I have never been great at updating this blog but I have had the itch to just write and thought about this trusty old blog and thought I would start. Will it be 1 for the year, 1 a month, more, less? Who knows. All I know is right now writing is on my mind so that is what I will do.
Hungry, Humble, and Happy...three words that have stuck with me lately. I heard them on a podcast on my commute to work and is something I have been thinking about. We have had another amazing year and there are so many blessings in my life that it can be overwhelming at times. I have been doing a lot of reflecting lately and trying to figure out 1. How did I get so lucky 2. What is my purpose in life 3. What is true happiness?
These questions are something that go through my mind daily. Reflecting on not only this past year but the past few years, I have been reminded on the journey I have been on and how it has molded me into the person I am today and taking that to look forward on who I want to be in the future. When I am old, who do I want to be? What do I want to say about my life? What do I want people to remember me as? What has made me successful thus far in life and what do I need to improve on in order to become better? Through this, I realized there are three things I want to truly be. Hungry, Humble, and Happy.
It is all about perspective. With all the negativity going on in today's world, it is easy to get sucked into it. I had to finally stop watching the news because I was getting more anxious for what this world is becoming and was finding myself being more negative than I normally am. I like to consider myself as a positive person but I was realizing that I was turning into more of a negative person. I started looking at who I associated my time with, how my conversations with people were going and what I noticed is I would spark conversations complaining about something rather than talking about something positive. It is easy to complain. That is what the majority of our society talks about. Once I realized this I immediately wanted to stop and noticed how often I did it. It would be little things. Someone would complain about their husband and I would follow it up with a pet peeve of mine that Cody has. I started thinking, why would I speak negatively of my husband? Or why would I complain about Madison and her tantrums to people? I would rather praise them and speak highly of them because I am damn proud to be part of their lives. I decided that it needed to stop. I want to spend my time counting my blessings not complaining. This sparked my interest on what is true happiness. Is it making a lot of money? Being successful in your career? Losing weight? No. That isn't. So many people spend their time thinking, if I just get that promotion I will be happy. Once I make this much I will be happy. When I lose those last 15lbs I will be happy. Basically, if I do x then I will be happy. But that isn't true! Once we achieve something we are already looking for the next thing. Once we get that promotion, we are already looking to grow. Once we lose the weight, we want to tone it up even more or lose just another 5 pounds. Once you win a competition, you are already looking for the next thing. Most people base their happiness on achievements. Heck, I have as well. But that isn't true happiness. Happiness is about the journey. Happiness is counting your blessings and choosing to be thankful in the present moment. To be fulfilled in the day to day. Yes we should still strive for goals but we shouldn't base our happiness on getting to the end because at the end of it all most people lose that happiness within a matter of minutes. For example, and I am going to use crossfit. Goal: "I will be happy if I am in the top 200 for the open" You accomplish that and are happy but that happiness lasts a matter of minutes? Maybe hours? Then it is shooting for the next goal for the next season. You aren't truly happy. You were happy to achieve it but it didn't make you happy. Happiness shouldn't be about achieving the goals. We should still strive for our goals but not under the assumption that it will bring happiness. Instead we should choose to be grateful, give back, and build strong relationships through your journey.
One thing I have implemented into my daily routine is writing in a journal called the 5 minute journal. It forces you to start your day thinking about 3 things you are grateful for. The first few days it was super easy to come up with very obvious things. My family, health, job, house, etc.. but pretty soon you have to think outside of that and really look for what you are grateful for. And what I noticed, I am grateful for A LOT! Rather than saying, I have to go to work today. NO, you GET to go to work today. It isn't I have to pick Madison up from daycare it is I GET to pick Madison up-and I have a car to do that with. It isn't I HAVE to do the dishes, I GET to do the dishes because having a clean house does bring me peace of mind and I am fortunate to have a kitchen, food, and dishes. I don't have to go to the gym. I get to go to the gym. Because at the end of the day so many people would kill to have my life. People are starving, homeless, living in a dangerous place and would happily switch me places. It is all about perspective and it has really changed my mindset. Just this morning I was waiting at a traffic light and saw a homeless person with a hungry sign. I normally ignore these but for some reason today I felt the need to roll the window down and give the $8 I had in my wallet. I gave it to him and said it was the only cash I had. He looked at me, took the cash, and started crying and saying thank you. It completely broke me. I wanted to get him in my car and take him to breakfast. But I didn't (Cody wouldn't approve of me picking up strangers). But, I have thought about him all day. Me just giving him that little cash brought tears to his eyes and he was truly grateful. PERSPECTIVE.
So, to end this long drawn out post, Hungry, Humble, and Happy. That is how I want to live. That is what I want to instill in Madison. I want to be that example. Every day when I drop Madison off we have a saying that goes: Be Sweet, Be Kind, Be Careful, I Love You. We have done it since she could talk and she says it without thinking. It ties right in with being hungry, humble, and happy and I hope she grows up with those values. With that, I will end this blog because I GET to go grocery shopping before GETTING to pick up Madison :)
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