I would have stayed up with you all night, if I'd known how to save a life I spoke to my dad last night, and it was refreshing. I gotta give my father credit - he's worked hard at staying healthy and positive over the years, and he does it well. I always describe him to people as "the fittest man alive", because my entire life of memories of him consists of him doing lots of running, lots of biking, lately rollerblading, weights, yoga, pilates - you name it, he's done it. And not the latest, quick-fix fads; he's disciplined and in it for the long term. When you see him you can tell he's worked at it. Does that look like the body of a 63-year-old?

My father isn't just about physical fitness - he's always talked about the mind-body connection and the importance of positive thinking. Here's an example of the good habits my father practices and recommends. He stops by this page now and then and he mentioned that he'd seen the email from my prof recently with the accolades of praise. Dad told me to "print that out and save it for a bad day". He's told me before of a file that he keeps with some of the positive comments he's received in recent years in case he's ever looking for affirmation when he's bummed out. Well, he also says he hasn't had to resort to that yet, but it's just an indication of the healthy coping habits that really make sense. We should remind ourselves of the good stuff more often, because it's easy to focus or brood on the bad stuff we hear about ourselves, but it doesn't do us any good.

I once wrote down another quote that has inspiration for me: "Regularly document your accomplishments; internalize completion". This one is good for people (like me) who always feel like there's so much to get done and fail to pat themselves on the back for all they've already done. It's a reminder to say to yourself, Hey, look how far I've come!  | ¶ 12:29 p.m.