For or Against..That is the question!

We talk so much about reaching our goals, but what actions are we truly taking on the daily basis to reach our goals? I asked myself this very question the other day and found out that I was taking action--unfortunately the action was in opposition to my dreams. Again, I am the reason for the delay in my growth.

After that situation, I began to take mental notes about my chosen activities throughout the day. In my head I would mark them as 'for' or 'against' my goal. It was amazing how many things were found to be 'against'! The next day I worked to replace those activities with those that would expand my 'for' list and I surprised myself with how much I was able to accomplish.

For this coming week I challenged myself to a task and so I am extending the challenge to you:

On a piece of paper or wherever you keep your notes, write down one of your goals. Underneath your written goal, create 2 columns--'For' and 'Against'.  Throughout your day take a moment to write down all the activities that you choose to do. As you write them down put them in either the 'for' column or the 'against' column. See if you can make your 'for' column longer by the end of the week. Let me know how you do!

Consistency is Key

"After eliminating fear and removing self limitation it is most important to exercise consistency."

For as long as I can remember I have struggled with being consistent. here is my usual routine:

• think up a great idea,
• devise an awesome plan of action specifically charting my time,
• do above and beyond what the plan entails because I am so excited about the new idea,
• then I get tired from going 'balls to the wall' for a few weeks/days so I take a step back to look at my partially completed work, convince myself that its not good or never going to work out so I stop and disguise my quitting as a sudden dose of realism.

Im so tired of myself! This inconsistency is something that I've tolerated for too many years.

"To obtain new things I must be willing to do new things."

So in an effort to eradicate my inconsistent ways, I've decided to sign up for a 10k race(WHAT???!!!). I'm a little crazy but at this point I'm willing to do whatever it takes to replace this disgusting habit with one that I can be proud of. So I'm not at all a runner. I dont even run on the treadmill, but ive chosen to do this for a number of reasons:

1. To make myself accountable to other people. I've joined the race with some of my coworkers.
2. my ultimate goal for this year is to lose weight. I've lost 15 lbs so far. I know if I start training for this run, I'll get in the cardio that my body requires to lose fat.
3. In order to complete this run I have to be consistent. So everyday I have to make the conscious choice to put in time to reach my goal. If I can learn how to run, if I can complete this race, if I can lose the weight I've been holding on to since I was 15, then I can conquer the world. This seems to be a bit extreme but its so real. In my lifetime I have only 2 goals (out of the millions of goals I've had) that I have yet to reach because they seemed impossible which are my weight goal and my consistency goal. If I can do both than I have been successful for this year.

I'm not going to lie, my confidence in completing these are pretty low right now but what's different with this time is that I can see it. The picture is not crystal clear, I can't fully see the details and how its going to play out but I can see it. And I know that everyday I put in my time that vision will become stronger to the point that I can taste victory. I'm excited for the changes about to take place.

"If you can see it, you can achieve it"- Les Brown

To Be or Not To Be....

Choice is an awesome gift of power given to us from the Most High. Its incredible to me how we--me.. abuse it.

"When a purpose of a thing is unknown abuse is inevitable"

Though we cannot control circumstance, we can most definitely control our reaction to the circumstance. And sometimes the choice seems so complicated but in actuality the choice is simple: choose to use the moment to build yourself up or break yourself down. period.

That being said, in this day I decide to stop being my own limitation. There is nothing that I cannot do unless I say I can't. I refuse to let the impossible task of being perfect undermine the possibility of success. In this moment I expose myself for who I am. A creature of progression not perfection. One who will make mistakes, learn from them, and get better with practice, not time. I will not hide my vulnerability for it is the beauty that shines from within and to do so is the truest sign of fearlessness.

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." -Henry Ford