I’m Not Dead.

Apologies for my very long hiatus, the stress of having to write my final exams came on very strong, and left me with little time nor will to write in my WordPress. However, I have indeed made quite a few new good habits in my life, being partially influenced by the writings of Leo over at zenhabits. I highly recommend this guy’s blog, as it has tips on everything from weight loss to cooking to time management to philosophy. It all really hit the nail on the head for me, someone who is looking for more direction and control in their life, and if you are in the same boat I heartily recommend at least perusing his site.

Specifically, some changes I’ve made in the past month include:

• Becoming an early riser. I don’t mean this in the sense of getting up at the crack of shit for no reason and just sitting there with one blood-shot eye open, barely conscious. Waking at 8 or 9 AM and being able to sit and enjoy my coffee, read the news on digg, and set my goals for the day (most importantly) is very liberating, and sets a great foundation for the day.

• Set my 3 MIT’s for the day. MIT’s being Most Important Things, these are the things that need to be done in a more immediate sense. They’re usually big things, like organizing my bank account (I do all my banking online), running important errands, or making progress in a project or hobby. I find that if these are set early in the day, and you make them important enough to do as soon as humanly possible, they don’t seem like chores anymore, and you attain a sense of empowerment in being so productive. Success breeds success, and if you’re looking to start an excellent habit, start doing this either every morning or every evening, to set the goals for the day ahead.

• Cut out drinking to a minimum. If you’ve been reading my stuff from early on, you know full well my moral dilemma on alcohol, at least the over-consumption thereof. However looking at it just objectively, it’s really come to my attention that it’s just a waste of time and money. I blow tons of cash at bars to over-drink and then feel like a huge pile of manure the next day, which slaughters any hope of being productive or even alert. Waste. Of. Life. A few social beers or a glass of wine at dinner is where I’m at right now.

Also, a very huge change is that I’ve become a lot more objective about my life’s path, and my vocation. First coming into university I was flirting with the idea of going to med school, then to professional programs in physiotherapy. However, after learning about what those jobs are like, and what kind of stress they have to deal with in terms of being away from their families, having work to take home, lawsuits, etc, in addition to the ridiculously stringent academic requirements needed to even get into medical school or the like, I’ve become more open to new opportunities.

This may seem like it would stress me out more than what my previous objectives were before, going from having a set path to basically just knowing what I’m interested in and having an open mind, but really it’s very empowering. Instead of getting mediocre marks in school after trying my hardest and feeling like a failure, knowing that they’re not nearly high enough to jump through the first of many hoops that would be put before me, I can play to my strengths and choose which hoops to jump through. And I’ve got a whole bloody summer to choose the hoops, with a nice job lined up for both now and during the school year next September.

I think I might set a day of the week that’s designated for career exploration for the summer, as to not get too side-tracked with how awesome it is to not have to worry about labs, exams, assignments, tests, class, and restraining myself from punching my biology professor in the chops.

Anyway, I’m still alive, and feeling empowered and learning more and more each day. I highly recommend you check out the above website and try adopting some of the habits I have, it’s worth your time.