I did it…thanks to my sis…I got to meet the almighty guru himself Craig Harper. (I will add a link later – for now this is my story!) Ok…so he made me laugh, almost made me cry…but has definitely got me back on track as I put my life on a hoist, poke it, prod it, and give it a nice old tune up…and now I have more fodder to blog about 
Check out those Biceps…oops I digress….
Craig Harper and Enuff
Sooo….where do I start…He blew me away with some very clear messages that once again have been very timely…I am entering a new stage in life – a new partner(Mick) , and in less than six months I am likely to be truly ‘alone’ as my second child wings it to Japan for 12 months on exchange. Mick has entered my life just at the right time I think – but it does mean I need to reassess things – to go from being single to being in a serious relationship. Scary stuff!
Ok…so there you have the context…a long way from where I was when I first started this blog. the black dog of depression has made a noise once or twice but I have managed to keep it well tethered!
Ok…I am the biggest barrier to my own life…true enough! That was the first thing I wrote down. Am I prepared to do the things I need to do to make a better life for me? Hell yes….Consistently??? Oh dear…lol. Craig’s message was very clear to me – I had read it all before…this time I heard it. And I could not escape some of the things I had avoided like looking seriously at my physical health and addressing the fact that I am one of the 85% of Australians who have a gym membership and don’t actually use it…I am good with the excuses for not going!
I am not going to tackle the supposed barriers which are little more than excuses here but I will take a minute to review the real ones and see how they affect me:
1. We don’t consistently apply what we know – damn…I know I don’t. I don’t regularly exercise, I don’t consistently keep my house as tidy as I like (yes it makes me feel good) and I don’t make any serious effort to quit the smoking.
2. Attitude – OK..generally my attitude is pretty good – but obviously my attutude to exercise is not…and that does need to change. I really don’t get into it…so here I do have to get out of my comfortable instant gratification state and do something about it…( I have noted here also how true this attitude thing is for my work…try teaching yr 12’s with an inappropriate attutude to ‘doing’ some work!)
3. Apathy and laziness - guilty once again on the exercise and smoking front…there seems to be a recurring theme here doesn’t there! Oh and I have to push myself to do some of my work as a teacher…you know – the corrections …ugh! Sometimes I wish I could do all the teaching without the assessment – but then I would never know how I am going would I???
4. Fear – oh dear….two things I fear most – confrontation is one – I have already written about that – and a fear that for all intents and purposes seems to be based on a limiting belief that if I quit smoking I will crash with depression – experience has led me to that belief….it needs addressing and it will take some time.
5. Procrastination - seems I am procrastinating over the exercise thing…gosh! And the quitting smoking…no day will be a good day to start that but I am waiting……
6. Ignorance – well I really am in the know for most things….it’s what I do with that knowledge that seems to be the problem.
7. Poor Planning – guilty of that on a financial front, and my stress levels go up when I don’t plan…so I need to be more regular about giving myself some planning time and I definately need a financial plan!
8. Overthinking...I suspect I am doing this in a number of ways – especially with the new relationship…I just need to go with the flow a bit.
the participants at the workshop
9. Low standards – yep – on the health front – it is ok I smoke (but it should not be), I don’t push too hard when I do exercise, I still eat sometimes food too often, I cut corners with housework and am not always as thorough as I could be…what to spend my very valuable time on seems to have suffered with a great deal of mediocrity.
10. Don’t finish what we start….that damn gym membership…the unfinished cross stitches and patchwork quilts, this blog – well I am back at it I guess!
11. Lack of discipline and self control – way out there when I get a few drinks in ….but seriously yes I can do better here once again with the exercise! Maybe I need a Mr Bald Guy of my own?
12. Negative emotions - oh oh!!! Bitterness, resentment, anger…still lurk especially when I have encounters with the Ex Hubby. Let the go??? How??? I know they are a waste of energy and when I recognise what I am doing I tell myself to put the claws back in…but it takes a lot of work.
13. Lack of clarity and certainty for what I want – well that’s why I have been to the seminar and why I now have Craigs workbook to go through!
OK….That’s it in a nutshell – recurring theme – look after my health! Exercise…and get serious about quitting smoking – that is scary…
Ok I have done some homework…where is the cheesecake???
the lovely bald guy
The lovely Bald guy Johnny – he really does keep Craig Organised.
Ok…if you want to know more go read up on Craig’s Website
OH and the first 10 minutes of that inspirational chat is here
