Category: Gratitude

Posted on

Run and Be Happy!

For me to become a better athlete, and keep churning at the handle of my personal and professional goals, to ensure my sobriety, and integrity… I need to always meditate to put life in its proper position.

Conflicting thoughts on nutrition, running gear, beauty products, financial plans, life strategies can cause massive chaos to our thoughts if we allow it.

People will always show up on your doorstep of life to inflict their opinions or “two cents” of *their* being into *yours.* Do not allow such individuals to interfere with the trajectory of your journey.

We face adversity together. We can get through uncertainties by the hands and bodies of our personal experiences, and by our very own truths we have allowed others to view.

When the road is bumpy, stay on it.

When you feel like you can’t run, walk, or jog another inch… go three inches. When you see the walls crumbling… believe that when that wall falls, it leaves a new space for unimaginable growth you never thought possible.

Today I am grateful what each of you bring to the table. Your stories, your jokes, your humility, your honesty, your progresses, your setbacks.

All teach us that we are listening…and we can overcome. We all motivate differently. We think differently, we run differently… we set different goals, and that is okay.

Today’s meditation brought up some superior points. Just do your best… don’t be a shitty human being… and never stop being who you are. 🖤

Posted on

16 Miles and Smiles.

She looked softly in the mirror at the woman she once was.

She forgave herself for all the lies she told and believed about her beautiful soul.

She made food her friend… using it to heal and fuel her body.

She said goodbye to her booze addiction that betrayed her beyond measure, but not without letting it see how much good she has used it to teach the world that healing and recovery are possible.

This morning she woke at 4:45 am to run 16 miles. She is disciplined. She is strong. She is kind. She is me.


Know a Friend Who Would Love Suzanne’s Blog and Inspirational Group of Runners and Writers? Pass Them the Link to RunBeforeYouFly.com.

Receive inspiration via email from Suzanne. Sign up using the link!

Thank you for supporting my writing and running endeavors at RunBeforeyouFly.com. I’m Suzanne Swanson and I’d love for us to keep in touch! 

Receive updates via email when you sign up here.

Posted on

Where I’ve Been.

Timely Tuesday…

Back from a well rested time at the beach. With so much going on in this crazy world, how wonderful it felt to “almost feel normal” again.

Nostalgia flooded my mind all throughout the week as the smell of Coppertone, French fries, seagulls, and kids laughing brought me to a happy place of memories as a child growing up with beach vacations.

I realize as I get older earthly material things mean less and less to me… and the time spent with my family and good friends is priceless. Life is truly flying by quickly, and now more than ever the present moment is where I must try like hell to allow myself to stay in.

I also became more aware that I am typically very hard on myself, but also that I am uniquely me… that what I do matters, and that where I have been and where I am going tell my tale of just what I am made of.

Today I woke up in my little hometown, back on my country roads, with my familiar surroundings, and a renewed sense of why I do what I do.

I know where I have been, I know where I am going… 💜

“The cure for anything is truly salt water” ~

Posted on

Reflections

Today is my rest day. Today is my day to allow myself the much-needed physical break of pushing my body to its limits the previous week. Today is necessary and needed.

Today my mind is tired, too. As much as we try our best, we can easily get caught on the racetrack of uninvited thoughts, fearful imaginings… temporarily stuck on the rewind button of would’ve and should’ve… or the fast forward button of the what-if’s.

We forget to stay in the right now… in the very present moment.

My job as a nurse can be mentally taxing. Covid is tiring. It’s exhausting. I try my best to trust in what I know, to help those even who are bitter, and to stay grounded in my roots and beliefs that led me to this field.

My Job as Mom makes me question my own choices at times. I ask myself, am I teaching my children how to survive in a crazy world? Am I teaching unconditional love? The worry never ceases, yet with faith as the foundation… I know they will be just fine.

In pausing… I ask myself, did I make the best food choices I could last week? Did I run my heart out with pure love and joy of what my sneakers allow me to accomplish? Did I practice diligence and perseverance?

I can get in my own way. My head space can be annoying, relentless, and a pain in the ass. But my mind teaches me. My thoughts can be changed. I can look at life any way I choose. I have control of what I put in my mouth. I stay sober, I eat right, and I try my best.

Give yourself permission to feel… to question… to make adjustments.

Allow time to sit alone with your soul. Ask it what it needs, and then allow the universe to help you get there. Reflect unto others your gifts.

Reflect often and softly, reflect clearly and wildly… be gentle with your decisions, and forgiving in your results.

Amen 🖤.

Posted on

Perspective.

When self-doubt creeps in and negativity creates a hazy film over our progress… changing our perspective can make a world of difference.

See yourself through different eyes… love who you are. Be proud of the accomplishments and progress you’ve made.

Accept the things that cannot be undone, and continue to march forward, placing the building blocks of your dreams and goals into action.

Self doubt will come. People will try to cloud your vision, and trials of life will attempt to strip you of the faith that is necessary for contentment and peace.

Seek today to be happy on purpose. Know that waking up and trying to be better, moving your body, and mentally seeing your destination is critical to a healthy mindset.

You are allowed to be unsure, you are allowed to self question… that’s where growth comes from. Shift your perspective… simplify the plan, and trust that you are exactly where you need to be your journey today

Let’s make today beautiful…

Join our safe space where we will share, inspire, love, and grow!

Run Before You Fly Private Facebook Group with Suzanne Swanson 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.

Posted on

Serenity Sunday…

Often times I think we forget the power held in a little serenity. We are always expecting, wanting, striving, pushing for more, for better, or the next best.

On my 12-mile journey this morning, I thought about the power in having stillness, and enjoying what is… in this very moment.

Giving ourselves permission to lift the expectations of what others think is a must. Giving ourselves permission to just be grateful in the moment changes not only the outcome, but allows a clearer view into our own looking glass. It is here where we are surprised at how simple serenity can undo the plans of our destructive robber in minutes.

Waking up clear-headed without a hangover, well-rested, for me is serenity.

Seeing the beautiful sunrise… waving at familiar faces… and getting to wake up and do what I love… is my serenity.

My body was strong today. I felt good and alive and accomplished… yet I surrendered. I allowed the present to just be. I let the “what if’s” go to hell, and the voices of the naysayers drift off to a place I ain’t visiting.

Let it all go this morning. Surrender. Be. Exist. Find your serenity today 💙.

Posted on

The Porch.

Every once in a while I take time to visit my porch. It’s a quiet place looking out into farm fields, the road I run every day, and the occasional passerby walking their dog.

This porch has tremendous meaning. It used to be the place where I would drink as much alcohol as I could, eat too much crap, and dwell in self-pity about how I wanted my world to change so badly. It was a place to contemplate how much I hated the choices I was making in my life.

My porch today takes on a much different meaning. I sit out here now so incredibly grateful for the lives I’ve touched, and those who have steadily helped me get here.

I log my running miles, reflect on my training, meditate and focus on the things that I aspire to be. I give thanks for the universe and God, and I appreciate everything spiritually.

I seek stillness, all while sober, healthy, and knowing that I can dream, be, and achieve anything I damn want to…

My porch was a place I used to dread visiting because I knew the sadness that was tear-stained on its wood.

Today my porch sees and witnesses a different me. The wood of its foundation is solid and strong, tough and weathered… just like the woman who sits there now and rejoices. She is me… and she is happy 🖤.

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.

Sign up to hear from Suzanne via email here.

Posted on

Good Intentions.

Today’s run is brought to you by Get Up Off Your Ass and Just Be Happy 💙.

I asked myself this morning, is my road paved with good intentions?

We can wake up and take the crowded, miserable, exhausting road of toxic complainers… or we can wake up and take the road less traveled.

Let’s not overthink it today. Wake up, fill your cup up with joy (or a little espresso 🤣) and get out there and create the life you deserve.

People will laugh, mock, and roadblock in any way they can. Stigmas and society will try to fill you with false thoughts, images, and negativity that is senseless and unprovable.

Pave your road with good intentions today. Seal it with gratefulness, and teach the people who pass you today a little thing about joy.

Be happy on purpose 💙. Be helpful when asked…

Be patient when life is hard… and Be You.

Time to work…

Posted on

This Morning’s Run

This morning’s run was a hot, humid one here in New Jersey.

Often times I get up and go without much thought on where I will run or how far I will go. I tie my laces, walk out my door and immediately I am on my familiar county roads.

Some days I see just wildlife, some days many town locals wave as they pass me in their cars. Today was just the hum of the local farmer’s tractor off in the distance, the sounds of the birds, and my heavy breathing trying to fight the humidity.

As I passed the barn with that beautiful flag hung… I am quickly reminded of just how lucky and blessed I am.

I get to wake up and do what I love, on these back farm town roads that I love but not without what that flag represents… not without those men and women who bravely fought so I could be just this lucky.

This is my home… these are my roads… and today I am just a happy girl.

❤️🤍💙

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.

Sign up to hear from Suzanne via email here.