Determined to Make Positive Choices

I love this picture.  My aunt sent it to me in an email and I love the message it conveys.

We're a culture of instant gratification...we want whatever we want RIGHT NOW!

This need for instant gratification is what often shapes the choices that we make in life.  People say all the time that they would love to start running, lose weight or attain some kind of fitness goal.  The problem is that so many times we aren't willing to do whatever we need to do to reach where we want to be in life.  We get bored and distracted and go off the course that we had originally planned to follow.  And then we just can't understand what we did wrong and why we didn't succeed.

I read a post from a blog (Amanda @ Run To The Finish) I recently started following that really struck a chord with me this morning.  I really, really, really like this blog...plus it doesn't hurt that she lives in Miami, which always gets sentimental points in my book!  So follow it, Amanda writes really great things!!

Anyway, she writes about choices that she has made in advance of a trip she is taking next week.  What I love most about it is that she has taken the time in advance to plan and made these choices before temptation has been put in front of her.  Awesome idea!  It's much harder to turn down the donut when it's under your nose but if you make your choice in advance, it doesn't seem so hard.

So I'm going to follow her lead and write out the choices that I'm making in advance for the next week:

• I choose to focus on building my business or getting nothing accomplished
• I choose to follow through with my entire exercise plan for the week or not see any improvement to my running
• I choose to keep eating the healthy, clean diet I've been enjoying or eat high fat, processed foods and feel sick

I love this!  Self affirmation is awesome and I already feel mentally stronger to take on the week.  Try it for yourself, you'll be amazed what positive thinking can do! 

Yes, this is as happy as I felt when I heard I could run again! :)

In other news, I'm cleared to run!!!  Yippee!!  My lovely surgeon has decided that I heal extraordinarily well and has given me the green light to run.  I enjoyed a super duper 2.5 mile treadmill run this morning, it was heavenly. 

And it looks like I'm going to be able to run the Hobble Gobble!  This is my most favorite local race of the year and it was killing me to think that I might not be able to run with all of my friends.  Not sure if I'm running the 5k or the 10k yet, I'm going to take the next few weeks to decide what my body thinks of the idea.

Run happy!  I know I will! :)