New participant added to the Blogathon

Jean McFarland is now joining us in this crazy effort to blog once a day during the month of July. That's 31 posts altogether, or more, if possible. I'm hitting the mark here, but over at The Phoenix Traveler, I'm not quite there. I might be missing a few. Yikes!

So far, it sure has been a lot of work, but it's so much fun to read about all this great work speakers are in involved in on a daily basis.

Check out Jean's blog--it's new--at Bullies Among Us and help her build an audience.

Oh, and by the way, if you stopped in yesterday, you may have seen a poll on the left-hand side of this screen. It didn't appear to be working properly, so I pulled it down. I'll try again at a later date.

All my best,
Jackie

From yardwork to yardsticks

Momentum and pruning shears. What do the two have to do with each other?

Yardwork that might involve pruning bushes, mowing the lawn, or planting a flower bed is meditative work. It allows you time to just be. And giving yourself time to "just be" is good for your mental state of mind. You may not even realize how much your body craves down time. We spend too much time as it is worrying, thinking, obsessing about work, what to feed the kids for dinner, or that bathroom sink that seems to have a leak but will have to wait till next month to fix. Maybe you can see why down time is a precious commodity that is important to fit in as much as possible, especially when you think there's no time. If you look, you'll find it.

I just wrote yesterday about meditating, and I'm speaking of meditating again for good reason. Like yoga, which requires focus in order to maintain a pose, yardwork requires focus as well. If you didn't focus on what you were doing outside, you'd be like me and stab a pair of pruning shears in your arm--on accident, of course. Ouch! Or, you might even push the lawn mover right over your electric cord and have to end what could have been a very productive afternoon. Bummer.

All joking aside, I've chosen not to hire a landscape company to come and take care of my yard because I enjoy the process and the ability to give myself the time to do the work myself. On yardwork weekends, I get to spend time outside mowing the lawn and then adding fertilizer so the grass will grow as green as it can. I get to trim back the bushes--one of them is particularly unruly and requires a lot of patience--and decide which plants will go in what pots. I then spend time raking and sweeping up the resulting debris.

I particularly enjoy the moments where I have to sit on the ground around a ridiculously large pile of twigs and leaves from that unruly bush--a 20-year-old bougainvillea--and chop up the thorny mess into smaller pieces so I can stuff them into the garbage bag for trash day. I enjoy doing that because I'm outside, I get to chat with my neighbors who happen to walk by with their dogs while I'm doing the work. Sometimes, they even offer to help, and sometimes I let them. For me, yardwork is just generally a very relaxing way to spend a hot afternoon underneath Arizona's mid-day sun. Depending on how much yardwork I have to do--sometimes I have to skip a few weeks if I'm really busy with work--it can take me an entire day.

But it's a day well spent, and I love it.

It gives me time to consider what's going on in my life. And when the meditation is at its highest level, I won't have a single thing on my mind other than the moment I'm in. I might hear the sound of the clippers breaking through the bark, or maybe I'll notice the smell of my fresh cut lawn. Before I know it, my work will be done, and I can put all the equipment back into the garage and go take a hot shower.

I love the way I feel after a hard day's work like that. I may be bone-tired, but my mind always feels refreshed and invigorated, and I know I've earned a dinner out. I always go out to eat--either by myself or with friends--on yard days.

And the momentum I'm talking about? That has to do with the fact that I feel like I'm getting somewhere on yard days. I've made things happen. I've found a little bit of success in a week where I might not have had any otherwise. It symbolizes progress for me, and that means I know I'm moving forward.

Do you have a home project, such as yardwork, that you can use to illustrate your success on days or weeks that might not otherwise give you that feeling? If so, capitalize on that. We all have bad days, bad weeks, bad months, and sometimes even bad years. It's a good idea to find a routine activity you have to do anyway and turn it into your success project.

When I needed it, I used bike riding this way as well--as a means to measure my success. With each added mile, I saw progress. With each new hill I could climb, I saw progress. With each pound lost, I saw progress. It was hard to miss that kind of growth. I was building momentum by building my inner strength. I now use yardwork in a similar way.

Think about the things that you do regularly that you could use as your yardstick. If you can find a way to measure your progress (mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically or otherwise), you'll soon begin to see it as well. Visuals can be a very powerful thing.

Happy counting!
Jackie

Just joining us?

If you're new to the BIKE WITH JACKIE blog, I encourage you to start reading from the beginning. You'll get a better understanding of how the mental BIKE operates. It's a progression really. In previous posts, I've talked about how patience is necessary while you're in transition. We all want things these days, like, right now. Today even. But creating quality of life takes time, and you're the architect.

Like the architect who draws up plans and works with consultants and developers or contractors to create the masterpiece building, you also will operate similarly to create your masterpiece life. You might consider hiring a life coach or a therapist, depending on your needs. You might need legal assistance. You might need friends now more than ever. It'll take time to develop the you you want to be. But you'll need to know who to call for help when help is needed. Architects don't do it all themselves. They have help. You'll be looking for help as well.

Reaching out might be a huge step for those of us in turmoil. But you'll see that going with others makes the transition a lot easier to navigate than going it alone.

I've discussed some of this already. I've also explained that this blog isn't about exercise, that a bicycle just happened to be the way of my journey. It's how I got my start to a new life. It was the beginning of my reaching out. I encourage you to get on a bicycle. I think it's a wonderful way to measure personal growth. But it's not necessary for yours. You may be drawn to something else entirely. If you read from the beginning, you'll understand what I mean, and you'll see how this journey is yours. The way you make it happen is yours. The progress is yours. I'm just here to provde you an idea on how you can begin it.

BIKE is simply a metaphor for the time and space you give yourself. It's a powerful tool, but only if you use it.

Keep reading, I'll explain as we go along.

Ask questions if you like. I'm happy to respond to your comments.

All my best,
Jackie

For the next few days...

I'm on assignment and won't be able to post here for a few days.

So take this time as an opportunity to test your commitment. Whether you're riding a bike -- and I hear some of you have been inspired to buy one -- knitting a new scarf, or taking up jewelry making, schedule at least one-hour a day on your calendar for this activity. Then do it. Set your alarm clock for an hour earlier if needed.

When I rode, as soon as I woke up, I got dressed and headed out the door. It was automatic. Help yourself transform your way of thought into an automatic response. If it takes a little nudge from someone else, even, do whatever it takes to get out there every day.

Remember, this is your time to yourself for your benefit.

I'll "see" you in a few days. You can post comments about your progress if you like, or if that helps.

Till Monday, then,
Jackie