The excuse you give yourself for not doing something that you should do or that would be of great benefit if you did it may seem valid and unchangeable, however, the TRUTH is that you can learn to reprogram your thoughts that will ultimately lead to positive action.

Straightening Out the Kinks
...And so I planned it last week, I was going to manage to get myself out of bed each morning at 6:10AM after the 1st snooze went off and jump into my workouts. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to adhere to that plan. The old me would have beaten myself up about it and eventually I would have stopped trying. Nevertheless, I pulled myself out of bed these past couple of days around 7:10AM and worked my tail off (major victory)!

I'm slowly learning that part of the process of change is experiencing pain. It's can be extremely hard to break a bad habit when you've been doing it practically all of your life.  Even though I may have to continue to wrestle with the alarm clock each morning, eventually I will begin to settle into this new concept of becoming an early riser. Until that happens, I will take it one moment, one minute, one hour, one day at a time. 

Testing What Works...

When you are changing your life around to make room for new goals, it takes time to adjust to the new lifestyle.  For instance, for the past few months I've been doing well with adding more time for my daily fitness routine (keeping the TV off does wonders) and taking time to do my writing in the evening after I've completed certain tasks around the home.  I've also been managing to get up a little earlier most mornings to do some spiritual reflection so I can become energized and ready to handle whatever comes my way.  

Now that I've been consistent with the regimen I've created for myself, it's time to take it up a notch and get up even earlier so that I can add more time to my quiet times, fitness routine, and start to add a time slot for my writing. This is a task unto itself, at least for me.  Anyone that knows me well, knows that I'd much rather stay up late to get things done than wake up early in the morning to start my day. I have been a nighthawk all my life so it will take every ounce of strength I can muster to do this willingly (just thinking about it makes me cringe).  Since it means the world to me to reach my goals, I will not give myself a choice.  Making yourself accountable to others helps. 

Tonight I will be setting my alarm for 5:55am and allow myself only one snooze. 

If anyone out there in blogger land cares to share what goal they may be working towards and/or how they are planning to accomplish that goal, please feel free to share it with me. 

In The Pursuit of Greatness

Have you ever thought to yourself, "I should be living a 'bigger life' than I am right now?" That idea has passed through my mind many times over the years. I shouldn't say it just 'passed through' as it jumped on top of me and pummeled me to the ground. It seems to happen most often when I have been working on freeing up my mind and living a healthy balanced lifestyle. As a creative minded individual, when my brain becomes unclogged from the clutter of everyday mundane concerns and I'm filled with that new energy, watch out! My mind turns like the tasmanian devil unleashed (the cartoon character, not the cute little animal found in Australia) and I want to absorb all the information I can get my hands on.

I'm a research freak. So, I love to learn about the newest things out there in the world of science, technology, the spiritual realm, etc... I also love to learn new languages. For instance, for some time now I've been teaching myself the Spanish and Italian languages simultaneously. I've studied Spanish in College, but that was several years ago and I'm trying to build on what I already know so I can try to keep up with my Latino friends. And since the Italian language is similar, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone thanks to my Duolingo language app. Speaking of which, I recently took a cab ride and met an interesting man named Vernet who is from Ouanaminthe, Haiti. He was my cabbie and if I hadn't struck up a conversation with him that day I wouldn't have become friends with this amazing man. It turns out, until recently, he had taught as a Professor of Spanish and French at Penn State University. When I found out he had taught Spanish, I asked him to give me some clue how to put sentences together faster so I can keep up in a conversation. I have no problem reading and pronouncing the words, that's the easy part. But, for constructing sentences on the spot, that's a 'whole nother level' (some MADTV humor). Vernet gave me some sound advice, and one thing he suggested was to buy Spanish reading books to immerse myself in the language. So, that is what I did and now I have some awesome Spanish stories to read each night before bedtime.

The real reason I brought him up was to convey that during our tête-à-tête, he shared that he was impassioned to return to Haiti to become involved with helping out his government, which is in the midst of dealing with new Dominican (border) rules. After hearing how earnest and driven he was to serve beside his countrymen for the greater good, I felt inspired and questioned what I was doing with my life. He had a lot going for himself, but he was willing to put his own life (self-serving interests) aside to fight for a bigger cause. I was once part of a movement years ago where I dedicated my life to serving God and my community through the single's ministry in my Christian faith for many years. But, I can't rest on those laurels. What am I doing with my life right now? Who am I helping? What kind of impact am I having on others? Those are some of the questions coming to mind as I feel I could do more with my life to make a positive impact.

I've always dreamed of becoming a great writer and that I'd eventually find fame, perhaps wealth (or at least a comfortable living), and would be remembered for doing something that people could remember. We all have those, what I call grandiose dreams and desires. I'm finding out that even though I believe that I am meant to be a writer, whether I will finally gain the success I desire is not as important as what kind of impact I'm having on my community right now. I was reading an article today on relevantmagazine.com and the author, Eddie Kaufholz, shared his point of view on seeking greatness in this world. He said, "Learning to be great, at its very core, is an exercise in facing inward. It's an exercise in knowing who you really are. And it's often a painful process of chipping away at the plaque that is covering the truth of what God sees as valuable about you." That's how 'greatness' should be perceived, instead of looking for all the accolades and rewards that may never come.