On My Way

In the creation of my blog I was struggling with being consistent, dwelling on the past, and moving forward with my future. I was focused on the things I didn’t have and I created a little plan to help bring the faith alive in my life and to be happy with the small things. I made it a point to run every morning, to eat healthier, to meditate, and to write(shown Here,Here, and Here. These daily goals allowed me to realize all that matters in life is the present moment.

Nine months later, a term long enough for the creation of a human being, I would say that I have learned more about myself than I have in the last 5 years. I have a sense of direction of where I want to be, who I want to be, and what I want to do. All of the wrinkles haven’t been exactly pressed, but that’s when life happens.

I’ve always been a goal setter, so I’m going to set some goals for myself for the rest of the year:

1. Lose inches. I say lose inches because weight really doesn’t matter. I just want to feel good in my leggings and jeans this fall. As you can tell I love fall fashion so much that it’s a great motivator for me to feel good about myself on the outside as much as I do on the inside, hence Faith and Fashion 🙂

2. Write more, write freely, express myself. I’m almost finished with Tropic of Cancer and it has changed my life. Miller’s writing style is like no other; poetic almost. He says when he writes he doesn’t over analyze it. He doesn’t go over it and try to make it sound better. He just writes how it is. There’s so much I want to say or write, but I am always censoring myself. I want to stop the censor. Like this little number I wrote here.

3. Blog. I want to blog more, use more personal pictures and really amp my site. The end.

4. Be my best. I really just want to focus these last 3 months and give it all I’ve got. I want to workout, work hard, play hard, and just be the best person I can possibly be.

Good Morning Sunshine!

Start the day off right

Although there’s no sunshine, I did run bright and early at 5:30 a.m. to try and knock yesterday’s mood out of me. It worked! yay! I came to the realization that I just need to be positive and happy. I need to quit worrying about the future…again…and try to make someone else happy today. After my run I made a healthy breakfast of homemade oatmeal with honey and blueberries. I’m going to run to the store and pick up a few cards for people that need them and meet with a long lost friend from high school after work! Happy hump day everybody!

Mind Games

This morning kicked off my first day of running (my work week starts on Tuesdays and ends on Saturdays). Now, that I’ve had so much interest in my blog, I know I am not only being held accountable to myself, but to you too! I jumped out of bed and flipped on my light. I began with a few light stretches while in my pj’s and got my running pants on. I’ve found it much easier to bundle up and head outdoors. At least when I run outdoors I start my day with natural light and nature and I am running to something instead of in place on a treadmill. I hate treadmills because I feel like I’m never getting anywhere, kind of how I feel in my life, so I make it a point to run outside no matter what the conditions are.

I am training for the Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini Marathon in May. I’ve been following the training schedule, but have slacked off from all the snow we’ve been getting. Tuesdays the schedule requires me to run for 30 minutes: Thirty minutes or three laps around my subdivision or 3 miles. The first lap is a warm-up. It’s cold and my body is just waking up, but usually the music from my iPod starts to pump me up and get me ready. Lap 2 my mind begins to become more conscious. My legs get warm, my body gets warm, and my mind starts to just wander from subject to subject without any conclusion or defiance. In the middle of this lap I stop for a few seconds to stretch my legs and arms and then continue until I have ended the lap.

I’m sure it’s all in my head because whatever goal I originally set for myself the last leg of it is always the hardest. Whether I decide to run 3 or 6 miles the 2nd or 5th mile is always the worst. This is when I have to start a mind game. At the beginning of my last lap I pause, clap and say “let’s go” outloud . Dorky, I know. I imagine I’m running a race and I have to run the last lap hard and strong. This usually works for a couple minutes and then I begin to struggle again. I read somewhere that people who smile endure more, so I started to smile. At first I fake it, obviously, but then I really do smile because if people only saw me out there running with this huge grin on my face how funny I would look?! From then on happy thoughts just start flowing and I think about what I’m grateful for in my life. I take in everything around me the birds, trees, houses, and even the snow. Before I know it I’m finished with the lap and I begin my day with gratitude, a smile, and a positive attitude.

Consistency is the foundation of virtue

Francis Bacon was right when he said, “Consistency is the foundation of virtue.” Without being consistent we are more likely to fail. My worst fear is failing; failing at my career, failing at being a wife, a mother, a daughter, or a friend is what drives me to be the best I can be. Deep down I know that the wife and mother thing will work out when I can achieve a constant state of happiness with who I am and right now that is where I am struggling.

I’m unhappy because I’m not on my own supporting myself with a prosperous career. If I ever wanted to do something for myself that is what it would be. I want to be able to take care of myself. I want to prove to myself that I can make it all on my own before I commit to anyone else. Then, before I know it, I start stressing about my age, that I still live in Indiana and how am I going to make it to a bigger city and my mind just starts racing until I am in a stage of panic.

My goal is to stop this negative thinking and to stop worrying about things I can’t control. I want to be more positive and listen to my inner guide. I want to be happy with the present moment and enjoy the journey. The first thing that needs to come to order is my consistency. I lack being consistent in almost everything that I do besides brushing my teeth, taking showers, and wearing deodorant! Because the key to success is consistency, I am making a list of things I am going to start doing on a daily basis. For right now, I am going to start small and as time goes I will build onto it. I don’t want to set myself up for failure by trying to take on too much from the beginning.

Consistency Step 1:

1. Running every morning before work
2. Blogging Monday-Friday

These are good goals to start with because running will clear my mind, get my blood flowing, and prepare me for the day and blogging will allow me to reflect on my thoughts daily so I can see my progression.

I’ve also feared being one of those people who always think and read and think and hope about who they want to be, but never take the action or find the path to succeed. I read somewhere that by not deciding you are making a choice to be undecided. I don’t want that to be my choice. I want to make my dreams a reality. I, too, don’t know how to do it, but I find comfort in doing something and that’s being consistent.