Getting Scared in 2018

Happy 2018 y'all!  I know it's February but I like hibernate in January and just relax a little more to recoup from the craziness that December brings each year.  Are you resolution people? or are you someone that like to just set goals to being a fresh new start to the year?  or are you the type of person that does this every day/ week no matter what month it is?  I do like January and the start of the new year to just refocus on my goals and what I want to accomplish, I don't think I really say that they are my "resolutions" but I do set goals based on my aspirations.

This year I have decided that this is the year that I am going to do something "scary."  I came up with this idea in November when I was playing a game with my kids and I overheard Piper tell Paxton that "remember what mom says?  She says you can do hard things!"  It was at that moment that I realized man they do listen, and secondly that I wasn't being a very good role model for them.  See I don't know about you but when I look back at the past couple/ five years, I can't really say that I have gotten out of my comfort zone.  Yes, my husband opened a restaurant, yes we had another child but to me that wasn't scary it was just a natural progression for career and family.  This prompted me to dig deep within myself and start making some "scary" goals that I have either dreamed of or wanted to do but the timing/ money wasn't right.  Do you remember when you were in high school/ college and you always had dreams/ goal of what you were going to do in 1 year/ 5 years/ 10 years?  I remember having them and writing them down to keep my mind clear on where I was going and what I was doing.  And while they changed throughout the years, I still knew that I was looking to better myself.  Somewhere between four kids, work, and life, I lost track of "what I want to be when I grow up" or "what I want to accomplish in this life." It's not a bad thing it's just a reality when life happens and it gets busy that sometimes you just have to hang on and enjoy the ride.

I then realized that 2018 was the year I was going to cross off one of my scary fitness goals and push myself farther than I have pushed it before.  This year I am going to compete in my first half ironman triathlon in Benton Harbor Michigan in August.  It's been almost 5 years since I have even completed a sprint triathlon so this should be interesting.  The race will include 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run all to be completed in less than 8 hours.  I told myself 2 years ago that I wanted to get back into triathlons and it just didn't work out,  it's funny how your mindset changes once you hit the "submit" button.  It's so easy to just say you don't have time or energy to do something but once you have set your mind to it than it's a lot easier.  No I didn't get some magical wish granted that made me have extra time in the day, instead I just made up my mind to schedule what's important in my life and make time for those things. Yes it means that I don't get to watch Netflix as much or sleep as much as I would like, or clean as often as I used to, but for now this is what is important and the goals that I want to accomplish this year.

So for now I keep my favorite quote imbedded in my head by Marianne Williamson, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually who are you not to be?  You are a child of God.  Your playing small does not serve the world.  There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. We were born to make manifest to the glory of God that is within us.  It’s not just in some of us; but in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated by our own fear, our presence automatically liberates other.”

So here's to getting scared in 2018, and being a good role model for my children that yes, even mom can do hard things.  When is the last time you scared yourself and did something out of your comfort zone?