My Journey to Me-Dom

Life is a never ending journey.  Just when you think you’ve got it down a curveball gets thrown at you.  The monkey wrench shows up to glitch your groove.  Getting too comfortable with a smooth ride is like an open invitation for something to happen that makes it go all wrong.  This is why I just never bother trying to feel settled.  In fact, when things get too easy I usually look for a way to add a challenge back into the mix.  I always want to improve myself.  I’m always trying to find the best version of myself, and I know for sure that I’m not the only person who tackles their “weaknesses” head on.   I also know for sure that it is always a struggle, rarely without what can sometimes be "painful truths", and usually made up of what can be some of the hardest times in a person’s life, but it’s not all bad and is an important part of finding your most authentic self.  I like to refer to this path of trials and tribulations as "my journey to Me-dom".  It is my story made up of the challenges I present to myself in order to be the best I can be and genuine down to the bare bones.  It is my way of being true to myself, striving to be better, and clearing a path through the trials and tribulations to the simplest, cleanest, happiest version of myself I can create.  It’s my path to mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual freedom.  A journey to find myself in the purest form, untainted by life.  It’s my way of taking the bull by the horns and refusing to look in the mirror and no longer recognize the person looking back at me.  Many of you are own your own similar journeys to "You-dom" and can relate to the challenges I present to myself and my way of thinking.  It is because many of us are stronger together that I decided to share my journey here with you.  I’m inviting the world to share and partake in my challenges with me.  Many of you just need that extra encouragement and just knowing you aren’t facing challenges alone makes all the difference.  Many of you just need an idea of where to start or what to try next.  You are welcome to just read along, cheer me on, use my challenges to brainstorm for challenges that suit your needs, or to participate and share right along with me.  While we each have our own “stuff” to face and conquer, we also often have more in common than we realize, so if you find yourself inspired to travel this journey with me then please do and be sure to tell me all about it in the comment section below.  I plan to come back each Tuesday and update you on my progress from the week before and lay out my plan for the next challenge at the same time.  If you are participating then be sure to tell me how you did each week.  If you just want to cheer me on then by all means do.  If you come up with your own challenges that suit your needs better then please share what they are.  I may decide your idea is one I need to tackle as well, and undoubtedly someone who reads this will even if I don’t.  We can all encourage each other as a group and as individuals.

Time and time again I have read that too much sitting is bad for your health.  (DUH!)  The problem is that many of us are forced to sit for hours on end in order to earn a paycheck.  Every vlogger/blogger can relate to my situation sitting for hours with a computer in your lap and quite frankly every job I’ve had prior to this in my adult life was no different.  One suggestion that you often see to help overcome that “secretary spread” is to get a dog, the idea being that if you have a dog you have to walk it at least 3 times per week.  If only that were the case.  While I’d love to get a dog just for the excuse to walk, unfortunately it just isn’t the best way to tackle a widening behind for me right now.  Yes, I could borrow one or take on a side job as a dog walker, but honestly the idea of having to go to someone’s home to borrow their pet just for the sake of a walk sounds like a hassle to me and would likely end up as good of an excuse as any to NOT get out of the chair for a while.  I decided to take the advice and adjust it to make sense in MY life and do it in a way that I will hold myself accountable to.  I decided to just get up at the break of dawn and walk a path at a local park that is about a mile and a half long.  Since the dog walkers are supposed to walk at least three times per week I decided that for myself it needs to be three days in a row.  I know that if I spread the days out it is too easy to skip and I really need it to become a routine and an actual lifestyle change to make it a habit.  So, not only will I do it 3 days in a row, I am also going to only give myself one day off before doing it three more days in a row.  This is my challenge to myself.  I often use little mind tricks on myself in this way to ensure I’m doing more than the average bear.  I will actually be walking 6 days per week this way, but it will feel like I’m getting two days off per week instead of only one.  It also means that my days off will continually change which means I can’t give myself excuses to not go like “Well, I can’t walk on Sundays because I have church on Sunday morning.”  I CAN and WILL walk before church because I know that now and then I will get Sunday off anyway so just do it.  I picked the first light of morning because I know there isn’t anything else I would be doing at that time besides maybe sleeping anyway and that I’m currently doing the same amount of “nothing” at that time every single day so I can be consistent.  For some of you the hour might be in the evening or around lunch or right after the kids leave for school.  You just have to pick a time that is the same every day where the only challenge is just to stand up and go do it.  All I have to do is force myself to wake up to go and the battle is won.  It only takes 20 minutes to do the rest from start to finish, so the waking up is the hardest part for me.  So, this is what I will be doing for the next week and I encourage you to either take the dog walking challenge in its original form, or join me in my version of the challenge, or change the challenge to meet your own needs and tell me all about your plan below, but whatever you do DO NOT give yourself excuses and be your own worst enemy NO MATTER WHAT.  Make a plan that fits your schedule and lifestyle and then force yourself to STICK WITH IT.  Believe me!  Many of those days when the alarm goes off I will be cursing and crying and trying to think of ANY reason to not make myself get up and do it, but I WILL NOT give in to my own weaknesses.  After all, that’s the whole point right?  To push myself to be the very best version of myself that I can be.  THIS is my journey to Me-dom.