Bouts of Motivation and Inspiration

Two nights ago, H and I had the the fortune of being taken out by my good friends Evelyn and Anthony for our birthdays. We took them to our new-found Asian restaurant and they liked it. We then played games at home, and it was really fun.

I realized I was happy amongst people I love and it almost made me cry.

Sometimes, in this world where I'm constantly confused by things going on around me, by things that are supposed to be simple yet turn out to be not, by people who are supposed to be your friends yet lie and flake out on you, simplicity is actually hard to come by.

By simplicity, I mean pure, unadulterated friendship. People who accept you for who you are. People who accept you for whatever situation you are in, regardless of how much money you have, what job you do, what crazy antics you pull from time to time, and how plain WEIRD you are (or in this case, me).

By simplicity, I also mean simple actions. The simple act of playing board games or cards. The simple act of us four sitting around the table, chatting. The simple act of my mother calling me just because she could since she is actually in the same continent as me. The simple act of random emails, calls, or texts. The simple act of a friend trying so very hard to arrange get-togethers. All these are seemingly nothings, but one day, God forbid if one day, something happens to any of us and we are unable to do any of these things, the little simple acts will seem like luxuries. Or for example, our good friend Jason moving to Taiwan - it makes even seeing each other that much harder.

Yesterday morning, I had the luxury of being able to sleep in (until 7am...), to surf online, to listen to my music, and to chat with some friends online. "Luxury??" you might gasp in amazement. Yes, to me, being able to do all these things none the less on a Saturday morning is indeed a Luxury. These are things I used to do without thinking and got bored of perhaps even a year ago, yet now, it is a luxury because of my busy-ness doing nothing and everything. Everything is perspective I suppose.

While chatting with some friends online, I noticed that a lot of us are getting into physical activity, whether it be working out, being active, or working towards a goal such as a marathon or a weight loss. It reminds me of the saying that you are who your friends are, or something like that. By surrounding yourself with people you want to become, you can become more like them. I'm glad I have friends that help me want to become a better person.

Compromise

A recent fight with the boyfriend involves both of us assuming that we know what the other person wanted when in fact it wasn't. I thought that he had wanted to go watch a music show (something he mentioned to me months ago), whereas he thought I had wanted to go on a trip to Utah (something I had mentioned to him months ago). As it turns out, we are not the other person, and we would never know what priorities and thought processes the other person has in mind. (Ironically, this fight was over what to do for Valentine's day.)

That got me thinking. Many times in working with clients, we may naturally assume that we know what is best for them. For me, I get super excited, and I just want to unload ontol them my knowledge as well as what to eat and what not to eat. However, I often lose sight of what is important to them. Perhaps soda is one of those things that a particular client is unwilling to give up, but he/she is able to stop having desserts after each meal. Or perhaps having that one piece of dark chocolate at the end of the day is what motivates another client to get to the gym and work at that treadmill.

Whatever it is they need to keep working towards their goal, it is up to us dietitians to find out. They should not be feeling deprived. Instead, dieting, as well as many other facets of life, should be more of a compromise - having less of the things you don't care about as much so that you can have more of the things you love.

I can't write anymore

I must admit, I am a pretty ambitious person. But sometimes, the eyes take in more than the mouth can eat.

I have been reading a lot motivational books and blogs and have been thinking about the common theme: Follow your dreams, follow your passions. It has led me to contemplate what my dreams and passions are.

I have (too) many.

Even though I thought I would never say this, but being a Clinical Dietitian has been one dream come true. It incorporates everything I love about being a dietitian - I get to help people, work with other medical professionals, and play around with numbers (especially now that I am in the ICU). While everyday is the same routine - you read charts all day trying to decipher doctors' handwriting then formulate your own notes in hopes that one, just one doctor, picks up on your recommendation(s) and writes the order, every patient is unique, and you never know what you are going to get when you get out of your car in the morning and walk into the hospital. It is so different from a regular 9-to-5 job that sometimes my family doesn't even understand what I do at work. *laugh*

But I want more.

I want to be able to write. To do creative work. To spread goodness, not only about nutrition and what you are supposed to eat (that was meant to be sarcastic) but about healthy living and everything beautiful in general. After I tried writing a simple article about vitamin D, and failed miserably trying to connect my coherent thoughts together to make one incoherent paragraph, I decided that I simply need more practice - practice observing, practice writing, and practice living out my dreams.

Thus, the birth of this blog.