Changing Your Life

It has been a while since I wrote in either of my blogs; the reason for this is well… I’ve been busy.

After all my travels (Florida, Texas, Italy, NYC, etc), I went straight into busy season and simply trying to improve my life even more.

Some of the more recent life changes for a healthier body, mind and spirit:

• I’ve implemented a strict budget and have restricted my outings, trips and unplanned purchases
• I’ve started to work out every morning before work
• Prior to working out I do my usual coffee and reading
• I’ve attempted to do this coffee and reading without checking my phone, but it is harder said than done
• I have began a strict meal plan and in order to move on to a healthier meal plan, I’ve resolved to consume everything on my pantry/fridge by the end of the month (which is also why you haven’t seen very many new recipes)
• I’ve incorporated an afternoon green tea into my routine; this sorta breaks up the day and allows me to relax even while I’m at work and stressing

As I believe I wrote about on my other blog, I started seeing someone and I should probably write a post on that story alone because it is very romantic and sweet. His love has made me completely forget about everything that happened before and I am very much in love. Not much else to say on that front; distance is the only struggle, but the attraction and our feelings are there.

Dating Others

Given the nature of dating, I expect this won’t be my only post on the matter.

For starters, let’s throw out the window any article you’ve read lately on the “do’s and don’ts” of dating. I am not saying there isn’t a lot of truth in them or a lot of knowledge being imparted from someone else’s experience, but dating is already stressful enough without the added guidelines.

In reality, dating is very basic; you just need to be yourself in a situation where you just met someone (another human being). This person is a human like all your friends and like yourself; he/she has their set of insecurities, emotions, goals, expectations, etc. Get to know these things and don’t let your own personal agenda get in the way of finding out these things.

Dating is truly just about getting to know another person, evaluating this person and either embracing who they are or deciding you don’t like what you hear. I find that this mentality where I am the judge puts me in a more powerful and confident state of mind than a mentality where I am trying to impress the other person or be what they need/want. Fitting into a mold never works and if you start trying to fit into this mold from the very first date, then you are just setting yourself up for failure.

(Now, this isn’t to say you shouldn’t have REALISTIC expectations/standards, but I’ll elaborate on that later)

From the beginning, always focus on what YOU want, what YOU need and let the other person focus on what they want/need. Listen to see if they can provide what you are looking for and also allow yourself to live the experience. So much of dating goes beyond words and questions; it is also about judging the other person’s behaviour and doing the “front porch” test (watch How I Met Your Mother if you didn’t get that one) with them. Do you see yourself on a boring Sunday afternoon enjoying a comfortable silence with them?

So here is my only “Do” and my only “Don’t”:

Do allow them to impress/dissapoint you with who they are

Don’t be someone you are not for them