Finding Motivation

I have really been struggling with finding the motivation to do things recently. I have an essay due in on Friday, and while it is only 1,500 words (which to be fair is nothing) there is quite a bit of research to be done to understand the topic. It's based around consumer behaviour and I chose the topic of motivations of amateur poker players to pay the $10,000 buy in to enter the World Series of Poker Main Event. It's quite interesting anyway and I am quite enjoying the research but I really struggle with motivation. I am hoping that I will eventually find something that will instantly motivate myself, because at the moment I always become motivated at inappropriate times, like when I'm in bed trying to sleep and I'm too tired to being work then. I always struggle with motivation whenever something needs to be done, and especially at times like these when I have several important things that need doing I tend to ignore them and avoid doing any work at all costs by coming up with excuses and distractions (the internets a killer for this). So last time I was struggling with this I found Zen Habits which I've mentioned before, and I read this article: http://zenhabits.net/2007/02/top-20-motivation-hacks-overview/ . Now he has some very good ideas about motivation, but for some things like uni work I'm not sure that they apply. So yesterday I wrote myself a motivational list of things to motivate myself with and here it is!:

"You've got no chance of being recognised for doing well if you don't try" (R.B.W.)

1. I want to be recognised for doing well and doing better than anybody else. - Now i realise that this sounds very conceited, but it's because I want to do well. I know I am capable of getting a first and getting the best grade on my course if I was to try, but I don't try and I get good results, but nothing to write home about. It's nothing that is really going to impress people and make them go oh wow! And it's also because I want to prove to myself that I can do it, because I know that I am capable yet I have never proven this to myself.

2. I want to get a very high first at uni. - This is very do-able, but I just need to make sure that this year...

3. I want to get a solid first this year at uni. - and if I do this then I will be well on track for a very high first at the end of uni. I want to be congratulated at how well I have done and people be jealous that I have done so well, but I also want to deserve it because I know that I have worked my arse off to get there.

4. I want to feel proud of myself. - this leads on to the next point...

5. "What are you most proud of?" "Nothing" - This is what one of my lecturers asked me in a seminar along with the rest of the class. I was the first person she asked and that was my response, before she went round everybody else and they all reeled off lists of things they were proud of doing. There is nothing that I am really proud of myself for doing, because as far as I am concerned it wasn't specific to me because anybody could have done it. So here are my list of things which I want to achieve so that next time somebody asks me the question "what are you most proud of?" I can reply...

- Getting 80%+ at uni

- Organising a trip to climb mount kilimanjaro and raising over £30,000 to do so

- Running the race for life without stopping

- Doing really well at my placement and being asked to return when I finish uni

- Working at camp america and fulfilling an ambition I have had for the past few years

- Setting up my own business

So there you go. Your opinion of me may have quite possibly changed and you now think of me as an arrogant twat, but hopefully you can understand my reasoning behind each of the things I have said. I challenge you anyway to write a list of things that you are both currently proud of (because everybody should be proud of something) and what you want to be proud of in both the near future and within the next 10 years. Post me a link in the comments or send me a message because I would like to hear your personal accomplishments, seeing as I obviously lack my own.

Speak to you soon anyway,

Much love,

Miss Multiplicity xxx

My "Healthy Eating" Challenge

In my first post I said how I wanted to be a vegetarian by the end of this year and eventually a vegan. I have thought a lot and read a lot since then and I have now decided that while I will live a primarily vegetarian/ vegan diet I will still consume the following things:

- fish

- yoghurt

- eggs (thought I don't really like the thought of it)

- honey (because apparently proper vegans don't eat honey)

- margarine/ butter (although I have bought soya butter, but if it's on something I order or I eat at somebody's house then its fine)

and I think thats it.

So I have decided to do this now from a health perspective, because in theory I will be a healthier and less disease prone person if I stick to this kind of diet and obviously eat a variety of other foods. The whole exercise thing needs to be upped a bit too but never mind. Need to get training for the race for life (okie its only 3.6 miles but it's a challenge for me!), but because it's so cold at the moment and I don't want to get up early when its dark to do it, I am going to start skipping in the conservatory in the morning for about 5 mins to start off with to get my fitness levels up. Thing is the conservatory is freezing so I am really going to have to psych myself up for it.

But the main reason I was writing this post anyway was to give a quick product review of a brand of some dried fruit that I recently purchased. This brand is called "Forest Feast" (can be found at: www.forestfeast.com), and the products I bought were:

- "Fantastic Physalis" (if you don't know what they are google it - they are often used as a garnish on deserts in restaurants)

- "Mouth-watering Mango"

- "Scrumptious our Cherries"

- "Gorgeous Goji Berries"

Okie so I love love love love love Physalis fruits and I eat them by the boat load when they are in season, but I saw these in their pretty packaging (which is nothing like the packaging shown on their website by the way) and thought "Oooo! I love physalis fruits! So I should buy some dried ones!" so I did. But the thing is the real fruit has quite a lot of seeds in them so these has quite a lot of seeds in them. They are only mini and you don't notice them in the fresh fruit, but because it is dried the seeds are harder, and because the fruit has quite a distinctive flavour and the dried fruits taste is more intense I think they taste a bit strange and then add the nasty texture and, well I just don't really like them, but I am forcing myself to eat them because I hate throwing things out.

Now the mango one does taste nice, although I was dissappointed to find that they have a light dusting of sugar on them, because while it makes them taste nice I am trying to avoid refined sugar so that I find vegetables and things without a sauce more palatable. They are also quite tough, and perhaps a little hard to chew without them swimming around in your mouth. I also had one piece that was particularly fibrous (because mango does tend to have strange vein like bits through it) which I had to spit out because it wasn't overly pleasant. Although out of all of them they are definitely my favourite and if I wasn't trying to cut out refined sugar (although there is hardly any at all - it literally is the lightest of dusting's) then I would definitely buy them again to keep in my handbag for a snack (thats the other good thing about the packets is that they looks nice but they are also resealable)

Next was the sour cherries which I was very disapointed in, because I didn't read the back of the packet in the shop but they have quite a few things added to them to make them sour, and it has caused them to have a strange film over the dried fruit, kind of a bit like a very thin layer of wax, and while they taste ok it means that I don't really like the texture.

Finally there was the Goji berries, which on their own aren't great because they are a little bit hard, but they are good for you, so I added a few to a bottle of water so that my water tastes nicer and so that the water soaks into the fruits a bit and makes them more edible. Don't leave them for too long though else they go a little too soggy.

So overall I wasn't the biggest fan, but that said I have never really been a big fan of dried fruit, much prefer the fresh stuff. But the mango was good and so were the goji berries when you leave them in water for a few mins. But I hope this was helpful anyway if any of your were interested. Speak soon!

Much Love,

Miss Multiplicity xxx