I did not want to write today.
I did not want to write tonight.
I am just having one of "those" days.
Around 11 am, my blood sugar dropped. For those of you who don't know, I have type 1 diabetes. So, a low blood sugar is kind of a big deal.
It's a big deal, but nothing I'm not used to. So, I treated it, and went on about my day.
It dropped again.
And again.
My blood sugar was low/borderline low for a good 5 hours.
You know how you feel when you haven't eaten in hours? Shaky, cranky, tired, annoyed...? Yeah. That's how I felt. For 5 hours. (Not to mention, the perpetual frustration with my eye sends irritability into overdrive.)
Needless to say when I made it home from work, I took a nap.
Instead of getting clothes together for an upcoming trip, instead of blogging, instead of taking a shower, instead of doing anything productive...
I took a nap... for 3 hours.
So I woke up at 8 pm. And do you know why I woke up?
Because my blood sugar was low.
I did not want to eat dinner, but I had to.
I did not want to take a shower, but I had to. (You're welcome, co-workers.)
I did not want to write, but I committed to.
And you know what? I feel better.
We all have those days right? We are just done. Over it. We want to throw in the towel. we want to call it quits before the sun even goes down. We just want to try again tomorrow.
But how does that help you today? Where does that get you?
Answers: It doesn't, and nowhere.
Do not let your day own you. You should own your day! You can't control situations around you, but you can control how you react. You can either give in and give up, or you can throw some punches, and take control.
When you take control, even if things don't go as well as you planned, you still win.
Just by following through, you still win.
Just by putting forth a little extra effort, you still win.
Winning isn't about the end result (no matter what your loud-mouth, oompa loompa shaped track coach told you in high school.) Winning is about doing.
So go.
Do.
Win.
I'm a big picture kind of girl.
As Jon Acuff explains in his book, Start, there are "how" people and there are "wow" people. "Wow" people think of big, grand ideas, and "how" people are the ones who can build the steps to get there.
I'm a wow-er.
I can dream up some mega-plans! (ok, re-read the word "mega-plans" in a deep, echoing voice, and maybe picture the hulk ripping his shirt off or something.)
But when it comes to figuring out the steps to get there, I get frustrated. (Reason number 1923834745785 why I love Brett. He is a "how" person and can logistics his way out of a paper bag!.....i know. That is super grammatically incorrect.)
Sometimes on my journeys to greatness, I get frustrated that ALL OF THE AMAZING THINGS aren't happening RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND.
That is a problem.
When we focus too much on the end goal, we forget to appreciate our small victories.
We also forget that those small victories help us to get to that sweat-dripping, fear-crushing, tear-running, photo finish.
Today, my blood glucose levels were good. After a terrible endocrinologist appointment last month, you'd think I would really enjoy that! But I was so focused on work, and the Start Experiment, and my several meetings I have coming up, that it took me until 3:30 pm to stop and say "Yes!! YES YES YES!"
That is a total of 8 and a half hours of not appreciating a great thing.
The sad thing is, I've gone longer, much longer, without appreciating great things, because at the time, I thought of them as insignificant. Because those victories weren't the fireworks I had been so focused on.
Stop and think about all of the terrific things that happened today. No matter how itty-bitty. Appreciating the small wins in life makes the ginormous triumphs even sweeter!
What have you overlooked today?
A couple of weeks ago, Jon Acuff posted a blog that said something like this:
24 people. 24 days. Guaranteed risk. Dragons. Wizards. Machetes. This message will self destruct in 24 hours. Sign up now.
Ok. I made some of that up. (interestingly enough, not the machete part.) But the point is the same.
So I signed up.
Here's what is going to happen:
I'm going to be on a "team" with 23 other dream chasers from the Nashville area. I'll have an accountability buddy. Each day we will send each other an idea, words of encouragement, or something else to help them with their dream.
I got to choose my own goal for the 24 days. Mine is to blog EVERY day of those 24 days.
We will get an email from Jon each day with a "new challenge, point of encouragement or other such awesomeness"
I am excited! I don't know where this is going to take me, but I do know I'll at least be closer to my goal. *excited squeal*
Well, folks...it's official.
I have turned 27. I'm in my late-twenties.
I know how ridiculous this post is going to sound to some of you, but just bear with me here.
My mid-twenties were the best and worst years of my life. It was filled with confusion, sadness, and anger. But it was also filled with love, fulfilling relationships, hope, and a brand new start.
I was just stupid and completely clueless in my early twenties.
So what will I write when I turn 30? How will I describe my late-twenties? I can't predict the future, but I think it will go something like this:
My mid-twenties were the best years of my life. It's when love grew into something I didn't know was even possible. It's when I switched my life from average to awesome. It's when I stopped dreading Sunday nights and started looking forward to "work." It's when Brett bought me a VW Bug in every color!
Ok, I got a little carried away on the last part. It's unrealistic. His driveway is not that big.
But the rest of it? I can do that.
We often think that we can't control what happens in our lives because we can't control the situations that arise around us. And that is true-- to an extent.
What we CAN control is how we react to those situations. We can control our attitude. And sometimes, my friends, that makes ALL the difference.
I know what I want to achieve in the next few years. And I know that as long as I keep a positive attitude and surround myself with support and encouragement, I can achieve whatever I want.
Here's to 27! May it be the start of the very best years of my life.
In the last 5 Club meeting with Jon Acuff, he said something to effect of this:
You should work towards a dream that doesn't make you dread Sunday nights.
He is right. I'm trying. What about you?
It seems hard doesn't it? Maybe even impossible? But I don't think it is. Maybe it's my stupidly optimistic nature. But if other people do it, why can't I?
Speaking of The 5 Club, if you're ready to work on that goal, come to the next meeting with me! It's this Friday at 5 am :) Register here.
Ok ok ok. If you follow me on twitter, or you're my friend on facebook, you know I am a total fan girl of Jon Acuff's. His books are awesome. His blogs are great. He's a funny dude. He is all about closing the gap from your day job to your dream job. He is all about making your life awesome and not just average.
Well, he has a "5club"...where a bunch of dream chasers get up before morning radio show hosts everywhere, and gather, connect, and learn.
Today was my first 5club meeting, and I was so excited that I didn't even feel tired! (Ok, maybe the gas station coffee helped, too.)
Today's lesson was learning how to fight for your dream. What to do when you get push back. I won't go into detail, because if you really want to know more you should ask me, or go buy all of Jon's books and read his blog. Like now. But here are a few lessons that I personally need to remember:
- Don't win fights that don't matter
- Fight with facts
- Don't fight haters
What I love is how he breaks up how to achieve your dreams into tiny little digestible morsels. You never feel overwhelmed.
Did I mention this guy is hilarious? I literally laughed out loud several times while reading his books.
I found these particular quotes particularly amusing this morning. Was it because I was running on 4 hours of sleep? Well, maaaaaaaybe...but still. These were serious LOL moments!
"We have an agenda. That's pretty fancy. A lot of people don't have those." -at the start of the meeting
"When ending fights I just thought you had to apologize a lot, and I don't know, say 'Jesus' or something."
"We didn't have a 'don't steal from church' envelope. I looked." -talking about a business deal gone terribly wrong
"The book was coming out around 4/20. They thought a green cover would be kind of....earthy. Like Earth Day....and maybe a lot of pot." -talking about small fights when it came to his book
He is really the first motivational-type of speaker who has kept my attention. I didn't read his book and then forget about him. I didn't follow him on twitter and then think "OMG he posts too much stupid crap." I bought more books. I read his tweets. I read every blog post. He is engaging and entertaining.
He also has the same type of humor as Brett. They even say "orange" the same way!
He encouraged us to brag on ourselves. If we chose to, we could tell everyone something awesome that happened. I shared my success with my first conference. I had so many people come up afterwards and say "congrats!" It was great to be encouraged by others, and to encourage others, as well.
Of course there was another huge win. He asked a question, I gave my answer, and after I did, he said, "I love your shirt by the way!"
 |
| All of the happy!! |
I think this is the only time anyone has ever liked anything from JC Penney.
Anyway, it was a great couple of hours. I got to listen to Jon, talk with Jon, and meet some interesting people who are just like me in a totally different way.
If you are interested in the 5club, ask me about it!
As always, thanks for reading! I'm going to go take a nap for lunch! :)
