Week 5: Dedicated

And…. We are off into week 5, word 5…. Almost 10% of 2020 is already gone!! Rushing right into February- next thing you know it will be spring break then graduation! Time will fly like no one’s business. Unlike most years, this year I have a clear stated goal, one that is easily called out if I slack off…. Or get sick and have to catch up!  One thing is for sure- it is going to take discipline and I had to commit to being 100% dedicated to it! I almost feel like this week’s word should have been closer to week 26, I will most likely need a reminder about my commitment about then! Dedicated is another one of those more concrete and less emotional words for me. Dedicated is a solid word to me, the way steadfast, committed and integrity are.  It is a characteristic of a solid human, someone you know you can count on! The actual definition is to be devoted to a task; having single minded loyalty or integrity. When I think of someone who is dedicated, I think of someone who has retired from the same job they started in their youth, someone who gets to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, a fitness guru whose life revolves around their health and fitness, or maybe a monk who has dedicated his life to the greater good.

My favorite quote is not even a quote I found, it is what keeps coming back to my mind every time I stop to think about this project. I keep thinking about what it takes to become dedicated to something and the answer is…… Where you put your time and energy is where your dedication lies…. So simple. We are all dedicated to something, and we can choose to change where our dedications lie.  How many of us dedicate our time to our phone or the boob tube instead of reading or doing something productive? I know this is really a struggle for me, and it is kind of irritating when I look at how much time I dedicate to things that really mean nothing to me… maybe that is why I spend time doing mindless, meaningless things- because they make it easy for me to emotionally detach. I spend so much time feeling everything that I have to have something that doesn’t touch me personally. At this point I use politics as a distraction (there is much more to it than that, and lucky for me some smart ass gave me Trump as their positive word and its coming in a few weeks).  I need to do something productive and less distracting…. And I need to get in shape so how much dedication will it take to get in shape? Can I make exercise a habit? How long will it take to make it a habit which will then lead to feelings of dedication…. Maybe? So I researched how long it takes to form a habit and the average is 66 days…66, so I have to be willing to dedicate 66 days (and maybe more) to get to the point that exercising is a habit. I am NOT a fan of exercise, so I am thinking 66 days may be on the short side for me. I love how each of these words makes me look at my own life, actions, thoughts. I feel like this project is helping me wrangle my over thinking mind….. when its not making me want to toss my laptop because I can’t think of a single word to type.  Next week I will conquer the word conquer. Hope you check it out!! Here is a link to last week’s word in case you missed it. https://hotmesshub.com/2020/01/29/week-4-courage/