Letting Go of My Bananas

When I was going through one of the most difficult times in my life (knock on wood), a friend recommended this book:

Letting Go of Your Bananas 

And this book changed my life.

Today, I offer my rotten bananas as of July 2008.  I try to look at this list every few months to gauge how far I've come.  I have come far, and seeing the things I have yet to change motivates me to keep pursuing my personal successes.

This is my living rotten banana document...in essence...this is me yelling at myself:

Affirmation: I am letting go of these bananas. They will continue to hold me back until I do. This will take time. I cannot drop all of these rotten bananas in one day. Each day will bring me a stronger desire to chop these bananas off. I will approach each day with a smile and let nothing stand in my way of letting these bananas fall. Wherever these bananas land is not my problem. My only problems stem from these bananas. Any problems that may arise above and beyond the bananas listed below are most likely overspill from someone else’s bananas, for which I cannot take accountability for. I accept full accountability for letting these bananas control my happiness and success, and I take full responsibility for letting them go.

Objectives:

• Each day is a full day
• Get a good night's rest, wake on time, with a smile and accomplish everything you set out to accomplish that day.
• Go to bed knowing your day was well spent.
•  Finish the school without curbing the learning
• Get the BA degree (aka piece of paper that proves your competencies)
• Make more money, don't stop there
• Make new friends, keep the old, ditch the ones that don't cut it
• Help people and give back
• Health and Happiness
• Live long and prosper
• Sleep, quit smoking, drink my water, stop eating crap food
• Take the time to enjoy real food, and to enjoy preparing it
• Stop stressing about things that you cannot control; stop stressing about things that will not adversely affect your tomorrow.  There should be no reason that you let yourself get that worked up over something that is so insignificant.  Find the root cause.  Listen to your body.  Sense that it is coming and create a diversion.
• Live long for Jack, live long for self, live long for success
• Organize
• Put stuff where it goes so you can find it
• Get rid of everything you don't need, use, or have a use for - donate or sell it.  It doesn't matter the less stuff you have, the less you have to maintain.
• Time Management
• It is not necessary for you to make plans for every minute of every day
• It is necessary that you stick to the plans that you make
• Keep the commitments you make to yourself on the front burner
• Trust
• Get over your past and move on.
• Things are the way that they are and nothing you do today will change the way they were.
• Things you do today will change the way they continue to be.
• Forgive and forget.
• If you don't, you will never allow yourself the opportunity to experience love and happiness the way it should be experienced.  Jack is liable to grow up with similar issues and you will forever regret not learning to live more openly.  You have paid enough penance and happiness in this department is long overdue.
• Addressin' the Financin
• You have always been financially responsible moreso than anyone you have ever met.
• How this is possible without tracking any expense or budget is beyond me.  You have done well for yourself, but not that well considering you don't have a pot to piss in.
• Well you do, but it costs money to flush so figure it out.
• Do not delay, do not worsen.  Just fix it.
• Stop repeating minor dilemma before it becomes a major dilemma.
• Figure it out before you become a statistic.
• Acceptance:  because it is what it is
• Accept who you are.  Be thankful for being someone.
• Be thankful to those that have helped you become the someone you are and realize that those people too, had issues in being their own person while helping you become who you are.
• Do the best you can do.
• Do not expect others to change
• The rest will follow suite if it needs to, and don't worry if it doesn't.
• Patience, just a little patience...yeah___yeah____.
• Realize that each person operates at a pace in which they are comfortable
• Your pace is not comfortable for most so stop being so pushy
• Do not rush at the grocery store or while driving, you are going to cause an accident
• Stop walking like a clydesdale, people can hear you coming from a mile away
• The work will be there tomorrow and the door can be opened when you get there.
• Clomping around here like you do in shoes like that...you could really hurt someone.
• Take a deep breath and relax your shoulders Frankenstein
• Time is constant and you will not make the day go by faster by running through it.

These are my rotten bananas.  Entertaining to say the least.  There stands a good chance that you have some of the same.  Making them public just gives me that much more incentive to be a little more aggressive with these goals.
My point is this:  if you have something, one thing, or a list of things preventing you from being totally and completely happy with yourself, do something to change it.  I haven't cleared this entire list...but I've certainly put a dent in it.  My life is better for it.

I urge each and every one of you to pick up a copy, if I haven't personally handed you one.