Learn to Love the Noise in the Home

It's not uncommon for a parent to tell their kids to behave or not make as much noises. In the moment, the noise may seem aggravating and we may want to have silence in order to think more clearly but the reality is that the noise means that someone else, often someone we love, is around and living their lives nearby. No noise means that nobody else is home.

While we might value peace, we are also social creatures that is within a society where we seem to get lonelier the older we get. There comes a time when we wish we could have a noisy life again as it means we were around the people we cared the most about.

There's life, there's movement, there's energy in the noise that we ear. We may not like it in the moment but it's very likely that we'll miss it once it's gone - especially if it's noise that's the result of a happy home.

Time goes By Fast When You're Having Fun

It's been said that "time goes by fast when you're having fun" but I would argue that time goes by fast even if you're not having fun.

My father told me recently that he believes the main reason why we feel that time goes fast is because we don't remember much of it. When we think back, there are some obscure memories that pops up but not necessarily anything from last week, or last month, or last year. 

This "void" we feel when we look back on our life is, according to my dad, the reason why we feel like life went by fast. We know we were young once, then there's a laps of time that we only remember bits and pieces of, and there's now. 

It almost feels like something is missing.

We don't remember trivial things because it's not necessary for our continuous survival. Our brain set aside some memories, that are less important, in favor of more important ones. Remembering what you ate for diner, 2 weeks ago, isn't as important as remembering how to drive. (There's an interesting article on this on Lesley University page here)

Yes, life is short and that's especially evident when we look back trying to remember all that we've accomplished. We need to forgive ourselves for not remembering every details and remember that the fact that we're alive today means that what ever we did was sufficient for our survival up to this point.

Working out During Work Breaks

Nothing has made me move more than my Apple Watch. Every hour, it tells me that I need to get up for at least a minute and it keeps sending me reminders of my exercise progress, or lack thereof, throughout the day.

I'm thankful for this little device because, ever since the Pandemic hit, I haven't been going to the gym and working out at home has proven more difficult. I find it a bit shocking how little I would actually move, on some days, if my watch didn't tell me to.

One thing I've been doing is incorporating some exercises during my work day. On my lunch break, for example, I'll do 20-30 min cardio. When my watch ask me to get up, I sometime work on a muscle group for a minute to "satisfy" it... All of this doesn't really replace the gym but every little bit helps.

I recently ordered a fitness ball and the plan is to use it as an office chair in order to work the core as I work. I'm also thinking on buying a under desk bike. All these little things may not sound like much but it's important to find the time to workout and these little things do add up over time. Sure, I may not be able to build as much muscle mass as I used to from going to the gym but it's more about getting the stress out than anything else at this point.