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Some realizations/things that have changed in the last year or so:

I noticed, a while ago, that I was having a hard time deciding what toothpaste/shampoo/soaps/facial cleansers to buy at the store  (see the embedded TED talk below for more).  The realization was bizarre.  I was literally spending like 5 or more minutes just staring at all the options.  Whitening.  Whitening plus Sensitivity Protection.  24-Hour Fresh Breath + Whitening.  Enamel Protection plus 24-Hour Whitening..... o.O

Which one was best for me?  With all those options, surely one of them was particularly the type of toothpaste that I needed.

Madness.

It hit me, eventually, like a lightning bolt:  they are all basically the same.  It doesn't really matter what toothpaste I buy.  After that revelation, I began to make a conscious effort to buy groceries much more efficiently.  Go in, check out which ones have the most reasonable prices, grab one, and move on.

Also:  I have begun, as of a couple months ago, taking cold showers.  Not sure how crazy this might seem to other people, but I'm pretty happy with it.  At first I was doing it because of some epidermal benefits that I read about;  I would start out with a regular, hot shower, and then gradually ease the temperature down to warm, and then cold.

Now, however, I do completely cold.  It was, at first, challenging.  The feeling of knowing that you're about to step into beams of icy cold water requires the same kind of mental effort as going to the gym when you're feeling really lazy.  But it has become easier...no doubt it has become a little easier just because I have become used to it...but I think it is also because I have developed a little mental trick.  I count to 3, and then I just go.  I know it's going to be freezing and shocking, but somehow counting forces my mind to plow through any hesitance.  It feels good to be able to do it.