“Don’t waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long and, in the end, it’s only with yourself.”
~Mary Schmich
This famous quotation from the Chicago Tribune journalist, and made into a Baz Luhrmann song, touches on multiple sentiments prevalent in today’s culture. There’s the rat race we’re all supposedly competing in. And, there’s the emotional turmoil that comes with it. Finally, and the part that matters to you, actuaries predict that you’re going to live a long and longer life than your predecessors, and the only person you’re competing with is yourself.
So, why not kick that competition into gear! Self-improvement is a great way to not only live a happier, more fulfilled life, but it creates downstream benefits to your relationships, the next generation (if you have children), and your community–whether at work or at home. Let’s discuss some ways to self-improve without losing the competition against ourselves through fatigue or burnout.
Getting Fit – Focusing on Being a Better You
We all know that gyms and fitness centers want you to pay for a gym membership and take group or one-to-one fitness classes. They want you to feel the burn! They want you to sweat! And, while that is one way to do it, that’s not the only way. Burning the fat doesn’t need to lead to burnout.
Getting fit simply means watching the food you put in your mouth and the amount of calories you burn each day against those foods. And, to be fit, you don’t need six-pack abs, or glutes of steel either. So, here’s a quick plan to start improving your fitness this week.
First, you should track what you eat. For the next week, you can use a simple pad and paper to track what you put in your mouth. (You can also use a free mobile application, such as My Fitness Pal.) In essence, you start to control what calories you consume when you know what calories you’re actually consuming. Try not to judge yourself too much. Your goal is data collection for the first week, then look at that data and see what you’re eating.
Next, you should enable a fitness tracker. This one should be brutally simple, since your Android or iOS smartphone both have apps (i.e., Google Fit and Health, respectively) installed on them that do this. You need to open them and set up, say, a walking/steps goal. Additionally, you could get a specific fitness tracking app, activate tracking on your AndroidWear or Apple Watch smartwatch (if you already have one), or a fitness band such as the Fitbit or Jawbone Up. You’ll be surprised at how setting a goal to walk for 15 or 30 minutes per day, make 3,000 steps per day, or other similar metrics can be motivating to move more.
Last, you should make small changes you can live with, one at a time. No grand changes are needed to be made in order to be come fit. And, honestly, easy come, easy go when it comes to grand fitness changes. Eat one less cookie next week. Score! Walk for five more minutes than last week. For the win! You will be pleasantly surprised how small changes, done consistently can make you feel better about yourself and actually affect your overall fitness.
Learn a New Hobby, Skill, or Craft – Focusing on Being a Better You
Of course, all this talk of nutrition and fitness should make your brain hungry for some excitement. And, there’s plenty you can learn with the Web at your fingertips today, in small chunks. It turns out that learning new skills keeps your brain sharp as it matures, and even potentially wards off potential illnesses as you age. Here are a few ways in which you can keep your brain as fit as your body:
- Brush up on your math or science skills on Khan Academy.
- Download DuoLingo, or Mango Languages (through your local library), on your smartphone or mobile tablet to learn a language.
- Learn a craft at your local TechShop. We are lucky enough to have one in our own backyard, so you can take TechShop classes in Arlington, Virginia.
- Learn to code using Codeacademy.
- And, OpenCulture (with over 1,200 free courses listed) and Coursera, take a course on almost anything that piques your personal or professional intellectual interest.
These bite-sized morsels of activities above require a few minutes per day of your focus, and you can learn at your own pace. I can already hear your brain thanking you!
Start Reading, and Discussing with Others – Focusing on Being a Better You
With all the possibilities to grow personally, both body and mind, your inner and outer selves also need polishing lifelong. This is where reading and communicating with others who read the same things can really come into play.
I suggest setting a goal of reading any book you’d like for 10 minutes a day. It could be fiction or nonfiction, science fiction thriller or autobiography. As long as you are reading and enjoying being involved in the material, this is building your inner self. This is the healthy kind of talking to yourself!
You’ll find over time, that you’ll sometimes read more than 10 minutes and sometimes less. However, it’s good to try to practice this everyday. If you read at the average of two pages per minute, that means you can read about 30 novels per year at that rate. If you’re not reading anything, this is a great method of self-improvement.
And, what would help to make reading more fun and social? How about joining a book club? This can not only motivate you to read more, but you get the opportunity to meet likeminded people in a casual, social environment. By discussing the books you’re reading, you get a more diverse perspective on the works. People find lovers, platonic going-out partners, and lifelong friendships at book clubs. Visit your local library to learn about book clubs they host, your local bookstore, and your community Web and email forums.
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So, what ways have you learned to self-improve? And, from what we discussed today, what speaks to you the most when it comes to improving the body, mind, and spirit?