Today I chased after my dreams.
I went to bed around 8:30 this morning after working a long 12-hour overnight shift in the NICU. It took me about a whole 30 seconds to fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I woke up around 3:00pm feeling as rested as one can feel after working overnight and getting 6 ½ hours of tossing and turning sleep. Per usual, I was running behind. I threw some clothes on, grabbed a banana, my water bottle, and raced out the door to make it to my Orangetheory workout, just on time. I tried to keep up with all the other people, but was dragging due to not eating, hydrating, or sleeping properly beforehand. But hey, I showed up and got a killer workout in.
Afterwards, I stopped by the store to pick up dog food (which I had been meaning to do for days) and also got my little pup some treats. Then continued the errand train by stopping to get gas because I had been staring at the empty light for far too long. Made it home and chowed down on leftover turkey chili (check out the recipe here) while watching another episode of “You” on Netflix. This was followed by a shower and day-dreaming about chocolate donuts, because who doesn’t think about chocolate donuts in the shower? Decided to make this FANTASTIC paleo chocolate brownie/cake dessert that I have been dying to try which totally satisfied my sweet tooth without feeling guilty about eating it afterwards. Don’t worry, the recipe will come soon. Sat down to work on my blog but ended up distracted on my phone for about an hour. Now here I am, typing away at 11:30 at night.
Cool Miranda, but you said you were chasing your dreams today? I most certainly did.
I got a workout in: which is improving my health, making me stronger, reducing my stress, and helping me be the healthiest version of myself. I got my little pup food, because Lord knows I could not survive a single day without her by side and I definitely won some brownie points with her by getting more treats. What about the gas? How is that chasing your dreams? Well obviously I need to get from Point A to Point B. It may sound silly, but I couldn’t do the majority of things I do without my car. I am grateful and fortunate to have reliable transportation. Also, I ate good today, tried new recipes I can share with you all, and satisfied my never ending sweet tooth all at the same time. Sure I didn’t make huge strides towards accomplishing my goals, but I did get up, show up and had small wins. I still have a mile long To-Do list. I still have 10,000 things that need to be done around the house. I still have a million errands to run. But hey, I got a workout in, ate healthy, and wrote about it.
Sometimes I feel like we get so caught up on what we see on social media and it makes it easy for us to get discouraged. Oh that girl posted about how she ran 5 miles, checked off 20 things from her To-Do list, cleaned her whole house, meal prepped, and found a cure for cancer all before 10am while you’re still contemplating on even leaving your bed for the day? It’s totally fine. I’ve been there, I’ve done that, and I will 100% do it again. Don’t feel like it’s the end of the world when you don’t have a “productive” day. Count the small wins and feel proud of yourself for getting through another day.
But don’t let this behavior become a pattern. We have to keep ourselves accountable and on track to accomplishing our own dreams and goals. We can blame life, others and situations for only so long. You may not be in control of what happens to you, but you are 100% in control of how you react to it and how you grow from it. Life may throw curveballs at you and it may put you behind, but understand there is always tomorrow. Today could have been a day from hell- nothing went right, you cried 5 times (and counting), and you want to quit and give up. In no way is that an option. You tell your miserable self, as you are going to bed, that tomorrow will NOT be like it was today. It WILL be better. You WILL be better. Ask yourself how tomorrow can be better than today and then make it happen.
So get up, quit make excuses and go actively pursue your dreams today. Get off of social media, quit comparing yourself to other people, and take the action needed to make your dreams become a reality. No one is going to carry your regret for you. No one is going to make your dreams happen for you. You are in charge of what happens to you from here on out. You are allowed to have bad days and lazy days, but always keep your dreams in the FRONT of your mind.
Here’s what I recommend if you are feeling unmotivated or you are unfocused:
– Create a vision board. Hang it up in your office or closet. Somewhere that you will see it every day. On your vision board should be things that motivate you, people you aspire to be, or even your dreams themselves.
– Write your goals down.Write them down every day if you have to. Journaling and writing have always helped me stay on track and remind me why I am working so hard in the first place.
– Surround yourself with like-minded people. You 100% become the people you surround yourself with. If you want to become a go-getter who wakes up every morning full of life and energy then you need to surround yourself with those type of people. If you continue to hang out with people who just lay around, drink, or are negative all the time, you will be the same way.
– Pick one dream to focus on right now. Trust me, I have 200 things I want to accomplish in the next few years. Sometimes when I think about all of them at once or try to work on all of them at once, I get overwhelmed and then end up laying in my bed for 10 hours watching Netflix instead. Anyone else? Instead of giving 10% to 10 different things, give 100% to 1 thing at a time and I can almost guarantee you will accomplish more.
I hope to each of you reading this that you find it in yourself to dig down and find the motivation to fight for your dreams and to fight for yourself. You are so deserving of the life you want to live and you can get there if you truly want to. You are your biggest cheerleader AND your biggest obstacle to achieving whatever you want. Don’t let fear, don’t let doubt or uncertainty, control your life and impair you from living the life you want.
Wake up and chase your dreams. Live the life you’ve always wanted. Appreciate the small wins. You can do anything you set your mind to. I believe in you.
XOXO
