Vision Board: 2017 Edition

My 2016 vision board turned out to be SUPER motivating, so I thought I'd share some pics of my vision board for 2017. My vision board is for Fitness and Weight Loss goals. I started this board last year and I am still amazed at how just seeing it everyday kept me motivated. Keeping your goals visible keeps them in focus! So here are the pics of my updated 2017 board. I totally admit to thinking this was a pretty silly idea when I sat down on January 1, 2016 to start it but its SO worth it. I hope that others give it a try!

This is the section where I track pounds lost. I update it every time I weigh in.

This section is for monthly tracking of weight lost and its a place where I post my rewards. Rewards motivate me to keep pushing through hard times!

This is a section for pictures of things that inspire me to get healthy. Mostly, my family and my pup.

This is the section where I started putting up motivational pictures and quotes.

This is my favorite section. Before I started this vision board, I wasn't much of an outdoors person but I decided that had to change. This is where I keep track of my outdoor activities and push myself to try at least one new trail or greenway each month. Finding new trails to try each month is one of the fun parts!

This is where I track workouts. I mark off the numbers as I complete the workout. On last year's board, there were several weeks when I exceeded my goals! Woot!

This is the entire board. It hangs behind the desk in my home office. I bought the cork board for $9 at Walmart and used scrapbooking suplies that I already had to decorate it.

Check out my post about creating the 2016 vision board here.

A Case of the New Year's Day Blahs

I have a lot of plans for this new year. Things to do, places to go, people to see.

I really needed to get off to a good start and hit the ground running. Unfortunately, I might be a wee bit under the weather following a bit of overindulgence last night at a NYE party. Hubs and I had a blast in our comfy footie pajamas during the party.

BUT I ate too much rich food and am now feeling quite blah. 

So today has been spent curled up under a blanket in the recliner watching football. My lunch was a gourmet cuisine of saltine crackers and ginger ale.

One thing's for sure. Things can only go up from here!

Happy New Year!

My Own Worst Enemy

As long as I can remember I’ve wanted to be a writer. I mean, I have been writing all this time but certainly nothing on the scale of a novel or even a complete short story. I’ve actually never completed any writing project I’ve started. I could point to a lot of reasons why that might be the case but if I had to pinpoint one single thing that’s holding me back I would say that its fear.

It’s not fear of the actual act of putting words on paper. I can do that. Even as a high school student I always found time to write stories on loose-leaf paper in between classes, or in classes. I’ve spent countless hours over the years writing and rewriting various projects. When I get serious, I don’t seem to have any trouble sitting down and letting the words flow.

The problem is that I tend not to get serious about writing most of the time. I’ve only recently started to consider why that may be. It’s not that I lack ideas. It’s not that I lack time to write. It’s not even that I don’t have a desire to be creative. Because I have all those things.

Ultimately, the biggest thing that’s holding me back from diving headlong into a writing life is fear of not being good enough. I’m afraid that my ideas, my words, my creative talents, my voice are all not quite good enough. It makes me physically ill to think of anyone reading anything I’ve written. I write stories I love but somewhere before I reach the end, I just…give up.

All because I am afraid that it all sucks and nothing is good and I’m dumb and it won’t matter anyway so why bother.

I was cursed as an adolescent with a pretty low self-worth. Growing up, it was always easier to put myself down than to recognize my inner strengths. That bad habit followed me into adulthood. It’s only been within the past year that I’ve discovered the power in allowing myself to feel worthy.

Lately, I’ve reevaluated my dream to be a writer. The desire is still there, burning bright as ever, but instead of starving my desire I’ve decided to start feeding it. That means I’m choking off the fear and telling it to go to hell. So, I’m going to start a year-long effort to write EVERY day. My goal is at least 200 words each day, with no restrictions on whether it’s a fiction story, blog post, etc. Along the way I’m going to hone my skills through practice and improve my knowledge of craft.

I’m not sure where the journey will take me in the end but if I never start I know exactly where I’ll stay…standing still. Standing still isn’t good enough for me anymore.

Thought for the Day

"A person with an internal locus of control believes that he or she can influence events and their outcomes, while someone with an external locus of control blames outside forces for everything."

Coming Soon: Labor Day Hobbit-thon 2016

As is my yearly tradition, Labor Day is set aside for resting, relaxing, and movie marathoning! This year, I will be watching a marathon of the extended versions of all three Hobbit films.

My journey will take just over 9 hours. I plan on live-tweeting the event so stay tuned for more info!