Reasons to be Cheerful

Studying on the weekends is the worst. Studying work-related tripe on the weekend is tantamount to purgatory. Somehow, against the odds, I've finished the fifth unit of the Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment. And there was much rejoicing.

The thing that gets me the most is that if Tin Can, String and Whistle Ltd had got their act together I might have been able to do this in a classroom over a week and have the whole thing done and dusted eighteen months ago. But eighteen months ago I had a different boss with a different agenda. Which leaves me hunched over a computer on weekends feeling somewhat resentful.

I can see this week as being a time to play "Reasons to be Cheerful." Not the Ian Dury and the Blockheads version, but my game of remembering to keep up the attitude of gratitude.
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"Reasons to be Cheerful" was developed by a psychologist I saw years ago. I still play it now, it keeps me on the straight and narrow, which, by that I mean it helps to keep me spiralling into depression. It's one of my tactics for keeping myself on the level. And the attitude of gratitude - ah, well that is one of my life's mottos. If you're thankful for what you have, and thankful for what you are receiving, it helps keep the negativity at bay.

Thankfully, I've never been diagnosed with clinical depression, never taken anti-depressants, never had a mental health plan - even though some have said I have needed one in the past. Mild depression is insidious, but I've been lucky to have had some great help over the last ten years. Before meeting Bill, my first psychologist, I thought it was normal to cry yourself to sleep every night. Dream group is my therapy now - and if things get bad I know where to go for help.

Anyway, good food, not too much alcohol, sleep and exercise all keep me sane and content enough. Reason's to be cheerful helps when the twinges of the blues come my way - which will happen to anybody when they've been stuck inside devising training plans for some course you will never present.

So, this week's Reasons to be Cheerful (1,2,3 - done in a Billericay accent)

I'm getting a cat on Wednesday
I'm going overseas later in the year and I'll get to see some of my favorite people
My running is getting better
I have a job that I like working with people that I like
My ankles are thin, my skin supple, my hair sometimes does what it's told
I've upped my calories, making me lose weight and not feel so grumpy
Fresh figs are in season
You can get fresh pineapple in the supermarket
My sheets are pure cotton and high thread count
My friends are lovely and caring and supportive
I get to walk to work every day
It hasn't been a too hot a summer
Healing and tarot clients have been coming thick and fast
I'm writing again - and not documents for a telecommunications company
Nobody I know is sick or dying that I know of

That will do for the moment - I know it seems like an unlikely list, but there is a lot to be cheerful about.

Other things for this week - give Pinochet a stern talking to about his current training methods that are leaving me hobbled after every session - I'm over it. Get the running up and pick up the new ASICS that are sitting at Athlete's Foot in the city. Still can't believe I'm going through a pair of runners every four months.

Card of the Blog: Nine of Cups - Acheiving. Lots of love around you. Contentment. Abundance.

A reason to be cheerful..

For those unaware of the musical stylings of Ian Dury and the Blockheads, please follow this link:

http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD9AFG1GdgI

Pand

Kilometres walked since 29 January: 60 km
Kilometres run since 29 January: 34 km
Currently reading: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami, Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes
Weight lost since 29 Jan: 0.7 kg