An old mindset for Burned. This is thread 8.

[burned]

How is your Happiness Journal?
How are you doing on your goals that you set?
What small successes can you celebrate?

Thanks for checking in. Your advice is so different, so practical. We’re you like me, did you overthink things? I’m trying to implement what you’re saying but I always end up ruminating. The thought of being up until midnight every night is crazy to me, I can barely hold it together at work as it is, in bed by 8 on weeknights...

I fell behind on the happiness/gratitude journal. Going to do it again tonight. I think it helps a little.

Tonight’s small success was that I made pork chops and watched Baywatch. Hilarious movie. Highly recommended.

I don’t understand goals for some reason. I’m trying to figure it out. My top “signature strengths” are love of learning, sense of humor, judgment, kindness, forgiveness, honesty, and creativity. There are several sort of pie in the sky goals I have. Mainly I’d like to run a 5K and sell a photograph to a stranger.

Aside from that I’ve identified 3 main areas of growth: learning new things, conscientiousness/health, and social skills.

For learning new things, I want to learn to play the piano, learn a new song or two on the guitar, and learn to juggle, and visit one new city before the end of the year. Probably Philly to see some historical things, and it’s driving distance almost.

For conscientiousness/health, lots of goals. Make the bed daily (doing well there). Do the dishes before bed each night (so-do). Keep the countertops clean and clutter-free. Vacuum the apartment weekly. Cook at least 2 healthy meals per week (accomplished this week). Clean my CPAP equipment weekly. Do a few pushups and sit-ups and pull-ups every morning. Can’t really do anything that involves my legs because of the broken ankle but I’d like to run a mile twice a week and row for 10 minutes twice a week. Take my medication every day (consistently done). See IC once a week (consistently done). See my doctor as needed, ortho appt., cardiologist of those weird palpitations come back. Wear my ankle boot every day (so-so). Then a few that I haven’t done yet: buy new shirts, buy cologne, new jeans, already got some new work pants. Shave more often. Get haircuts once a month. And there is a sub-list of “things that suck”: Work on D paperwork. Go get a couch from a friend (need to rent a UHaul for that). Get more crap from the house, haul out the half-dead old convertible on a trailer and bring it to the parents’ barn. Buy a portable washer/dryer. For social skills: leave the apartment at least once a day for any reason. Attend one Meetup event per week. Join a communication skills group. Find some kind of conflict-management class. Get back in touch with two friends that I’ve lost touch with (one of them emailed me this week). Correspond more regularly with distant friends/relatives. Write thank-you notes for favors that people did for me lately (accomplished).

Is that what goals look like? I mean I don’t really feel like seeing the Taj Mahal but it would be cool to learn how to rock climb. I’ve always wanted to do some cold-weather backpacking, too. So I need to add to my list getting my backpacking equipment from the old garage.

So...finally typed that all out. Feedback? I think this could be useful. Zorro Circle and so forth. Sorry for the messy post, typing from my phone...

P.S. you Amoafwl are going in my gratitude journal right now for holding me accountable. So’s everyone else, for being supportive. P.P.S. I get the Avengers thing, a week or two after S I tried to watch Incredibles 2 alone and silently cried in a dark theater. That was one of my first low moments.