Instead of Breakfast

I thought I could defer loss as long as I didn’t sense it, 

“1. Do something every day that your future self will thank you for, even if it is small. 2. Do something every day that your past self would be impressed by, even if it feels easy now. 3. Start saying “thank you” for what you want as though it has already happened. Write it down, say it out loud. Even once is enough. 4. Learn the power of momentum. Start with small tasks in the day and let it build. 5. Make one tiny shift in the right direction. Drink one half glass of water. Walk around the block. Take one deep breath. 6. When you want to cry, cry. When you want to be angry, be angry. When you want to be sad, be sad. When you want to be happy, don’t ruin it. Processing in real time is how you avoid emotional issues in the future. 7. Find healthy, productive distractions. 8. Unfollow every single person who makes you feel bad about yourself. 9. See your discomfort as your subconscious way of telling yourself that you are capable of more, and better, than you have at this current moment. 10. Junk journal. Open up a notebook and scribble down exactly how you feel. Stop trying to invalidate them with positivity. “Emotions, once felt, tend to dissolve on their own.” 11. Let yourself dream. Imagine what you want to build and create next in your life. 12. Give yourself something to look forward to. Plan a trip, make a date, or take yourself out somewhere. 13. If there is something you need to change in your life, start today. Look for new jobs. Write a letter to someone you need to apologize to. If time is not resolving the matter, you must. 14. Do not believe everything that you think. 15. Do not trust everything that you feel. 16. Think back on everything you worried about that turned out to be nothing. 17. Think back on all those times you had strong, overwhelming feelings that you didn’t really understand. Sometimes, you just had to learn how to let them pass. 18. Do something each day that helps you get to know yourself better. Write down what you like and what you don’t. Identify your values, your beliefs, your hopes, your fears. 19. Spend time with people who you “click” with. 20. Do something for someone without asking for anything in return. 21. Disconnect from people who don’t add to your life. Don’t be afraid to disengage. 22. Read something that makes you think about the world differently. 23. Note what comes effortlessly to you, this is what you’re here to do. 24. Note what is interesting to you, this is what you’re here to learn about. 25. Note what you struggle with the most, this is what you’re here to master. 26. Learn to stand up for yourself in a productive way. Instead of slinging insults or being passive aggressive, learn to speak your truth with dignity and grace. 27. Recognize that whatever bothers you most about other people can reveal the unconscious truth about yourself. Use every discomfort as an opportunity to heal your own wounds. 28. Lean in deeply to that which brings you joy. 29. Go out of your way to make time for people who you really care about. 30. Create a vision board, either on paper or online. Map out what you want to create and what you want your life to look like. 31. Learn from people who you admire. Use their lives as a guide for what you want to do. 32. Learn from people you dislike. Use their lives as a blueprint for what you do not want to do. 33. When you feel the impulse to judge another person, remind yourself gently that every time you do so, you only continue to narrow your idea of what’s acceptable in life. 34. State what you are feeling, claim it and accept it, and take action in the face of it. 35. Interrogate one negative thought. Instead of running on autopilot, stop and ask yourself: Is this true? Do I know for a fact this is true? 36. Better yet, ask yourself this: Does this thought move my life in the direction I would like it to go? 37. If all you were able to do today was wake up and keep breathing, that’s okay. Give yourself permission to rest. 38. Make a to-do list then cut it in half. Then cut it in half again. You should be left with the one or two most imperative tasks. Focus on those and only those. 39. Meditate on how far you’ve come. Make a list of all the things you have, do and feel that you never imagined would be possible. 40. Meditate on how much you’ve overcome. Consider everything that happened in the past that you swore you’d never get over, and note that you always did. 41. Express genuine gratitude. Find something you are actually happy to have. 42. If feeling good is too far from where you’re at, make it your goal to feel neutral. 43. Sleep when you are tired. Eat when you are hungry. 44. Working until you’re at the point of exhaustion at which time you collapse and feel totally paralyzed is not “working hard,” it’s abusing yourself. 45. You’re allowed to be angry and upset. You are not allowed to take angry and upset actions that could impact your safety or quality of life for years to come. 46. Write yourself a note in which you outline exactly what to do when you have a panicky feeling. When you’re thinking clearly, tell yourself what to do when you’re not. 47. Remember that you’re mortal. All of this will pass. No time is guaranteed. You are not stuck forever. Life moves quickly and it does not stop. You are only here for a moment. Try to savor it as much as you can.”