Mini Habits Day 12
1. Be thankful- I am thankful that I can forgive myself for missing a day yesterday, and can pick up where I left off without guilt.
2. Workout- 20 min on the elliptical and 10 minutes of weight training
3. Blog- This morning I celebrated Anzac day at Muara Beach. The early morning was a mess of rain and lightening, which ended just in time for the moving ceremony to begin. The marching soldiers, poems, speeches, wreaths, flags and images of memorial always make me a puddle of tears, and today was no exception. Remembering those who have gone before so that we may enjoy freedom and safety. Thank you.
Mini Habits Day 4
1. Be thankful for one thing- I am thankful for the open, respectful and engaged conversation that my team facilitated for American citizens today regarding the implementation of the Sharia Penal Code.
2.
Cardio or weight lifting for 1 minute- I did a great combination of weightlifting and cardio for a total of 25 minutes.
3. Blog 25 words per day- Today I am going to ponder about the necessity of adjusting the rules when it makes common sense to do so and is not illegal, unethical or immoral. Two examples today that I can ponder on. This blog and my mini habits effort is my positive first example. On day one, I set the order, and blogging was item #3. However, I realized today that to continue to say "see below" made no sense, when a simple adjustment, reversing items 2 and 3, would allow this blog to make more sense and flow better. I made the change and will surge forward with something that makes better sense.
My second example is less positive. Six months ago I started the process of coordinating my permanent change of station. Today I found out that one item that was key to my scheduling- having my consultations and training before my home leave- was ignored and dismissed without the question actually being asked. Therefore, because of the laziness or lack of attention of my previous orders processor, I am not entitled to a schedule that makes sense, costs the US government no more than a traditional routing and allows me to gain the training I need in order to be effective in my next position. My organization claims verbally and in writing that it cares about us and it cares about leadership development. However it never lives up to what it claims, making it a very hollow claim and one that is getting harder and harder to tolerate. So now, I will try to make the case, so much later in the process, after everyone has already had to work on the orders and the process, so that we all have to waste our time redoing everything that could have been done right the first time. Wonderful, efficient bureaucracy that clearly cares.
Mini Habits Day 2
First a review of my mini habit progress:
1. Be thankful for one thing-
I am thankful for the fun friends I have around the world. Today a friend received a gift I sent him, and enjoyed the humor in it so much that he posted a funny note on Facebook about it.
2. Blog 25 words per day- See below.
3. Cardio or weight lifting for 1 minute-
I was not awake early enough to work out this morning, thanks to a mid-night period of awakeness, but I still managed to get a mini workout in tonight and check off my goal. I did 1 minute of squats, which is a surprisingly aerobic thing. 35 squats in 67 seconds. In addition to this period of activity I also carried groceries and boxes and did a bunch of walking around to different meetings, so all in all quite an active day.
It is annual review time at the office, that time of year when one has to create prose that makes one sound like one can walk on water without drowning while also managing to sound modest. Because the 2013 review session was so super busy, the writing this year was easier than usual, I just hope that my last round of inspiration for my last staff member is able to spring forth early tomorrow morning so I can complete the first round and get them into the review panels on time before this week's activities get too crazy busy.
Tackling Mini Habits 1-3
I have been reading the book Mini Habits, Smaller Habits, Bigger Results by Stephen Guise. It has been an eye opening book and it motivated me to come back to writing on my blog. One chapter in the book asks the reader to make a list of mini habits that the reader would like to develop, and then start 2-3 of them. I brainstormed a list of 27 ideas, then was at a loss of where to start. Then I decided to sort them by alphabetic order and start at the top of the list. Therefore my first three mini habits to tackle are:
1.
Be thankful for one thing-
I am thankful for the fun 3D puzzle of the Taj Mahal that I completed today. Thanks to my friend for sending it to me for Xmas and to my friend Ping for being there for most of the construction.
2.
Blog 25 words per day-
I just did that above, and will be back each day with my thoughts.
3.
Cardio or weight lifting for 1 minute-
I did this on the elliptical machine today. Feeling good, as that is actually day 7 of that mini habit.
