whippedcream

• Sleep only 6 hours per night when in good health
• Spend the first part of the moring refocusing, rebalancing and planning
• No more than 3 coffees per day  but keep topped up on water throughout the day
• Never eat between meals.
• Avoid drinking alcohol and never without invitation

Side tracks to avoid

day dreaming, reliving bad memories, self-pity, negative talk, idle media consumption, searching for distractions

Refocus method

Stand up and do another activity. Live in the present

• Am I doing this activity with excellence?
• How could I do it better?
• Imagine an being scientifically observed at this precise moment, what would the scientist note down?
• Am I behaving according to my own values (not someone else's)

Character

Smiles constantly, relaxed and serence, loves, fun and humorous, chats easily. Bubbly and energetic. Apreciates his fortunate circumstances. Alert and living in the present. Aware of his surroundings. Decisive and strong willed. Dismisses negative and useless thoughts and temptations. Constantly re-evaluating his direction.

Posture

Sits up straight, looks others directly in the eye.  Finger tips together or palms open, Mouth closed, Deep, long breathing

Likes

new challanges and meeting new people

pratical hands on work

Interested in culture, student of languages, always looking for foreigners to practice with.

Lover of beauty and art,

A voids

Day dreaming, angry thoughts, self-pity. Idle distractions. Critisism of others

Health

Values sport, fitness and good diet. Limits caffeine, alcohol and eating between meals. When faced with a choose, chooses always the most healthy option on the menu. Energetic and inspirational and rests as much as possible. 

Family Man

loves playing with children, teaches new games, reads books, explains the universe, shows patience under stress, supportive and loving of wife, spends as much time as possible with family, put top priority on health, education and achievement, lives by own example.

Strategy

Rises early and spends time to re-focus and re-balance. Does the most difficult tasks first.

Professional

Focused worker, punctual, professional, agile, agreeable, interested, friendly, remembers names, communicates clearly, an example to others of perseverance, lateral thinking, leadership and self taught, self motivated. Never idle, researches knowledge for the future, excellent time manager, bold and decisive yet flexible and open minded. mobile and enterprising.  

Builds Financial security, maximizes returns, studies the market, plans strategies

I hear it said often - "I didn't want to get out of bed this morning". If you don't believe in the after-life like me, then what else have we got besides the dawn of a new day?

Over the last 4 months I have suffered mentally. I did all the essential things in life in same way a donkey pulls a cart when whipped. I made the minimum acceptable effort at work and kept relations good with colleagues. However, I over ate, did not sleep well, went thought day in dreamy brooding state. Most importantly - I didn't want to get out of bed in the mornings.

Thoughts of my failiure to settle in to a permanant job last year tortured me on almost an hourly basis. I would do almost anything to escape those thoughts . I wished I could go back to all those tense arguments and re-work my response. It was pointless but the pattern of thinking controlled and sapped all motivation from me.

Those thoughts are still with me but they are under control now.

About 2 weeks ago I resolved to do the following -

Sleep only 6 hours per night when in good health

Drink only 1 coffee per day,  but keep topped up on water throughout the day

Never eat between meals.

Avoid drinking alcohol and never without invitation

When the mind wanders, stand up and do something active

and to continue the habits -

Physical fitness

Healthy eating

and when I catch negative thought patterns controlling my mind ...

Stop and go back to basics. If I am at home, then tidy up, play with the boys, drink some water, cook, prepare something. If I am at work, then do some programing, same hello to a colleague, practice German. Do anything to regain control of the helm of thought.

the search for excellence is on

Excellence can be obtained if you:
...care more than others think is wise;
...risk more than others think is safe;
...dream more than others think is practical;
...expect more than others think is possible.” 

It all happened very quickly. About two weeks after quitting my job I received a call about a well paid contract in Switzerland. A week later we arrived. A month later, we are still settling in. 

Am I pleased to have made the move? I can't answer, still trying to manage the "moving to a foreign country" hassles.

When I am alone, my brain wanders back over angry moments at my last job. How pointless - I have a todo list a mile long, why waste time thinking about the past? I successfully escaped that situation linked to my anger but the anger in my head followed me. It saps my focus while I am working or at home trying to organise my affairs. It interupts me while I am playing with the kids - and that must change.

I feel helpless, all I can do is plod on with my head down, waiting for the next unexpected problem to force itself in to my attention. I know all these issues will subside and I know I can deal with them. But how can I deal with the pointless anger that sufficates my mind?