As a retired old dinosaur, routines and discipline are important to me. Most important is to keep my mind and all my moving parts MOVING.
Specifically, my daily routine involves exercise, guitar practice, and my ongoing (forever and ever) Japanese studies.
My other weekly routine is the Wednesday morning podcast with Maya Matsuoka of Japan Expert Insights, and I am thankful she is a disciplined taskmaster that keeps me honest and on track. Hanging out with Maya and being part of the podcast is how I keep my head in the intercultural space; it fills the void of not having to do it for money anymore, a precious part of my routine.
Indeed, healthy, positive daily routines are my secret sauce for productivity, happiness, and maintaining my internal peace of mind.
But alas, life happens. You go on vacation, you get sick, or gasp – you let your lazy bone get the better of you. In the process, you self-sabotage your own routine and with it, your peace of mind.
When this happens, my happiness quotient plummets. The internal guilt, shame – call it what you want – eats me up inside.
At some point I get so damn disgusted with myself that my only path to redemption (at least in my mind) is to suck it up and get back to work. Much like a locomotive, I start slow and gradually gather momentum. But once I get going, it never fails to lift my spirits, and it motivates me to keep going.
In today’s episode, Maya and I spoke with two special people who we are very fond of: Hana Urushizawa Howell, RTC and James Howell.
In this brief episode we discuss the challenges of recovering after the holidays and getting back into our daily routines – and those damn internal voices we have to battle to do so.
How do you get back on track after you’ve been derailed?
Intercultural Twilight Zone 
Bingo. Spot on.
Sent from AOL on Android
Aloha Tim! Well said.
For me: Answer #1: we move into a QiGA 5+ minute session of moving meditation. This helps me get back into a better THRIVE state. I actually do 5 sessions per day (one my 1637th consecutive day of QiGA 5X5+). The basic concept is to stop whatever we are doing every couple of hours, breath, move and meditate. Works.
I have been leading the development of the QiGA Energy Connection Fitness program (QiGong Based) for 4 years now with about 200 volunteer QiGA Researchers around the world helping to field test the lessons. Available to view at our private group Facebook account: QiGA Research or my personal FB account “Grif Frost”.
The #2 answer: Express “Thankful. Thankful, Thankful” 3 times or more when a negative thought is incoming. Somehow it works.
Always enjoy your posts!