Another post, and another quote from the brilliance that is You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life.

The full quote goes like this (emphasis my own):

If you’re going to push through major obstacles to reach your goal,

you can’t just want to want to;

you need to be in a full-on tizzy of excitement about what it is you’re going after and hold on to it like a pitbull.

In order to do this, you need to have the audacity to be honest about what you really what to do, not what you should do,

believe it’s available to you regardless of any evidence otherwise,

and go for it.

So much of what I have been challenged to are things that I want to want to do, but haven’t really been focused on accomplishing. Every weekend that arrives, I look back at the week and realize how much I didn’t get done when it comes to my own personal goals. I get caught up in my work goals, and spouse goals, and let my personal goals fall by the wayside.

I know I’m not original in this. Nor is this the first time I am even complaining about myself in this way. But in the same way that sometimes you have to fall down ten times to get back up on that eleventh and win, I am needing this reminder today.

Much of it also stems from the fact that there are things in my challenges that I don’t want to do, though I know I should do them.

Exhibit A: be better about my yoga and meditation practices.

I also want to write my book that I have been working on (very slowly) since last fall.

No one is holding me back from these things except myself. If I truly pushed myself, I could do it. But I end up giving in to being lazy, or letting others take over. I need to demand that I have time for my needs and focus on accomplishing those as well.

Sorry if you came here to read about how I am accomplishing so much, but I do have plans for the upcoming week that should bring with it some actual goal completion.

Those plans are:

UPCOMING CHALLENGES

• Relax and spend some quality time with yourself at least one hour every week – JCT

To do this, I am going to work on completing the other challenge of Take an online class and learn to make your own greeting cards! – TH.

I mentioned this in my previous post, but I have a watercolor set and I want to get better at painting with it.

Therefore, I am going to spend an hour today watching YouTube tutorials and painting.

I plan on doing the same thing on Friday. That way, I can start and cap my week with painting, and work towards completing one of the challenges.

• Get story published by a major magazine under your own name – Me

I have ghostwritten stories that have ended up in major publications, but never had one published under my own name. There is a writing competition by Real Simple, with the challenge to answer “What was the most dramatic change you ever had to make?”

Considering that my life for the last year has been a series of dramatic changes, I thought this was a perfect place to start. And if my essay doesn’t win, then perhaps I can submit it elsewhere, and repurpose it to share the knowledge I learned from last year.

No matter what though, by May of 2017, I want to have a story published in a major magazine under my own name.

To accomplish this, I am going to start reviewing what I have written for my book and seeing where I can go from there. By this time next week, I am giving myself the goal of having a strong outline to write from.

• Take a trip somewhere you have never been – alone. – MPM, DA, IS combined with
• Visit California – SM

So this one will have to wait until pay day, but I am hoping to set in motion a plan to visit Cali at the end of September.

Not only do I want to attend the Re:Make Summit & Festival by Brit + Co, but I also want to visit the numerous friends I have on the West Coast.

As I have never traveled further West than St. Louis, I am ecstatic to (hopefully) finally see what all the California fuss is about.

 

ONGOING CHALLENGES

• Send a card to someone (as many different someones) every day. – MA

I am continuing this challenge and have thoroughly enjoyed sending these postcards so far. Almost nothing brings me more joy than sending little bits of happiness out into the world!

• Attend yoga classes for a month. Being consistent with your practice. Feel the difference. Post postures in your FB feed – PL

I know I have said previously that I have started this one, but now I am “in a full-on tizzy of excitement” about going to yoga, and plan on holding “on to it like a pitbull.”

I have got to stop talking the talk and start walking the walk. Starting with tomorrow morning. I will be at yoga, come hell or high water.

• Read all of the books I own – Me 

This one you can always catch up on over under the Bitchin Books section. You can see my ratings and which books I loved or hated, and why.

 

Hope this is enough excitement to keep you intrigued! Either way, I’m off to get my shit together and start working on my water color skills!

Always,

Amanda