Tag: mental health

What Day is Today?

~ Henry Butterfly ~ Leave a comment

Hi, everybody.

I feel like I’m still waking up. Hold up – let me take a sip of my coffee before I begin this bloggerooski.

OK, that was really good. Very good coffee. Dunkin’ Donuts really does not get the credit they deserve. Starbucks? Pfft. Scooters? Pfft. I do like Peet’s, though. A lot.

OK, what the hell are we talking about today? I guess the title leads me to how jumbled my mind is this morning. Also, my body is sore. As I’ve mentioned before, whenever I’m stressed it’s always beneficial for me to write. Is it beneficial for you to read what I write? Well, when you look at this blog and this blog alone, no. BUT maybe check out some of my past stuff. There’s quite a bit to choose from.

But really, what day is it?
Don’t worry. I know it is Tuesday.
Feels like a Wednesday. What does that even mean?

Told ya today the mind is jumbled. I think I just tried writing a haiku and failed on every level. Like, it’s not even close. I forget what makes up a haiku. It’s the structure of the poem, syllables, words, etc. if I remember correctly, but I’m not Googling it till after I publish this.

I swear I’m in a great mood today. Let’s just say my writing could use a little work. I need some ideas! I’m tired of talking about myself each and every time. If you have any ideas on where I could take this blog next, please let me know in the comments.

I wish you well. Try not to beat the shit out of yourself.

EDIT: OK, I googled it:
hai·ku
1. Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images of the natural world.
– A poem in English written in the form of a haiku.

Yep, I got the lines of three thing right. That’s about it.

Tired Hands

~ Henry Butterfly ~ Leave a comment

Hi, everybody.

You didn’t think I was stopping at 7 days, did ya? I don’t know how long I’ll keep the streak going but my goal was 7 days and I hit it. WOO. Let’s keep this train chuggin’.

OK, moving on. My hands are legitimately tired. Typing right now is actually creaky/painful to a certain extent. Early arthritis in the hands–could use a hand massage every day (they are so lovely). But I’m not talking about our physical hands here. I’m talking about our mental grasp of things: what we’re able to do to help others when we’re rested compared to when unrested.

There’s a massive difference. Today I know I need to limit how much I give to others and to myself. I woke up with bags under the eyes, creaky hands (I mentioned that already), sore neck, shoulders, and one tired, tired mind. I need to recharge. I need to bring myself through that mental massage so my body, and more importantly my mind, is restored back to where it needs to be.

But sometimes life doesn’t give us a second to take our breath. That’s when we have to force our minds to prioritize our health over everything else. Right now I should be working, but I know where my head is at. I know I’ll be a more effective worker once I rehabilitate my mind for the day. Let’s start there.

Notice when you have tired hands. Take a step back. Breathe. Listen to your body. Listen to your mind. And as Richard Miller says, become “aware and at ease”, and progress.

I have no fucking clue if any of this made sense.

I wish you well. Try not to beat the shit out of yourself.

Busy Boxing Day = Quick Blog

~ Henry Butterfly ~ Leave a comment

Hi, everybody!

Just got done getting my face and liver hit. Great way to start your day (honestly). Pro tip: Always best to hit your opponent more than he hits you. Today that went in my favor.

I need to hop in the shower. It’s time to go coach the two children classes I teach on Sunday mornings, followed by training my Pops, bringing in my boxers to spar each other, then finish off with some sand volleyball.

It’s a busy, lovely day. Weather is great, too. I don’t really have too much on my mind, honestly. I feel like this week, since I’ve written so much, I’ve been able to flesh out so much for myself.

I’ve told you to try writing, haven’t I? Most of the time I’m writing here, I’m asking myself a question. About halfway through, maybe sometimes a bit longer, I have an answer to that question. That’s what writing does for me. It also slows me down. I write so damn fast that everything around me slows down. My day seems to slow down, too. Writing is medicine for me. I hope you can find something as healing for you along this journey, too. I’m still here with you.

Welp, time to get back to it.

Oh, that’s the 7-day streak, baby. Fuck yeah.

I wish you well. Try not to beat the shit out of yourself.

Concentration Creates Stimulation

~ Henry Butterfly ~ Leave a comment

Hi, everybody!

First off, the title is a direct quote from Brené Brown. I’m not that clever to come up with such a statement. But let’s talk about it. Also, let’s keep the streak alive (6 days, yup yup).

Concentration creates stimulation. It’s true. The other way around? Not so much all the time. But concentration does stimulate us and usually what’s around us. Intensifies everything. Makes things real. So how do you concentrate and stimulate? I don’t really know, that depends on you, but I’ll tell you what works for me.

I stick to my passion. You lot have read me writing about boxing often. Well, that’s because I do it often. When I do it, I concentrate entirely on it. When do I feel like I’m “clicking” the most? When I’m boxing. When I’m coaching boxing.

My coach said he’ll train me for 1 pro fight. Concentration increases when I’m in the gym. Stimulation at an all-time high. It feels great.

So for me it’s about sticking with my passion. Understanding I must prioritize over almost everything. Sounds selfish. Maybe it is. But I think it’s the opposite. The days I start with boxing, the days I have my passion with me, those are the days I am my best self. And you don’t want to be around someone’s worst self, right?

Concentration creates stimulation. People, remember that. Thanks, Brené Brown.

I wish you well. Try not to beat the shit out of yourself.

House in Order

~ Henry Butterfly ~ Leave a comment

Hi, everybody.

If you’ve kept with me over these past nine or so months I’ve been blogging, you probably noticed my life has been an utter mess for… well, over nine months. Well, it’s starting to come together. Wanna know how I know? Things are slowing down for me. The work isn’t slowing down, but my worries and insecurities have shed from me. It’s a good feeling to have.

How did I get to this point? Shit, I don’t know. I think it was just perseverance and putting the right people around me at the right times. Or it was just simply life playing itself out. I try not to think about it too much. I’m just happy I made progress.

So what sparked this blog topic? My office is put together! New desk, my favorite bookcase, my grandma’s old plant stand, a hanging plant in the window, my mini basketball hoop (yeah so what if I’m almost 30), and a yoga mat + roller. I’m very happy in this room. I’m very happy in this house. You could say… my house is in order.

I’m sorry for that. That was so lame. But I got nothing else for you today. That’s where I’m leaving it. I’ll be better next time, maybe.

I wish you well. Try not to beat the shit out of yourself.

Teamwork

~ Henry Butterfly ~ Leave a comment

Hi, everybody!

Four days in a row. No big deal.

I’m very happy today. The boxing team is really coming together. More and more of my actual boxers are coming in for multiple trainings a week and I’m loving it. We are now up to… nine boxers! That’s nine people we are getting ready to fight in the Summer months. It’s exciting. Really exciting. Also, they’ve done a tremendous job embracing the team atmosphere in such an individual sport. People think boxing is all about the boxer, but it is really a team sport. You don’t get better without solid teammates and coaches in training.

I’ve also experienced great teamwork in my first week at the new job. My boss commended me for helping the team out with my English degree (editing our email cadences and making them… much, much better). I reached out to the COO and started a conversation with him. He’s happy to have me on his team.

I just really love the idea of team. It’s so very important in life to surround yourself with a team. A team could be your support group. A team could be as simple as your family. As simple as a couple of your friends. But having a team pushes you to be better. Pushes you to check in on yourself. Pushes you to care for others, which in turn helps you care for yourself.

Become part of a team. You won’t regret it.

I wish you well. Try not to beat the shit out of yourself.

Staying Your Course

~ Henry Butterfly ~ Leave a comment

Hi, everybody!

Another reminder popped up to write a blog, so here I am. I’m not a huge fan of Siri but I do love me some reminders. I’d be lost without them.

WHAT A TRANSITION. Today we’re discussing staying our course. I’ve stumbled and tripped along the road most of my life but I’ve been lucky enough to keep a general sense of direction since I beat my drug addiction a decade back.

What’s the key to staying on your path? I don’t think there’s just one. But I do believe the few things I list below are essential to keeping your life “on track”, at least for me:

  • Keeping a routine – It doesn’t have to be followed step-by-step every day, but it is important to have a general idea of what you’re doing each day.
  • Checking in with your friends and support system.
  • Taking a day for yourself to do nothing – Self care is very important and sometimes we just need a recharge to find our center again.
  • Understand what excites you, tangible or intangible, and make sure you’re putting time towards that.
  • Reading – I don’t do this enough but whenever I do, I feel like I’m on the right path.
  • Getting outside – Whether it’s to walk your dogs or just to chill, it’s important to get outside and get fresh air, deep breaths, and sunlight.
  • Exercise – No matter what you end up doing, being active and getting some form of exercise in can be extremely influential in keeping your body and mind strong.
  • Meditations – These don’t have to be structured, and no, you don’t have to get to a state of nirvana to have a successful meditation session, you just need to be present.
  • Mental check-ins – Are you doing well? Are you taking on too much? I don’t ask these questions enough of myself. I hope you do.
  • Diet – I struggle with this the most, but what we put in our body directly impacts our day. Remember that. I wish I remembered it a bit more often, especially last night when I had four waffles right before bed.
  • Trust yourself.

This could all be bullshit to you, but I hope you’re able to grab one to two things out of this list that you can apply to your daily schedule. I know all this shit helps me. Maybe it’ll help you, too. I think that’s what this blog is for, kinda?

I wish you well. Try not to beat the shit out of yourself.

Change Will Happen

~ Henry Butterfly ~ Leave a comment

Hi, everybody!

Currently I am listening to Chorus calls. What are Chorus calls? Recorded sales calls at my new company. I’m “shadowing” for two weeks and I’ll be doing this a lot over the next two weeks. I enjoy it–it’s nice to hear other people’s sales tactics and such.

Outside of that, I’m drinking some coffee and thinking about change. We have the obvious one, the new job, but there’s a few other things I’m looking to change this week.

I spoke with my head coach yesterday about the stresses of handling so many boxers. Yesterday I had eight boxers in a very small space and I tried to work with them all. By the end of it, I was just frustrated. I never want to feel beat up, defeated, etc. in coaching. That’s not what this should feel like. So I had to take a look at what I was doing. And I was doing too much, according to my head coach. He’s right. It’s time to cut back and make sure I’m taking care of myself.

Also, my coach said we will try for a professional fight. One more fight for me. Let’s see if he follows through–I’ve been training my ass off and I’m picking it up every single day.

And now we’re back to the new job. A big change. I feel good about it, though. I really like the people. I still really like my life, even with constant inevitable change.

We’ve talked about it before. Change will happen. Stick with it, people.

I wish you well. Try not to beat the shit out of yourself.

New Job, Quick Post

~ Henry Butterfly ~ Leave a comment

Hi, everybody!

I start the new gig today! Very excited. I wanted to write something out real quick before my first meeting starts (in nine minutes, dun dun dun).

I am excited for this challenged. Scared, but mostly excited. Let’s hope my dogs somewhat cooperate with me on my first day. The puppy is already asking for 20 things… let’s hope the new boss really loves dogs.

Welp, here goes nothing.

I wish you well. Try not to beat the shit out of yourself.

Starting Fast, Starting Strong

~ Henry Butterfly ~ Leave a comment

Hi, everybody!

Hope you lot are doing well. Today is a great day, it really is. Let’s go over the agenda.

  • Boxing Technique and Conditioning (Complete)
  • An All Out American Breakfast (In Progress)
  • Hiking
  • Dogs
  • Lady Friend
  • More Food
  • Probably Vidjie Games

It’s really a fantastic day. And it’s going to stay that way all the way through. I can’t state how important the start of your day is, truly. Every single day I start with my passion (boxing) turns out to be an amazing day. I barely boxed today, just mainly coached, but boy starting with that passion really sets you up for a successful day, whatever that means for you.

Think about that. See if you can work in more of what you love doing earlier on in the day. I like to call it starting strong or starting fast. I use the term often in boxing. Think about it: The way you start translates into the rest of what you do throughout the day. If you start with something destructive, do you think you’ll end with something constructive? If you start your day slow, do you really think you’ll be able to pick it up by the end of the day?

But it’s not easy. I fail a lot. But I know what gets me that happiness now. I know that coaching, boxing, conditioning, interacting with people on a teaching level gets me going. Sets me up for success. Try to figure out what that is for you. Everyone has something. Everyone.

I wish you well. Try not to beat the shit out of yourself.