The Cost of LIVING

“There is only one happiness in life,         to love and be loved.”

George Sand

In May of 1997, nearly sixty of my classmates and I walked across a stage in a hot and crowded auditorium in Gilbert, Iowa to receive our high school diplomas. I had no idea what the future held, but I was determined to find out as fast as I could. Confident and curious, I left home to attend the University of Iowa on a mission to uncover who I was, what I should do with my life, and where I should live out my purpose.

Fast forward twenty years and I find myself facing the exact same situation: another move. Obviously this time around is a bit different. Instead of moving two hours away, I’m moving across the country (from Southern California to Atlanta, to be exact). And thankfully, I’m now married to a loving husband, and together we’ve been blessed with three beautiful boys.

As I reflect on my life over the past two decades, I realize that moving has been a reoccurring theme. Since I left home, I’ve moved twelve times, living in four different states. I’ve lived with roommates, on my own, with my husband, and now as a family of five. Our upcoming move at the end of this month makes lucky number thirteen.

The financial aspect of a move, or “cost of living”, is top of mind for any buyer when deciding where to put down roots. It’s the first thing you discuss, as you never look at a home without first establishing a budget.  Having lived in Iowa, Illinois, Georgia and California, I’ve experienced a wide range of cost of living, and there are always tradeoffs. Living in Orange County, CA might have an outrageous cost of living compared to the Iowa corn fields I grew up next to, but the ocean views, palm trees and perfect weather go a long way to help swallow the premium you pay to live in paradise. On the flip side, living in Iowa means you might have to put up with some epic snow and thunderstorms, but you don’t have to break the bank to give your family ample space to play and explore. And I guarantee you, your neighbors will be the most down to earth, genuine and loving people you’ll ever meet. Maybe I’m bias, but Iowa truly is the field of dreams.

This upcoming move will be our third in three years. As fun and adventurous as moving your family across the country may sound (if you look at my social media posts, it certainly appears that way), I’d only be telling half of the story if I didn’t address the emotional “cost of living” that occurs with each move.

I’ve noticed that each time I go through the process of transitioning into a home in a new city, I always look back with rose colored glasses, wishing I could go back to a place in time that has already passed. An old picture, a memory, or a song can transport me back in time, and when that happens I tend to remember the good and forget the not so great. I long to be close to those friends and family again, and I miss the way things were. As it turns out, it’s only after something is taken away that I realize just how special and unique it was. It takes effort and intentionality to appreciate something or someone you see day after day, week after week. You take the “see you tomorrow” for granted, and then suddenly it’s a memory you’d give anything to get back.

Moving is hard. REALLY hard. It rips you away from the community you know and love, and it requires heavy lifting as you invest time and energy into new friendships. Making new friends, the kind you can call in an emergency or share your dreams with, doesn’t happen overnight. It’s easy to put up walls, and it is hard to let new friends in when you are too busy missing your old friends. Or maybe you’re just too afraid you’ll eventually have to say goodbye to them just as you did your friends from last year, and the year before, so why even bother? With the past few moves, it has taken close to a year before our house actually felt like home. While it might be easy to survive a big move, I’m here to tell you it’s hard to thrive after a move. If you want to flourish in a new environment, you have to give it your all. Don’t show up for a varsity game with the JV version of yourself, or you’ll be eaten alive. Moving requires everything you have and then some. It will expose old wounds you thought were healed, and uncover insecurities you never knew you had.

The older I get, the more I realize that joy and sorrow are a package deal. You can’t have one without the other, because change is inevitable. I’m a walking advertisement for change, and one would think after all this time it might come easy, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Every situation is unique, bringing with it a new set of worries, fears and doubts. Don’t get me wrong, change can be exciting, exhilarating and joyful. We’ve made some of the most amazing memories exploring new areas of the country together as a family. But it can also feel emotionally exhausting, especially when it requires saying goodbye or leaves you searching for a new normal. With our moving date only a few short weeks away, the thought of having say goodbye yet again hurts my heart.

Which brings me to my point, the entire reason I sat down to write this. I believe the sadness we feel in times of change and loss is evidence that we’ve made ourselves vulnerable enough to love. It’s easy to go through life with walls built so high that no one can get in, but that’s not really living, is it? It’s important to sit with the sadness and not bury the emotions deep inside. In her book, You Are Free, Rebekah Lyons warns us that “When we dull our pain, we dull our joy. When we numb our lows, we numb our highs.” In these times sorrow, we must remember the abundance of joy we felt so that we can muster up the courage to move forward and keep loving, even though we know change may come. If you want to live fully, you must allow yourself to love deeply. And when you love deeply, sorrow is sometimes the price we pay… it’s the emotional cost of living.

This post is  dedicated to our California family. Words can’t fully express how much we love and cherish your friendship.

Extracting Excellence

Wikipedia defines excellence as “a talent or quality which is unusually good and so surpasses ordinary standards”.

Excellence is a constantly moving target. You don’t achieve a level of excellence in any area of life by staying the same. Forward progress is required for anyone striving for excellence. Professional athletes don’t just show up to a game without putting in long, hard hours of practice. Authors don’t just publish a book without countless hours of writing, rewriting, and revising their work. CFO’s don’t take on huge organizational responsibility without years of studying, understanding and applying financial literacy.

Average is to excellence what good is to great. And Jim Collins says it best

Good is the enemy of great.

If you think about it, many people are average (or good) at many things in life. But very few achieve excellence (or greatness). Excellence requires us to show up, day after day, giving our very best effort, with laser focus and determination. Excellence is…HARD. So we settle for average, or good enough. We settle for comfort, ease, and the path of least resistance.

I recently attended a talk by Matthew Kelly called Living Every Day With Passion and Purpose. During his talk, he shared several qualities all individuals who have achieved a level of excellence have in common. These qualities are universally understood and applied, from professional athletes to comedians, doctors to teachers. These qualities include:

1. A hunger for best practices. Once you have identified something you want to improve upon, research and find others who are considered “the best” in that industry. If you want to improve your photography skills, follow the best ones on Instagram. If you are looking to sharpen your leadership skills, reading a book by the one and only John C. Maxwell certainly wouldn’t hurt. Excellence requires a hunger for new, fresh perspectives and practices.
2. Commitment to continuous learning (on-going personal growth). Learning doesn’t end when we graduate from school. The world is constantly evolving and changing. We live in an age of information abundance, and it’s up to us to find the information we need and apply it. Attend a workshop, watch a documentary, listen to a podcast, read a book, have coffee with an industry expert, subscribe to blogs and newsletters. Put a system in place to continually learn from the industry experts. Just imagine all you could learn in a year if you just spent ten minutes a day learning something new.
3. Personal clarity. When you know who you are, what you are here for, what matters most and what matters least, you can get really good at saying no. In order to achieve excellence, you have to get good at saying NO, so your yes can be a fiery, passionate, energetic YES. Olympic athletes have personal clarity. They push through all those years of 4:30 a.m. workouts because they know exactly what they are training for. When we don’t have clarity, we are easily distracted and influenced by popular culture. We become swept away by what’s new, popular, easy, and fast. “Oh look, a squirrel!”
4. Have a mentor, coach, or accountability partner. Those olympic athletes aren’t showing up alone for 4:30 a.m. practice. They have coaches, helping them develop and implement a training plan. If there is something you want to achieve, it’s imperative you have a coach, mentor or accountability partner. No one has ever achieved excellence alone. When I started a new job at Discovery Education, I immediately found a mentor. We read books together and discussed our key learnings, and she held me accountable for goals I wanted to accomplish. A few months into the job, I told her I wanted to go back to school to get my Master’s degree. She gave me a deadline, and even sent me a link for more information on the company’s reimbursement policy. I can promise you there is NO WAY I would have followed through with the application process if I didn’t have someone holding me accountable. Similarly, in every city I’ve lived, I’ve made it a priority to find running buddies to tackle those early morning runs. I wake up and get my butt out of bed 100% of the time when I know someone is counting on me to run with them. If I’m attempting a 5:30 a.m. run solo, there is a good chance it isn’t going to happen. Find someone to hold you accountable for goals you know will help make you a better version of yourself.

Excellence isn’t easy, and it certainly isn’t something that can be accomplished overnight. You have to show up for practice, day after day, not just when you feel like it. Establish daily habits that will help you achieve your goal, and over time you’ll find yourself experiencing a level of excellence you’ve been dreaming of.

 

 

 

FOMO Made Me Do It

FOMO, which is an acronym for “Fear Of Missing Out”, is becoming more and more of an issue in this hyper-connected world. All it takes is thirty seconds on any social media platform, and suddenly we feel left out, less important, not as smart, not as funny, or worse- not enough. In Brené Brown’s book Rising Strong, she talks about the negative impact FOMO can have on our lives.

“The ‘fear of missing out’ is what happens when scarcity slams into shame. FOMO lures us out of our integrity with whispers about what we could or should be doing. FOMO’s favorite weapon is comparison. It kills gratitude and replaces it with “not enough”. We answer FOMO’s call by saying YES when we mean NO. We abandon our path and boundaries and those precious adventures that hold meaning for us so we can prove that we aren’t missing out.

But we are. We’re missing out on our own lives. Every time we say YES because we’re afraid of missing out, we say NO to something. That something may be a big dream or a short nap. We need both. Courage to stay our course and gratitude for our path will keep us grounded and guide us home.”

Look back on the decisions you made over the past few weeks. Was there something FOMO caused you to say YES to?

• Walking to Starbucks with your co-workers when you really needed to stay behind and finish the project out of fear they would have a fun conversation you would miss out on.
• Buying a ticket to a concert because ALL of your friends posted on Facebook they were going even though you know your budget is tight out of fear they would have the MOST EPIC NIGHT EVER without you.
• Signing your child up for yet another activity highly recommended by your mommy friend even though you know your child just needs a break from the hustle out of fear of what other mommy friends will think of you.

There are a million scenarios, but in the end, each time FOMO wins, it can crush our spirit.

FOMO can’t win without FEAR. And fear can’t win when it’s confronted with the truth. So it hides the truth, instead filling your mind full of false information. A friend of mine recently shared this acronym for “F.E.A.R.”:

False Evidence Appearing Real.

When we don’t have all of the information, our brains are actually horrible at filling in the gaps. We believe the lies, or false evidence, as truth, and we make decisions based on those lies. Seth Godin calls it the lizard brain. Those thoughts and feelings are not true, and they hinder our ability to become the best-version-of-ourselves.  Don’t let FEAR or FOMO guide you off course. Here are a few strategies to keep them at bay.

1. Planned Neglect: In the book Walking With Purpose, Lisa Brenninkmeyer tells the story about a famous concert violinist. When she was asked the secret to her success, she replied, “Planned neglect.” Then she explained, “When I was in music school, there were many things that demanded my time. When I went to my room after breakfast, I made my bed, straightened the room, dusted the floor, and did whatever else came to my attention.  Then I hurried to my violin practice. I found I wasn’t progressing as I thought I should, so I reversed things.  I deliberately planned to neglect everything else until my practice period was complete. That program of planned neglect, I believe, accounts for my success.” What can you plan to neglect so that you can focus on your most important work? Instead of checking social media as soon as you wake up, plan to neglect it until you have completed your morning workout, spent time with your children, planned your day, or cleaned your home.
2. Pull, Don’t Push: I’m convinced those “push notifications” on our devices are killing our ability to live in the moment. The second you hear the beep or see the information flash across your screen, FOMO has won. Because guess what, that hysterical Facebook post you just shared, Susan just commented. SUSAN! As in- everyone loves Susan because she is THE funniest, prettiest, smartest woman in all the land. And SHE commented on YOUR post. I bet she said something funny. Classic Susan. Read it! READ IT NOW! You have to comment on her comment! Think of something funny to say. Never mind the work meeting you are in the middle of, or the child begging for your attention to help you with his lego building. WHAT DID SUSAN SAY?!……Last year I decided to turn off ALL “push” notifications. I decide when I want to “pull” those notifications by logging into those apps. I TRY (sometimes I fail) to do it when I don’t have something else (or someone else) more important that needs my full attention. When my loved ones are trying to speak to me, and I continue to look down at my device, half listening, I am communicating loud and clear “this device and the information on it is MORE IMPORTANT than you”. I am modeling this behavior to my precious children, who will likely become copy-cats. Put the device down. Find quiet times throughout the day when that device is the ONLY thing that needs your attention.
3. Say It Out Loud: FEAR doesn’t like the light of day. It grows best in dark, quiet places. When FEAR and FOMO flood your mind with false evidence, say those thoughts out loud. Share your thoughts with a friend, or just say them out loud to yourself. Sometimes the simple act of verbalizing your thoughts and hearing them out loud is all you need to realize just how ridiculous it sounds.

Don’t let FOMO allow FEAR to keep you from becoming the best-version-of-yourself. Work on developing self-awareness so you can kick them to the curb next time they knock on your front door.

 

Energy Management

If you were to type in the words “time management” into a Google search, you would receive 499,000,000 results. Countless books, blogs, articles and seminars have been written and built based on this concept. I’ve read and attended my fair share over the last 2 decades. There is no lack of content if you want to learn more about how to best manage your time.

We live in a culture where a crazy, busy schedule is the norm. Expected, almost. With more “to-do’s” fighting for our daily attention than ever before, it’s no wonder time management is a topic many are trying to master.

The purpose of this post is not to give you my insights on how to best manage your time. I think the bigger issue is how you manage your ENERGY.

In my last post, I talked about the idea of creating Core Habits, a concept I found in the book Off Balance by Matthew Kelly.

In his book, Kelly also tackles the issue of energy management. People, places, things, and activities all have energy. Some energize us, and some drain our energy.

Your capacity for life increases with the more energy you have. Your ability to embrace, absorb, and enjoy all the good things in this world, and your ability to respond and react to the not so good things in this word, depends upon the amount of energy you have….Knowing how to balance various activities in our life to produce the maximum flow of energy is perhaps the most important skill any of us can learn to develop…Your experience of life expands with the more energy you have.

Keeping in mind that everything has energy, take a look at your daily schedule. Are there times in the day where the negatives outnumber the positives? How can you reorganize your day to better balance the scale? (A word of caution: don’t overload your daily schedule in an attempt to add more positive energy. Ten pounds of fun will never fit into a five pound bag. Nothing empties your energy tank faster than the overwhelming feeling of being rushed.)

Is there a certain time of day where your energy goes to die? Mine is 2:30. EVERY DAY. Trying to do more energy-sucking tasks when your tank is already on “E” is no fun.  And I’ll let you in on a little secret – caffeine and/or sugar is not the answer to your empty tank. They only make matters worse in the long run.

You may also notice a certain time of day where you have a surplus of energy. Early morning is my favorite time of day. I try to schedule all of the things that require the most energy and focus first thing in the morning. If it’s not done by dinner time, chances are good I’m not going to have the energy to do it.

Here are a few strategies I use to help manage my energy flow throughout the day.  (Caffeine and sugar free!!)

• Multi-energy-task. I know what the research says about the negative impacts of multi-tasking. But there are certain tasks that can be done with minimal cognitive effort (things you do often that don’t require much thought), and can be combined with something else. For example- if you are like me, and feel that completing necessary household chores (laundry, dishes, dusting…) sucks the very life out of you, try to schedule a phone call with your best friend, parent, or someone who fills up your energy tank every time you talk to them. Enjoy the uplifting phone date while you fold the laundry and see how much easier it becomes. Maybe you work full time and can’t seem to escape a co-worker who drains your energy tank each and every day. “Who ‘ya gonna call” to lift you up and give you the energy you need? Play your own “fight song” before or after you talk to them. Play it loud and sing along with it. It’s amazing how music can lift you up and make you feel less alone in this crazy world.
•  Take Five: If your day does not start out on the right foot, it is highly unlikely it will end well. It is difficult to change the trajectory of your day once you set the course. What begins as a tiny snowball of negativity in the first few minutes of your day becomes an unstoppable avalanche by lunch. Not good. Spend the next week experimenting with the the BEST way to start your day. For the first five minutes- do something that gives you energy. (If you have longer than five minutes-take it!) It could be a quick exercise, quiet meditation, prayer time, reading, drawing, or planning your day. If you don’t take the initiative to run your day, your day will run you over.
• Waffle Wednesday. Hump day often gets a bad rap. If Wednesday were a body part, it would be an armpit. A smelly, ugly, hairy (but necessary) energy sucker. Poor Wednesday. About a year ago I decided to give Wednesday an energy overhaul. Every Wednesday morning my kids wake up excited for “Waffle Wednesday”. I realize the irony of this sugar-filled energy boost. But what was once a mid-week day we all dreaded has now become one of my favorite mornings of the week. Having something to look forward to GIVES us energy. Maybe Monday is tough for you. If so- what energy giving person, place or activity can you add to prevent having another “case of the Mondays”?  

• Move. I try not to sit for more than 20 minutes at a time. I’ve heard it said more than once, and I couldn’t agree more, “sitting is the new smoking”. (There is also plenty of research to support this claim.) Instead of sitting down for a meeting with your co-worker, try a walk-and-talk option. Then come back and write down any action items. If you have a job that requires you sit at a desk all day with minimal options to get up and walk, try doing some chair yoga moves. If you stay at home with your kids, turn on Pandora’s 80’s station and dance together in your living room. It doesn’t matter how you move your body. Just move. (Especially during the time of day when your energy is the lowest.)

Take a moment to write down your daily schedule. Identify the energy givers with a “+”, and the energy suckers with a “-“. Give yourself a 1:1 ratio in order to balance your energy scale. Set boundaries and build in opportunities to recharge your battery. If you are a chronic people pleaser, use the power of “no” more often than you are comfortable. Give yourself the space and time you need to fill up your tank, and you’ll uncover energy reserves you never knew you had.

 

 

Your Best Self

When you think about the person you are today, and compare her to the best-version-of-yourself, is there a gap? If so, what specific area(s) of your life need a boost?

Think of your overall wellness as a wheel. In order to ride your bike (or drive your car), you need perfectly round wheels. When one area of your life is lacking, that area of the wheel becomes flat. Here is an illustration to help visualize your “wheel of wellness” (please excuse my penmanship!).

Imagine trying to ride a bike with a wheel like the one above. Chances are good you wouldn’t make it very far before giving up.

Your wheel may look different than mine, but most likely you have one (or more) areas that need work. So what do we do? Typically, we throw ourselves into those areas we know best. Work isn’t going well, so we exercise as a way to release the stress. Our marriage no longer has the spark it once did, so we become workaholics . Our waistline has increased over the years, so we pour our heart and soul into our kids. We don’t even know where to begin with our spiritual life, so we organize a girls’ night out every week. There are a million different scenarios, but you get the idea.

Find the flat(s) in your wheel of wellness, and face them head on. But how, you ask? Here are two simple strategies to help guide you towards a better, braver, happier YOU.

• Core Habits: A few years ago I read the book Off Balance by Matthew Kelly. He talks about identifying your core habits, which he defines as “the daily habits that keep you healthy, focused, and energized”. Basically- what things do you need to do EACH DAY to be your BEST SELF. Take a moment to identify your own core habits. I recommend having between 3-5. Write them on a note card and place it somewhere visible to serve as a daily reminder. Here are mine 🙂            

 

• Habit Stacking: I read this in a magazine a few months ago, and for the life of me I can’t remember which one. This strategy is helpful anytime you are trying to incorporate a new habit into your life. If one of your core habits (mentioned above) is not something you already do on a daily basis, try to STACK IT on top of an existing habit. For example- maybe you want to pray more often. You could decide you will pray after you brush your teeth in the morning (I hope this is already a habit for you!!). You could even place a post-it-note on the mirror of your bathroom reminding you to say your prayers once you have finished polishing your pearly whites.

The journey towards the best-version-of-yourself is lifelong. There is always time to learn, room to grow, and beliefs to challenge. Each and every day presents an opportunity to round out your wheel, empowering you to take the ride of your life.

With love,

Ginny

 

 

 

 

Are You “Off Balance”?

Ginny’s 7 core habits

“We seem more interested in how we want to live than we are in discovering the best way to live. Likewise, we are much more interested in developing self-expression than we are in developing selves that are worth expressing. Personal preference has triumphed over the pursuit of excellence. We want what we want, and we feel entitled to what we want.”

-Matthew Kelly, Off Balance

I read this book with my mentor while I was working as a Director for Discovery Education. I was overwhelmed with how to “balance” everything. My family, my career, exercise, grad school, etc . This book was a gold mine of information.

In his book, Kelly begins by explaining that “work-life balance” is a myth. It’s impossible to balance the amount of time spent on your personal life if you are working full-time. Instead, he talks about striving for personal and professional SATISFACTION.

This week I’m basing the presentation portion of the iMoveU bootcamps on this book. Here is my Haiku Deck.

Here are a few points he makes:

1. Satisfaction is different from pleasure. Satisfaction can be sustained beyond the activity producing it. Pleasure is immediate and short-lived. We have become addicted to pleasure, and the cost is genuine satisfaction
2. Time Management vs. Energy Management: People, places, food and things can give you energy or take energy away. It’s important to manage our daily energy flow.
3. Systems drive behaviors. We often times approach our work strategically, but our personal lives randomly. Identify your desired outcomes, identify the right behaviors that will lead to these outcomes, and create a system so that it flows.
4. What are your CORE Habits? Write them down, look at them every day, and add new ones to the list as needed.

This book is worth every penny. It’s evident through his writing that Matthew Kelly is a compassionate individual. If you are interested in learning more, there is a free work-life balance assessment you can take HERE.

 

Give Yourself The Gift of Time

“Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can NEVER get it back.”

– Harvey Mackay (Found in the book The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson)

 

In my first week of iMoveU bootcamps, the presentation portion focused on “The Gift of Time”.

Here is the presentation deck

As you scroll through the Haiku Deck, you will see my notes that give context to the information on each slide.

The mission of iMoveU is to empower heart centered change in motion.

Essentially, that means I want to empower (NOT enable) you to make positive changes in your life to improve your physical, nutritional, motional and spiritual wellness. Changes that come from YOUR heart. Don’t base your changes on societal norms, peer pressure, your ego or money. Those types of changes, at least for me, have led me in the wrong direction.

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes find it hard to listen to what’s in my heart. All of the “white noise” of the world makes it difficult to listen to our intuition. All of the noise is YELLING at us through TV, radio and social media, telling us we have to look, behave and think a certain way.

Over the past 2 months, I’ve tried to tune out the noise. I’ve given myself the Gift of Time to discover what’s in my heart. I’ve spent time reading, thinking, writing, and listening to that inner voice. I’m striving to live my best life. I still have a long way to go. Some days are better than others. My ego still likes to pop in and say hello and remind me of all the reasons why I will fail at what I’m doing. I try to ignore it, but sometimes it gets the best of me. In those moments, I rely on my family and friends to lift me up and remind me that I’m on the right path.

Here’s the thing about living your best life. What works for YOU may not work for others. What works for others may not work for YOU. The goal is to figure out what’s in YOUR heart.

Turn off the noise. Get to know yourself. What gives you energy? What brings you joy? How can you do more of those things each day? Stop going through the motions.

Give yourself The Gift of Time and see what kind of positive changes you can make in your life.

If you need help, ask for help. Find an accountability partner. If you want to be brave, if you want to get better, if you want to be HAPPY, don’t go it alone.

How Do You FEEL?

I’m not a morning person. I don’t love getting up at 5 a.m. It doesn’t feel great to wake up that early, especially if I haven’t gotten my 7-8 hours of sleep (yes, I am a sleep diva).

What I do love, however, is how I FEEL after I’ve gotten up, exercised, and spent time reading/reflecting/writing/praying , all before 6:30 am. When my kids wake up, I’ve already taken time for myself. I love how I feel and know that whatever comes my way that day, I started off on the right foot.

I also love sleeping in. What I don’t love, however, is how I FEEL when I start my day waking up at 6:30 with the kids, who are demanding to be fed along with the dog who needs to eat and be let out. Once 6:3o am hits, chaos starts. And on the days where I haven’t taken time for myself first, I quickly become crabby, overwhelmed, and I tend to have less patience for the madness that ensues.

Physical health is not something to take for granted. There may come a day where I’m no longer able to run or exercise. Today is not that day. There are people who would give anything to spend a day in my shoes and have the physical ability to exercise. I choose not to waste my mornings sleeping in an extra hour. I choose to get up early, 3-4 days a week, and take time to better myself. Because I love how it FEELS.

Whatever your goals are, don’t think about what you have to do, think about how you will FEEL when you achieve them. 

Here are a few helpful tips that have worked for me:

1. Spend some time experimenting with your mornings. Find a routine that works for you. Ask yourself “What is the best way to start my day”? Try a variety of exercises until you find one that works. I’ve spend the last 6-7 years trying every type of exercise under the sun (hot yoga, barre, spin class, running clubs, exercise DVD’s, etc.). I like to change it up, so my current routine includes a mix of yoga, barre, TRX, pilates, and running. I can’t wait to wake up early because I’ve found exercises that I LOVE to do.
2. Give yourself a “reward” for waking up early. I love music, so my reward is listening to my favorite new songs. When I find new songs that I love, I only allow myself to listen to them when I’m exercising. If it comes on while I’m driving or listening to music, I turn it off. That way it becomes a treat to listen to it during my runs.
3. Give your exercise a purpose. Some of my best thinking comes when I’m in motion. It helps me think through things clearly and rationally. On my long runs, I will focus my thoughts on something specific. As soon as my run is over, I’ll write down all of the ideas. One of my best friends spends the first mile of her run praying for her friends and family before she turns on her music. Talk about purpose!
4. Use apps to take free or very discounted classes. I use Mindbody to search for local studios. You can refine the search based on the type of exercise (yoga, barre, spin, etc). Many studios offer the first class for free or for a very low price, and they also offer a one week or one month unlimited membership for a steal. This allows you to try a new place every week or month for next to nothing.
5. Set yourself up for success. Set out your workout gear the night before, and place your alarm across the room so you have to get out of bed to turn it off. Half of the battle is just getting out of that warm, cozy bed. Once you are up, you might as well get your sweat on 🙂

I sometimes exercise in the afternoon or evenings. It depends on my day and when I can fit it in. But here’s the thing- the longer I wait to exercise, the less likely I am to do it. Kids get sick. Projects come up. Laundry doesn’t fold itself. Things get in the way. And once 9 pm hits, I’m ready to lay in bed.

Stop saying “I’m not a morning person”. Don’t waste that precious time getting a few extra minutes of sleep. Wake up early, and focus on how you will FEEL once you’ve taken the first hour of your day for yourself. If you are anything like me, you’ll find that you are a better parent, spouse, co-worker and friend on those days.

 

 

Living Legacy

“BETTER is better than more. ” Seth Godin

3 years ago I started this blog.

That means 3 years ago I was sitting in my hotel room in Montreal, having just gone out for a run after a long but rewarding day running an education consultant certification training, and was contemplating starting my own blog. As soon as the thought popped into my head, the song “Right Now” by Van Halen came on.

I took that as a sign, so I went back to my hotel room and wrote this post.

I look back now and laugh. I had no idea what I was doing or what I was writing about, all I knew is that I wanted to share.

I remember clicking the “publish” button. I immediately felt sick to my stomach. What if people don’t like it? What if no one comments? Who really wants to read what I have to say?

3 years later, I don’t think too much about the “publish” button. I just write. I’m still learning. Some day I’ll look back at this post and laugh. The more you do something, the better you become. Practice doesn’t make perfect, but it does make you BETTER.

The way I felt about the blog 3 years ago is now how I feel with iMoveU. I’m anxious, nervous and afraid of failing. But I keep on pushing.

I KNOW that in time, I’ll look back and remember this time in my life and wonder why I was so afraid.

I consider this blog my living legacy. I’m not writing this for anyone but myself and my children. If something were to happen to me, I want them to have a place to turn to where they can get to know their mom and understand what she went through, the good and the bad, to build the life she wanted for her family. I want to put my very best work online so I can model for anyone who wants to know more about what it looks like to live your truth and drown out the noise of the world. Because it’s not easy. It’s taken me 35 years to understand how to love and lead myself. It’s been a roller coaster of highs and lows these past few months. And I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Thank you for stopping by to read my blog, thank you for all your likes and comments, and thank you for sharing this with others when the messages I share resonate with you.

Happy 3rd birthday, Blog. Here’s to many more.

Gin

 

Make Believe

Make-Believe. Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.

Sing it with me. You know you want to. Belt it out. Right here, right now.

“It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood. A beautiful day for a neighbor. Could you be mine? Would you be mine?…. I have always wanted to have a neighbor just like you. I’ve always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you. So let’s make the most of this beautiful day. Since we’re together, we might as well say: Would you be mine, could you be mine? Won’t you be my neighbor.”

Hello, neighbor.

Here’s the thing.

In this hyper-connected world, we are all neighbors. We have access to one another, like it or not.

And it’s not going away.

We have a choice to make in how we interact with one another as “neighbors”.

I choose to be the best neighbor I can. I choose to wake up each day and make you think, smile, move and laugh. I’m like Wilson, and you’re Tim the Toolman Taylor.

I want to make you believe in yourself.

You become what you believe.

You know that saying “fake it until you make it”? Sometimes as adults we need to play a little make believe. We need to MAKE ourselves BELIEVE we can do something. When we believe we can, we WILL.

Here’s a perfect example.

My best friend from high school ran cross country with me. She hated it, and she wasn’t very fast. She did it more for the social aspect.

A little over a year ago, she made herself believe she was a runner.

She ran a few shorter races, gained some confidence and ran Dam to Dam (just short of a half marathon) last summer, ran her first marathon, and then ran the Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon just a few weeks ago.

She pushed through an injury and 10 mile an hour winds she endured for 6+ miles.

Kiley, mother of 3, runner and Boston qualifier.

And she qualified for Boston. 

Don’t think for a second that Make Believe is just for kids.

Find something you want to do (especially something that scares you). Something that will make you a better version of yourself.

And MAKE yourself BELIEVE you can do it.

#iMoveU