Monday Motivation

Getting started... Mondays... Ugh!!!

I think that generally this is the consensus of most who are coming off a great weekend, a busy weekend, or a relaxing weekend! It's just not easy to get started. To begin again, knowing that the week is long in front of you and your still pooped from the days you left behind!

But every beginning has a first step. Every something new has a starting point... you can't begin if you don't stand up to start! There isn't any magical pill or sparkly fairy that is going to come in and make your 'new beginning' any easier or less work for you! It's up to you, and only you!

Monday's used to be an unfavorite day for me! The day that I looked to with dread because I had so much to do on that day! It's the beginning of a hectic week, it means a new batch laundry, I need to clean the house again... the list could go on and on!! But with one shift in focus, and a friend by my side to push my limits, Monday is becoming one of my fav days, a day I look forward to! I get up, I see my goals and what needs to be done waiting there for me to walk toward, and I do it! I know that if I'm not game enough to do, no one else is, so I get started!! I put one foot in front of the other.  I decide what I want to tackle, and I go after it!

And man, has it changed the tempo of my weeks!!

(my running partner/motivation booster... after a 3 miler and 2 huge sets of bleacher intervals)

Whatever it is that pulls at you, or slows you down, or tells you that you can't or you shouldn't ... set it aside and shift your focus on what you could being doing instead! God only gave you one body, one life and it will only be what you make of it! Each day is a gift of grace that you can make the most of or wish away, waiting for something better! What do you choose... Work with what you have and slowly but surely make it better? Or stand defeated in the life you were gifted, hoping that by some miracle it will change with little or no effort on your part?

I choose me... whole, gifted, all me!!! 

I chose to do better by myself each day! 

I own me... no one else does!!!!

Here is my music motivation for the week...

You can't change if you don't get started... You have nothing to lose! No time to waste! The time is now...

Always - Abbey

Friday Fun

This year our little man is in preK 4 days a week. It's good for his social soul and perfect for my busyness. I get tons done while he is off learning, playing and strutting his stuff!! A win, win! Fridays tho... they are our day! Our one day to hang and be together! Now that I only get one day with this sweet spirit, I am trying to make the most of it and mentally take pictures of the moments we share!
Instagram helps with that... ha!!!

Even if we do the most mundane things, like errands or go on planned adventures to the park with our beast sweet girl, Dehaya, we are living it up! There isn't a question that goes unanswered or a 'what if' not pondered upon, we are thick as thieves!!! I sometimes wish I could have had this time with our big boy, instead of juggling his younger years with working full time! The memories I have with him during his 'before big school' years are precious, none the less. But I do feel like they were rushed and full of unrelated stress that took time away from him. But, I digress... and I know time gives perspective to the blessings we have and have always been given, so for that, I am thankful! Stress or no stress, hussle or not, our boys have thrived and so have we!!

I think it's funny how time teaches, while gently reminding you of all that you have in life. It marches on with or without you. If you decide to be open to it, time can impart endless possibilities to do better, allow you to give more, and it begs you to celebrate what you've already done (good or bad)! Time keeps ticking no matter if you have or haven't planned for what's to come!! For now, we cherish time! Some times it's on our side and other times it eludes us no matter how hard we try! We snuggle longer, we laugh louder and among the moments when we lose control, we don't hesitate to try again and do better. And for me, Friday's have embodied just that... extra time, cherished time, time to do better!

As we head into the weekend, we have some fun things on the agenda, but nothing super special. Some sports playing and some down time for me and the hubs, away from the boys. Another week is wrapping up and we welcome the time that comes with the weekend... Extra time, cherished time, time to do better!

Always - Abbey

Keep your eyes up

Often times as I run I find myself looking down, focused on the sidewalk or street right at my feet. It's not very purposeful and leaves me unmotivated a lot of the time... but yet I still find myself doing it! I am not sure if it's just habit or out of sheer exhaustion, but I can't keep my eyes up. One would think that looking up and seeing all the beautiful scenery and sites that surround me would make running easier, thus I would automatically want to keep my eyes pointing forward! I know that looking up, keeping your gaze forward, helps with breathing, allows you to see your path, focus on what's ahead and what's before you all at the same time... it's just all around better for you!!! Looking down doesn't give you the view you need to stay strong, the motivation to keep one foot in front of the other. It only allows you to see with blocked vision, with no hopes of moving forward with determination or with a stride that is strong and full of power. I am not, by any means a skilled runner!! I get by and do what I can with what I have.  I am all sorts of positive that there are many other things more skilled runners would find 'improper' with my form and my function when it comes to my attempts to be a runner!! But for some reason my gaze, where I look when I run always puzzles me. Every time I go out, no matter how good I did at keeping my eyes up, even the smallest glance down leaves me thinking and feeling defeated.

A lot can be said for where you look in life too. Where you point your gaze. Do you always look back? Are you always looking down, avoiding eye contact or shying away from opportunities lying in your wake? Have you found yourself looking over your shoulder too much? Do you often look toward someone else to lead your way? All of these things, harmless in the grand scheme of your form and your function within a day, but none should go without notice. When you don't have direction and you aren't looking ahead, toward the right motivation, your path can become windy and cumbersome. Keeping pace with life's struggles will become exhausting if you are constantly shifting your eyes, never finding a solid focal point to move toward. And how tiring does it sound to always be trying to move ahead, not able to see or really know what it is that keeps you going in the first place??

For me, I experienced a time in my life when my life's gaze was everywhere but where it should have been. I looked down a good portion of my life because I didn't think I had what it took to look up. I won't ever forget those times, and maybe that's why I struggle each time I run to keep my eyes forward, up, looking anywhere but down! Because I know that even forward momentum isn't purposeful momentum when your mind and heart's eye isn't in focus. If you don't look up, you will never see all the good that is waiting for you. How can you possibly stay focused with your sights set so low, with your eyes pointed down?? It wasn't until I looked up in life and forced myself to keep my gaze on the good that had been bestowed upon me, that I found my inner strength. I had purpose and drive in things I would have never thought I could attempt before! I found interests and tried new things, things that I would have shied away from in the past. I found faith within myself... I realized I didn't have to get it from someone or something else!!! 

I read a quote once that said, 

'Faith is in the gaze of the soul... faith is not a once-in-the-past action, but faith is always a way of seeing, a seeking for God in everything.' 

Even in the hardest of times, the weakest of moments, when you are exhausted and don't really know how you are putting one foot in front of another.... keep your eyes up, your gaze forward because it is that 'seeing', that constant every day 'looking' that will lead you to find the good in life. There isn't any other way to do it! You, yourself have to lift up your head and point your eyes forward. One step at a time, one day at a time... see the road that is paved for you and choose to keep your eye's set on it!

Always - Abbey