Challenge #4 – Make a Plan for Something You Want

If you make a specific plan and take action, you can achieve whatever it is that you want!

I took a very long break from this blog while I was substitute teaching full time and working on my personal training certification. Now that I passed my test and am subbing two-three times per week, I can refocus on writing as well as my blog. Today, I am going to jump right into the next challenge…

Challenge #4 – Make a Plan for Something You Want

What’s something you’ve always really wanted to do? Maybe you’ve been wanting to go to Spain or have been wanting to move to a new place. Whatever it is, I challenge you to make a plan to achieve it. This could include making a plan to save money, making a timeline for finding a new job, or taking a big project and breaking it down into smaller steps.

After meeting with a career coach last year, it became abundantly clear that I would be happiest in an entrepreneurial or freelancing role. Since writing, education, and fitness are three of my passions, I’ve been thinking of how to incorporate all of them into a satisfying career. So I made a plan that I am going to share with you, and then I encourage you to do the same for yourself. Let’s make 2018 the year we chase our dreams!

I have decided to start a part-time personal training business where I travel to people’s homes and train them there. Additionally, I am hoping to do freelance writing and continue subbing at my current school as much as my schedule allows. I am going to share all the steps for my personal training business so you can see how I broke down a large goal into a manageable plan:

  1. Pass the test.
  2. Apply for a business LLC in Maryland.
  3. Create forms such as a liability waiver, informed consent, health history questionnaire, etc.
  4. Attain liability insurance.
  5. Start training friends and family.
  6. Create and maintain a blog and social media accounts.
  7. Advertise to new potential clients through a variety of modes depending on the need for clients.

Making this plan really helps me focus on specific things at one time rather than getting overwhelmed by the magnitude of starting a business. If you make a specific plan and take action, you can achieve whatever it is that you want! What’s your plan?

Until next time, happy living!

=) Mary

Challenge # 3 – Make Your 2018 Bucket List

Having new experiences and going new places is a great way to boost your positivity and add some excitement to your life.

Happy New Year everyone!! I hope you are all having a spectacular year so far and are figuring out a way to enjoy the frigid weather we’ve been having! I’m personally hoping we get a big snowstorm sometime soon!

New Year’s Day is typically associated with making resolutions, but how often do we actually keep all of those resolutions? I want to put a different spin on starting the new year, so here is your new challenge…

Challenge # 3 – Make your 2018 bucket list!

Quite often, people come up with ideas of things they want to do and then push them to the back burner. A year-long bucket list will allow you to prioritize the things you want to do this year and help you cross off your goals. Having new experiences and going new places is a great way to boost your positivity and add some excitement to your life, so let’s get started!

Here’s my current bucket list if you want some ideas:

  • Finish my novel
  • Get my personal training business started
  • Take a skiing lesson
  • Explore a new body of water in my kayak
  • Travel off the mainland
  • Go on a trip with my sisters
  • Go on a girls trip with my friends
  • Visit a new state
  • Visit a new national park
  • Take a surfing lesson
  • Go skydiving (depending on my budget, this may have to be pushed to 2019)
  • Find a yoga class to go to regularly

What do YOU want to do this year? What would satisfy your soul? Brainstorm and then make your 2018 bucket list! Don’t forget to express gratitude for all you see and do this year.

Until next time, happy living!

=) Mary

Challenge #2 – Bake (or Cook) for Someone!

A thoughtful gesture can go a long way in brightening someone’s day and boosting their positivity.

My mom used to bake cookies and cook meals for her friends and people at church all the time when I was little. During Christmas time, she made mountains of Jubilee Jumbles (a top secret family recipe) for anyone lucky enough to cross her path during the holiday season. Whenever Valentine’s Day rolled around, she spent hours rolling out dozens and dozens of heart-shaped sugar cookies and topping them with mouth-watering pink icing. If someone she knew of became ill or injured at any time, she graciously made the whole family a delicious home-cooked meal.

What did I learn from this? A thoughtful gesture can go a long way in brightening someone’s day and boosting their positivity. In the past several years, I have tried to emulate my mom by baking cookies and other treats for friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. Not only does it bring a huge smile to their faces, it makes me feel good too.

So that brings me to Challenge #2…

CHALLENGE #2 –  Bake someone cookies or cook a nice meal and deliver it to them this holiday season. 

It will make them feel loved and appreciated, and seeing their reaction will surely satisfy your soul. It’ll especially be impactful if you do it for someone who could really benefit from the thoughtful gesture. In case you want it, I’m including my mom’s sugar cookie and buttercream icing recipe below that I use every year. If you have any recipes or stories you’d like to share, please share them in the comments or send me a message!

Until next time, happy holidays and happy living!

=) Mary

Sugar Cookie Recipe:

Mix (with a hand mixer or stand mixer): 

  • 1 1/2 cups powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
  • 2 sticks (1 cup) softened margarine
Add:
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cream of tartar
Add:
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm.
Using just part of it at a time, roll out dough to 1/8 or 1/4 inch thickness on a floured surface.  Be sure to add flour to surface and rolling pin.  Cut into shapes.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 7-8 minutes or until light brown.  Making thinner cookies and cooking them longer makes them crispier.
When they are cooled, use the buttercream icing recipe below. I like to add green food coloring to make them extra festive.

Buttercream Icing Recipe:

  1. Cream 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of softened margarine or butter using a hand mixer or a stand mixer.
  2. Add 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar, 1/2 cup at a time so you don’t make a huge mess.
  3. Add 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla and a pinch of salt to the mixture.
  4. Add 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons of milk to the mixture.

***Add confectioner’s sugar and milk until desired consistency/texture.

ENJOY!!!!

Challenge #1 – Practice Gratitude for a Week

When we think about what we’re thankful for, we focus only on the good things in our lives.

Do you ever notice your mind focusing on all the things that are wrong in your life? Do you often think about the “what-ifs”, worries, and stresses of the present and future? If so, we need to turn your negative thoughts into positive ones!

Positive thoughts create positive outcomes. One fast and very effective way to create positivity is through gratitude. When we think about what we’re thankful for, we focus only on the good things in our lives. This helps shift negative thinking to positive thinking. Gratitude is something I will continue to talk about in posts to come, but for now, here’s our first challenge….

CHALLENGE #1 – Write down ten NEW things you are grateful for every day for a week. (And try to continue the practice afterwards!)

If you do this every day for a week, you will have a list of 70 different things you are grateful for. You will become more aware of just how many great things, people, and gifts you have in your life!

To get you started, here is a list of 70 things I’m grateful for. Mine are a little general to give you more ideas, but you should try to be as specific as possible. For example: friends, family, food, animals, etc. should be listed as specific friends, specific family members, and so on.

  1. my friends (you can list each friend separately)
  2. my family (same as friends – you can list separately)
  3. my hubby
  4. my dogs
  5. music
  6. animals
  7. my super comfy robe
  8. meditation
  9. being able to pay my bills
  10. FOOD
  11. freedom
  12. trees
  13. obstacles in life (We learn from them!)
  14. Fall/Autumn
  15. parties
  16. paved roads
  17. colorful, changing leaves
  18. sports
  19. beaches
  20. sleeping in
  21. police officers, firefighters, hospital personnel, military, teachers, etc…
  22. indoor plumbing
  23. a fully functioning body
  24. Game of Thrones
  25. my kayak
  26. water
  27. Saturdays
  28. couches
  29. my house
  30. having a job
  31. being able to breathe clean air
  32. University of Maryland
  33. holidays
  34. health insurance
  35. my bed
  36. my perfect pillow
  37. Netflix
  38. the five senses
  39. therapists and life coaches
  40. exercise
  41. movies
  42. my backyard
  43. flowers
  44. sunscreen
  45. coconut oil
  46. creativity
  47. being literate
  48. sunglasses
  49. Cirque du Soleil – Varakei (the only show I’ve been to but it was great!)
  50. books
  51. pinball
  52. dog crates
  53. grass
  54. rivers
  55. socks
  56. flip flops
  57. warm slippers
  58. Internet
  59. the ability and freedom to pursue different careers
  60. USA
  61. PGSPCA (local animal rescue group)
  62. people who care about the environment
  63. a good pen to write with
  64. my computer
  65. being able to travel
  66. my car’s heated seats (It feels good to have a warm butt in the winter!)
  67. recycling
  68. creativity
  69. restaurants
  70. love

I have been doing this for about a month now, and I feel a major change in my mindset. It’s far easier to turn my negative thinking into positive thinking when I realize how many wonderful things I’m lucky to have in my life. So, what are YOU grateful for?

Until next time, happy living!

=) Mary

The Destination or the Journey?

We should cherish the good times, appreciate the bumps in the road, help others along the way, and go wherever our hearts take us.

I have very vivid memories of my father, more than once, jumping in the car and driving me around to find the end of the rainbow when I was a little girl. I was always so excited when a rainbow came out because I thought it was finally my chance to find a pot of gold and maybe meet a leprechaun. Of course, no such luck. What I remember most, however, was not disappointment but rather how much fun I had in the car with my dad, singing songs and listening to ghost stories. Even though the ending wasn’t how I pictured, the journey was what mattered.

I’m often reminded of those memories and the undying optimism and enjoyment that is associated with childhood. How often do we lose that childlike wonderment and enthusiasm for life as we enter adulthood?

Starting at four-years-old, I wanted to be a million different jobs depending on the day or week or month. If I had pursued all of my passions, I would have been a zookeeper, veterinarian, actress, psychologist, police officer, screenwriter, Army soldier, doctor (which makes no sense because I HATE sterile white walls, veins, and touching other people’s bodies) and the list literally goes on and on. I haven’t been that many things but I have had my fair share of jobs since I began babysitting at 13. Since then I have been a pet sitter, waitress, personal trainer, house cleaner, saleswoman, marketer, and most recently an elementary school teacher.

It can be hard to figure out exactly what we want to be in life or exactly what we want to achieve. But what I have realized is that life truly is a journey, an adventure for realizing our true, authentic selves and what we want from our time on Earth. While we may not always have complete control over what happens to us, we have total control over our attitudes and positivity.

Too often, people get stuck in a rut, pursuing a goal or a life that they don’t truly want for themselves. With pressure from loved ones and society, it’s all too easy to follow a path that’s not aligned with what’s in our souls. I personally believe that our lives are like the breezy wind or a winding river, constantly changing based on our experiences. We become unhappy, complacent, or imprisoned if we don’t really follow our hearts and listen to the music in our souls. How often do we chase the end of the rainbow, just to feel like we wasted our time? We would surely feel better if we enjoyed the adventure and weren’t afraid to change course.

Throughout this blog, we will be exploring and reflecting on our continuous journeys. I hope to challenge and encourage you to try new things, make new goals, and take some serious time to figure out what you can do to make your life more fulfilling. In each of my posts, I will offer you a challenge that I believe will improve your life, boost your positivity, and free your soul.

Remember, life is an adventure, not a destination. We should cherish the good times, appreciate the bumps in the road, help others along the way, and go wherever our hearts take us.

Until next time, happy living!
=) Mary