Author: Sloan

Just a Few More Minutes…

/ Sloan / 2 Comments

Today was one of those mornings. One of those mornings that I planned on getting up and getting to the gym early. I planned on doing walking lunges, squats, kicks…I basically planned on kicking my lower body’s ass. But today was one of those days that I woke up 10 minutes before my alarm and reset for an hour from then. Then woke up 10 minutes before that alarm and did the same thing. I struggled to get out of bed, I didn’t even make coffee right away. It was one of those mornings I could have easily stayed in bed until work beckoned and I dragged my un-showered self to go sell shoes.

 

Instead, I forced my shoes on and laced up unwillingly. I walked out my front door with sleep still in the corners of my eyes, restarted my watch and started running. If I can go for 10 minutes, I can go for 30, that was this morning’s mantra, and it worked!

 

I’ve known for awhile that I generally can force myself to get out and exercise even in the most horrible conditions: weather, sickness, injury… rarely keeps me from getting out there. Now it’s time to take this mantra and use it in other aspects of my life, other goals I have for myself. It only takes a few minutes to start something and a few more moments to keep going at it. Starting is always more than half the battle for me—finishing is easy and is just a matter of pushing through.

List-less

/ Sloan / 2 Comments

Things I need to start doing more of/better/doing in general:

 

We all like lists, right? I mean, that’s why we read magazines instead of books sometimes, it’s what we make when we want to cross something off and feel accomplished. The key to making a list is to make the item easy to do, detailed and accomplishable in a short(ish) period of time.

 

Well, I’m going to make a quick list of things that I’ve been ignoring that I just need to start doing, this is not detailed, I don’t plan on being able to cross things off, I just need to send each item out into the universe in hopes of being able to start each one, most of them won’t have an end point or a final “ah ha! I’m done” moment.

 

-Take more pictures NOT on my camera phone.

–This means finding and carrying my camera around.

-Write more.

–This is so open ended, so big and broad that I’m hoping it will force me to spend an hour a day working on something, anything creative.

-Keep my room clean.

–Haha, we’ll see about this one.

-Be more spontaneous.

–I jumped in a lake with my brother yesterday. That was awesome. I need more of that in my life.

-Read more.

–I love reading but am just SO SLOW. Any good book suggestions?

 

This is the beginning of my list. I feel like it could grow and grow and just be the Never Ending Self Improvement List. My hopes that by putting them out into the universe that some how the universe will hold me accountable.

 

What kind of things are on your Never Ending Self Improvement List?

Please, Don’t, Judge

/ Sloan / Leave a comment

Conversation today waxed and waned all the way up the mountain. We talked about random things, but the conversation some how led to how often I feel like what I’m reading, who I spend time with and my life all coincide nicely with each other. Currently I’ve been hiding the cover of my book when reading in public. I’m not only embarrassed to have jumped on this band wagon of people who love this book, but I’m shedding a tear or two every few pages, (what is wrong with me?!) I don’t even want to tell you what I’ve been burying my nose in… gahh! I’m almost done reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. There, I said it. And I’m enjoying it. So there!

Lately I’ve been selfish. I mean, I’m a young single woman, I’m generally looking out for just myself, while at the same time trying to be kind to others, but at the end of the day I need to feel good. I need to be comfortable with myself. I need to love myself before I can love others, before I can share myself—so when I’m in situations that make me not like who I am, not feel good about what is going on, I leave. Simple.

I’ve recently learned to surround myself with some kick ass people who at the end of the day make me feel good and lift me up, and hopefully I’m doing the same for them.  If these uplifting people aren’t available I find something to do by myself. I’m learning to be alone and be okay with it. With travel opportunities afoot I need to be okay with being alone for long stretches of time.

Gilbert does this. She takes off for a year. She eats in Italy, prays in India and learns about love in Bali, alone—the whole book is really about a woman learning to love herself, learning how to treat herself with the respect we all deserve, learning how to just be. In this process she learns to give too, she spends her time being selfish with her meditation and prayer but in the end it creates a balance that makes her better in the rest of her life. I think selfishness gets a bad wrap sometimes. You can be selfish while still being kind, caring, compassionate and loving, by treating yourself well it opens doors to treat others even better.

Running and exercise is my retreat, it’s how I re-energize not only my body but also my soul. As much as I’ve loved sharing the trails with this new friend, I still do love to go out for a few miles just me and my thoughts. I still seem to think I’ll come home from a few miles and have solved world hunger or something…maybe tomorrow’s work out I’ll have it all figured out.

But for now I’m reading, trying to write, trying to figure out how to travel and all in all I’m trying to love myself so that I can love others better. Another conversation we had was all about the journey and not the destination, even if the destination is a goal you set for part of the journey…yeah, we went there—that’ll be another blog post coming soon.