Entry 10: No more excuses…

Entry 10: No more excuses…

Hello again!  It’s a rainy day here in Northern Virginia! I have been having my ups and downs this past week.  I’m not sure exactly what is causing me to feel like I’m completely losing it one second and then okay the next.  I would LOVE to blame it on my new two week diet but it’s probably not so, I’m in the process of interviewing more excuses.  The truth of the matter is we all have ups and downs, moments of needless panic, days that are just not the ideal pick of the litter. Right? It’s okay to except that fact as long as you always discover the positive is those moments no matter what.   Over the past week, I made it a mini goal to stop and really watch and listen to people.  These privileged select few individuals were a combination of family and friends to acquaintances at the gym. I have found two things about the people that I investigated.   One:  The individual put so much focus on the progress of a goal and could not see how far they have come on that goal to appreciate it.  Or two: The individual had no clue what they were doing and making excuses of why they couldn’t accomplish their goals.  I found that one either puts so much pressure on themselves to finish a goal that they can’t stop and appreciate their diligence.  It’s OKAY to praise yourself for your hard work!  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying boast to others in order to get that pat on the back.  But, you can praise yourself without being rude or condescending to others and most of the time you can find your praise within yourself and not have to say a word.  And for myself personally, I have found that the outcome of my actions speak louder than words most of the time and that is enough for me.  With that being said, you should not have to have others praise you to feel worthy or accomplished.   You’re the only one that needs to be satisfied.  If your goals are for others to praise you, you are putting your pennies in an empty wishing well so STOP IT!  Find your self-worth, your golden ticket, your reason for being and run like hell with it! This may not make sense to any of you but it’s been on my mind so, I’m sharing it.

I have struggled this week to not make excuses for myself; as you can tell from the beginning of the entry.  So I wanted to share with you a quote that I repeated to myself over and over this week.  It may help you stop making excuses for whatever you may be putting off.

The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, blame. The gift is yours - it is an amazing journey - and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.

Bob Moawad

DIET UPDATE: So, it’s just as hard and easy as I thought it would be.  I have had some weird cravings which I will go into later.  For those who are reading my blog for the first time, I made a goal to be a two week vegetarian.  I started one week ago and I have not had any meat of any sort.  Now, my meat diet before consisted of chicken, bacon, fish, and very little red meat so, I predicted my appetite wouldn’t have such a huge shock.  My diet this past week has mainly consisted of vegetable soup, peanut butter sandwiches, fruit, granola, yogurt, black bean fajitas, crackers and cheese, eggs and maybe a few more eggs.  I thought it would be very difficult to eat out as a vegetarian and that is not true!  Everywhere I have been has had meat free choices and most of the time very tasty.  Shopping vegetarian was pretty easy too they have a whole section of vegetarian delights!  Now back to my cravings, I have woken up thinking about sushi and cheeseburgers but the real cheeseburgers that are home made and dripping from your fingers and i dont think texting your bestfriend at three in the morning about sushi is normal either.  For some reason, I have really want milk and that’s a huge change but that could be caused by my workout regimen.  One week down and one week to go and so far so good!   

MAKE NO EXCUSES!  YOU ARE CAPABLE OF HAVING ALL YOUR HEART DESIRES, AS LONG AS YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO IT!

The pictures within this post were from my hike on Saturday in the Shenandoah Valley.
ENJOY LIFE!