Staying Committed Part 1

Let me tell you...I have really been surprised what all of this commitment stuff can do. Previously I have thought that I've been pretty committed. But now I'm seeing that clearly I was wrong. I'm not just talking about workout out/cleaning up my diet. Our finances have also been taking a big leap in the right direction...finally! It's funny how when you really decide to change your lifestyle, everything just seems to fall in place. I have more energy from tracking my macros and working out. I feel less stressed because our money is going where we tell it to go. Overall I'm happier than I've been in a while. Until now I have never really known the difference between being interested and being committed. I thought that I did, but boy was I wrong. Staying committed to certain things has helped me be able to do things that I am interested in. Vernon has always said that "you have to do what you have to do so that you can do what you want to do." When you get sick and tired of how things are going (or not going), make the change! I'm going to write my next few posts on how to stay committed. Things can get a little wordy and no one likes to read those posts. As cheesy as it sounds, reading this stuff is motivating for me. So hopefully it is for someone else!


Stay Flexible

One of my previous pitfalls was that if the day didn't go as planned, forget it, I shut down. At first I had the mindset that I would get home from work, eat a snack, have Carson do her homework and be at the gym at 3:30 every weekday. Chandler had other plans. So did the weather. If Chandler is overly fussy (maybe from not napping that day) then I have to wait to hit the gym until after he takes a nap...putting me in the gym sometime between 5:30-6:30. I will not take my kids to the gym if it is freezing or raining, or both. We have had a lot of that weather this winter. It used to mean that I took the day off from the gym. Now I just have to wait until Vernon gets off work around 6:30 or 7:00 to go on those days. I don't like going that late, but I decided it was what I had to do.

My point is to stay flexible. Bad day at work? Get some bad news? End up spending 4 hours in a doctor's office instead of 1? Life is full of setbacks. Get over it. You either give into it or you don't. Go exercise. Focus on a workout instead of focusing on your crappy day. Have an extra expense pop up? Take care of it and tighten up the rest of the month and maybe the next month or two. I know you used the pretty little debt snowball worksheet and you have it all planned out. One month here and there is probably going to get screwed up. Breathe. It's ok. You can get back on track. Roll with those punches. If you get caught up doing something that shouldn't take long and ends up taking half your day away...adjust. Get as much done as you can the remainder of the day. Even if you can only squeeze in maybe 30 minutes before bed.....do it. You will feel so much more accomplished by staying flexible. You will probably get more done than you expected in that 30 minutes, knowing that it is all the time you have. Surprise yourself.