life commitments
Life

15 Life Commitments Everyone Should Make

life commitments

By Dawn Daum of W.T.F. words thoughts feelings

According to reports, the average adult attention span is eight seconds — no longer than that of a goldfish. Given that knowledge, how in the hell are we supposed to do all the things life demands of us — make healthy food choices, absorb the joys of parenthood, exercise, maintain self-care, and ponder life’s profound ‘fucked-up-ness’ — when we are constantly distracted?

Easy. We can do it with these 15 life choices. So think of the following suggestions as good-intentioned, half-assed commitments — some of which you can even do sitting down!

1) Can you see your toes? Yes? That’s awesome. Now bend yourself over and reach for those little fuckers. Stretch that beautiful skin as far as you can. Don’t like to look at your feet? Look up instead. Reach as far as you can above your head until you get that fuzzy, slightly-high feeling all over because who doesn’t like a free buzz? Seriously. Take full advantage of it.

2) You can walk, right? So stick with that. Just try to do more of it. It takes just as much time to park farther out and walk to the entrance of Target as it does to drive around, waiting for rock star parking. Yes, it’s cold outside. Jack Frost is nibbling on that ass you keep complaining about, but suck it up and hustle. I want to see knees to chest, knees to chest.

3) Just eat half of that deliciously horrible lunch you just purchased. Don’t deny yourself the joy of deep-fried happiness or cheese-and-pepperoni, triangle-shaped love, but have one slice instead of two and chew more slowly. Savor that shit. Everything in moderation, bitches.

4) Quit trying to fix everyone else and pay attention to the hot mess you are. Enlisting a therapist to help you process and resolve some shit doesn’t mean you are crazy or weak. We completely underestimate the power of purging our shit in the company of a professional. Plus, your grown-up insurance plan will help you pay for it.

5) If you do something you’re proud of, smile — or maybe break out your best “I just woke up like this” moves in the middle of the grocery store — but stop posting everything on Facebook. Likes and comments do not validate your accomplishments, and if you continue to believe that shit, you will keep finding yourself in the corner, ugly crying about what is “wrong” with you. Knock that shit out.

6) Don’t cross something off your ‘To Do’ list and watch the world not fall apart.

7) If you want to start and finish something, get the fuck off social media for longer than ten minutes. It sucks the life out of creativity and kills brain cells you could be using to bust out something fabulous. There will be moments in your attempt to be awesome where you are stuck. Do not believe you will just check your newsfeed “real quick.” No one has the power to stop at a scroll or two, and you will land knee-deep in infectious cat videos.

8) Got lungs? Fill them with oxygen — free oxygen! — as often as you can. Deep breathing has been proven to ward off road rage…and keep young children alive.

9) The next time you feel like shit, do something for a stranger, and I don’t mean buying the person behind you in the Dunkin Donuts drive-through a coffee. (They obviously have the means to enjoy life’s little pleasures.) Get off your ass and walk over to the homeless person you pass by almost daily. Make eye contact with him. And if the scarf or gloves you are wearing aren’t of much value to you, hand them over.

10) Quit bailing your kids out every time they fuck up. Stop convincing yourself that you need to give up your life to ensure your children are entertained and stimulated every part of every day. Let the little bastards fall down and be bored. You’ll both live. And you’ll have a lot more fun doing it.

11) Set goals with grace periods. Remember, we share attention spans with goldfish.

12) Think of something you hate — a place, a behavior, a person, a personal flaw. Now ask yourself why, and start working on that shit.

13) Think of something you love — a place, a sound, an activity, a natural talent. When was the last time you experienced that? Work on that shit, too.

14) Quit acting like your broke-ass can afford whatever your impulsive-ass wants. Cut up the credit cards. All but one, because life is unpredictable and fucked up. We all need to be bailed out at some point.

15) It won’t kill you to start drinking more water. Even if it comes from a faucet. OK, that may be relative to where you live, but still. You’ll have fewer headaches, and your pee will no longer resemble florescent toxins. Both very important.

So what do you think? Can you commit to at least three — maybe four — of these challenges? Hell yeah you can. And if you can’t, you need to put down the 400 calories of mocha love you are sipping on, take a social media sabbatical, and run (OK, speed walk) to your most beloved place because you, my friend, are a hot mess.

This post originally appeared on W.T.F. words thoughts feelings.

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About the Author

Dawn is a thirty-something wife, Momma to two, mental health care manager, survivor and student of life. She blogs at W.T.F. words thoughts feelings, and is co-editor of Trigger Points: Abuse Survivors Experiences of Parenting. Her work has been featured on Huff Post Parents, The Indie Chicks, Elephant Journal and Scary Mommy. Dawn can be found on Facebook and Twitter.