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Climbing Mountains

August 27, 2012 in Inspiration, Wanderings with 18 Comments

Hi everybody!

When I visited San Diego, I recorded this video for you all. Text is at the bottom for those of you who prefer to read.

I hope you enjoy!

I climbed Cowles Mountain in San Diego, California. The mountain is not large; it’s about a mile and a half in distance and about 1500 feet in elevation. But for this central Ohio, flat-land derived girl, the rocks and upward motion my legs had to conquer were tiresome. I thought to myself, is this really so important that you have to keep on going? Why don’t you just stop, go back down and sit down? Wouldn’t that be nice?

But I kept going, because there is something about finishing things like this that you set out to do.

I am so glad I did because the view at the top of the mountain was totally worth it. Not only the view, but there is just something very satisfying about completing something that you started, especially when during it you wanted to quit.

In life, we confront all kinds of mountains. Sometimes, these mountains arise by choice, and other times, they arise of their own accord. If we set out to climb it, though, as much as we want to quit along the way, it is imperative that we keep on going.

There is so much to be learned along the way, and so much to be captured at the top. So finish those mountains that you set off to climb. Don’t stop till you reach the top!!

Potential Like a Ball of Energy

June 26, 2012 in Inspiration with 14 Comments

I am in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee with my husband and his two children. We had the opportunity to go on a hike yesterday, and as I enjoyed the exercise, nature and companionship, I was thinking about our potential. Watch here, or if you don’t like videos, jump to the text beneath the video for this message.

I believe each one of us has at least a certain amount of potential inside of us. Whether your potential is to be a great lover of people, or to serve others, or to build or create, this potential is inside of you, ready to come out. When a person is on the verge of releasing that potential, there is something inside of me that connects with that person. I think it’s the natural encourager in me that sees that potential and gets excited. This is just one of the reasons I love talking about our potential.

What I believe is that this potential is like a ball of energy, on fire, and it needs to be released. While on one hand, potential is a very good thing, and is there to serve us, on the other hand, if you are not doing something to let it out, it can burn inside of you and cause negative feelings. This is at least one of the reasons why we can become discontent or unhappy.

So, I encourage you to begin today by using some of that potential. You will be amazed at what happens. What I have found for myself is that as I use that energy inside of me, that energy just comes right back in–it’s restored.

Your potential is burning inside of you. I hope you release some of that fire!

What type of potential do you have? Is it to write? Is it to love greatly? Is it to build something? Are you doing something towards that?

By All Means, Paint: Inspirational Quote

June 19, 2012 in Inspiration with 20 Comments

One of the things I’d like to do is be a motivational or inspirational speaker. I figured if that is something I want to do, then I need to break my fear of speaking in public, and I need to practice the art of inspiring speech. This is not easy for me, since I am first a writer. I have always found it easy to write what I want to say, but not necessarily so easy to speak it.

This video is my second attempt at inspiring speech. (My first video was a Father’s Day video which I posted on my facebook page). I would really love some feedback, not on the quality of the video, because I have yet to get a tripod and learn vlogging in general. I am curious if you like the idea of these. Please let me know, because I want to put on my blog the things you like to see here. So, that said, here is the video, and I provide a short summary of it in text below the video in case you don’t like video at all.

If you hear a voice inside you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced. –Vincent Van Gogh

This is a quote from one of my favorite painters. I like this quote because I believe it is applicable to more than just painting. You can apply it to writing, perfecting your sales tactics, riding a bike, swimming or really anything. This quote plays across my mind everyday. And one of the things I do is I place the thing I want to do inside that quote. For instance, I want to use this blog as a platform for me to earn my living. So I say to myself, “If I hear a voice say you cannot be a professional blogger, then by all means, take the steps to be a professional blogger and silence that voice.”

The thing is, each day that you do something toward your goal or your hobby, you slowly start to quiet that voice. Do you want to be a writer and write a book? Then say, “when I hear that voice within me say, ‘you cannot write a book’, then by all means, I will write that book, page by page, and each day that I do that, I will silence that voice.”

What do you want to do? Is it a goal, or is it a hobby you would like to learn? Use this quote and insert inside of it the thing you want to do. And silence that voice.

Break Away From Self Doubt

June 17, 2012 in Inspiration, The Gym with 29 Comments

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I am training for my first marathon, the Columbus Marathon, in Columbus, Ohio. Last week, I ran 13 miles as part of my training for it; I finished my first half marathon last year.

I Once Broke a Bone Training for a Marathon

One thing I don’t think I’ve mentioned is that four years ago I trained for a marathon as well. I was doing pretty well, and I had gotten up to doing 14 miles for my long run, and in fact, had run that distance three or four times over the course of a month. I had not attempted to go further, because I wanted to feel comfortable there and attempt to decrease my time. That meant I was trying to run faster.

I suppose it was too much for my body at that time, because I ended up breaking my ankle—not a complete break, really just a fracture, but it was a 2/3rds fracture and ended up keeping me from finishing my training for that particular marathon. It took me a long time to feel comfortable to run long distances again without fearing that I would break something. And since then, that number “14 miles” has always been in my mind as the longest I’ve ever run, and it has always been associated with a broken bone.

I Broke My Personal Record

Today, I went out and ran 15 miles. This meant that I broke my personal 14 mile barrier—without breaking a bone. I consider this quite an achievement for myself—not that I didn’t break a bone, but that I ran this far. And it’s a distance I have never gone before. I broke my personal record.

Something happens when a person breaks a personal record, especially a personal record that they have held at a plateau for a while. This morning, after doing this, I felt that I had entered new territory in some way. It’s the same thing I felt when I graduated from high school, and then graduated from college.

When you’ve been working really hard at something for a long time, and then you complete it or achieve it, there’s this sense of breaking away. It’s as if you are now released to discover new things, you are on higher ground, you suddenly expect more from yourself—and it’s not an empty set of expectations that just causes stress, it’s more of an understanding of who you are and what you are capable of achieving. In my mind, it’s the inner weakling that wakes up a little and says, “oh, you did it. I guess you can do that. I’ll shut up about that now. I will no longer tell you that you can’t do it.” In other words, you are breaking away from self-doubt, your inner weakling.

How to Break Away From Your Inner Weakling

It takes persistence, daily effort, and the ability to learn to ignore the inner weakling in you. I remember watching a movie called A Beautiful Mind. It is based on the true story of the life of John Nash, a renowned mathematician, who learned to deal with his mental health issues and eventually triumph over them in an very inspirational way. John Nash suffered from schizophrenia, and in college, he makes several friends over the course of his life who influence him to do things. Later, you find that these friends are really just a figment of his mind—they are not real, they are part of his schizophrenia. But they influence him to do things that eventually hurt himself and his family. Out of love for his wife, he learns to ignore his “friends,” and function in society despite the fact that they follow him around daily, and despite the fact that they were once his very best friends who he felt loved and accepted him. It’s quite an inspiring movie, and if you haven’t seen it, I encourage you to do so.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS_d0Ayjw4o]

Recognize Your Inner Weakling for Who She Is

I am not schizophrenic, and I “see” no “person” when I talk of an inner weakling, and so I can’t imagine that my struggles with my inner weakling are as difficult as John Nash’s struggles with his friends who manifested to him as real. I understand that my “inner weakling” is simply my own self doubt. But oh, how powerful self doubt can be. Like the character in A Beautiful Mind, our inner weaklings may even be our friends, or at least a voice that we know and are accustomed to. I know for myself, self-doubt has afflicted me for as long as I can remember. She has always been there to tell me that I shouldn’t even bother to do something since I couldn’t anyways, ever since I was a little child. I recognize her voice. I know her. And all along I thought that she knew me. How wrong I was.

Like the character in A Beautiful Mind, you have to recognize that that voice is not speaking truth about you or who you are. Like that character, you may always hear that voice inside your head. But that just means you have to learn to ignore what the inner weakling says.

Do Something Everyday That Shows You are Ignoring the Inner Weakling

I train nearly everyday of the week for my goal. Even on days off, I still do things towards my marathon goal that are preparing me, whether it’s food choices, sleep choices, or even just the things I say yes and no to, I am involved in this marathon goal every day. And each day that I do something toward that goal, I am ignoring the inner weakling and putting myself one step closer to my goal.

Here’s the thing: during the week, I don’t necessarily feel like I’m getting stronger for my goal. But at the end of each week, when I attempt to go a little further than the week before on my long run, and then I do, it becomes evident in me that the work I put in during the week really was paying off. Each time I do this, I realize how little that inner weakling really knows who I am, and she loses just a little bit of her power over me. As I continue to do this, her voice becomes smaller and smaller.

Challenge: Break a Personal Record and Quiet the Voice of the Inner Weakling

Is there anything that you have wanted to do, but self-doubt has kept you paralyzed? I encourage you to take some of these concepts, realize your inner weakling doesn’t really know you, and make steps, small steps each day toward some achievement you have always wanted to make.

I guess running 15 miles makes me all inspirational inside.

Be sure to check out my Father’s Day message on my Facebook page!

Getting From Here to There: Facing the Fear of the Transition

June 10, 2012 in Inspiration, The Gym with 37 Comments

As part of my training for the Columbus Marathon in October, I went out this morning with my training partner, my husband Brad, to run 13 miles. It’s been since last October that I ran that far, so this was a great running achievement for me this year (I must add that Brad ran about 17 miles–he is a little ahead of me in his training).

taking a break after running 13 miles; notice the big smile

I love running long distances, which is saying a lot for someone who took up running five years ago and had to start at one tenth of a mile. But there is so much you learn about yourself and about your body as you continue to train for something big like this. These lessons apply for everyday life too. I have written about this in some of my marathon mentality posts. But if you are open to it, the learning never stops if you make a point of being observant as you work toward a goal. Here, I would like to share with you some of the thoughts and pains that I had along the way in this morning’s run that includes a major lesson about getting through a transition.

Transitions Can Be Tough

When running with my husband, there is always one place where I have to strengthen my mental steadfastness: going through a fifty yard patch of grass. The fifty yard patch of grass is at the end of the first road we run and brings us to the beginning of a bike path. Going through here on the way out is not so bad. My energy is still strong, and my inner weakling doesn’t say much except to warn me about how hard it is going to be on the way back. Coming back, however, that fifty yard patch of grass seems like a hugh expanse. It’s near the end of the run, and I have just finished a major portion of the long run. There’s only about 3/4 mile left to go. If I can just get back to the pavement, I know I will be okay because I see that 3/4 mile stretch of pavement as the “last leg” of the long run. So I see this patch of grass as a transition; to make it worse, it’s always a little tougher to run on a bumpy, grassy surface than it is to run on smooth pavement. At least in my mind it is.

grass can be pretty scarey

From Point A to Point B: It’s the Middle Ground That is So Scarey

Going from the end of point A to the beginning of point B has always been a scarey thing for me. I remember when I joined the Air Force, I was fine and didn’t suffer from nervousness until I got on the bus that would take me to the MEPS (military enrollment processing center) where I would be flown to Texas, where my “boot camp” was to be held. That transitional period from leaving my house, until I arrived at Lackland Air Force base was a nerve racking period. Once I was there, I was fine. Anytime we go from our comfort zone into something that is unknown, it can often be the transitional period that can be the most nerve racking. Once we have arrived on “the scene” of the new thing, we are usually too busy accustoming ourselves to be nervous anymore.

and remember, the bridge from here to there, is usually pretty sturdy

If you are starting something new, going from the end of point A to the beginning of point B, expect that there will be a time of nervousness. When you start getting nervous, realize that it’s the transition that is scaring you, and not the reality of the new thing. The new thing is likely something you want and have been looking forward to. Once you see that it’s the transition causing you fear or stress, you can begin to eliminate the source of fear by preparing yourself and your mind for that transition.

Do What You Can to Prepare for the Transition

And that is exactly what I do as I am about to approach the fifty yard patch of grass. I prepare my mind. I do this by reminding myself that once I get through the grass, I’m on the last leg of the journey. I remind myself that, it’s just a little grass, no need to be afraid. One of my fears about the grass is that since I am so tired, and not quite as graceful by the time I reach it, one of the clumps of grass or divets in the ground is going to cause me to sprain my ankle, or worse break it, and take me out of training. Well, when I start fearing this, I remind myself to look closely at the ground and watch where I am going. Another thing I tell myself, is that sometimes injury is just a part of the game, and if I get injured, it’s just a part of the process.

Take the Lesson of Transitions for Yourself

Think about a transition in your life–one you have already been through, or that you are about to go through. Is point B something you really want? And do you have all sorts of fears about leaving your place of comfort? Remind yourself that point B is the place you want to be. It’s the uncertainty of things before that that you are afraid of, and the uncertainty arrives in that middle ground, the transition. As you begin to work toward point B, and immerse yourself in the things of point B, you will begin to be too busy to be afraid anymore. Realize it’s the uncertainty of the transition you are afraid of, and it’s not the thing itself.

Have you ever tried this line of thinking? Does it work for you? Or is this a new way of thinking about your fears surrounding “point B?” What new things are you getting ready to approach or take on? I would love to hear from you!

Money Resentments, Anyone?

April 23, 2012 in Inspiration with 11 Comments

I just discovered Danielle LaPorte, who I also instantly fell in love with, since she has an awesome encouragement manifesto on her website. But, once a week she asks a “burning” question and encourages her readers to answer on Facebook, or with a blog post of their own. This week’s burning question was: what money resentments do you have that you could let go of? The idea is that these money resentments affect our money flow.

The answer to this question is a little embarrassing for me, but I think that’s all the more reason to share it with you.

It’s embarrassing because it comes down to a point of jealousy, which started as a kid, and which was something that affected me into adulthood.

Growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money. That meant we didn’t get to go on vacation, eat out, or . . . well, a lot of things. I didn’t mind these things too much though. What bothered me was the “attention” factor. And it certainly seemed to me that the girls who got the most attention at school were the girls whose parents had money. These girls had nice hair, nice clothes and whatever other thing an early-1990s teenager might have wanted. Including the attention. And oh, how I was a sponge for attention. I was a meek and mild child, so I was often overlooked, despite the fact I didn’t want to be.

So I developed resentment against people who seemingly had money handed to them, because they got the attention I so wanted. This childhood resentment turned into a judgmental attitude toward “rich people.” For the most part, I have overcome this judgmental attitude, although sometimes when I’m feeling a little vulnerable and the situation arises, I have to push those old feelings back to where they belong again.

But over time, I came to realize that this attitude was the very attitude that I hated in other people: judgment. I also came to realize that my childhood resentment was simply that–childish–and there were plenty of ways to get attention if I really thought I needed it, and when it came down to it, it wasn’t the attention that I needed. I found that what I really was looking for was a sense of importance. And, after all that, I realized that this sense of importance comes with knowing who you are in God, and in knowing your purpose in life. Once you know your purpose, you realize the importance of your life.

In having this childhood resentment about money, I realize I missed out on a lot of relationships. Because having the resentment separated me from the very people who I really wanted to know. But isn’t that how it always is, when we resent something, or refuse, or are not able to see a different side of something–that we miss out on the very thing we want?

Do you have any money resentments that could be stopping the flow of money into your life?

Do you have any negative feelings that came about as a child that you were never able to kick? How do you think these negative things are impacting your life?