Day 10 of “The Journey Back to Self - There’s Light at The End of the Tunnel”

In my 10 minutes today, I held myself accountable...

I set my specific goals for the day. 

I wrote them down in the present moment. As if they already exist. 

I identified the feelings attached to the goals - how I feel as I accomplish them. 

I drank lemon water and honey. - I feel healthy. 

I did a 9 minute meditation. - I feel a peace. 

I wrote in my gratitude journal. - I feel grateful. 

I deflected the innate desire to skip the gym but went any way. I only intended to walk on the treadmill for 30 min. 

I did forty minutes on the treadmill at a 6 % grade at 3.5 mph covering 2.25 miles. - I feel better than I did when I was trying to find excuses not to go to the gym. 

I did 10 push ups

15 sit ups

And 15 air squats

- I feel strong. 

My 10 minutes turned into 2 and a half hours.  

-I feel motivated. 

-I feel hopeful. 

- I feel like there’s light at the end of the tunnel. 

Where will your 10 minutes of “The Journey Back to Self” take you?

 

Day 9 of “The Journey Back to Self - We’re All In This Together”

 There’s not much to say except each and every one of us has endured challenging times before the pandemic, and we continue to currently walk through adversity. 

The best part about it is that we have choices how we walk through life. 

I choose to walk as a family.  

Although we are missing my parents this holiday, we are grateful they are safe and healthy. 

Life as we know it has been disrupted. 

I choose to see the good in it despite the inconveniences of it all. 

As much as I want to hibernate, I choose to walk through it with others. 

I am grateful for my family and my friends.  

I am stronger because of them. 

I am inspired by the examples they set. 

Their strength is admirable. 

I see them, and recognize that we are all in this together. 

I wouldn’t want it any other way. 

In your 10 minutes of self-care, are you content with how you’re walking through these times?

“Day 8 of “The Journey Back to Self - Living IN the Goal”

I took my 10 minutes of self-care today to take a look at the goals and intentions I am setting for 2021. 

How many lofty goals have you set for yourself with tremendous intention saying “I’m going to...(fill in whatever you said your going to do, accomplish or change)?

Guilty as charged!

After many failed attempts towards “New Year’s Resolutions”, I began to reflect year over year why I wasn’t attaining my well intentioned “wishes”.   

It was because they were just wishes. 

“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” - Michael Jordan

My dad would say, “Theres no such thing as a good try”, which I never understood until I began my personal growth journey. 

There’s so much more to goal setting for the new year or new seasons of life. 

It starts with how we speak of our goals. 

It begins with our choice of words as we describe our “wishes”.  

It is all about the tense we use. 

Speak as if it’s already happening. 

I’ve looked back in journals years ago where I’ve set specific goals. The goals I attained were the ones I spoke in present tense. 

For example, when I was faced with divorce and bankruptcy, my journal entry read:

1. “I “need” to get my significant other sober and back on track so we can be happy.” 

2. “I need to pay off all my debt so I don’t have to worry about finances.”

Holy crap!  No wonder I was stuck in my marriage and broke for way longer than I needed to be!  

I was wishing from a space of “lack”. 

Today, I speak from a place of abundance. I speak as if I’m already IN the solution and the desired state.

For example, today I speak of my desires so differently...

1.  It is 1/1/21. I am an active participant in all my relationships. I am vulnerable in my requests of what I want, yet I set boundaries. My relationships are filled with respect, love, honesty and have set boundaries. Since attaining this goal, I am more confident and have less worry. I have no worries about the toxic people affecting my life. I am free. 

2. It is 6/1/21. I am financially responsible. My relationship with money has firm boundaries. My debt is paid off. I am able to make financial decisions freely because I am in a good financial state of affairs. This brings me peace daily and aligns with other aspects of my life. 

The years I spoke of things from a place of need and lack, I didn’t attain my goals. 

The years I spoke as if I were IN it, those were the years I attained it!

Although your brain isn't a true “muscle,” it does function in a similar way to your body's muscles.  

Train it with your words. 

TAKE 10 minutes today to:

Speak favor over your desired life. 

Visualize your goals. (Visualization leads to manifestation.)

Speak as if you’re in IN it. 

And eventually, you will find yourself LIVING it!

Day 7 of “The Journey Back to Self - Are You The River or the Rock?”

Yegge planned a weekend in the mountains for us to disconnect and go off the grid.

The quaint cabin evoked a sense of reconnection to each other.

The sound of the river flowing was soothing, and also provoked a reminder to enjoy the quiet time together.

A reminder to surrender to and to go with the natural flow of what happens in our day to day life with a grateful heart.

I was soothed by the movement and flow of the river as I watched Yegge fish, and as we hiked along the East Fork of the Chatooga River.

The movement of the water caused the rocks to take a beating-eroding with the flow.

In my 10 minutes of reflection this morning, I recognize how sometimes I get pummeled like the river rocks instead of just going with the flow.

Throughout this pandemic, my need to control things has been challenged.

As I watched the water flow and the rocks get thrashed upon, I asked myself...

“Am I The river or the rock?”

“Am I resisting change?

Or am I letting the flow of the river take me where I’m intended to go.

Today, I will faithfully meet each day with purpose.

Moving forward, I choose to be the river and trust the flow.

Which do you choose to be?

Where will your 10 minutes take you this morning?

“Day 6 of “The Journey Back to Self - Going off the Grid”

There’s not much more to say.

Today and tomorrow, my love and I decided to shut down and go off the grid in a beautiful cabin in the mountains (my version of camping).

Taking the focus off of the distractions of technology, work, kids allows for much needed reconnection with one another.

 We’re going back to basics. 

It’s amazing what 10 minutes a day for self-care can lead to...

I’ll be back with Days 7 and 8 on Monday! 

Have a beautiful weekend!

Day 5 of "The Journey Back to Self - The Ever Unfolding Rose"

As 2020, comes to a close, I reflect upon how I have grown through the universal and personal happenings of this year...

As my 10 minutes of self-care this morning turns into an hour, I reflect upon how a rose unfolds as it blooms. 

I think about how I have unfolded through the happenings of my life this year.  

How it’s affected my family. 

My friends and their families. 

And strangers alike. 

I find the challenge in the lack of predictability yet the benefit of keeping my heart open even through hurt and loss.   

Simultaneously, I am motivated by the challenge. 

I tell myself to stay vulnerable. 

Continually unfold and evolve no matter how much it hurts.

As difficult as the most recent events and tragedies in life have been, I draw upon past experience with adversity and fall back on effective and healthy ways of processing the pain. 

I believe these things are happening  FOR me - not TO me. 

During this time, I am gentle with myself.  

I trust my Higher Power. 

I process without judgement. 

I am reminded that through these times, I am transforming. 

I am growing. 

It is what keeps me going. 

It is what makes me resilient. 

I am an ever unfolding rose. 

How are you unfolding from 2020?

 

“Day 4 of “The Journey Back to Self- Communication is Key”

There’s a reason why kids grow up and move out however Covid had different plans for us. Going from empty nester to full house through a pandemic has really tested my entire family.  So as part of a collective self-care mission, I called a family meeting. 

 Each member of the family got the exclusive stage to effectively express what they experienced as a problem and what they had hoped for as a solution. 

 I handed out pens and paper so each person could write down responses to everyone’s comments so there weren’t any interruptions.  This allowed each of us to hold space for one another, and to practice responsible listening.  With the exception of one or two outbursts, we actually did pretty well.

 The result was better than expected. At the end of the day, we all just want to be respected and heard and they want our feelings to be acknowledged. 

Effective communication is essential for growth and understanding (especially for people pleasers, control freaks and creatures of habit). 

So my 10 minutes of self-care turned into a few hours of some pretty valuable time with the people who matter the most to me.   

The energy shifted last night as we went back to basics.  

We rediscovered the meaning of family as we ate, talked, cleaned up and had family game night. 

 All is right in the world again.  It begins at home.  And to think, it all started with 10 minutes of self-care. 

Where will your 10 minutes lead you?