Things I'd wished I'd learned about myself earlier

I'm sensitive to sugar. My mom's doctor thinks she has diabetes and my body reacts like I have similar issues. All the blood sugar tests I've had came back normal, but a candy bar or a slab of white bread can put me to sleep. That's not normal.

I'm a little compulsive. I have a hard time leaving work before 6:15, even when there are great reasons to head home, and no obvious reason to stay at work. I imagine my employers don't mind so much, but it's kind of strange to not have as much control over that as I'd like.

I really need 8 hours of regular sleep. 8.5 is better, and 9 is better still.

Exercise is great for my stress level. Weight lifting is OK, but cardio is what my body responds to best. I like biking.

A lot of my reactions to situations are automatic- conflict, questions, stress, etc. I don't think I'm unusual in this respect at all, but it's kind of annoying to have this pre-programmed set of routines that you just do, even when they don't make sense. For this to be a recent revelation I guess I haven't been as self aware as I'd like to believe. My mother-in-law and her decline with Alzheimer's showed me how predictable people can be, and I'm guilty of it too. I'd like to override the negative or unproductive reactions I have.

If I write stuff down it happens. A written checklist of goals has a lot of power for me.

I learn and absorb information far faster in written form than aural, so even scribbling notes in a meeting helps me to retain info.