No, I did not do this for the reason you think I might be doing it! I don't even know how to play Texas Hold 'em so, let's just quell that idea right off... My goal was to simply see if I could, after 30 days of preparing, be able to memorize an entire shuffled deck of 52 cards in the exact order that I flipped them. I did give myself a few rules to follow as I made the attempt:
"Shall I compare thee to a summers day?" ...Probably not, but I think you're nice! ... One of the goals I set for myself this year was to stay better connected with my friends. With Texting, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Linkedin, blogging & Google+ you would think that would be easy, right? Well, if I just wanted to "like" a post or forward a tweet or ask for a reference than I believe there are certainly enough options at my disposal. It seems that all these awesome modes of staying "connected" have actually caused the opposite to occur in my life.
Save on what is not important so you can invest in what is[/tweet] This lesson is something I seem to relearn over and over again. This need to "save" money always tends to follow the belief that I don't have enough. Whether I didn't have enough to pay my bills, to purchase that amazing trip to Australia and swim with the Great White Sharks or order that authentic Star Wars Han Solo DL-44 heavy blaster pistol (It was the side arm of choice for smugglers and bounty hunters alike) each caused me much stress.
"What gets measured accurately improves." I heard this simple phrase several years ago from my good friend Roger Seip, author of Train Your Brain for Success and have shared it many times to my clients, friends and anyone who would hear it.
Sometimes, in life, you just have to take one for the team... Well, being the team player I am and because I care about my readers I decided take this challenge head on!! Now, no one could blame me for sleeping on the job! Oh, the things I do for you all... So, when deciding to become a mini Rip Van Winkle I had to determine what the most accurate amount of hours were adequate for me considering my age and level of health.
"Why the hell is my skin so red & dry?" This question I pondered several months ago as I stared at myself in the mirror on a fine spring morning. My skin was unusually red and dry that day and I couldn't figure out what the issue was. Now, if I took a moment (at the time) to notice the many bottles of diet soda lining my recycling can, I shouldn't have had a problem coming up with a good answer.
You have to understand that what I have recently accomplished is a minor miracle!! Yes, yes it is true, I was able to successfully remove diet soda (all soda for that matter) from my day to day activities for over 30 days! I say this is miraculous because I cannot remember a time, in recent history, where I was strong enough to pass on the carbonated goodness of this aspartame laced and phenylalanine filled beverage of choice! With all the studies linking diet soda to so many various potential side effects it seems that it would make sense to just call it quits on my potassium benzoate and phosphoric acid craving. I mean, when you find out that, according to NaturalNews.com and PubMed.com aspartame eventually breaks down to formaldehyde in your liver you'd think it would be a no brainer, right?
"Hi, my name is David Shoup and I am a candyholic!" Apparently, I am not alone. According to Dr Mark Hyman evidence shows "that people can be biologically addicted to sugar in the same way we can be addicted to heroin, cocaine as sugar stimulates the brain’s reward centers through the neurotransmitter dopamine exactly like other addictive drugs."
"I ate how much?!" This was my reaction after the first week of my 30 Day Experiment: Food Journal. I had no idea I ate so much until I spent a month diligently charting everything I was putting into my mouth. A bag of chips here, a cookie (or 4) there. It is amazing how often I found myself snacking between meals and not always the healthy kind of snacking. "It's okay, because I have a fast metabolism".
For my next installment of my 30 Day Experiment I chose to eat a salad every day for the entire month of April. I am not sure about you all, but for me, the thought of eating "rabbit food" everyday was a daunting task considering my propensity for foods consisting of meats and breads (ie: pizza, burgers, sandwiches etc...), where the only vegetables I ate with regularity were tomatoes and potatoes in the form of ketchup and french fries.
How do I love me? Let me count the ways.... I must admit that I, advocate for personal development and admirer of most things touchy-feely, at first felt a little narcissistic at the idea of taking time each evening to write a love letter to myself extolling my sometimes many accomplishments for the day. And to think I was going to commit an entire month to this practice. What an exercise in egoism, right?
