A Guiding Conversation

Last week, I was burdening myself with a bunch of new habits and projects I was starting to get into. Luckily, I have a brother who is not as attention deficient as I am and he talked some sense into me.

Finding Focus

My brother came to visit this past weekend, and we had a good time. During a long run, we got talking about goals and projects and all that. Then, he, intentionally or not, talked some sense into all the random crap I was doing.

I so often find myself like a dog chasing cars. Excited by the new shiny sight that I lose track of all progress elsewhere. One of the few times I was successful in a goal was earlier this month participating in the GMTK Gam Jam. This was a 48 hour challenge to make a game. The entry I submitted, with help from a friend and said brother, was extremely simple, but it was submitted.

In preparing for the jam, I put nearly everything else on hold. Talking about this over the weekend, kind of woke me up from an insanity.

Back to Basics

One quote that I find fascinating is one from Ben Franklin. “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” Now, I may not always be great on that early to bed and early to rise piece, but the pillars of “healthy, wealthy, and wise,” are what I particularly enjoy about the quote.

With this in mind, I am trying to solidify some good habits I’ve been on top of as of late and working to rebuild ones that have been slipping.

Healthy

On the health front, I’ve once again started up yoga classes. Inspired by a recent read, I wanted to get back in the practice. With a couple classes in, I’m already feeling looser and more relaxed. Keeping up with meal prep, most of my diet now is fresh veggies, and with a trip over the weekend to finally visit Dubuque’s farmer’s market, I am looking to add more interesting options. Finally on health, I am trying to get my sleep schedule a bit more towards that early to bed and rise part, though not quite 5 AM.

Wealthy

When it comes to wealth, I’ve sat down and laid out a rough budget needed to meet some of my financial goals in the next year. Though, I don’t see it as purely financial. Wealth is also relationships, experiences, and time management. With this in mind, I’ve started making plans for visits and trips with family and friends.

Wise

Wise is a tough one right now. Like I said, I’m trying to avoid particular projects or plans until I get a bit more settled. I am learning things throughout my other practices, i.e. yoga and personal finance, but not quite the deep learning that I typically attribute to this category. To keep all three pillars standing strong, I might make a trip to the library for another biography of someone I find fascinating.

These three pillars are a loose framework I use in a lot of areas in life. My yearly goals fall into these three categories. Even my weekly journals highlight sub-categories of each of these. Without a particular focus at the moment, it’s time to solidify the foundation.