruelest thing you can do to a Libra person considering giving unwanted advice to loved ones is one of our favorite sport.

On Saturdays, I used to go to one of my favorite coffee shop and pretend that I am working on my current “project” which usually involves spending the entire day jumping from one idea to the next like a rabbit with a serious attention deficit; well, no more of that.  My husband simply won’t have it. Now, if I don’t text him to confirm a blog post has been published before leaving said coffee shop, my weekend is ruined.

Lately, he’s been inquiring about the book I am “supposedly writing” (his exact words) and trying to give me deadlines and such. I can now say without reserve this may be the cause of my recent night sweats. Although I consider myself a very strong person, I don’t think I can survive being nagged for both the blog and the draft of my book. Of course, another option would be to do what I promised myself I would do as part of my “revamping my life” effort at the beginning of the year. Which is what I’ve been trying to do lately.

And to think all this time I was paying a coach while all I had to do was getting my husband on my case by accusing him of “not supporting my dreams.” Who would have thought? Incredible but true…..

Thank you for passing by and Bisous!