The climb in any journey is filled with uneven pavement, unexplored trails and pathways, and unexplained moments of both sorrow and joy.
I can’t stay stuck or complacent. I must wake each day hungry for change, thirsty to arrive at the doormat of peace, and eager to be a leader not a follower.
Seek to move mountains. Train to fulfill your greatest potential.
Do not settle for anything less than what brings you victory.
The summit of life reveals beauty and satisfaction… but it’s the climb that tells our tale of both resilience and determination. 🖤
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.
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“Suzanne… I want to transform my life, but what does it take?”
It takes raw transparency and admission. It takes sleepless nights, and self-evaluation. It takes brutal honesty, and a solid moral compass.
It takes sacrifice, selflessness, and sanity. It takes 4 a.m. wake ups, and sweat, and tears. It takes humbleness, and acceptance, and an openness to learn.
It takes less outings, and more sleep, less processed shit, and more whole foods. It takes pushing yourself, and pavement, and pride.
It takes simplicity, and serenity. It takes less ego and more higher power. It takes more giving and less receiving.
It takes willpower, and determination. It takes big dreams and ditching small-minded thinking. It takes love, and hope, faith, and trust.
Yeah… that’s what it takes… all of it.
Take it or leave it… but believe in you. Believe in what your soul yearns for, and believe with all of this… anything is possible.
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.
She whispered: “She’ll always be overweight and unhealthy.”
I whispered…
“Hello… remember me? My miles have become my guide, and gratitude has changed me forever.”
Seek what you dream about, and be a living story.
#tellyourtale #leavealegacy
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.
My past is a place where I visit from time to time, but I don’t stay long anymore. I don’t ask for an invitation to visit. I show up uninvited to remind it of just a few things.
My past told me I couldn’t become an athlete, because I was lazy… undetermined and unfocused. I ring the doorbell of my past, and when it opens the door… it now sees the face of grit, hard work, discipline, and eyes that see long into my dreams and goals.
My past told me I couldn’t overcome the bottle. That Jameson and Vodka would destroy me long before a pair of running shoes could.
I ring the doorbell and when my past answers, I say remember me? Now it sees the girl who hasn’t touched a drink in 5 years. Who put down the bottle to pick up her self-worth, and found self-love again.
My past told me I couldn’t make a difference: “You’ll never be an example, or a leader. You’ll never succeed.”
I ring the doorbell and when it opens the door… my past sees all of you. It sees your kind words and support. It sees us sharing all our achievements together.
My past asks me if I would like to sit and stay awhile… maybe get reacquainted. I politely decline. As I leave, I turn around and say:
“You thought you would break me. You thought you could keep me prisoner, hold me in the dark, never to be rescued.”
As I shut the door, the beautiful light shining down upon me pierces that dark place. The past quietly closes the door with nothing left to say.
Find your willingness to be better. Do not let people, places or things hold your happiness… they will drop it every time. Find your light and burn that bitch so bright, you light up the world 🌎✨⭐️.
Now let’s get this run done ✌️.
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.
Very recently I have received a lot of private messages. People want to know: how do I train? What is my diet? And where the heck do I get the drive to want to help so many people?
Although the physical grit is an absolute must, as is nutrition… training my mind is the MOST important thing I do. When our head is not in the game, the rest fall like dominos.
Do I stumble? Yes. Do I get off track? Yes. Am I a quitter? Hell no! Journaling is a huge part of my running success. It’s part of who I am.
Today Imma keep it real and share with you a letter I wrote to myself this morning as I’m putting it in the mental instead of physical work.
Dear Suzanne…
Today I release everything and everybody that no longer serves your quest for peace and health. I am sorry for the way I often treat you, and the way I let others treat you. I am so sorry that I allowed you to tolerate selfish people whose intentions were clearly not the best for you.
Today I promise to do my best to no longer look at you in the mirror and see flaws, or think you are overweight or imperfect, or not pretty enough, or not good enough.
Today I will love you for who you are: a loving wife, a kick-ass mom, a loyal friend, and one hell of an athlete.
Today WE need to do better at feeding your body and soul with what it needs… THE GOOD STUFF. By that I mean with love and plants, fruits, more veggies, and with good people with good vibes… who have only the BEST intentions for you.
Today I will try better to release you from the dizzying merry go round of societal crap. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, Suzanne… today you just need to re-up your contract with yourself. Today I reclaim it!!
Love,
Your BEST Self
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.
Today someone is waking up heartbroken thinking they will never love again.
Today someone will wake up hungover from the poison they put in their body, thinking recovery isn’t possible. Today someone will wake up at the hand of a narcissist feeling deflated and broken.
Today someone will wake up without a job as the aftermath of yesterday’s board meeting. Someone will battle anxiety and depression. Someone will closet eat. Someone will gamble. Someone will struggle with unfaithfulness or unfairness.
Today is also the day someone will hear the birds for the first time in a while. Today someone will draw the shades open and let the light in after decades. Today someone will feel hope and comfort. Today someone will be cured of an insidious disease.
Today someone will stop and pick a wildflower. Today someone will feel the warmth of the sun.
We are not stuck. We are not hopeless. We need not be afraid. We are warriors. Tuesdays are for morning runs, and coffee shops. For telling a friend you love them and for appreciating that even when the wildflowers think no one sees their beauty… I do💛.
“I hope you are blessed with a heart like a wildflower. Strong enough to rise again after being trampled on, tough enough to weather even the worst of the summer storms, and able to grow and flourish even in the most broken places.” ~ ng
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“Why do you do it?” I get asked frequently by many… “How do you find inner motivation? How can you wake up and find time?”
For me, the answer is simple. Not ever going back to a place of discontentment.
Why should we settle? Why should we continue to let people, places and things carve out the person we are? Our circumstances may be crappy, or seem minute. Our pasts may seem daunting, unjust, or just average.
If you want to be a force of nature… then wake up and do the work. Let the lessons of life guide you. Take small steps to release your crap, and say yes to challenge and change.
You are responsible for you. The haters will hate, the naysayers will vomit venom, the critics will judge. Get in your tunnel and light it up… let the world see what can you can do.
You don’t have to be the best, or the fastest. You just have to be consistent. I promise you, someone is watching you. Teach them something worth learning🖤.
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So many of us stay on a path lit with false promise, poisonous venom, and a plan to keep us on a road to destroying what we were all born to have… peace and stillness.
I will continue to share my story and be a vessel carrying Hope. We do not have to stay stuck. We choose it.
We do not have to stay lost. We choose it.
We do not have to let toxic people, places or things dictate who we are… we allow them to.
Release the voices that are trying to crush your spirit. Let go of what whatever is telling you victory is not possible.
Be kind today. Be patient with yourself. Drink some water. Peer out into the unknown… and find your way home.
“I once was lost… but now I’m found.”
Get up and get after it today. Draw the shades back, let the light in… and let’s say yes to life today!!
