2011/365/083: Tough Days

These are tough days.

My classes at school are challenging me in ways that I’ve never been challenged before. I have two incredibly talented production teams that are learning a great deal about real-world issues with money, marketing, and publishing. My English class is toying with writing that I want to showcase on a national level as they work on developing multi-voice creative nonfiction works performed in a reader’s theater structure.  That’s all good, though–just tough.

My exercise/diet program that I started on March 4th is kicking my butt every single day. I’m reaching the first transition, though, where I am feeling a real change in my weight, my health, and the way I carry myself. It’s also making me think more lucidly, and I am sleeping better at night. It’s tough physically, but it is good.

My time is being reprioritized to helping Amy cook our dinners at home, to writing pieces targeted for publication, to working out on a daily basis, and to spending more time with our children. That means less time for some other things that have been important in my life. The reprioritization has been tough, but necessary and good.

My entertainment time has been shifted dramatically, away from the television (we killed cable three weeks ago, away from satellite radio (we killed Sirius in January), and away from talk radio (thank goodness). My music and entertainment choices are done carefully now, with purpose, and they are fostering a more creative and productive life that is both positive and contributing to the larger community. The shift away from mainstream entertainment has forced me and our entire family to miss out on the mass-public discussions of tv shows and other pop media, which has been tough–but it has brought us closer together as a family, and that is good.

These are tough days, and I am grateful for what good is coming from such changes and challenges. My faith is strong that we can continue along this journey, living a better life, choosing to face the things that distract us from balanced living and strike them from our routines and lifestyles. I know the road is long, and variations of “tough” will really test me. But for this moment, this time in my life, I feel confident as I take that step forward, toward that new challenge that awaits me.