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I’m tired of feeling bad. Bad physically, bad emotionally, bad self-image... not all the time, but enough. I have been a bare, brown, hibernating plant, trying to survive the winter and drawing what nutrients I could from my surroundings. But it has not been enough. I can’t rely on the change of seasons or the warmth or the rain or the love and care of those closest to me to bring me out of this hibernation. If I want to bloom again, it must come from within. ...Ok, that was dramatic. Enough of that! I’m taking a leaf (ba dum tsssss cos plants haha get it? Get it?!) from Tank’s book this challenge. Recently I have been feeling internal stirrings of “I’m ready to be a better version of myself, let’s do this, raaah!” But those feelings are fleeting and unreliable, as evidenced by the fact that I don’t feel them at this moment. But it has made me realize something: I always complain about how bad I feel, but then I continue on in my old habits and never do anything about it. If I want to feel better, I have to ignore my desire for instant gratification (“but I wanna eat that whole tube of pringles”) in favor of my long term goal (“man I can’t wait till my tummy doesn’t spill over my waistband anymore”). I heard a song on the radio a few weeks ago called Nothing But Flowers, and while I do not share the pro-industrialization viewpoint of the songwriter, it made me laugh. (I don’t completely eschew modern conveniences either, there just needs to be a balance.) And then I was trying to think of a theme for this challenge, and I was inspired by the lilac bushes in our yard that are starting to bloom voraciously, and then I remembered the song, and it just all clicked together. Except I do wish for more flowers. Here’s the song, in case anyone else hasn’t heard it before (it came out in 1988 so a little before my time, plus I live under a rock hehe): Alrighty, goal time! ~~~~~ Mobility: daily, approx. 30 mins/day Plants need to be able to bend and move with the wind. Wrists: a routine I found from GMB’s YouTube channel Shoulders: tbd Hips & ankles: physical therapy from mom’s doctor Strength: 3x weekly, 30mins/day In order to thrive, plants need to have a strong root system. Wrists: Unbreakable Wrists flow from GMB Shoulders: planks and maybe pushups if my wrists feel up to it Hips: squats - regular & caveman Ankles: Unbreakable Ankles flow from GMB Daily Movement: well, uh, daily! Minimum 30 mins/day Plants aren’t lazy - they grow every day! Go for a walk, hike, or bike ride. Even a little one. Nutrition: daily Plants won’t thrive if they don’t get the right nutrients in the right proportions! Start with smaller portion sizes. Limit 2 snacks per day. Veggies with at least one meal. Personal Edification: daily, 30 mins/day each I'm not sure what the plant equivalent of this would be~ Bible study - Galatians or Praying God’s Word by Beth Moore. Read for pleasure. Study physics textbooks. ~~~~~ It looks like a lot, because I broke everything down so far. But really it’s only 4.5 to 5 total hours of stuff to do, and a few mindful decisions, and I have an average of 14 hours of wakefulness in which to spread these things out. Let’s goooooo~