20200105 SAVERS for SUNDAY

NOTE:  I'm thinking of changing this routine to "SLAVERS" since I'm being a "salve" to good habits.  I'll just have to think of something for the "L"  Maybe "LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH"

SILENCE

Tried to silence my thoughts for 70 seconds.

AFFIRMATIONS

1. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
2. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
3. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
4. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
5. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
6. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
7. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
8. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
9. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.
10. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving human being.

Also said aloud for 70 seconds.


VISUALIZATION

175 by 1/31/20

Today I weighed in at 189.2.  So I have 14.2 pounds to go, in 27 days, or .053 pounds per day.

NOTE:  I decided to use the 1ST weighing from yesterday, to be consistent.

EXERCISE

Did my full Base-70 routine for Sunday 1/5/20:

1. ankle/wrist circles 70
2. toe/finger stretches 70
3. bicycle crunches 70
4. shoulder rolls 70
5. inversion table 3 70-second sets
6. squats 35
7. push-ups 35

READING, WRITING

Read for 70 seconds in SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari.  He says that heirarchies are important, but they are in significant ways subconsciously observed and responded to.  E.g., a shop owner subconsciously evaluates the socio-economic status of a customer based on the way s/he is dressed, skin color (wrongly), weight, etc.

My observation:  I'm usually well dressed and kempt, but I am also a bargain hunter and a bit suspicious of a seller who might be "sizing me up" as described above.  So I will sometimes "shock" the seller by making unexpected statements (e.g., "I don't have unlimited funds.")  I'm so well (self-)trained in looking for the best possible deal and for NOT being cheated, that it's automatic.

In conjunction & contrast with THAT, I will also sometimes convey messages such as, "I hate shopping.  Just give me the best possible deal," giving the impression that money is not a concern.

Oh well, my life is a study in contradictions.  Or not.

*sigh*

Read for 70 seconds in YOU ARE A WRITER by Jeff Goins.  He says that a while back in his life, a friend asked him "What is your dream?"  He replied that he didn't have one.

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

______________________________________________

DIDN'T HAVE A DREAM??????????????????????????

How many times have I said the same thing - mostly to myself.  In fact, I don't think I've EVER said it to anyone else.  I don't know how I would reply if someone asked me what my dream was.

I'm imagining the conversation with various people.  I do believe that I might say "To be a writer" to most people who would hypothetically ask.  (I'm also wondering why no one has asked - probably because I come across as someone who already knows, or as someone who would say "To be a writner.")

I'm remembering 2 people who have come close to asking:

a) Dad, when I went to him (a rare occasion) to ask him for his views on why I didn't seem to be getting anywhere with my life.  I was a teenager (in Montreal).  He asked me what I wanted to do with myself, and I replied (without much hesitation) that I wanted to help other people.  He didn't judge me.  But he did tell me I should establish some good habits, even if it were simply to polish my shoes every week.  He made a point of telling me that he had told the same thing to all my older brothers.

b)  George, who has somehow already gotten the message that I am a writer.  He might have asked some questions and my answers perhaps gave him that idea.

But here I am, a writer who has not yet begun to write.

Well, that could be a bit wrong, since I do write here every day - that is, every day when I complete my routine.  So I AM a write, and I HAVE begun to write.

But as I continue reading this book, I will likely change my routine to accommodate a more focused effort to write.

The author (Goins) is not a careful writer.  E.g., he states that his friend taught him that he already WAS a writer, that he just hadn't started to write (at that point).  But then within a few lines, he says, "And do you know what?  My friend was right.  Pretty soon, I became a writer - almost without realizing it."

Well, Mr. Goins.... if the lesson is that you are already ARE a writer, then you cannot "Pretty soon" BECOME a writer.

A better phrase would be:  "And do you know what?  My friend was right.  Pretty soon, I became a writer who writes - almost without realizing it."

Now, I'll push back against myself a bit, and say that the above discussion doesn't matter in the larger sense.  He became a writer who writes, and that's more important that a technicality of expression and meaning.

But words are important, right?  And the right words are important, right?  So why not have both the BIG picture - being a writer - AND the SMALL picture - choosing the right words?

Why, indeed.

I've written enough for today.