Deep thoughts for a Monday

The last few months I have been feeling rather lost, like I was searching and searching for myself and I could not find her anywhere. I remembered the glimmer of who I was and what I wanted to be but could not seem to find her anywhere. Where the hell did she go? The more I searched, the more lost I felt. I could not seem to grasp why I was so unhappy and why I felt so lost. It seemed to sudden and was so confusing. I fell into that trap…the ‘once (fill in the blank) happens then I’ll be happy’ trap and it’s a bitch to get out of. Mine was… ‘Once I graduate’ ‘Find a job’ ‘Move away’ ‘Hit my goal weight’…just to name a few. I wasn’t focused on the here, the now. I wasn’t focused on what made me happy with my life as it was. I was always looking to the future and when I got to a certain place and then I’d finally be happy. After graduation, I found myself severely let down and here I was waiting for my life to start. Waiting for (fill in the blank) to happen. And I was beyond annoyed with myself. I suppose that is what happens when you’re purposeful in your life. When you take the time to figure out where you are going, where you want to be and when you want your life to go fantastic places. At least I had figured out a long time ago that waiting on someone else to make you happy was the quickest way to be miserable. I knew that I had to be happy with myself to be happy with anyone else and I’m thankful I learned that lesson because I don’t think I could be as happy as I am now in my current relationship. That and he is totally awesome…that sure helps :) Anyway, I digress. I think you also have to realize that you have to be happy where you are right now in your life and when the other stuff finally happens you can be happy there too. It makes sense now that I realized it. At the time though it was a downward spiral I had no way out of. Its part of appreciating what you have and not always looking to the things you want. I mean it’s good to have goals and to work toward something but that can’t be the only key to your happiness either. One other important part I’m starting to realize is you can’t compare your journey with anyone else’s. You have to be willing to love your life how it is, not how you think it should be. On the outside maybe people would not define my life as a success up until this point because I’m 31, just graduated from school, looking to start over in a career, being divorce, renting an apartment and still finding my way. It starts to mess with your head when you see your peers at different points in their lives. But the truth is I’m just as happy in my life and maybe even more then some of my friends are that own their houses, have careers and are married with babies. Those are not the only markers to success. A lot of times you are made to believe that but it is not true. I’m brave enough to start over when I found my life miserable. I love myself enough to want to be happy and grow in a positive direction. I have a life that I am proud of and I will continue to be proud with whatever steps I take to make my life all I know it can be. I won’t be afraid because of what others think or be discouraged by what they say. This is my life and I decide what makes me happy. So the moral of this story is this is YOUR life and your story. Not anyone else's. You have to live your life for you and do what you know will make you happy. You have to appreciate what you have while you have it. Grow and change and become the person you want to be but don’t lose sight of what is in your life right now and the parts of you that will always remain. You are not a failure if you keep trying. And it’s never too late to start over again. Don’t be afraid to do what it takes to reach your goals and dreams. You can’t be too afraid to try because you’ll always regret it. Be a person the child version of you would be proud of. We are all works in progress but that is the most important, that you are progressing. No one wants to stand still. If in 10 years you are at the same point in your life you’d be so pissed. I know I would. Don’t compare your life to someone else's. So go do all those things you were too afraid to do. You only have today, this moment, so make it count.

YAY February!

Yay it’s my birthday month! While I’m slightly less enthused about this birthday (turning 30 and all) I love February and the birthday month! My family has lots of birthdays including my own and I love celebrating birthdays. It’s one of my favorite things in the world. I think everyone should get that one day to have the best time and celebrate that they are here and do whatever they want. While I’m still unsure about actually having a party myself I know I’ll make the day special.

I’m excited for being 30 in certain ways. I get to go to Mexico in March (so excited!!!!). I will finish classes and do my internship. I will graduate from Iowa State (again) and hopefully get a job that is fulfilling and I love (or at least like a lot). I’m sure there will be plenty of races scattered in there including my third half-marathon. There will be lots of fun times and I plan on enjoying them the best I can. All in all being 30 is most likely going to be awesome.

However there is definitely a part of me that is a bit despondent about turning 30. I am not where I thought I would be at 30. Granted back in the day I never had a clear picture of where my life was going to take me but this wasn’t it. As I was at the laundrymat last night doing laundry I couldn’t help but be angry. The place is scary and it’s so not a fun place for a girl to be by herself. I take homework so I can stay busy as I wait but it’s just not fun. I can’t help but think about how I was once a homeowner and why am I now doing laundry at a laundrymat? It’s some of those little things that you lose in a divorce that you don’t realize until later how that affects you. To feel so much like a grown up and in a totally different stage of your life then to go to a different stage in life yet you yourself haven’t really changed, it’s a strange feeling. To be 30, divorced, in school, and in the same life stage as a 22 year old kind of messes with your head. I’ve been 22 before, it wasn’t a place I necessarily wanted to go again.

But then I remember how much better this life is then what my life could have been had my life kept progressing in the way it was. Maybe this isn’t how I imagined 30 but I’m loving how it seems to be shaping up. I may never be the girl who is married and has babies but I might be and which ever way it turns out I’m ok with that. At this point I get to decide all that on my own terms and I know no matter where my life goes I will be happy. And that is one of the best feelings in the world to have. My life is moving in a forward motion and I’ll take that any day to standing still.

I may not have found my own path quite yet and I may still being getting used to this version of myself but I like her a lot. She knows what she wants, she’s not willing to settle for less, she is fearless and brave and strong. And when I really think about it, she is exactly who I wanted to be when I grew up.

Half-Marathon training...WK 1 Day 1

This week marks the start of the half-marathon for me and like I said last week I’m uber excited. Right now with all the stuff going on in my life I feel like I need this large goal to keep me going on a path that I know I should be on anyways and that will lead me to an accomplishment that will leave me prouder then I can imagine I could be. I think doing it this time on my own I really will be pushing myself, motivating myself, and proving to myself that I can do this too. I think I have proved to myself that I can withstand a lot more then I ever gave myself credit for but sometimes I doubt I have the drive to do things by choice. I know I can do it when pushed but what about when I’m the one doing the pushing?

I like to find quotes that speak to me. I love poetry and if I can find someone else’s words that say just what I’m feeling, I love reading and rereading finding my own meaning in it. Last week I was having a particularly rough start to the week. I was looking for something to lift my spirits and kind of get me mentally prepared to start training. I found this one…“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” -Charles Darwin

I learned in the last year that I can adapt to change rather well. Going back to school at 28 was a challenge on its own, but once my life fell down around me and I had to deal with my school work, my divorce and then my dad’s accident I learned rather quickly that I do what I have to to get things done. I know that life goes on without you and you have a choice. You can let it drag you behind it or you can get up, walk beside it and keep going. Sometimes life sucks but you have to find the power and strength inside you to keep going. And sometimes that is all you can do, just keep going. Eventually, if you let yourself, you can even thrive in the new life you helped create around you. It’s been a terribly long journey and I have had days that I can’t be so sure about that but I know deep inside if I just keep going, it will get better. I also know that in my life there will be more times that will suck, that will challenge the strength I have, and make me want to crumble under the pressure. But I know as long as I just have to keep going, keep learning the lessons that are there to learn, deal with what I have to deal with, I will come out the other side. You just take it. Day by day, minute by minute, second by second. Whatever it takes, you just keep going. And I can’t help but use those lessons for the half-marathon. I know that some days it will suck. Some days I won’t want to run. Sometimes I won’t want to go that extra mile. Some days my legs will hurt, my knees may ache, my heart just not in it. Hell I ran the entire race last year with my heart not in it. But I’m so much stronger then any circumstance in my life. I will succeed because I will keep going.

I found this other quote “Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely.” I choose to grow. I don’t see any other way of living. I want a happy, full life. I will not be a victim of my circumstance. I will grow and thrive and be the best version of myself I can be. Things in your life will always change. Sometimes good, sometimes bad and devastating but we always have the choice. Grow or stay stagnant and angry and blame everyone else around you. This short girl is deciding to grow tall and beautiful in spite of those changes life throws at me. How about you?

Stronger, better, smarter

Sometimes you feel like crap and there is no getting around it. Sometimes you don’t feel cheery and full of freaking sunshine. Sometimes life gives you rotten sour ass lemons that just make rotten sour ass lemonade. It happens and feeling it is ok. People can’t feel 100% positive and sunny all the time. You can try and make yourself (and trust me some days I know I have to) but even the eternal optimist has problems finding that inner happiness ALL the time. Sometimes you have to feel the bad stuff and process the feeling, validate that you feel that way and get it out of you. Sometimes there isn’t a way around it. BUT then you move on.

Sometimes life sucks. Sometimes the feelings you have about said sucky life…well sucks. You can choose to dwell on the suckyness or you can choose to feel it, process it and then move on. You can continue to focus on the suck, let it rule your life and your mood or you can move on and focus on the not so sucky stuff. There is always not so sucky stuff you can find. It may be small and you may have to hunt for it, but trust me its there. Even if it is just waking up and being alive, that is something to be thankful for.

I was thinking about this on the walk to work this morning. I was thinking about how sometimes life just sucks and I have had many a moment in the last few months that I felt that way. I thought about how during the last few months especially, I have made a real effort to allow myself to feel whatever it is I’m feeling. Happy, sad, lonely, excited, whatever. I don’t try and not feel the bad because it is there for a reason. If you push it away and not acknowledge the feeling, it’s going to come back. And when it comes back it is usually stronger and suckier then it would have been if you dealt with it before. And I think it has helped me feel as good as I do now. And the big difference is you have to then move on. I can sit here and go on and on how getting divorced sucks and how little I think of my ex because of what he did and wah wah wah. I can go on and on about a less then perfect childhood and how much it messed me up. I can go on and on about losing people I loved more then anything and how much I hate that they are gone and I have to go on without them. But what good is that going to do me? Why would I want to be miserable my whole life and just think about the ugliness? Why focus on things I no longer have any control over, instead of the things I do. Like my attitude, the people I surround myself with, the activities I do instead of moping, or ways to deal with the stress I don’t have control over.

I guess I was thinking about it in respect to all the crap that has happened and how I can possibly be hopeful and happy for my future. I was thinking about someone I know that only focuses on the bad and negative and how sad I am for them. How I wish I could tell them life doesn’t have to be that way and instead of focusing on the people who did you wrong, why not focus on the ones that are still around and love you. But I suppose that is another blog for another day. Sorry back to the original point…isn’t that how we learn, from our past experiences though? Unfortunately my past experiences say people suck and will screw you over and let you down. But how lonely of a life would that be if I just assume everyone is like that. Aren’t I doing a better service to my future and my happiness by learning what fault I had in the situation, learning the lessons there to learn and moving on smarter and stronger then before? Isn’t it better to acknowledge that I picked to marry a guy that was very immature and selfish and that is was so wrong thinking he would grow up into an adult? I guess some would say that expecting someone to become an adult isn’t asking a lot (and I didn’t think so either) but isn’t it more important to learn the lesson that you cannot change people and you should be ok with them for who they are NOW not what they could/should/promised to be later? Isn’t it better to learn that what you see is what you get and to be more honest with myself in any future relationship? Isn’t it better to see what the relationship really was and to accept the responsibility I had for what it was? Not just push all the blame and not learn anything?

I guess some might call me foolish but I still believe the best in people. Ok yeah there are certain people that I know are just bad but why would I want to assume that of everyone. Isn’t it better to believe that people are good until they prove you wrong? Aren’t there more people that are really good inside then bad? I have to believe that is true. I still believe that there is a guy out there that is going to love and cherish me and not break my heart. I know now what it is like to be in a crummy relationship and what I want in the future. I know what I contributed and the bad I brought and I hope in the future I will be a better girlfriend because of it. I still believe that no matter what life throws at me I am strong enough to withstand it, I know that now.

Ok to recap…life sucks sometimes but it is also really good at other times. You have to accept the suck for what it is, feel it and move on. You will be stronger and smarter if you learn your lessons and move on. This is me moving on