Today marks the end of week 6 of the project, and the end of chapter one on being Proactive. I’ve got to say that I am feeling really good about the progress I have made already. I would like to take a moment and break down what I have learned over the last 6 weeks.

1.  I have learned that there is more than enough time in the day to accomplish everything that I want to accomplish. I have learned that the best way to manage time is to not even consider time, but to instead live in the present and to enjoy whatever task you are involved in during that present moment. When I don’t consider time, I get baffling amounts accomplished and go to sleep with a smile. For example, yesterday I worked at the gym from 8:30-5pm, walked home with my boyfriend, read, went for a 10k run, showered, made a delicious meal, cleaned up the kitchen, put away my laundry, went to a local coffee shop to work on my blog, wrote a blog post, updated twitter and facebook for the project, wrote an “about me” section for this blog, came home and did some voice work and meditation, got ready for bed, and read for another 15 minutes before I turned off my bedside lamp. Mind you, I did go to bed at 1am, but I was so involved in what I was doing that I didn’t feel at all tired.
2. I have learned how to proactively coach myself into completing tasks/behaviors that I initially didn’t want to do. I have become really terrible at pressing the snooze button on my alarm, but today I proactively coached myself out of bed. My alarm went off at 7:00am (I’ve made it so I have to get out of bed to shut it off), and I rolled out of bed and walked over to it. A small little voice inside of me said “you have 15 more minutes,” but I ignored the voice and focused on coaching myself step by step through my morning routine. I said to myself: “first, I’m going to get into the shower.” Once in the shower I walked my tired body through my washing ritual, and by the time I was putting on my makeup, I felt completely awake. I’m going to continue to coach myself like this through my morning routine, until it doesn’t take any effort at all – and I just do it.
3. I have learned how to be more conscious of eating for reasons other than hunger. This week has been fantastic in regard to my food consumption. Fruity and protein rich breakfasts, delicious and nutritious salads everyday for lunch, light suppers, and lots of water for snack substitution. I’ve become really good at saying “no” to my desire to derive pleasure from food, and I’m only going to get better. I’m becoming proactive in my eating habits.
4. I have learned the benefits of a positive attitude, and how a smile can change my entire day. No matter what sort of morning I’ve had, for the past couple of weeks I have become really conscious of leaving my apartment with a smile as I walk to catch my bus. Not only is a smile a great start to my day, but it also makes me feel more awake. I’ve also discovered that telling myself I’m awake and alert (even if I feel sluggish and droopy) works even better than caffeine. Positive and affirming thoughts keep me up all day. I’ve dramatically cut back on my reliance on caffeine these past couple weeks, and I’m accomplishing more than ever before.

It has been a fantastic start for the project, and I’m so exited to find out how “Beginning with the End in Mind” is going to further transform my life. Stay tuned.