It’s the journey- not the results!!!!
I love when I hear about readers pursuing their various goals. As a follow up to my admiration for setting a goal and pursuing it- I feel compelled to write the following statement…You should be proud of yourself for pursuing your goals, no matter what the results are.
I have four good friends who are training for an olympic distance triathlon in the early fall. A one-mile swim (in the ocean no less), a 25-mile bike and a six-mile run. I am so proud of them for training- they all got in the ocean last week and struggled through a 1/2 mile swim…but they did it! Now they are getting back in the water every other Sunday to prepare themselves for the full mile in the ocean. Will they all finish? Probably, but if they don’t there is no reason to be ashamed- I don’t know too many other mom’s with young kids who signed up for the event.
I know one mom who signed up to swim pier to pier in a month and a half. After swimming miles in the pool she got in the ocean and is starting to have second thoughts about whether she can do the two mile swim in the ocean. I think she can do it, but I have to congratulate her just for the effort and training she has put forth so far.
Last example is a mom who started her own clothing line in this tough economy. When I asked to interview her for the The Inspired Mom, she said “Let’s wait until I get my product in a few more stores”. But, I think most of us are interested in hearing how she made it this far!
I hope as you are reading this you will start to think about what, if anything, has been holding you back from trying something you have been wanting to do? If your afraid that your result might be anything less than perfect, you are missing out on what you will learn from the journey.
Doing her part to save the Planet.
Did you know that it takes about 75,000 trees to produce just one Sunday edition of the New York Times? And, did you know that if everyone used one fewer paper napkin each day landfills would have 1 BILLION less pounds of paper? These are just two interesting facts that I learned from Marty Jo McGrath who has embraced the phrase: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has” (Margret Mead).
I sat down to interview Marty Jo because she embodies the idea that you shouldn’t refrain from doing something because you think you are too small make a difference. Instead, she took an issue that is incredibly important to her, environmental awareness, created a plan and started spreading the word. She has compiled a fact sheet that lists 75 ways you live “greener” and has been sharing her list with mom’s groups and community groups over the last year and a half. (more…)
Mother’s Day 2009
I am sitting in the same chair I sat in one year ago when I wrote my very first “blog”. I am amazed at what I have learned in the course of the year. I have learned about courage and kindness from the women I have featured. Talking to others has caused me to examine my own strengths and weakness too. I am thankful for my readers who keep me going through their kind words. I hope I can put together another year of interesting articles!This has been an emotional (both happy and sad) week for several reasons: I started a new birth control pill, which has made me slightly crazy. Space Studio, where I have taught spin class for 2 years is closing (last classes were today). My first grade son performed in a class play at school. And, most importantly, today is Mother’s Day.
I am anxious to hear how all of you spent your day- I imagine it will be a topic of conversation for the next few days as we all run into one another at school drop-off etc. For me, today wasn’t much different from most the days of my year. But, I say that in a positive way because I really enjoy most the days of the year! If you all are reading and rolling your eyes at me- just give me a minute to explain: (more…)
She was inspired by you, now you can be inspired by her!
About once a month I find myself asking the same question, ”Why I am blogging and does anyone care?”. Each time I think about how I will find the inspiration to continue updating my website I hear from a reader. About a month ago, my neighbor and I were walking home from dropping our kids at school and she started talking about my site. She was reading up on the amazing moms who are featured on my site which, got her to thinking about her own dreams and goals. When she read the article about writing down goals she picked up a pen and paper.She read about Jania Fox running a half marathon and Beth Armstrong doing the Ironman- but realized as much as she likes fitness- the desire to run anything more than 3 miles wasn’t creating that fire in her belly. She wasn’t burning to start her own business or create a charitable organization. Then she remembered a dream that had occupied her in the past but never quite got off the ground. Lisa had written a children’s book when her daughter Lauren was just over a year old. She sent it out to a few publishers- but when those publishers passed on the story she let the project die.
Far from perfect…but was I ever close?
Cackling like a madwoman I snapped this photo of my closet that I had so meticulously organized about a year ago. My husband and the boys came running to see what was so funny. Obviously, they were disappointed to find that the source of my humor had nothing to do with bodily fluids or gasses (because that is the only thing that my 3,5 and 7 year old boys find funny). I was laughing at the reality of the mess.Here’s the thing, I love blogging and I love inspiring others. I read and listen to my own words as much as I write them. The reality is…I am far from perfect. I have lots of things I want to improve on, I do get behind on my housework, I also yell at my kids occasionally. I have forgotten birthday parties, put my foot in my mouth on several occasions and I confess to periodically getting pissed at my husband for absolutely nothing! I have bounced checks, backed into parked cars, let my kids watch TV all day and accidently passed gas one time in church (in my defense I was only 20- but it still). I never write my blogs from a place of judgement..we are all in this together. We are all striving to be the best we can be: as mothers, wives, friends and daughters. (more…)
Count your blessings.
I often think about how lucky I am to have 3 healthy children. I’m sure many of you reading this right now are nodding your head and counting your blessings too. At my 20 year high school reunion, I was catching up with a friend who mentioned in conversation, that she has a 5 1/2 year old son who is severely autistic. I was caught a bit off guard not knowing if I should ask questions or nod in sympathy. We exchanged phone numbers and I looked forward to talking to her more in-depth once we had a quiet moment.I want to share Keri’s story because I think we can all find something important from her experience. (more…)
Who do you want to be….now?
This is a picture of me during my first year of college. I need to go to my mom’s home to dig out something closer to my senior year so you can see the end result of four years of drinking, eating, and merriment. I decided to reflect back to my early 20’s days based on a comment from a friend. This dear friend was explaining why she was having such a difficult time getting motivated to work out. Then she said, “You wouldn’t understand because you are naturally fit. You have probably worked out your whole life!”. But, she was wrong. I didn’t embark on being fit until I was in my mid-20’s.I figured it was the perfect opportunity to dig out a few of the skeletons in my closet and share some of my struggles with fitness. I have been lucky enough to not struggle too much with my weight, but I will say that when I graduated college, I weighed as much as I did when I gave birth to my oldest son Evan. (more…)
Update on readers goals for 2009
As promised I have been doing status checks on some of you who posted goals for 2009. We’re only 1/4 of the way into 2009 and here is what you all have accomplished already and you still have 9 months more to go: (more…)
