3.21.2012

the art of charts

today is the day.  last day of art month (boo!) and time to report on the month's outcomes (yay!)
i'll try to follow the same format as last time for the sake of consistency.  and if you need a reminder about what all of this means, here's the explanation from last month.

1. The conscious choice log.  The following chart represents how many times I used the conscious choice log (a place where I would write down a choice to do a particular behavior--eat, sleep, email, watch tv, etc--and then come back and record the outcomes of that choice in an effort to become aware of how my choices impact the way i feel and interact with the world).
oh yes, you're seeing that right.  ZERO. 
 yep.  As you may recall, last time I used it once... and this time I used it never.  Honestly, I'm not sure how much to care about this.  I mean, I feel like things are going well (I feel good more often than not), but then again... some of the other outcomes aren't quite where I want them to be...  I guess I really need to give it a shot to see if it has an effect before I can decide not to do it.  Okay.  Trying again (again).

2. This chart shows how close I was to my "best self" over the course of this month by measuring whether or not I felt those "best self" qualifiers.
you can see by the trend line that the month overall has taken a bit of a dip (the last few days have been rough.  i've not been at my best), but check this out:
This is how close I've been to my "best self" since the project started.  Compared to the roller coaster of last month, this month was consistently "higher."  I felt like the best version of myself more often than not!  And the trend for the project overall indicates a definite upward trajectory.

3. Finally, just a peek at which of the "best self" qualifiers I was feeling most frequently
I don't know that this chart tells you much... other than that I felt "airy fairy" every day this month (which I think is pretty significant... feeling connected to my spiritual self is a good indicator that all of my other ducks are in a row or at least have the potential to be). One factor worth noting is that I started regularly meditating again this month. It wasn't on the agenda but I did it daily until the last several days and I noticed a tremendous difference in the way I interacted with the world... and the slump of the last day or two is something I suspect is related to the lapse of the habit. Meditating, doing the morning pages, not quite nailing the weekly artist's date but definitely being conscious about spending quality time with myself and doing nice things for myself, and reawakening the creative force I have inside are all things I am so glad I did. Write those down on the list of things to integrate into post FP life. Those things work.


I want to work on some other charts and collect more data, but as you can see... I'm not at my best today. I'm pretty wiped out and am very aware of how much unknown there is in my future. While that's always true (that the future is unknown) for all of us, I don't usually notice it and am not as afraid of it as a result. Today I'm choosing to remain in the unknown, but it hurts. I don't like it.

Last but not least... My ass. A new picture is up over there --> and (drumroll please!)

I weigh the same as I did this time last month... (trumpets start to blare and them fizzle out)

Same weight doesn't always mean same ass but this isn't one of those "muscle weighs more than fat moments." in fact, I think this month's ass might be a little lumpier than last. I went to bed at 8pm many nights this month because I was sick or otherwise exhausted and while that means I watched a lot less television, my physical activity time was my tv time and I slept through them both. My diet was mostly the same, but without any mini elliptical and leg lifts... Lumpy ass reappeared.

let's all say it together: "my body is perfect for what i am here to do and learn"

one thing worth noting.  we (and I mean that... i'm not using the "royal we") had our first stranger like us on facebook this month.  woot!  welcome stranger!

On to the next month!