A Dirty Movie Metaphor – Pulling Through Little Challenges

Posted on March 9, 2012 by btsandwich

Last night I was sulking like a bitch. I was in a foul mood and was telling myself all the things I didn’t want to hear. If someone else would have spoken to me that way they’d have earned themselves a right good arse kicking, fact.

Luckily I know how to deal with that infantile, cry baby in there that makes an appearance from time to time. I watch something funny and drown the little shit right out. Moohahaha!!

Imagine my “disappointment” when my funny, ‘cheer me up’ DVD turned out to be damaged. It started pausing, jumping, skipping and generally became unwatchable. Eek, basically. The DVD was a hired one as well so I was already drafting up my angry complaint email in my head. Meanwhile, the button that ejects the DVD from my laptop decided to stop working. Smart.

Deep breath… okay, I can eject the DVD from the ‘My Computer’ folder. That’s that problem solved.

Quick inspection of the DVD reveals no scratches or marking. Hmmm.

Might as well grab a cloth and scrub the living daylights out of the damn thing anyway, just in case… it’s just the ‘done thing’. Back in the laptop and…. MAGIC! It worked.

Big deal, you had a dirty DVD. (true)

What I noticed though, is that when I was stressing out over God-knows-what and was giving it the old ‘why me?!’ I automatically assumed the worst… that the DVD was actually damaged. And even though it was really obvious, it seriously didn’t cross my mind at first to eject the disk internally. That inner tantrum-thrower was too busy getting all worked up!

It was only when I took a second or two to gather my thoughts that I realised there was a different (and really simple) method of approach to work around my restriction. Then even though at face value the underlying problem was completely invisible (no markings on the disk), just trying the thing that normally clears away the problem, did just that… allowing me to spend the remainder of the evening laughing my arse off. Result.

The daft little metaphor

When you’re feeling restricted and life’s not playing out properly, stop and think a minute, because:

There’s always a way around the restriction.
Any apparent damage probably isn’t actually damage and certainly isn’t permanent.
You might not be able to see at first glance why life isn’t running smoothly, but if you do a few things that you know normally make you feel good and make life a bit sweeter, the elusive little specks of grime that are holding you back will generally disappear, setting you back on track.

I’m talking about things like:

Showering away the negative energy, literally scrubbing yourself clean in the shower
Doing some exercise to get the old endorphins flowing
Watching/reading/doing something that inspires you, motivates you or makes you laugh
Getting hydrated
Getting some good healthy food down your neck
Having a chat with someone who makes you feel good about yourself
Letting out any aggression on a pillow or punch bag. Yeah that’s right, slap the stupid thing
Tart yourself up so you look good

Doing stuff like this cleans out the cobwebs and freshens you up. It relieves stress and gets you thinking straight again. It’s kind of like recalibrating yourself.

Just thought I’d share that with you.

[photo sources: crying baby: Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos, idea: Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos]

Brush Off Heart Problems

Posted on December 16, 2011 by btsandwich

Aside from making people’s eyes water during close conversation, another good reason for brushing your teeth is to protect the old ticker. Twice a day is the magic number, reducing your risk by a huge 70%.

: Cupid had run out of arrows…

To put it simply, according to University College London, the bacteria that can reside in your mouth, causes inflammation in the body… not good for the love pump!

[Image source - http://grinnellstdental.com/]

Waking Up Issues Experiment – Day 6

Posted on November 29, 2011 by btsandwich

See category Getting to Sleep/Waking Up Issues – The Experiment

Weekend and parties out of the way and it’s back to the sleeping log. Not entirely sure yet about any impact my new gym/exercise routine might have. Aside from already being well documented, it seems to be fairly obvious that it’ll help. The number of hours sleep you get each day is not nearly as important as how healthy that sleep is. A heightened overall fitness level will obviously allow for steadier, healthier breathing throughout the night, allowing a person to awake feeling much more refreshed.

Now I have pretty much nailed the getting up to the alarm thing, I’ll keep it consistant, developing the habit and allow my body clock to do its natural thing. Meanwhile, the next step I’m going to be working on is enhancing the quality of my sleep. This will take into account specific foods and eating times. I’ve already noticed that if I eat pasta late at night (which I do a lot), I feel much more lethargic the following morning.

Much of what I’m actually doing now, I think I already knew was the way forward. It’s all about just making the decision and sticking with it. Hopefully by me sharing these experiences with you in almost real time, you can use the knowledge I share with you while it’s fresh in my mind.

There will be a compressed summary of all the best info, practical tips and fail-safes to follow in the near future. The difference to my extra time and productivity over the last week has been immense. Making it the best thing I’ve done lately.

Another trick up the sleeve. Another string to the bow. Another life skill to help build a bigger, better and brighter future. Boss all areas of life… that’s the plan.

Beet the Booze

Posted on November 27, 2011 by btsandwich

: Beet’s Elite

As with many red/purple foods, beetroot is a good source of natural antioxidant and nutrients. More importantly though, it contains betaine. Why is that important? Because aside from being important to cardiovascular health, research has shown that it protects against liver desease and the damages you would expect from over indulging on the booze. Line ‘em up… then grab a beer!

How To Have a Crap Day in 12 Simple Steps!

Posted on November 25, 2011 by btsandwich

Sleep in. For best results lay in bed ‘til the early hours the night before and worry about all the stuff you need to get done and didn’t do that day.
Successfully maintain that worrisome mindset while you run around the house in a spirited attempt to get looking half decent for work. Caution, do NOT have your clothes ironed and ready to wear. This will massively hinder the whole set-up.
Box clever and hide your keys somewhere you won’t remember to look. Preferably half way up the sleeve of a sweater at the bottom of a filled wash basket or somewhere equally obscure (get creative here).
Important! You must ensure you have a hideous, untamed Barnet and have forgotten to brush your teeth before you leave the house, cleverly having also forgotten to pick up your mobile.
If you’ve kept up to schedule, you’ll hopefully have missed your transport by now. If you use a car to travel to work, don’t do anything stupid, like have fuel in the tank! Tut tut, NOT acceptable.
If there’s anything better to slow you down than standing still, it’s going backwards. Go back and get the phone.
Ring a taxi using the last little speck of life in your phone battery ensuring you have no mobile for the day and then stand in the rain while you wait. That should elevate the stress levels nicely!
Arrive at work resentful. An efficient way to achieve this would be to mentally list all the reasons you don’t like your job and think about the one person at work you can’t stand, but will definitely be spending the next eight hours in the company of. Keep up, you’re doing well!
Divide your day into two halves. Spend the first half sulking about the mornings events and the thrashing you got from the boss. Spend the second half realising you look like a drowned tramp and everyone has noticed. With a bit of luck the idiot you work with will look extra preened today, will be in a good mood and will keep fake laughing really loud all day long. That’ll grate on the nerves perfectly.
Try and squeeze in at least one more bollocking from the gaffer before you return home and eat loads of fatty, sugary, stodgy crappy food and watch the news (God forbid you inadvertently miss out on all the robbery, corrupt politicians and murder in the world).
Drastically over-indulge on the heart attack fodder spilling over the edge of your plate to the point where you collapse in an overfilled, sweaty pile of mess on the sofa. At this point you should practically pass out and fall asleep feeling bloated and thoroughly drained.
Wake up about an hour before bedtime and repeat from step 1. Got it? Class dismissed!

If any of this sounds familiar, maybe rethink a few things. What could you do to make your days better, healthier, more productive, more organised, happier and more fun?

Fight The C with a Tree

Posted on November 20, 2011 by btsandwich

: They don’t look very hard to me

Research has shown that those little green trees we call brocolli are very active when it comes to fighting cancer cells. Luckily I love the stuff. And it makes your plate look like a mini garden… get in my belly!

Boss The Sandwich

Tag Archives: health