One corner of my room…the neat side. The other side would scare you! 🙂

One of the continuing themes that has developed in this blog is that switching from an “unhealthy” lifestyle to a “healthy” lifestyle is very very hard!

And what does “making your bed” have to do with “getting healthy?”  Well to most people there may not be a connection, but for me there is.

Keep reading; all will be revealed.

Prepare yourselves, dear readers, all 7 of you who are reading this blog, because once again, we are about to enter the weird and wonderful world of “Tony’s Brain”….

cue the music please, hang onto the guide rope and if you get lost, well, the monster in the subconscious has to be fed somehow doesn’t he?  heh heh heh…

UN-healthy living is the result of behaviors, most of them which we do “without thinking.”  And, friends and neighbors, a behavior which is performed without the conscious mind involved is called [DRUM-ROLL PLEASE] a habit!

So to switch from unhealthy habits to healthy habits is what we’re really aiming at here.  Because when you consistently do healthy things without thinking about them, eventually they add up and Voila!  You’re healthy!  But let me tell ya pardner, changing them thar nasty habits ain’t like ropin a horse.  It’s more like herdin’ cats it is.

Changing a habit takes effort and conscious thought and planning.  So…why is making my bed every morning a step toward developing a healthier lifestyle?

I rent from my best friend.  → Which gives me a bedroom, a bathroom, and kitchen privileges.  →  The bedroom is a small room, VERY small → Into which everything I own is shoved. → Desk, Computer, TV/DVD player, Bed, Clothes, etc, etc, etc.  → The bed takes up over half the room.  → If the bed is messy, then the whole room looks messy, even if everything else is in its place.  → And if the bed is messy then Tony’s brain goes “oh well, why bother.” → Which makes it easier for the rest of the room to “get messy” and “stay messy” → To do stretches in the morning and do some simple weight exercises,  which is one of the healthy habits I want to instill in myself, I must have a pristine room. → There is just about enough floor space left for me to do some very basic exercises ONLY IF the room is in pristine shape and everything is where it belongs. → And I have to do the exercises in my room. → Why? → We (the royal we) won’t talk about childhood traumas involving PE and how it has permanently skewed my attitude toward exercising in public like at a gym.  And there isn’t another open place in the apartment other than the hallway and I’m not going to stretch in the hallway.  It’s just too weird..  Let’s not go there shall we?  Hmmm…  moving on….  Now exiting Tony’s Brain, please remain seated until the ride comes to a complete and total stop.

Make sense?  I can’t do stretches if my room is messy all the time (and it usually is) and I can’t have a clean, neat room, if my bed is unmade all the time (and it usually is at least it has been).  Told you a trip through my brain would scare you!  You were warned. GRIN

So.. making my bed every single friggin frackin morning, ahem, is one of the first few tiny steps to a healthier me.  Remember start small, keep it simple, and keep doing it!

See ya on the dance floor!

Related Articles / Links

• How do you know you are healthy? (news.bbc.co.uk)
• The Habit Change Cheatsheet: 29 Ways to Successfully Ingrain a Behavior (zenhabits.net)
• Start of a new journey… (txcowboydancer.wordpress.com)
• Step by, *prioritized*, Step… (txcowboydancer.wordpress.com)
• New Pillows! New Pillows! New Pillows! (txcowboydancer.wordpress.com)