For those of you who would like to know more about my backstory… here is my interview with Run to Change Lives.
Run to Change Lives is an amazing organization with a mission to build the most loved Running community with a passion for Changing lives. They are a beautiful group of people who helped my story reach so many individuals in need.
Please check out their Facebook Page and support their mission.
My goal of building a community and helping people in need will never be closed minded. Support comes in all directions, from all walks of life, and backgrounds.
My mission will not include a scarcity mindset but one of dealing Hope, spreading joy, and sharing the compassion and good works of other like communities. Period. The. End.
I awoke to a song faintly playing in my head: “The sun will come out tomorrow...“ Without much thought about it, I shot up to start my day. I went straight to the coffee maker and opened the unending cabinet of another addiction of mine… too many mugs!
There she was, staring at me. I carefully placed the mug down and began to think about this beautiful symbol’s meaning: healing, and a source of life.
This year is about to end. We have faced continued trying times… personal struggle, and world wide fatigue and crisis. I am tired, I am sometimes weary, I fight my daily battles. Yet each day, I begin with Hope.
I have dreams, and plans so big they can’t begin to fit on that lined notebook paper. I have athletic goals, and pipe dreams that are laughable to many… but to me are the very things that keep me sane, healthy, and appreciating health and wellness.
I refuse to carry the heavy BS into the New Year. It weighs a ton, reeks of self intoxication, and it’s not worth once of what defines me.
This time of year is made for re-birth. It is made for healing, for loving the people who make you better, and for leaving behind those who don’t.
Sip and be well. And remember, “The sun will come out tomorrow.”
I hear the clock ticking. The second hand makes known how much time is left before I say goodbye to 2021, and prepare to develop, grow, and thrive in the next 365 days.
To exit something gracefully is a challenge, and for many of us, implies multiple meanings. It can mean we must let go of the thing that has weighed so heavy on us… not altering its validity, not denying its lesson or importance… but simply and painstakingly cutting the cord of what is preserving bitterness in order to end the madness.
For some, it may be exiting a toxic relationship or friendship, where finally the tight grasp that a certain person once had over you has loosened just enough to be set free.
We all carry the power to battle our mental hijackers and spiritual strongholds. We all tolerate things that are beyond ludicrous. We condone, we consume, and we swallow the negative backwash of others. Exit gracefully, intentionally leave behind the baggage, and arrive at the new starting line of life.
For me this year has had its rolling hills. I’ve had tears, I’ve had smiles wider than canyons, and I’ve had sadness that aches to the core… but it’s kept its promise. It has made me a better athlete, a better friend, and has given me more insight to understand what I want and what I will demand for my continued becoming.
Exit this year gracefully… bow your head in thanks, raise your hand not your white flag, and run into the New Year with a blank canvas.
Who will you be in 2022? What will you accomplish? Who and what you take with you and who and what you leave behind will impact your results. Stop being okay with what’s not okay.
May we all find our balance, exit gracefully, and land ever so softly to new beginnings.
Run and write your way to a happier, healthier and more purpose-driven life. Sign up to hear from Suzanne via email. We’ll have some thought-provoking writing challenges, discussion groups and other empowering activities planned for 2022. Sign up for our emails here.
As the holidays draw closer with each passing day, most of us continue life as normal. We trim our trees, wrap gifts, bake cookies, and celebrate the true meaning of the season…
But what about those who are struggling? I want to talk about this because so many of us at this very moment are in a space of mental entrapment.
One of us on this very day wakes… and struggles with not taking a drink. One of us has lost a loved one, a pet, or is mourning someone who is still alive.
One of us is facing a job loss. A father is struggling to feed his family. A veteran is struggling to tie their own shoes.
A woman is closet eating in shame, and another is carefully applying makeup to hide the bruises.
Somewhere a child is feeling the brutal effects of a bully. The narcissist continues to gaslight, and still the world turns without a missed beat.
Feeling or creating joy through chaos and trial is tough. It’s a daily challenge to not let these things define us emotionally or physically. But all is not a lost cause…
Wake up and pray for someone even if you don’t know them.
Go visit a veteran. Smile, listen to their truths and tie their shoes if they need it.
Take a walk with a friend, and listen. Don’t assume, don’t judge, don’t react… just be the ears they are desperately trying to find.
Donate to your local women’s shelter. If they are there… believe me when I say… it took courage beyond measure to get there.
Send a card of encouragement to a friend, and cut the ties of those people, places, and things whose only agenda is derailing yours…
The greatest gift you can give yourself this year is the gift of helping someone.
Not everyone faces the same lot in life. I don’t know the reasons why… but I do know this. Kindness goes a long way. Small things add up to big things, and the sum of it all = greater human decency.
Need More Peace? Try Our Mini Journaling Challenge.
Are you an empathic introvert trying to hold your own in a world of extroverts?
Give Your Stressed Self the Gift of Comfort and Joy this Christmas Season. This emailed journaling course from Run Before You Fly will help you connect to simple, meaningful moments.
Six days to bring peace to your holiday season. Write your way to inner calm.
We are truly excited to begin offering writing challenges to you. This is just one of many ways we can support each other to live our best lives.
Go here to learn more and order. We thank you in advance for supporting our creative endeavors. If you sign up, let us know how you like the course!
🎄🦌🤶♥️⛄🎅
Wishing you peace, comfort and joy this holiday season from Run Before You Fly.
The snow flurries hit my vest. My fingertips are frozen, the wind whips across the bare skin on the back of my neck. And just like that, I am running into another season of change.
It’s natural for us to want things to stay steady. We get complacent. We get comfy-cozy in our steady-paced, uninterrupted lives.
We don’t like change, we un-invite ideas of challenge, and we settle for what happens to us, within us, without really fighting for what makes us feel alive, and worthy.
When the cold snap of life hits, the precipitation flies, and adaptiveness sets in… remember a few things.
Seasons of change bring elements of transformation. Awaken to the new day not just with a tolerance to accept what it brings you… but with a silent preparedness that you are here to dream big, take charge, and live a peace-filled life.
Invite the season in. Sit down with it, let your goals be known. And when it tries to pull you back, or divert you to unrest… zip up your armor and remind it just who you are.
#RUNBEFOREYOUFLY #seasonsofchange #wecandobetter
Journal Your Way to Insight, Happiness and Healing!
Love to write? Ready to try journaling as form of self therapy? At Run Before You Fly, we’re inspired toward continued self betterment.
Join us for a group journaling adventure! We have an illuminating writing course for you to benefit from.
Journal solo. Share with trusted friends. Or, consult with Suzanne for a coaching session. It’s up to you.
Don’t miss discounted pricing on the new “Journal Your Way to a Peaceful Holiday Season.” This is a mini course that Suzanne and Dina are offering to our email list and Facebook group members!
We’ll have more courses coming in the new year. Sign up for our list to be notified of future writing workshop and course launches.
Transformation is a continuous remodeling of the self.
For me to continue to gain self love, and move with an energized spirit… I know the work is never done.
The open road this morning makes me feel alive. It’s a space where all the cares, ideas, and negativity dripped on me from the day before can be pounded away with each release of my foot.
How good does it feel… when we can move with fluidity… all the while showing toxic people, damaging thoughts, and dream squashers that our joy, our drive and belief in the goodness of others and ourselves will continue to triumph?
It feels damn good…
Continue to transform today. Get up and get after it. There’s work to be done!
So today is Wednesday. Some of us will wake up with same mindset that has stolen our joy for years. We will complain. We will start our day with the weight of all the stress we will face today. We will let fear cripple us.
We will scroll through social media… compare ourselves to others, wish we were somewhere different, or think of ways that we could mirror someone else’s life.
I am guilty of it, too. I have had too many Wednesdays where I start my day feeling low, tired, and with a feeling of complete failure.
What if today… we drop all our excuses? What if today is the day you decide to wake up happy on purpose?
What if today is the day you stop letting fear keep you from trying new things and becoming great?
What if today we step out of our comfort zones and take a step toward greatness?
What if today we say yes to treating our bodies how they should be treated?
We make life hard sometimes. We allow others and ourselves to rob the self-worth we all deserve. Start today… and just begin.
To achieve greatness we must take every sour thing that has tried to dim our light and revolt.
We must take every lie we were taught to believe and turn it into truth.
We must relentlessly and repetitively find our purpose and make it known why we were destined to be granted a spin on this earth.
Being overweight is hard. Being unhealthy is hard. Being angry, defeated, and without joy is hard.
Staying sober can be hard, staying motivated is hard. Discipline is hard. The choice is ours… we choose our hard.
Effort counts… consistency counts… our will counts. Wake up and cut the anvils. Be your own mayday and let’s show this world… that we are not just talkers …
We are World Changers.
Run Before You Fly Private Facebook Group is open to all who wish to continue to share their experiences, love of running, and battles of life, with each other. Together we are better.
Heading out to be in nature. Nature is the one place where we can be ourselves. There are no time constraints, no phones ringing, no emails. It is a place where we can set aside just for moment in time all the things that weigh us down.
It is here where I appreciate what my creator has given me. Nature offers me hope for my future, and steadies my faith in this crazy world.
Above all… I set out on this 10-mile hike with gratitude. I am here for a purpose. Whether it be big or small, I am making a difference in the lives of beautiful people. I choose who I am in this moment.
Never underestimate the depths of your words, the intense power of a smile, and how a little kindness can become someone’s first stepping stone of healing.
Fall is a season of reproach for me. I tuck away the things summer has taught me. I welcome the rustling leaves, the vibrant colors, and dare to dream all that is meant for me in this season.
When Autumn awakes… so does my heart. I allow the sun to take a step back… but my inner strength and yearning to take a step forward. I think of all the gifts that I am given daily. I am thankful in a season of accomplishment, and yet seek excitement for the next place my journey will land me.
I am learning that everything happens in God’s time, that I was woven and spun for his greatest good, and that experiences both awful and wonderful have helped to shape and mold me into the best version of myself that I can be.
Never doubt your internal longing to be greater, continue to question things that are bullshit, and do not settle for anything other than what gives you peace.
Let today be the start of your unveiling. The best is yet to come.
Follow along as Suzanne Swanson takes us through her transformation from addiction to athlete. Find support and healing in your own life! We’re sending Suzanne’s blog updates via email along with a daily dose of motivation. Don’t miss the next post… delivered straight to your inbox.
