I’m learning a lot of lessons so far from embarking on my summer self-care plan. Are you? Thanks to My Fitness Pal, I’m seeing that I rarely get enough calories during the day, I don’t drink nearly enough water and I still eat too much sugar (although I know my intake has gone WAY down from what it was).
It’s the one-year anniversary of my Crazy Sexy Diet cleanse! I wanted to offer an update on my progress over the past year and share my summer self-care plan in case it might help you to create your own. My intention is to go deeper into the journey to health I began in June 2011.
I’ve decided to stay in Charlottesville, Virginia for the summer. It was a beautiful place to spend the spring and it’s been a great “home base” for my work. I’ve learned that it definitely helps a lot to stay put in one place when conference organizers are trying to book your travel arrangements! It makes planning so much easier when I know what airport I’m going to be flying out of.
I haven’t really been working this week. Instead of being hunched over my laptop, I’ve been doing a lot of other things that make me happy. Like visiting my grandmother in Ohio for her 64th birthday. Yes, she’s a young Grama LOL! Me and mom flew out to celebrate our favorite girl and it was a lovely trip. In my first proud travel hacking moment, I was able to find a last minute roundtrip flight on United for only $160 from DC to Cleveland! *dusts shoulders off*
“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us.” – Steven Pressfield
For most of us, there seems to be this huge gap between the life we live and the life we really want.
“As long as we continue to live as if we are what we do, what we have, and what other people think about us, we will remain filled with judgments, opinions, evaluations, and condemnations. We will remain addicted to the need to put people and things in their “right” place. To the degree that we embrace the truth that our identity is not rooted in our success, power, or popularity, but in God’s infinite love, to that degree can we let go of our need to judge.” – Henri Nouwen
A few weeks ago, I was visiting my mom and aunt, celebrating their birthdays. After dinner one night, we came back to mom’s house to be lazy and watch the Oprah Network. Beverly Johnson’s reality show was on. After just a few minutes of tuning in, I was quickly reminded of the reasons why I don’t like watching them.
“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.” – Henri Nouwen
My little cousin Elijah is three years old and, like any toddler, is very clear about what does and does not make him happy. If you suggest doing something he isn’t interested in, he breaks into a pout and states firmly, “I don’t WANT to.” As kids, most of us probably had a similar attitude. But as adults, it can feel impossible to get back to that time when we focused on our own happiness instead of trying to make everyone else happy. Yet, we have to remember that happiness is not something that just occurs automatically. The truth is, we have to constantly choose to be happy and make space for what we really want. Otherwise, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut after a while, focusing on all the things we dislike about our lives.
If you’ve been pouting like my little cousin Elijah lately, here are a few strategies you can use to start making room for more happiness in your life.
This is the hotel room I stayed in last week when I went to Harrisonburg, VA to teach a social media workshop at a nonprofit conference. It was at the Fairfield Inn. Nothing too glamorous. But then, hotels don’t have to be extra fancy for me to enjoy them. I love them all, really – from the Holiday Inn to the W. I love the whole process of checking in, getting warm cookies (at the Doubletree); sleeping on (hopefully) crisp, clean sheets; getting to watch the Food Network for a few hours; having someone else clean the bathroom; sipping hot tea in my room; looking out the window when I have a great view; hanging out in the jacuzzi (if they have one); eating the free breakfast (if they have one); scheduling a wake up call so I don’t oversleep, getting restaurant recommendations from the concierge or ordering room service that I get to charge to the client (at a reasonable cost, of course!).
This is me in Baltimore last month.
It’s been almost eight months since I gave up my apartment in DC to save money for travel. What’s really happened in that time is that I’ve learned a ton about myself – who I really am and who I really want to be. At this point in my journey, I thought it might be helpful to post a brief timeline for those who are new to the blog and my experience exploring location independence – the ability to live and work anywhere.
“A year from now you will wish you had started today.” – Karen Lamb
Every success story has to begin somewhere. Whether your goal is to lose weight or start your own business or travel the world or find a new love, at some point you have to take the first step.
Rosetta Thurman is a nationally-recognized author, speaker, mentor and coach dedicated to helping women create their ideal lives.
