Category Archives: Accomplished

Thoughtful Thursday

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THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY

Fear

I read an interesting article written by Chip Gaines in the Summer 2020 issue of Magnolia Journal. In the article he posed a good question: “If fear wasn’t a part of the equation, how would your life look different?”

It really got me thinking. Fear always plays a pretty big role in all of our lives everyday. We don’t move forward with projects out of fear of failure. We hold back on meeting new people because we’re afraid of being rejected. We don’t sing, create art or dance to our hearts content because we’re afraid of being ridiculed or laughed at.

But ultimately, we end up hurting ourselves. We lose out on life, by sitting on the sidelines allowing fear to grip us tight and hold us back. I’m not saying that fear is bad, it’s also a good thing because fear keeps us safe. But often times we let it get out of control when it isn’t necessarily needed. We need fear but we also need to keep it in check. We need to be sensible but when it comes to living our lives and being in the present moment or sitting it out on the bench, please choose to enjoy life! It is so much more fulfilling and it’s one of the reasons we’re here. So live your life to the fullest everyday!

“In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take.” ~ Lewis Carroll

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Words of Wisdom

I am a collector of quotes. They inspire and motivate you and touch your heart and soul. These are a few of my favorites from “Inspirational Quotes illustrated” by Lesley Riley.

This book quickly became one of my favorites. Lesley did a magnificent job collecting 130 quotes and paired them with beautiful illustrations by various artists. The pages in the book are perforated so you can easily tear them out and frame them if you like.

Click on the above image to go directly to Amazon

“We are not human beings have a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” ~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

“The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” ~Helen Keller

“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as the attitude you bring to life.” ~Khalil Gibrain

“Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway.” ~Emory Austin

“We have a tendency to obscure the forest of simple joys with the trees of problems.” ~Christiane Collange

What is your favorite quote?

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THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY

Confidence

Not sure if you read last week’s Thoughtful Thursday Post but I entered a virtual challenge for the week from Garmin, competing against 9 other runners. The goal was distance. It officially ended on Monday and I walked 33.9 miles and took 1st Place!! That was such a milestone for me. I was never able to do this when I was younger, much less win 1st Place but I was determined. I wanted to throw in the towel a few times but I had to reach down deep and find the courage and perseverance to keep going. Everything in my body was starting to hurt. But I really wanted to win.

I had no intention of walking this much but Jon, who was in 2nd Place was absolutely relentless. Every time I tried to put a little more distance between us he up’d his game and closed the gap. I am very thankful for Jon because he pushed me to do more and more. More than I ever thought I was capable of. Almost 34 miles in 1 week!!! It was unbelievably hard and I’m so glad it’s done because I’m exhausted.

After finishing this race, my confidence in myself definitely went up a few notches. I now know that that I have the drive and ability to tackle what may appear as a monumental task and come out victorious. Even if I don’t know how to go about it, I’m more than capable of figuring it out and that’s a very good feeling.

This wasn’t an official race. There were no trophies, no one cheering you along from the sidelines. It was just me and my Garmin, tracking my miles. But I’m very proud of my virtual win because for me this was so much more than just winning.

What area of your life do you need to boost your confidence in? Take on that monumental task and prove to yourself that you CAN do it!

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Personal Drive

I never thought I would like competing as much as I do. I guess it drives me to do better and that’s why I’ve grown to like it so much. I got a Garmin Watch from my hubby for my birthday a few months ago. I had no idea what missing until I got this watch. I really, really love it! One of the cool things is that you can install the Garmin app on your phone and sync it with your watch. Garmin has different challenges every week and month. So I entered my first challenge last week.

The goal of this challenge was to walk 25,000 steps in a week which is about 12.5 miles so you can advance to the next level. I entered it a few days in and was excited to see I was in 6th place out of 10 other people who also entered. I moved up to 4th and sadly dropped finished in 7th Place. The other walkers had way more steps than me, I didn’t even come close. The winner of the group completed about 29+ miles. Very impressive to say the least!!

After losing that challenge, I entered it again for this week. I’m determined to finish in 1st place so I’ve been doing a lot of walking, much more than usual. The hardest part is the South Florida heat. The humidity has been really bad lately. It definitely slows down your pace but I refuse to give up. Today I walked the furthest yet, a whopping 5 miles. It took me 1 hour, 20 minutes. I really started to fizzle in the end but I persevered and reached my goal! I’ve walked nearly 13.5 miles in 3 days which is not bad considering I would normally have anywhere from 6 to 9 miles for an entire week.

As of this moment, I’m still in 1st Place. But the others are closing in fast. It’s going to be a tough challenge but I’m seeing it through. Wish me luck!!

What is something that challenges you and drives you to do better?

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Our Little Bambino

Last week when I went on my walk, I was saddened to see a squirrel that had been hit by a car. About 3 days later, I went on another walk with my husband. We almost didn’t go that morning because a very bad thunderstorm was moving in.

To our surprise it moved in much faster than expected and we had to cut our walk short and run most of the way to get back home before it started to pour rain. As we came around the corner, we saw something small in the middle of the road and didn’t know what it was at first. But as we got closer we saw it was a baby squirrel which was a few feet away from where the adult squirrel died a few days earlier.

We carried the baby home and put him in a box. He was so small that he could fit in the palm of your hand. The poor little thing was very weak and we knew he needed help fast. So we made a few phone calls and found the Florida Wildlife Center would take him in.

We debated taking care of him ourselves but he was in such bad shape and needed lots of care so we thought he’d have a better chance with them. We drove him across town and dropped him off at the Center. Their policy is to rehabilitate the animal and once they’re ready, release them where they were found which made us happy.

I just received news today that the little guy is doing well. He was malnourished and dehydrated but other than that, he is recovering just fine. From what I read online, orphaned baby squirrels can’t make it in the wild until they’re around 4.5 months old because their survival instincts aren’t developed yet. I’m guessing, this little bambino has a few more months to go before being released so I’ll keep you posted.

Photo by Maria

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Gratitude

Gratitude is defined in the dictionary as:

the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful

Since I was little I always gave thanks for everything that came my way. I even gave thanks when things didn’t go according to plan or when things really went sideways for me. It was in these situations that I assumed there was a lesson to be learned, so I was grateful for that.

A few years ago I read an article where the writer practiced the art of daily gratitude by writing in a journal. I thought this was a really nice idea, so I started my daily journaling practice of gratitude. The idea is to write down 2-3 things everyday that you’re grateful for. It could be something as simple as seeing the sun rise or something more personal and deep, it’s up to you.

You don’t need expensive supplies to start, just a pen and a notebook. I normally practice my gratitude journaling at the end of the day. It helps to ground and center my mind after a long hectic day.

If you want to add a little pizazz to your gratitude journal, you can add art to your pages. It doesn’t have to be anything super detailed, fun doodles work great and it’s just plain fun. It’s a good way to unwind.

Another idea is to start a gratitude jar. Same concept as the journal but instead of writing in a notebook, you cut pieces of paper into 1″ – 2″ squares, write what your grateful for on the paper and drop it into the jar. This is a fun way to involve the whole family, especially the kids. It’s a beautiful practice to do everyday.

What are you grateful for today?

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The Rabbit Hole of Negativity

Life today seems crazier than ever. There’s a lot making us unhappy and even a bit snarky. Sadly, the snarkiness tends to run downhill and hit our family and friends right in the face. It’s easier to be angry, afraid and unhappy. It’s kind of how our brains are wired.

But I find it hard to believe that we would rather feel these negative emotions on a daily basis versus being positive. Life has been throwing a lot us curve balls lately and nothing is going according to plan. But when you find yourself going down that rabbit hole of negativity, what do you do?

I recently came across a quote by a great life coach Brendon Burchard: “We can all have a bad day. But if we choose to live there, we’ll have a bad life.” This is so very true. Years ago I would fall into that rabbit’s hole, and honestly, I would be there for a while. It wasn’t until I started reading life changing books about letting negativity go that I got better at stopping these thoughts in my mind and changing my perspective.

Even with all the years of practice and the knowledge I’ve acquired, I still fall down that rabbit hole every now and again. But when I catch myself, I quickly climb out. I no longer hang out there. When you’re filled with negative thoughts, you can’t go forward and take in the happiness waiting for you on the outside.

One of my practices is to put a spin on a bad situation and get something good out of it. You know, find that silver lining in the cloud. It’s always there, but sometimes you have to look a little harder to find it. You can also go outside for a few minutes and soak up some sunshine, meditate or create art. There are lots of things you can do to change your mindset and “Choose” to be positive.

So, how do you get out of that rabbit hole of negativity?

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Power of the Mind

I was on my walk/run the other day and completed my best time ever for 2 miles: 24 minutes, 34 seconds. I was ecstatic and amazed at what I accomplished.

When I was little, I suffered from respiratory illness. The word “running” was not in my vocabulary since my lungs could not handle it. I was constantly told “you can’t do it.” I eventually adopted this mindset and when things would get a little tough, I’d give up because I believed everyone was right.

Fast forward to now, I just read the book “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One”  by Dr. Joe Dispenza. He talked about rewiring your brain to change your body. An idea that sounded impossible but I’ve come to realize is very possible. 

I loved what Dr. Dispenza wrote so much that I’m continuing to read another one of his books titled “Becoming Super Natural: How Common People are Doing the Uncommon.”

I also started meditating this year. I have to say, it seemed odd at first, but the more I practiced, the more I grew to love it. It truly is a wonderful reset!

This morning I went on a walk, and I noticed something. The running segments that I had been doing  were getting longer and easier each time. I also noticed that when I start my running segment my mind switches gears. I go into a kind of meditative state and instead of saying to myself “Oh this is hard, I just have to get to my marker and I can stop.” I now say “This is easy; I got this; no problem.” My focus is no longer on making it from one marker to another, but rather the act of running and the ease of it. This helped me to break my negative thoughts and now I end up running past my markers without realizing it!

I made a decision to silence these negative thoughts because if I can reprogram my mind to make my body stronger (something I was told my whole life wasn’t possible) what else can I achieve? The possibilities are are endless!

What I’ve learned from Dr Dispenza has been mind blowing. I highly recommend you check out his website: drjoedispenza.com and his books. They’re amazing!

What would you like to achieve or change in your life? 

Photo by Maria / Cherry Blossoms, Washington DC

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I thought I would write a post, once a week about something other than art. I love creating with my whole heart, but if you’re not taking care of yourself, if you’re not happy, it’s a lot harder to get creative. 

One of my New Year’s Goals was to get in better shape so I decided I would go on a 2 mile walk every other day. I knew there would be times when this wouldn’t go according to plan so I promised I wouldn’t be too hard on myself. But I really wanted to stick with this plan as best as I could. 

When I first started going on these walks, my time was about 45 minutes for 2 miles. I was okay with that at first, but it didn’t take long and I wanted more. Over time I’ve become more and more competitive with myself, a part of me that I didn’t even know was there. I kept pushing myself and was able to get my 2 mile walk down to 27 minutes. Sometimes I’d even get into the 26-minute range. But that was it, I hit a plateau. 

To break the barrier, I added a few minutes of running and I was able to get my best time down to 24 minutes, 43 seconds so far. I don’t do a lot of running; it’s primarily walking because I’m so not a runner. Nevertheless, I feel victorious when I beat my best time, even if it’s only by 1 second! It still feels like I accomplished something extraordinary and I’m ready to shout it from the roof tops for all to hear!!! 

Bottom line is, to feel good about yourself or anything for that fact, you don’t need a big win. Sometimes it’s the smallest victories that feel like the biggest and have the most impact on your well being and state of mind. You are your own biggest fan when it comes to personal accomplishments.  So, what is your victory worth celebrating today?

Photo by Maria / Sunset in Key West, Florida