Diane

Savouring things Today I consciously savoured two things: the snow falling on me this afternoon and the deliciois meal I had this evening. Talk about the power of the subconscious... I set the intention to be more mindful and here I am savouring day-to-day stuff, astonishing!! Amazing things that happened today: I assisted to a beautiful singing lesson; I decided to take it easy as long as I'm here in Fribourg because while I'll still be able to read/study/do all the things I have to when I'll go back home I won't be able to savour and experience what is here; I have almost passively made 10000 footsteps.. Ways I could have made today better: Being more present Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist: Studying some ECG What I've learnt: Not to take anything for granted.

Hello @Study!! I was really fascinated by your journal, it feels like listening to myself until some months ago. I don't have any special tips to give you, just wanted to send you a big hug from Italy! I remember that one of the things I craved during my journey towards accepting anxiety was someone to hug me and tell me that in the end everything was going to be all right. So I'm giving it to you now!! And remember: anxiety may be your king but you are the Queen!!

Amazing things that happened today: I participated to a wonderful comfirmation; I had the occasion to see again some beautiful people I hadn't seen in years, they all were very inspiring!! I didn't keep myself from speaking even if I couldn't translate very well what I wanted to say from Italian to Kirundi.. Ways I could have made today better: Studying/reading during the 40 minutes I slept in. Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist: No one... What I've learnt: Just being myself is always the best choice.

Private victories Today I won two small internal struggles: not eating that tasty beignet because I decided not to eat sweets and following trough on my decisionto stop watching the voice at 11. Well done D!! Amazing things that happened today: We visited another beautiful church, the one where the cerimony will tale place tomorrow. I think I'll never get tired of seeing new churches!! I ate an excellent soup for lunch. Actually, it's been a while since I started eating tasty and healty food. It's amazing having the opportunuty to do it also when I' not home. I ate two mandarin oranges!! Ways I could have made today better: Waking up earlier Actually helping instead of thinking of helping. Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist: Studying some ECG What I've learnt: To trust myself.

My first life purpose statement Today I came up with my first life purpose statement and it sounds like this: "to do plenty of research and public speaking to make people more conscious about their health". For "health" I mean physical and mental well being.. I can't wait to finish the life purpose course!! Amazing things that happened today: We visited a beautiful little church here in Fribourg I ate an avocado!!! I love avocados!! I noticed that the house we're staying in has under floor heating, such an amazong thing for someone like me whose feet are always cold!! Ways I could have made today better: Finding the time to study something besides doing the life purpose course. Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist: No one again... What I've learnt: To notice in wich ways I embody the characteristics/behaviours I criticize in other people around me.

Where you don't arrive with tour head you arrive with your feet Yesterday I fell asleep right before clicking "submit reply" and my phone didn't keep in memory what I had written so now I'm here rewriting everything... Amazing things that happened yesterday: I arrived in Switzerland!! I'm staying here for a week with my mother, we're here for the confirmation of his godson. I really love seeing new places, people and ways of living!! We're staying to a wonderful family. I meditated in airplane!! Ways I could have made today better: Studying whenever I had the time and energy. Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist: None.. What I've learnt: To always trust myself; Wine is not my thing, it makes me too sleepy; Writing this journal in bed is not a good idea...

@Abby Skvarce you're very welcome!!

I totally agree with you @Abby Skvarce!! The essence of the book is making the place you live in a mirror of the person you want to be so that it is easier and more "natural" to achieve the goal. I remember looking at my room after tyding it with her method and thinking "now that is the room of a medical student!!". It's really much more about aligning with your true self than just decluttering. Thank you for mentioning it, I hope other people will benefit from it!!

The anxiety paradox Today was the last day of my internship, it was amazing!! All these two months were really. While coming back home I started wondering if I was somewhat complacent during this period and didn't do, ask, study and learn as much ad I could. This reminded me of one day when I was feeling really nervous for the thing I was about to do and then cheered myself up saying that feeling anxious just meant I was doing the right thing. Another day not feeling so anxious as I would have before in a similar situation I told myself that this meant that I finally had internalized the fact that worrying is useless.. Kinda tricky!! Amazing things that happened today: It was a beautiful sunny day, spring is in the air!! Soon I will be able to run at 6am, yeeeeee!! Everything went perfectly at the hospital; I managed to pack for my imminent trip to Switzerland and be on time for the swim class. Ways I could have made today better: Having the courage to say everything I thought. Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist: Going to the Cardiology clinic and actively participating to the wprk there. What I've learnt: I need to challenge myself everytime I can.

Turn sh*t into gold I love this quote from the book "The 50th law"! I was reminded of it by some not-so-nice words from my father this evening. In the past I used to suffer for this wondering why he behaves the way he does.. Tonight this was just a reminder for me of one of the reasons I want to find a part-time job that allows me to live alone or with my fiancé. So now I'm quite grateful for that... Amazing things that happened today: My mom gave me a ride to the hospital this morning; I really enjoyed tonight's bellydance lesson!! I'm becoming more and more independent from the opinion of others. Everytime I notice someone judging me I silently tell them "go on judging me, just remember to be perfect for the rest of your life!" and if I've actually done something wrong I just acknowledge it and say to myself that it's a lesson learned. Ways I could have made today better: Waking up at 5 as I want to do every day from monday to saturday. Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist: Going to the Cardiology clinic and actively participating to the work there; Finally opening a book and studying!! What I've learnt: I need to always have a clear idea of the big picture, of where I want to go and how to hit the target as smoothly as possible. While rewatching Leo's videos on mindfulness I realized that what I was looking for was just clarity on what is truely important and why it is so. Watching the video "how to live an extraordinary life" really helped me in doing so!!

Missing balance Recently life tends to "happen" too much and it's quite sad knowing that the only thing I have control on is what I do with my time.. I definitely need to re-watch Leo's videos on mindfulness. Also, my mom just bought a book on mindfulness, I'll give it a look too. Amazing things that happened today: It didn't rain so I went to the hospital in bike for the first time after a week of going in bus (during this internship I discovered my love for cycling when it's cold...); I had the possibility of chatting with a patient. I really love talking to patients!! I managed to go to the hospital and be present all morning even if I had slept less than 4 hours. Ways I could have made today better: Again being more focused on long term goals rather than just on short term ones. Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist: Going to the Cardiology Clinic and participating to the activity there. What I've learnt: If I want it bad enough I can always find a way, there is no tired, hungry or anything else.

Slow progression is still progression Last week I set the goal to be more mindful about how I spend my days. I certainly could have done better and more than I actually did. Anyway, I choose to focus on the fact that I'm constantly improving myself and getting closer to what I can and want to be. Amazing things that happened today: I spent a wonderful morning and lunch with my fiancé; I had the opportunity to read a reading in Mass (I love public speaking, I've descoverd it the day of my dissertation..); I ran. Ways I could have made today better: Studying and reading. Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist: Writing a thank you note to the Cardiologist I met yesterday. What I've learnt: By focusing on one task at a time each task requires less time to finish; Day by day, in every way I'm getting better and better. (Commander Mark Divine)

My body is telling me something... I'm starting to get a second cold in less than three weeks. It reminds me of the period I got pink eyes three times in a row because I was too much at the computer while collecting data for my thesis... Anyway.. Amazing things that happened today: I met the Cardiologist I want to become!! He also said that one of the reasons he has always put a lot of effort in his work is to make the path easier for future generations of foreign doctors in Italy and that he is committed to help changing how blacks are seen here. He then mentioned the fact that everyone has his/her own path of growth and some lessons are better learnt the hard way than the easy way (Amen brother!!! ); My boyfriend bought me a beautiful new pair of stilettos as a gift ; I'm about to finish the life purpose course. Ways I could have made the day better: Following trough on my morning routine even if it wasn't such an ordinary day (I now have to re-restart my month of top 10 values contemplation and meditation.. Skipping my daily routines on "special days" is a pattern of mine I definitely want to break); Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist: Preparing for and then acing the meeting with the Cardiologist I want to become. What I've learnt: I am enough; It's ok to partly sacrifice personal life to achieve ones goals; Kindness and humility are powerful weapons not only to be liked by others (wich in itself is not a bad thing) but also to get help from others, learn new things and make dreams come true.

I have to write it down until it's still fresh in my mind!!! So I just came back from one hour and a half of talking with the Cardiologist I had an appointment with today. One hour and a half, can you believe it?!?! I'm so honoured and grateful!!! I treated the meeting as if it were an informational interview so I started asking him some questions about him and his career and only by that he gave me so many suggestions and advices for my own career that when he finished the only question I still had to ask him was his opinion on whether to specialize here in Italy or somewhere else. Despite what the majority of people I talked with till now, he said he was totally into the idea of remaining in Italy... Coming to his suggestions and advices, it was nothing I didn't already know but it was so nice seeing live what actually one becomes when living by values like humility, spirit of initiative, self-esteem and excellence. As we were taking a coffee we ran into one of his patients, he was so nice to her!!! The only thing left to do for me is study study and always aim to the first place!!! P.S: special thanks to Ramit Sethi's video on informational interviews and tips on how to approach successful people (I'll send him an email too...)!!! Here are the specific links: http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/c/inbox-zero-bundle/youre-in/9-Word-for-Word-Scripts.pdf

New day new format I decided to make this journal a little more pragmatic instead of just writing the thought of/about the day. Two of the questions I'm going to be answering at are inspired by the Five minute Journal (http://www.fiveminutejournal.com/). Thank you Alex Ikonn and UJ Ramdas!! So about yesterday... Amazing things that happened: My mum bought us a new notebook so that when my brother leaves we're still going to have one (I have two brothers, one is 26 and the other is 14. The older one is about to move into his own apartment, wich is great but it also means that his notebook is leaving too.. I don't know why but I never owned a computer wich was only mine..); While at the Cardiology Clinic I had the courage to expose myself asking the resident who was there if he was one of my ex classmates' boyfriend after I saw her photo on his phone (this meant revealing him how much it took me to finish medicine...); I found out I already had the two bus tickets I needed. Yeeee!!! Ways I could have made the day better: Actually studying instead of just planning to; Being more focused on long term goals instead of just on the short term ones; Being more flexible (I kind of overcame my people pleasing tendencies but now I sometimes find myself not going out of my way to do simple but helpful things because "it's not my job"..). Ways I got closer to becoming a wordclass Cardiologist: Going to the Cardiology clinic and actively participating at the work there. What I've learnt: I can't rely on being able to take a nap after dinner, the only realistic choices are: surrender or resist (sometimes the two can mean the same thing now that I think about it.. Lovely!! ); To embrace the suck. I prefer this expression to "going out of the comfort zone" even if they mean the same thing. "Embrace the suck" is much more complelling to me. Again, thank you Ramit Sethi and Commander Mark Divine!!

Overwhelmed with happiness I'm so happy right now, there's no particular reason, I just feel so grateful for all that I have in my life I can't quite take it all. I used to think I had to earn a posteriori all the beautiful things that happened to me. Now I know that no matter how hard I try I'll never be able to catch up with how lucky I am, I can only be grateful and continue living a good life.

Thank you @abrakamowse, consider yourself hugged!!!

Willpower battery I love the fact of being on a self-actualization journey because it makes me aware of things that I would otherwise overlook. Yesterday afternoon after the first 90min pomodoro of studying I got caught up in a lot of urgent/unimportant stuff until it was too late and I was too tired to reopen a book. Similarly today I decided to give myself a 30min power nap and ended up sleeping for two hours, during the afternoon again. I'm now more conscious about the fact that following plan A is more and more difficult as the hours pass so I have to be mindful of that too. Or I'll just start taking willpower naps instead of just power naps!!

Alignment Talking about setting our focus and then trusting the universe, today a cardiologist I wanted to get in touch with called me and we agreed to meet saturday morning!! Shortly after returning to the dream of becoming a cardiologist, I started hearing more and more about this cardiolologist coming from Congo who had studied and specialized at the same university I went to. I googled him but couldn't find anything to contact him. After a while a family friend told me she worked at the same hospital where he works. She offered to give him my number and today he actually called me!!! I don't think anything similar would have happened if I hadn't aligned with my true path...

@Kelley White, I totally agree with you, it's all about embracing the old paradox of working to maximize our potential while accepting ourselves the way we are right now. As I always say and try to remember, mindfulness is the answer to everything!!

Fit body fit mind fit spirit Yesterday I did almost everything I had planned to do until the evening: I was so tired I wasn't able to do my evening routine. My first guess was that I expect too much from myself but Commander Mark Divine told me I can do and be 20 times more and better than my mind thinks so I definitely could have done all the things I had intended to do. I then found the missing piece: the "fit body" component! Last week I didn't run even if I wasn't so sick that I couldn't work out in one way or another. Running is already in my daily schedule so maybe from the next few days I'll be more energetic. In addition to that I want to become physically stronger, I don't know how yet but I'm sure my subconscious will find a way.

Thank you @Kelley White, you're so sweet!! :*

A messy week It was a really messy week, that's another reason why I want to update this journal daily. I didn't go to the hospital because I had a cold, nothing too serious but I decided to stay home so that I could focus more on studying. I ended up doing a whole bunch of things (Ramit Sethi and Commander Mark Divine's "Hell week", Kate Northrup's "Money Love Challenge", seeing friends, listening to self-help audiobooks etc) and studying just a little bit. I made a bit of a mess also with my morning and evening routines, wich for the record are: Morning: my top 10 values (personal growth, passion, professionalism, honesty, optimism, learning, friendship, contribution, travel and beauty) contemplation; 20 min meditation; breakfast; shower; misogi; ECG. Evening: organizing the following day; gratitude journal; reading and now updating this journal. So my goal for next week is to be more mindful of how I occupy my time and to learn to prioritize in the right way the things I put in my to-do list. I also want to be kinder to myself!!

Thank you Kelley!! I definitely will keep you in the loop!!