Longevity

It's all well and good to work hard at being at better you, but it's near enough pointless to be great for a matter of hours, days, weeks or months, you need to be the best you forever. 

One of the biggest things I learnt about myself when learning to overcome my problems was what I can and can't do. I learned how to look after myself, alone, without the need to rely on others. This has transpired into me forming habits that have lasted, and seen me through to today.

Firstly, I learned what external influences are bad for me. For example, alcohol and me do not mix. This was a hard pill to swallow at the age of 21, when all I and everyone around me wanted to do was drink. Drinking single handedly lead to all of the worst moments I can recall. Waking up in hospital in paper clothes, with all my possessions, missing, broken or stained in vomit/alcohol, offending and alienating multiple close friends, failed relationships and ultimately appearing in court! All of that came about because of alcohol.

I was never by any means your typical alcoholic, but I was very much an addict, in that I never knew when to stop. A quiet pint in my language was actually making it home that night. I had no shut off, no "enough's enough". It came to a point when I realised that telling myself I'd be better wasn't going to work and I simply had to cut that influence out of my life.

During the time after stopping drinking, I started to track my moods and begin to identify what exactly influenced them, or what patterns there was. After a good while it became apparent that my mood changed with the seasons, a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD to give it it's ironic acronym. I could see from my recordings that around autumn when the nights drew in, my mood when downhill and I became slower and less able to be on top form, and conversely, the summer months lead to more manic and spontaneous behaviour. Every job I have ever left began in the summer and ended in the winter.
To combat this, I invested in a daylight lamp and ensured that I spent as much time as possible outside soaking up sunshine.

Sleep was also a major contributor to my well being. I used to often say "Sleep when you're dead, now is for living" and I often lived of 2-4 hours sleep a night. I'd combat the fatigue this caused with caffeine and other stimulants which just lead to a constant sleep deprived, over stimulated cycle that got me nowhere fast! After changing things and trying to ensure I get a good 6-8 hours sleep, I am much more able to hit the ground running each morning. I also got given a life changing gift this Xmas, a sunlight alarm clock. This little beauty slowly sets over half an hour as you fall asleep, then rises again slowly in the half hour previous to when you have to be up. I always now wake up naturally and without a harsh alarm tone shocking me to sleep. Amazing bit of kit.

In summary, and to generalise on the things I've found work, the most important thing you can do is listen to your body. If its tired, sleep. If you're hungover, stop drinking. If you're restless, do something productive.


Cut out the things you identify are causing you to fall and falter and form lifelong habits, not short term fixes, Don't let anything limit you, or change who you are, after all the goal is to be the best possible you, forever.