Small Changes Matter
Well hello. I've not been here very regularly lately. I'm a blogger that hasn't been blogging. I've not been sitting on the couch eating bon bons either. Lots going on, lots of moving parts and likely just lots of spinning wheels. I've been in a little blog writing rut lately. I've always said that I would never post something just to post. I'm not going to fill this space and your time with words just to have words or to have daily numbers. Who has time for that? I have always wanted to use this space as a place to share meaningful information, tips, advice, studies and stories. Sometimes I don't feel as if what I have to share is anything new so I am quiet. Other times I have so many different things swirling in my head I can't pin down one single thing. It's a little crazy.Last night I was sitting in our family room looking at the furniture and layout. It is okay. It is comfortable and fits our style of casual living, natural fabrics, space for three boys and three dogs with nothing fancy to cause too much heartache if destroyed. We have a fairly new leather couch that doesn't show dog hair. My husband has his chair, I have my chair. Lu has her own chair and there is another club chair that can swivel to view the TV. We have a couple of leather topped stools and a round tufted ottomon. This is a little too much information but you can likely invision it might not be a decorator's dream.Last night I had a lightbulb moment. Why didn't I move a really nice chair from our study to the family room, move the two leather stools to the study, exchange Lu's chair for The Husband's and simply change things up a bit. If it worked, great. If it didn't, all I had to do was switch things back. Simple. Well, it did work. The Husband has his nicer, favorite chair where he can enjoy it. The space is now larger without the two stools, the study appears larger and more open switching out the large leather club chair for the smaller one. I even got approval from the First Son, who recovering from shoulder surgery attempted to help move furniture with his foot. . .This was such a small change for such a large impact. It was simple. It was painless. Best of all, it is an improvemen; it makes me much happier. It is a noticeable difference. All I had to do was thing outside of the box. I had to know that things do not have to stay stuck in one place just because they are in place now. Simple changes can bring on big results. Small changes can bring on big results. Easy changes can bring on big results.So, of course, you know where I'm going with this. All of us get into ruts at times. We know we need to make changes but it just feels too big and overwhelming. Thank heavens we don't have to always tackle the big jobs to see results. We don't have to make huge drastic changes. The small things matter.Think about what might be your own rut. What habit might not be keeping you from being your very best?Do you feel time-crunched and overwhelmed?Maybe getting up 15 minutes earlier each morning might help.Feeling sleep deprived? (who's not these days??)How about shutting everything down and getting to bed 30 minutes or an hour earlier each night. I promise you can do this.Feeling sluggish in the afternoon?Change your afternoon snack to something healthy for energy. That means not slugging down more coffee or caffeine.Starving at lunch so you eat everything in sight?Make time for a healthy breakfast. And by time I mean only a couple of minutes. This morning I had 1/2 of an avocado, a clementine and one boiled egg. It took 90 seconds to prepare! I was satisfied all morning long!
Want to get back into the exercise routine but can't imagine going to a class with all those regulars?Start with walking during lunch or after dinner.Trying to get in more steps or add more movement to your day?Park farther away in the parking lot from the store entrance. Take an after dinner walk. Skip the elevator and take the stairs. Get up and take a lap around the office every 30 minutes or so. Need to get some info from a co-worker or even a family member? Get up and have a face to face rather than email or text.Want to eat more healthy during the week?Make one meal meatless a week. Make your afternoon snack a piece of fruit. Add a salad to your meal. These are easy ways to make your meals healthier.I think we can all agree that these are all easy changes. Whatever change you are thinking about making, try thinking outside of the box. Sometimes it is just that small change that is so easy - you wonder why you hadn't done it earlier. And that small change can really matter.
This is Lu in "her chair" which has now been moved. Before you cite me to animal cruelty let me assure you she has found a new favorite spot even without this favorite chair.What changes can you make? How can you think outside of the box for your health?Enjoy Your Day!