Eight Is Enough: A Better Life One Small Change at a Time

I'm a recovering perfectionist. I'm an I'll-start-that-new-(insert admirable habit)-on-Monday kind of gal. When I miss the window, I plan on next Monday, and then next Monday, and the next one, and so on. Of course, I can be dedicated. I do focus and work hard. But I'm also all or nothing in an I've-skipped-some-workouts-so-may-as-well-binge-watch-Newsroom and I-had-too-many-chips-at-lunch-so-may-as-well-do-wings-for-dinner sorta way. 

"Don't wait. The time will never be just right." ~ Napoleon Hill

"Don't wait. The time will never be just right." ~ Napoleon Hill

Well, I say enough!

I'm going to try something different and see how it goes, because if we're being honest here, perfect is boring and I am enough. I don't have to overhaul my life starting on Monday, but I do know that there are a few things I'd like to do differently than I am now. It's a Friday, and dammit, I can start small and start today. 

I'm starting with eight. Why eight? Well, to be honest, because "eight is enough" felt like a fun title for this journey. For those of you who give a hoot about numerology, eight is also a number of balance and continuous motion. Given the intention of this process, I'd say that worked out pretty well. 

8 Mosaic ~ Leo Reynolds

8 Mosaic ~ Leo Reynolds

So...eight what?

Well, eight lots of things. I'm going to dedicate each week to a different daily eight—eight sun salutations, eight minutes of tidying one spot at a time, eight servings of fruits and veggies, eight hours of sleep, eight glasses of water, eight paragraphs of writing. And a partridge in a pear tree. 

Why a week?

There are seven days in a week. This is all about eights. It would make sense for each new "thing" to go for eight days. This is not difficult number stuff.

EXCEPT, I live in a place where trash is picked up every six business days, and if I didn't have londontrash.ca to tell me my pickup schedule, I'd be living in a sea of garbage bags. Or paying to drop my garbage at the dump. Or running out the door in my PJs when I hear the garbage truck coming. You get the point. I just want this to feel like a success, and I know myself well enough to know that a rotating cycle is not setting me up for that. 

Enjoy the ride!

I'm starting today with eight sun salutations each and every day, because yoga is my go-to mind-body-spirit tonic. I tried 30 days of yoga, and on some days, the 20-minute commitment was still too much for me to wrap my head around. Perhaps I'm starting here as a form of redemption. I'd like to think it's because my amazing yoga teacher, the warm and wise Chantelle Diachina of Prana Yoga & Wellness, has helped me realize the role that yoga plays in my own sense of balance, making this an obvious place to begin. 

Stay tuned to see how it goes!