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Unless you learn to face your own shadows, you will continue to see them in others. Because the world outside of you is only a reflection of the world inside you.

It seems at the start of every New Year we all make resolutions with ourselves about what we are going to change. But more often than not, those resolutions fall to the side because we fall back into the routines of our lives and we let go of the changes we so badly want. I for one will raise my hand and say, “guilty as charged!”

For several years now, my resolutions have been the exact same. And every year my motivation is lost to chaotic schedules and others people’s needs and self-created responsibilities. But this year feels different to me somehow. There’s something different stirring inside me…

It seems that as we get older, we lose certain qualities, habits – our focus or attention is diverted away from our inner selves. We lose who we are. For a while you convince yourself that those changes are a part of life, part of getting older. But eventually your Spirit quietly returns your focus back to your Center and reminds you of what you have lost. You see the desires and wants of the person you used to be and you have to make a choice –

How badly do you miss those things that made you who you were? How badly do you want those things back that fulfilled you and gave you inner peace?

When we are at a loss within ourselves, it is reflected into the world around us. After all, your perception is everything. You create what the world around you looks like. Certainly our wants will change as we grow older. Certain desires change as we learn to hear our inner voice and gain the strength to let go of what’s safe and follow that quiet whisper that calls to us. But do you hear your inner voice? Do you have the strength to fight for what you want? 

“I am a fighter. Every time life knocks me down, I WILL stand back up. The struggles I endure only make me stronger – There is strength in the struggle and I will empower myself through the challenges.”  

This is my Mantra.

This year I made a promise to myself – I wrote down what I miss in my life and what I will fight to get back. I vowed to learn to see the world around me with more clarity and less fog. I vowed to remember to breathe and allow my Spirit to guide me through the darkness of the unknown.It is a challenge to let go of the controls but it is also freeing.

Part of that promise is finding my way back into a gym and back into shape so I can see myself in a way that makes me happy. I just turned the big 4-0 last month and it’s easy to feel mired down in “middle-aged” exhaustion. But every time I want to quit, I repeat my Mantra.

The first step is always the hardest and as expected, it was VERY hard to change into workout clothes two days ago and head down to the gym. I stepped onto the treadmill and heard a voice telling me how hard it would be to run after not running for so long. 5 minutes into the run, that voice was even louder, telling me no one would know if I quit. And I made a choice…

I picked up my pace and turned my music up and pushed through the pain.

And 3 1/2 miles later, I was done…I DID IT! Day one was a success! So I finished it off by walking the seven flights of stairs back to my office. I was exhausted but happy! And yesterday when I once again had to put on the workout clothes, it wasn’t so hard because I remembered how good I would feel once it was over.

workout,1

Success! Can you read the happiness on my face?

If you, too, are mired down and exhausted and lost….I hope I can help you remember to sit quietly and listen to that quiet whisper. Choose what you are willing to fight for and go after it! Don’t lose yourself to care for everyone around you. Without your own fulfillment, you will never be truly happy in life….

I leave you with this –

Choose to LIVE your life to its fullest, don’t just EXIST in life!