Yes You Can!

Why do we sometimes stop ourselves from doing something extraordinary? You might come up with an idea to tackle a challenge or make a change and then something gets in the way. It could be your own voice telling you that you can't. It could be someone else making a judgment about your idea. Whatever it is, it's time to tell that "other" that yes you can, and yes you will.

In my own case, I have been throwing around two ideas and have encountered my own voice telling me to think twice. Why does this happen? I am a positive, confident person, yet doubt still seems to arise. For example, I am going to run the Kansas City Marathon this fall. (Notice I said, I am). This thought has been in my mind for several months now, but every once in a while I debate whether I am really going to complete this challenge. It's not like I don't think I can complete 26.2 miles. I ran the NYC marathon in 2002. Since then I had knee surgery and I've sort of used that as an excuse to not push myself beyond 13.1 miles. This thought often comes up when I think about the marathon: "Well, what if your knee can't handle it? Maybe you should just stick to the half marathon." Well, what if my knee can handle it? What if I push myself beyond my comfort zone? I've also been doing sprint triathlons for the past four years. I want to do one more race this summer before the marathon and was debating another sprint in August. But as I thought more, I decided to do an Olympic distance race (which is twice that of the sprint). In the past that voice has come up: "You really don't like the swim so just stick to the shorter race." But this morning I made the official decision to push beyond my comfort zone when it comes to swimming and go for it.

It's not always easy to say yes to something difficult (and there are times when "no" is certainly appropriate). But to those voices telling me "no, don't even try" I have to say enough! It's time to step out and take the plunge. Your challenge might not be endurance sports. But what amazing idea do you have that you are going to say "yes" to today?

Getting Back on Track

I don't know about you, but when the dog days of summer arrive, the last thing I want to do is stand in front of a hot oven in my kitchen and cook dinner. I prefer to spend the few hours prior to dinner playing outside with my son or swimming at the neighborhood pool. Cooking for an hour no longer becomes a priority. So now that it's about nine billion degrees in Kansas, I have been having trouble preparing healthy meals for myself and the fam. I find myself craving ice cream (um, not so vegan or healthy, huh) and wanting an ice cold adult beverage more than usual. So what's a girl to do???

Step One: Don't be so hard on myself for caving in to my cravings.

Step Two: Do the best I can after submitting to said cravings.

Step Three: Escape to the mountains of upstate NY for some R&R, fresh air, and a healthy food environment.

We may not all have my exact version of Step Three, but we can all rebound after eating, eh-hem, crap by finding a way to remind ourselves why we are eating healthy. For me, spending time in the beautiful Catskill Mountains with my family (and my step mother, who has been pioneering a healthy diet for over 30 years) out in a totally natural and beautiful environment has helped to remind me how good I feel when I eat a healthy diet. I also spent time this past week with my mom in New Jersey and I am reminded how fortunate I am to have had my mother's example of eating sensibly from a young age. I feel refreshed and renewed and ready to tackle the summer cravings upon returning to Kansas tomorrow. Thank you NY!