Well here I am, once again, with a plan to get something done… I almost say that with a sigh as I’ve been in that mindset a million times. I am so used to never finishing what I set my mind to that it’s almost like I am expecting failure already. I just can’t get myself to finish something… and, quite honestly, I certainly won’t with that mindset. Every single time that I set a goal, I get all excited and determined but in the back of my mind, I tell myself that I know I’m not going to finish it. Well that explains everything. A little something called the law of attraction is just killing my vibe. When you think positive thoughts, positive things will happen to you. If you think negative, that’s what you will attract. Evidently, if I start a journey with the back of my mind already set on failure, well of course I WILL fail.

So this time around, I am really going to stay focused on where my mind is, and not just my actions. FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT. That is supposed to work like a charm and I am going to try it. Every single morning I will wake up and even if I am not determined at all to do anything that will push me towards attaining my goal, I will fake it and I will go and do it anyhow.

Let me give you a concrete example. There are a few things I want to work on:

1. Be healthier, lose weight, tone up, and feel more energized. I put that all under the same category because they require the exact same effort of me. It is mostly about “faking” a love for exercise and “faking” a pure hatred for laziness. That is going to be hard but not impossible because laziness and procrastination are the death of me. I do love exercising but my brain says that I love procrastinating more. Therefore, I will actively work on faking a hatred for laziness. When I catch myself being lazy, I need to give myself a kick in the ass and say, out loud, “I hate being lazy!! Why am I sitting?!” with a tone of repugnance. FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT. To help with that, I think exercising first thing in the morning will help. Even if it’s a few stretches and a mini run around the neighbourhood. I also need to switch up my exercising so I don’t get bored. Last but not least, I have been cooking great meals lately, but I will now make them in greater quantities and freeze them! This way, when I don’t have time to cook, I won’t have any trouble finding healthy foods. I cannot let myself be hungry with no food around or I will go crazy.
2. Keep a very close eye on my money. I have a much greater rent now that I’ve moved into my own apartment. I have to come up with 880$ every month only for rent and internet. That does not include my food, car, and other expenses. So I need to make sure that I don’t spend money on useless things that only bring temporary joy. Honestly, this sounds harsh and my brain cannot function very well with goals that have a negative connotation (don’t do this, don’t do that, can’t do this, etc.). To put it in a better way (and this is a trick for everyone), I will put a very positive spin on it. It is the same goal but worded differently. I want to save money so I can move forward with my goals. In order to do that, I have to keep a close eye on what I buy and spend money on things that will truly make me happy long term!
3. I want to sell my car and buy something much cheaper. Right now I have a FIAT 500 that is very cheap on gas but that costs me a lot per month and lots for future repairs. If I sell it, I will also be able to put quite a bit of the profits in my savings. I figure I can get $10,000.00 for it, and buy something else for less than $5,000.00. This will be fantastic for my savings account! It is a great leap and brings me closer to achieving my goals, ultimately, which is to have enough for a downpayment for a house (but that is a long term goal, I am talking about short term right now, things that I can actively work on in the moment).
4. I want to spent more time with Mother Nature. Honestly, I’ve barely spent time outside this summer. I went to the dog park a LOT, which is fabulous! But compared to last summer where my goals were to hike 500km in a year… well I am far from that. Not that I want to return to past goals, but hiking makes me SO happy. It is something I love doing for myself, but I have rarely done this summer. Short term: Sunday while Daniel is golfing, I am going to go hiking in birds hill! There is a very nice 10km hike that I can do and it will be amazing, especially that fall is upon us.

Quite honestly, I think that is all I want from myself right now. I think that it is perfectly achievable and there is NO REASON for me to believe that I would fail at this. It’s almost like I have trouble having faith in myself, which is ridiculous. I cannot control what others do and yet I have more faith in them than I do in myself.

Here is my mantra for this week:

I am the only one that can control my own actions and thoughts.
It is EASY for me to follow through with goals.
It is EASY for me to push aside negative thoughts that would make me stray from my goals.
I am STRONG. My mind is STRONG.
I am DETERMINED to complete my goals.
I WILL stay FOCUSED.

I have an AMAZING support system, my boyfriend is the greatest human being! But even though thoughts of him make me unbelievably happy, I need to take time to think about myself.

This was very therapeutic. I am capable of amazing things with my mind in the right place. Is my mind in the right place right now? Yes it is! I can do this.