Day 72

12/23/2009
Day 72 of 182

Today was one of my brothers' birthday. For some reason or another my family has an abnormal amount of birthdays around Christmas time. My brother, today, my mom's is the day after Christmas. My biological father's is New Year's Day, my niece's birthday is December 30th, my brother in law's birthday is the 31st. As if there weren't enough gits to buy already! My birthday is as far away from Christmas as you can get; June 25th. Exactly six months before and after Christmas. Still gearing up for the holidays and I had the opportunity to work at our Tualatin location. One of my former employees commented that I was getting skinnier(YES!!!) Thank you Rodrigo!

Didn't workout today, I took my brother out for a birthday lunch instead. I need to workout hard tomorrow since the following day is Christmas and there will be a limited opportunity for exercise.

The 100 Simple Secrets of Healthy People
#3 Avoid Imagining the Worst
When something is wrong with us, it is easy to imagine the worst possible outcome. It is as though we just know that the doctor is going to tell us how horrible our situation is and how awful the recommended treatment will be. This process of exaggerating the threat not only causes much unneeded anxiety, but it also has the dangerous effect of encouraging people not to get treatment.

When I read this simple secret, my thoughts immediately went to my mother in law. God bless her, but she always, and I mean, always imagines the very worst, in every scenario. I am not sure if she is inherently a "glass half empty" sort of person, or if it is something that has evolved over time. She drives herself crazy, sometimes into hysteria over what may be.

It is true though, it is somehow easier to error on the side of awful in the case of most unknowns. It is said that it is better to "expect the worst," but there is a difference between knowing what the worst could be and being damn sure that the worst will absolutely be the outcome.

I imagine that it plays to the same facet of our personalities that somehow make it easier for people to believe the negative comments made about them, than the positive ones, just as it is easier to see what is wrong with us than see what's right. I have always been a "glass type full" person when it comes to life and situations, but when it comes to me, as a person, I am not as optimistic.

The worst case scenario is obviously a possibility, but definitely not a probability. The stress and anxiety that obsessing over the worst is worse than the outcome itself.

Activity:
None

Meals
1/2 Tuna melt
4 pieces flat bread with mozzarella and tomato
1 strawberry lemonade
1 latte
7 oz Salmon
1 large salad
2 beers