Category: Empowerment

Posted on

On Being Vulnerable.

Vulnerability is always staying in search of the light. It’s questioning the whys… it’s continual motion toward a direction of your inner truths, and creating an positive impact to those around you.

The in-betweens of the space you are sitting now and where you are headed are often filled with small miracles, daily victories, and subtle moments of learning and triumph.

It’s okay to sit in the gap of uncertainty from time to time, as uncertainty brings about more possibilities for growth.

It’s okay to not tolerate what you once allowed, and fight for a better tomorrow.

Pay attention. Seek to follow those who ignite you. Seek to follow those who give and not just take. Pay attention to acts of selfishness versus acts of selflessness. See in yourself what you want others to see in you.

You are the light… you are the miracle… and you are the force within yourself.

Embrace the hard… and it gets softer. Embrace the doubt… and it gets harder.

Onward.

Posted on

Finding Your Gratitude

I’ve been asked about my personal journey with my food and booze addictions numerous times. I’ve been asked what stepping stones, forward movements, side streets, cliff falls, and rising ascents have gotten me where I am today?

One word I have studied… practiced… inhaled and meditated on is gratitude.

Despite my greatest challenges… despite the naysayers, despite ridiculous social norms, and heavy waves of intermittent mind chatter… I am somehow always able to see life’s gifts to me and fuel my quest for wellness and health with gratitude.

These gifts come in the form of people and their belief in me. They come in nature and the simplicity of a beautiful tree or body of water. They come in art, and what my eyes allow me see… and sometimes they present themselves even in the messy things.

The realness and rawness of disappointments and temporary setbacks… even amidst these moments, practicing gratitude within the chaos is what lays the foundation for the granulation of what you must recover from.

There will always be moments of nonsense. Find your gratitude anyway… onward.

~ From the Diary of What Running and Life Have Taught Me


Stay in Touch with Runner, Writer and Visionary Suzanne Swanson.

Sign up for running and health motivation emails from Suzanne. 

Join our running, healthy lifestyle and emotional support group on Facebook!

Posted on

Weeds or Wishes

The dandelion does not stop growing because some people think they’re pointless and bothersome.

Each day the world seems to become more lost in challenges, comparisons, corrupt practices, and societal stigmas. These leave us feeling broken… defeated… empty and lost.

Goals are wonderful. Hard work and perseverance, necessary… but so is keeping the simple magic and wonder of life alive.

We set ourselves up to fail. We listen to people who are not even qualified to dictate or implant an idea of what we must accomplish for mental toughness, or weight loss, or self healing.

We then wonder why if we missed a workout, took a bite of cake, or did not see results overnight, these things made us feel even worse. Right?

Your blueprint is unique. Your dreams…your wants… your desires are meant for you.

Routines are good, but so is spontaneity. Good habits are fantastic, but so is balance.

Stop the pre-recorded message in your head that says you messed up today so your efforts are meaningless.

Peace, joy, comfort, happiness, contentment, steadfast acceptance of yourself comes from your Creator and your willingness to believe in better days and better outcomes… otherwise known as Hope.

You may see a weed… I see a wish. Make one.

~ from the diary of what running and life have taught me ~


Run (or Walk!) With Us on the Path to Self-Betterment.

Join our running, healthy lifestyle and emotional support group on Facebook!

Sign up for running and health motivation emails from Suzanne. 

Posted on

Mailbox to Mailbox.

What are you looking at, Suzanne?

I am looking at the face of someone who was taught fear comes first… and boldness comes later.

I am looking at the inner being of a little girl who knew even before life showed her that she was going to lead by transparency instead of tragedy someday.

I am looking at the face of a woman who let the lies of the bottle and the fake ingredients of processed crap hijack her mind daily.

Lastly, I am looking at my heart’s reflection. I see a journey of a woman who literally was saved “Mailbox to Mailbox” as her sneakers pounded, her sweat ran, and her lungs breathed her back into being.

Find the souls that speak your language, so you waste not one minute translating your spirit. And may the space between where you are and where you want to be never stop inspiring you 💛.

That. Is. All. 👊🏻

Posted on

A Glorious Mess.

She is a glorious mess of what-ifs and used-tos. She continually tells her story as if the whole world is listening. She is messy but kind… bold and deliberate… yet soft and purposeful.

She knows her endurance is neither too strong nor too weak… and she knows that to win her race of life, she must balance between raising the bar, and steadily pacing her feet.

Oh, how those inner voices try to persuade her that it won’t matter in the end… but she knows it will… she sees her goals… and she is going to continue to fight like hell to crush them.

When you stop dreaming, it’s over. See it… want it… believe it… and don’t you ever stop reaching for it.👊🏻

THAT IS ALL 💙.

Posted on

Take Charge of Your Health.

Every time you spend money 💰. You are casting a vote on the kind of health and wellness you want for yourself.

Every morning you have a chance to start over and become more joyful.

To sustain well-being, you must have resilience… to have resilience you must practice discipline… to practice discipline you must believe in something greater.

Words are empty without action. Action is strength… and strength requires zero compromise.

You want the right time? Now is it.

Go get it. 👊🏻

Posted on

75 Hard Challenge

What am I learning on this 75 hard challenge?!

I am learning that a gallon is a lot of freaking water 💦.

I am learning that discipline demands a better attitude, and that we can challenge ourselves to do better. 👍

I am learning that 10 pages of a book 📖 at night when you’re exhausted can feel like a 100 pages.

I am learning that doing this means I am not comparing myself to anyone else… but for the personal improvement of my being. 🧘🏼‍♀️

Stagnation creeps on all of us. Do not permit the unsettlement, the lack of understanding, or the fear of the unknown stop you from believing and achieving. 🥇

Set yourself apart. Do the things that hurt… and smile while you’re doing them 🎟.

That is all.

Posted on

All Along You Were Blooming

Boundless living is scary. It means waking up early, it means demanding a peaceful mindset.

It means turning the negative chatter off in your head. It means sacrifice when it’s necessary, and doing the work when there is every reason to quit.

It means shaping your future when the cards are stacked against you. It means trying harder. It means tasting your tears, dressing the battle wounds, and starting over every damn day if necessary.

It means moving the vertical structures that are stacked high between you and what your dreams and goals are. It means trusting others and others trusting you. It means building what you want, even when it seems impossible.

From once a broken and lost soul, addicted and miserable… to now the love of endurance running, hiking mountain tops… to writing my heart every day in my blog, to falling into a side hustle I love.

Make no mistake. It’s not by luck or coincidence. It’s not by chance or by happenstance… it’s by determination and challenge… it’s by hope and faith, and by imagination and grace…

All along you were blooming… Today is a good to settle for nothing less that what sparks your soul.

Posted on

Purpose Fuels Passion

In the meantime…

You’ll arrive at the place of finding purpose and fueling passion when you stop feeding the monsters of negativity and failure.

You’ll arrive at the crossroads of change when you rise with gratefulness and thanks, and seek more blessings… not count more curses.

But in the meantime… do not waste any further time wishing you were someone else. Do not wear jealousy of another’s success… or anger at the ignorance of what someone does not understand.

In the meantime, make sure you are loving with your whole heart.

In the meantime, set your standards high and keep your judgements low.

In the meantime, do the very thing that scares you to death, but brings you to life.

In the meantime, do some living… haven’t we punished ourselves enough for things we had little or absolutely no control over?

Set your goals, run your races, swim the oceans, climb the mountains, grow your business, make new friends, make new plans, cross out, scratch off, re-write, do over, release, repeat…

Just remember in the meantime… that person inside you is begging you to love them. You can be anything you set your mind to. But in the meantime… let’s start by being perfectly, wonderfully, no matter what you weigh, or where your scars are, or what you did, or what you couldn’t… YOU 💙.

In the meantime, just do your best. In the meantime say please, and thank you, I love you, and I’m sorry. Stay excited, and keep believing. In the meantime… the universe is watching… be ready when it shakes you 🌎.

Sign up for inspirational emails from Suzanne. Join our running, healthy lifestyle and emotional support group on Facebook!

We’re encouraging, motivating, celebrating, believing in, and cheering for one another. We’d love to meet and know you!

Posted on

Mind Over Matter.

I know life isn’t easy. Crap rains down on us on the daily. Work demands, family obligations, deadlines, emails, housework, meetings, bills, budgets… it’s enough to make us insane.

I struggle. I do the best that I can. I stumble, and fall… but once thing you will NEVER see me do is quit.

I will never give up on myself and my well-being.

I will never stop trying to improve my health and leave a legacy my children can be proud of.

I will never stop trying to become a better runner and athlete.

I will never stop believing in my ability to change this world… one person at a time.

BUT MOSTLY… I will never stop trying to help you do it, too.

Mind Over Matter is today’s mantra. You want it… let’s go get it.

Want more running and fitness motivation?

Sign up for our emails here