Taking and Ignoring Advice: A Day in the Life Sunday

I walked into two conversations on Friday where colleagues were discussing what they were giving things up for Lent. I am giving up Vitamin D. I am not doing this for sacrifice or symbolization, but because I went from Vitamin D deficient to almost-toxic in less than 30 days and my provider told me to step away from the D.

Photo credit: iStockphoto

If I did what she told me to do the first time around instead of taking the advice of another who said, "you are at least four months away from regularizing your levels" and dramatically increasing my daily dose, I wouldn't need to schedule another lab draw. Ouch. Less learned.

So, who else am I not listening too? The list is too long so let's take the easy route and list some advice I am following:

• Exercise. I went to the gym three times this week. The workouts weren't anything for the record books but I did it. Yeah!
• Speak. I am speaking in April. Speaking is about as unnatural an activity for me as you can get and this is me trying to take it all in stride.
• Cut back. I only went into work early 3 days last week. That's progress and I'll continue to work on it. Promise.

I remember a cross-country ski clinic I participated in a while back. Reviewing a tape of my ski around the course, the instructor replied, "So many things wrong here."

A review of a tape of my days could evoke the same response but all-in-all, there are so many things that are right.  If I were a person who gave things up, I'd give up the perspective that "there's something wrong here." Oh, what the heck, I'll give that up anyway and see what happens.

What about you? What have you given up to better yourself or your situation? What advice are you not following? What advice have you taken?