Day 96 / 108 Challenge

#96

"I bow for peace and harmony among all religions."

I cannot remember when was the last time I was able to feel good throughout the entire day like today.

The day was filled with enjoying spending time with myself. I still need to remind myself to do what I like, but ever since I shifted my focus on ME I became less lonely and happier with myself. I honestly just enjoy the process of getting to know myself better, and finding out what I like to do. How else can we be truly happy if we, ourselves, do not know what makes us happy?

I thought I needed to spend time alone to recharge in my life. But actually it was spending time with myself or more like going on dates with myself was what I needed to recharge. "Self-care" is the popular term in today's world describing this act.

Be honest to yourself. Stop thinking about how other people might perceive you. What makes you happy? Not the things that give you instant joy followed by long lasting regrets and shame (such as binge watching shows or playing video games to the point where you feel tired). The things that make you feel refreshed and happy for a long period of time. If you do not have an answer yet, start building the list. Your Self-care Routine. Have an honest, sincere conversation with yourself and they will speak to you.

So far mine is,

• Warm shower before bed

• Washing my face and brushing my teeth in the morning and before bed

• Outdoor walk

• Lay in bed to watch few youtube videos for learning (psychology, meditation, or inspiration for my self-improvement contents)

• Trying out a restaurant I want

• Travel

• Organizing and cleaning the place

What are your self-care routines?

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Challenge Log

Requirements
No Snacks No drinks or desserts exceeding weekly limit	No snacks
Water intake (max 2L)	1.5L
2x Pomodoro flows (read min. 10 pages)	Buddhist teaching
Productive activity (write a journal or a blog; create a product)	Journalling
Physical activity (min. 45 minutes)	REST DAY - outdoor walk
Wildcard (any 1 of read/produce/exercise above)	(PRODUCE) Self discovery on what I want, who I want to be, where I want to go in life

What I am thankful for today

++ I am thankful to have a healthy mind that can bounce back from negativity and focus on the brighter future relatively fast. 😊

Drink/Dessert tickets remaining: 2

Day 95 / 108 Challenge

#95

"I bow for peace between countries arguing for political reasons."

When I had to move houses four times in the course of 3 weeks, I had to travel light. I had a 10x10ft storage unit filled with stuff, but I survived without them. This is when I realized I owned excessive amount of material stuff. I also recognized that I would rather spend $3,000 on having an extra month of rent or mortgage than buying a designer bag or clothes. Basically, I would have prioritized spending money on making my life easier versus owning "nice things".

Once my basic needs are met, such as housing is secured and I have few clothes I like to wear that fit me well, I would then spend money on what I eat and my health. That would be good quality of ingredients for my meal, and gym memberships. Then I would spend money on spending time with people I care about or doing the things I like. That would be going out to restaurants or travelling.

I think overtime we accumulate things because at the time we feel like we need something. However, I think most of the times we try to fill the void we feel inside by purchasing things. For example, how many times have you looked at your closet filled with clothes and thought, "I have nothing to wear."?

I became more mindful of this lately, and had not made any big unnecessary purchases yet. I would be lying if I were not tempted to do so. But each time I analyzed my situation, and determined whether I really needed it or if I needed to fill something else (loneliness, being stuck in life, etc.).

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Challenge Log

Requirements
No Snacks No drinks or desserts exceeding weekly limit	No snacks
Water intake (max 2L)	1.5L
2x Pomodoro flows (read min. 10 pages)	Relationship feedback and note to my future-self
Productive activity (write a journal or a blog; create a product)	Journalling
Physical activity (min. 45 minutes)	SICK DAY - walk around in the house
Wildcard (any 1 of read/produce/exercise above)	(PRODUCE) Self discovery on what I want, who I want to be, where I want to go in life

What I am thankful for today

++ I am thankful to have finally done some of self discovery. Realizing what I want in life and having conversation with myself in a brutally honest way was eye opening.

Drink/Dessert tickets remaining: 2

Day 94 / 108 Challenge

#94

"I bow for peace within countries that have been separated for no reason."

Like a wounded beast hide in a cave would not move until it is healed, I did the same. The emotional wound was negligible, but it was more physical. However, I thank myself for sticking to the routine which undoubtedly saved myself from getting any sicker in the past week. Regularly eating healthy meals, exercising, washing my face and body, and most importantly getting good sleep should be done no matter how bad or busy the life is. I find that we build internal wounds when any one of them is missed.

Lately I am learning the importance of resting, and letting go. By letting go of the fear that I am wasting my life when I am not doing anything, or to be more precise, when I am not presented as busy I was finally able to recharge. For the past 3 months or so, I was obsessed with pushing myself harder by filling up my waking hours to the minute. When someone asked me, "what do you do for fun?" I was not able to respond other than "I do not really have time for that." At the time I did not realize how dangerous it was. But I am sure I can find few days in this 108 day journal series where I felt burnt out during those time.

I think the break up was the final tipping point where I realized I needed to drop everything and reevaluate my current state. And I am so thankful for that to have happened, despite how shitty it felt at the time. Without it happening I must have been still suffering from the confusion of who I am, what I want, what I need to do, and most definitely not being PRESENT.

When I let go of everything I was finally able to see everything in my life clearly and to prioritize properly. This is another proof that "Less is more."

I must say that I became so HAPPY ever since I started being present and enjoying the journey versus being stuck in the past or worrying about the future. Self discovering part is exciting too, as I discover WHO I AM more and better.

To sum up, one thing is getting clearer than ever. I do not need much to be happy. Especially when it comes to money I have a better idea of where to spend to make myself the happiest. This is something I can touch more on tomorrow.

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Challenge Log

Requirements
No Snacks No drinks or desserts exceeding weekly limit	No snacks
Water intake (max 2L)	1.5L
2x Pomodoro flows (read min. 10 pages)	Buddhist teaching
Productive activity (write a journal or a blog; create a product)	Journalling
Physical activity (min. 45 minutes)	SICK DAY
Wildcard (any 1 of read/produce/exercise above)	(EXERCISE) Stairs in the house

What I am thankful for today

++ I am thankful to have a roof over my head that protects me from the cold and the rain. That I have a safe space to rest in. And it does not have to be big at all. Just need my bed, kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room. Anything else is nice-to-have's.

Drink/Dessert tickets remaining: 2