Category: Running Motivation

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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.

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Take More Detours

Take a detour? Why, Suzanne? Detours are longer, they are often not the road we intended. They are sometimes scary and leave us without knowledge of where we are going or where we will end up.

The detours of my own journey were and still are crucial to where I’m headed. I wasn’t prepared for the crash and burn of several of the circumstances that were delivered to me without permission, nor the ones I allowed to repeatedly and constantly cause me self-anguish.

Taking a detour is necessary. Get off the route that has not served you. Get off the route that has continually let you down, has sabotaged your efforts, and has hijacked your mind into believing that “you can’t” or “it doesn’t matter.”

It does matter… you matter… your health and wellness matters. What you think of yourself matters. What you dream and desire to achieve matters. Take a left turn, and travel down a road unfamiliar. Ponder what it is that is stopping you. Breathe in all that is wonderful, and exhale all the BS you didn’t invite.

Take a detour today, and trust that this quiet unfamiliar place… is a space meant just for you. Be inspired at what both its softness and hardness teach you. 

May your detour today be exactly what you need. Treat your body and your mind well today. Onward, Loves.


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About Suzanne

Suzanne Swanson makes it her personal mission to help people on the path to recovery. Her own struggles with alcohol and food have led her to a place of wanting to give back to the world. Need support around setting goals, and getting healthy in every aspect of your life? Sign up for our mailing list.

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The Day is as Good as We Make It.

The day is only as good as we make it. I woke up… did my collagen shooter, laced my sneakers, and now it’s time to breathe in some wellness, and exhale some toxicity.

Habits and routines are a critical part of my day. The quiet of the morning, the ink of the pen, the blank page of my notebook paper come first. It is here where I set my intentions for this day.

I let go of what I can’t control, I do my best to forgive my shortcomings, and I let the gentle strike of my felt tip pen ease me into my day.

Seek to create habits that start your day without disruption. Seek approval only from the depths of your longing soul… not the opinion of others. Strive to make the words on your paper a reality, not just empty promises.

My sneakers are part of my story. The answers, the solace, the discipline, and the gratitude they have taught me continue to not only amaze me, but keep me aligned with my purpose… and steady me when I stumble and sway.

Simplicity and contentment are often in the lost and found. We always crave, uproot, and hunt more… for bigger or better. Today, let joy be found in something simple. Find contentment in the ordinary. There is plenty of goodness for you and for me. Go find it.

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Instant Replay: The Run to Change Lives Interview

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.

#RUNBEFOREYOUFLY#runtochangelives

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It is Well with My Soul.

Good morning. Fuel your soul today with only things that march you further in your quest for better days and change. As you exit your door, take a stand on your life.

What are you sacrificing to get there? What toxic BS are you trashing? And who are you bringing? These choices for this day will all have a hand in carving out who you long to be.

  1. Good morning attitude ☑️
  2. Wellness journal to keep track ☑️
  3. Bottle full of water ☑️
  4. Smile☑️
  5. Is up to you…?☑️

Power up today. Grace is new. The page is turned. Yesterday is over. Tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. THE POWER OF NOW is right here. Put the pen in your hand and start writing your story. Run. Inspire. Fly. Amen.

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The Little Things.

The sun is out for the first time in what feels like an eternity. Although the air feels cold, the sky above mixes hints of lighter and deeper blues.

Today I am appreciating the little things. These are things I am so very guilty of taking for granted daily. The sun hitting my face today feels like a gift. Being free and able to move my body and breathe clean air into my lungs is a gift. Being in a body that fights for us, heals… and forgives is a gift.

Feeling the “real feels” of all aspects of life is sometimes exhausting, and without a doubt a “not so subtle” reminder that we are not in charge, not guaranteed, not entitled, but beyond privileged in our being. 

How we choose to respond… how we negotiate, and our perspective, will absolutely enhance or derail our progress.

The corners of my mouth will stay upward today. Today is a good day.

Writing as Self Therapy – Self Guided Journaling Challenges Coming Soon

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.

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Rebirth

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.”

Heal, restore, re-birth. Amen.

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Serendipity

It is true what they say… that in years to come, the dynamics of your home will change.

This morning, the house is eerily quiet. The kids are grown and out of the house, and as loved ones have passed on… the flood of golden memories flashes through my mind of “how it used to be.”

My heart was broken this morning as this was the first Christmas my beautiful Oreo boy wasn’t heading up the charge to see if Santa brought him his doggie bones… wagging his tail excitedly.

It’s a damp, foggy, drizzly, gray morning here in the Northeast. The kind of day you wish you didn’t have a circadian rhythm that has had you up since 4… but nevertheless, I rise.

So I head out to do the thing that I know will make me feel alive. I lace those sneakers, let the cold drizzle hit my face, and set out to leave it all on the pavement. The pavement who knows the interior of my heart so well, and always has the unspoken answers, or the subtle way of showing me… “it is well with my soul.”

At the top of the hill, I approach a sudden reflection of such beautiful color and shimmer so bright it almost blinds me. I stop for a moment of think of the mess swirled together. It’s a mixture of oils, waters, light beams and refraction… just like life. Even with our chaos, and change, with its messiness, and shortfalls, with our deep heartaches or branded memories, serendipity always shows up at the greatest moments of need to teach us magic, and joy still exist… even on a foggy, dismal day.

As I turn the corner to finish the last leg home, I hear the echo of my father’s favorite song… “and I think to myself… what a wonderful world.”

Merry Christmas to all my beautiful friends and family. Find the serendipity today. It always shows up when you need it most.

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Drink Down the Gratefulness

I know waking up and seeking joy on purpose isn’t always easy. Obstacles are thrown at you all day. Meteor showers of other people’s crap will rain down upon you and make you question if your path is right or crooked.

You will never have control over others’ opinions, ideas, or thoughts… the solution is to create your own. Do what works best for you. Seek out blessings, harvest joy and happiness, and work to become your greatest self.

The world wants you to compete. It wants you to swim in waters of fear. It wants to slowly inflict hate, and it wants you to carry burdens that have already been lifted from you.

Today… find joy in the simple. Find one thing that makes you smile. Do one kind thing today for someone, and above all wake up and be present for yourself.

Drink more water. Put something good in your body, and give thanks for what it carries you through.

It’s a beautiful, abnormally warm morning here in the Northeast. My legs move as I ask them to, my heart beats fast, and my lungs gracefully take me around all the turns and hills of these roads and my life. It’s simple today.

Wake up and pour yourself a cup of gratefulness. Drink it down and go!

#runningmotivation #runmorethanyourmouth #drinksomegratefulness


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Once Upon a Writer’s Dream…

Once a upon a time… this crazy girl from a little farm town had a dream. A dream of telling, sharing, and using her personal story to help others overcome their personal struggles and travel down a road to their own personal greatness.

She dreamed of using her words to describe and tell her tale of how alcohol nearly broke her, food addiction shamed her, and low self-worth almost crippled her into further darkness.

She found a love of running. She found joy. And she finally found a way to feel completely loved and open to endless possibilities.

As I type this my heart is full. The tears of happiness to see my blog name, and my Facebook support group that is filled with beautiful people come alive with my logo is unreal to me.

I am so grateful to my nephews, George Yurkovitch, and Jacob Scully. To George for putting my ideas to paper with his amazing artistic talent… and to Jacob for making it come to life with his graphic design talent.

This logo is deeply personal. It’s a beautiful reflection of how this girl crushed her demons, and ran through all the broken pieces to reach her destiny.

I am forever grateful for all of my friends and family who have supported my journey… dream your biggest dreams…don’t let this world tell you you can’t… and never forget: “YOU MUST RUN BEFORE YOU FLY.”

#thislogoisthebomb #RUNBEFOREYOUFLY