At the time of this writing, I just got home from driving to Corpus Christi for an ophthalmologist appointment. At the tender age of 59 I have had glaucoma for about 10 years now. I slacked in going to the doctor as I was poor, and my health insurance was being stupid. That said I finally booked the appointment as now I have a car.
That is one of the challenges. I challenged myself to get there and back in my car which has no air conditioning and to be truthful, it is more of a commuter car than a road trip car, but I set out that challenge today to conquer it. Unlike the locals here I do not mind driving in the city. That said with an old car, 2008 Chevy Cobalt with 141000 miles on it, it was not easy. I honestly used GPS to get there and back. I made one wrong exit and it was easily correctable. I am now home, safe with my dogs, drinking water and typing this.
Challenges are a daily part of my life. My weekend is Monday and Tuesday, so Monday I challenge myself to get all my laundry done. A note of gratitude that in my trailer I have a washer and dryer. That is a godsend! I also challenged myself to get other things done. For instance, I walked the dogs, did the dishes, fed the dogs, bathed the dogs, did 2 loads of laundry and one is now in the washer. All folded and put away mind you. I accomplished that all before I left for my appointment in Corpus Christi (45 miles away). That was 3 hours out of my day, but it was a challenge. My car even started on the first crank after I got out of the doctor’s office!!!
Like anything, I even challenge myself at work. I am a prep cook at a local tavern. It is a dead end job, no career advancement and to be honest I really don’t like to cook unless it’s something I like. It is repetitive work, so I
must make up challenges to get through my day. I typically get there at 9 or thereabouts. I challenge myself to get all my prep done by 11 when we open. I then set another challenge to get to 2PM. From there it is to get to 4. That is how I use mental challenges to help me through my day.
I write for me as always but I love challenges and most of them are not to win Olympic gold but to get through the day to day. Figure out ways like I did for a mundane job to challenge yourself to stay motivated. Find reward systems. Somehow figure out how to motivate yourself.
As for me, I have on a large scale challenged myself to write a blog a week for the rest of the year. I made baby steps towards this like folders in my electronic notepad, I have even challenged myself to stop drinking soda, which I have. I have challenged myself to do 10 pushups a day. I have done that. I have not had a soda since April 7. I have done the 10 pushups a day since April 10. It is all about settling achievable goals and rising to the challenge.
As always, I love you and I am proud of you! Now go set an easy challenge!