I just have to use up what I have. I already paid for this. I deserve it, I’ve had a bad day. This food will comfort my soul. I only live once. I can’t live life without it… and the list goes on…
All the beautifully packaged and tied-with-a-bow excuses we allow our minds to use as a playground.
I had every excuse in the book to justify why I guzzled booze on the daily, and abused my body with toxic crap. I was “justified” or so I thought.
I fed my fear with sugar, and my low self worth with whiskey. I believed in nothing, I had zero self esteem, and darkness covered me like a weighted blanket. I refused to speak about the elephant in the room, and I almost let the lies become the truth.
The power is inside you. Only you have control over what you will continue to tolerate, and what you will change for a better life. Why would we wait? Grace is new every morning.
To excuse, or not to excuse? That is the question.
She is a balance of raw strength and sudden weakness. She is a blend of deep seriousness, and a soft silliness.
She’s a space of deep darkness, yet with a light that draws others near.
As we gather within ourselves and prepare for another year, it’s time to release… time to purge. It’s time to clean out our closets of emotional clutter, and make room for nothing less that what heals us… what makes us well, and what radiates joy.
We all have “the things”… the imperfect relationships, the memory that holds us captive, the looking in the mirror sideways 100 times praying for just one day of actually liking ourselves.
We all pray silently for change. We dislike the cards dealt to us, but we continue to let others play our hand.
Look out into the unknown. See all the beautiful things that surround you. Release it there. Toss it away, and breathe new life into your purpose.
Emotional freedom is not free. It cost everything you have been through, everything both tragic, and lovely… but you are not required to re-up its subscription.
The greatest measure of courage is to release the past… forgive the poisonous people who do not expect it, and cultivate the new place where your beauty, your sense of freedom, and your dear life are claiming their power. Their strongholds have worn out their welcome… it’s you-time.
Onward, Loves…
Copyright Suzanne Swanson and Run Before You Fly. All rights reserved worldwide.
Wanted to share a kind testimonial submitted by one of our participants:
“…This is very well put together. I appreciate the effort Dina and Suzanne are putting into this and so very glad I signed up.
Day 2 was really good for me and I felt I was really able to express myself. I look forward to the days ahead. Happy journaling to those that are doing so!”
-Melinda Sparks Ardoin
Holidays are busy for everyone. We hope that for the days leading up to Christmas you are able to bring it all together, and really engage in and enjoy the most precious parts.
Our journaling challenge can help you relax into the spirit of the season and there is no pressure, obligation or judgment.
The Gray Area… is the place between black and white. It’s the place where truths are discovered, hurts are healed, tears are wiped, and love wins.
It’s the place that tore me apart, made me whole, begged me to stop and forced me to go.
It’s the place where hatred was laid to rest, forgiveness was born. Where the glistening of the pavement, and the sounds of my feet hitting it… set me free.
It’s the place where dreams are made, wishes come true, and miracles do exist.
Yes… I love color. I love all things beautiful and bright… but may we never forget the simplistic value of what we learn in between the black and white.
So you get up today and you say to yourself… ah S*#%, it’s just another Tuesday. You think about all the crap you did or didn’t do right yesterday. You punish yourself for the failed efforts of both personal and professional goals.
You let the television, the false promises of society, and the stigmas that have been branded into us for years take the lead role in your play of life.
I didn’t want to face reality. I didn’t want to stop guzzling whisky, I didn’t want to eat kale and superfoods. I wanted pity… I wanted comfort food, and I wanted to hide in my deep dark abyss of self loathing.
Get up… get dressed…. and get out of your own way. It’s not “just another Tuesday.”
Today can be the day of renewal, of starting over if you must, of making a list of crap you’re not tolerating and sticking to it.
Today is a day of uprooting all the nonsense, of reaching out for help, and finally putting you first.
Take special care today to forgive yourself. Know you are given grace each morning, and that small steps of determination will always win over large leaps of fear and uncertainty.
“Beautiful girl, you can do hard things.”
You’re damn right I can…#RUNBEFOREYOUFLY
#tuesdays #yesyouabsolutelycan
Journaling Course is Here!
Heads up for those interested in journaling for self-therapy, setting positive goals and welcoming an attitude of gratitude to ease stress and improve health overall.
We have a Peaceful Holiday Season journaling challenge all packed up and ready to deliver to you via email.
We’d love to have you on board for our illuminating writing discovery series.
Today I want to share a simple thought of transformation. Often times we transform our bodies, which is hands-down important. However, I sometimes forget how crucial it is to continue to transform my mind.
I spent time today reflecting on how much our world has changed, how much I have changed.
I pondered what I will no longer continue to tolerate, what I will continue to let go of, and what I will continue to welcome in.
Disappointments arrive at our door daily. Goals we set seem just an inch’s length away… until the next roadblock occurs.
If we let these things dictate our progress and determine our happiness…we are already set up for failure.
I didn’t get sober by accident. I worked for it. I didn’t lose weight by accident… I fought every damn day of my life for it.
l didn’t wish for my beliefs… morals… and values to improve. I chose it, I suffered for it, I learned from it.
I stumble every day over something. I question it… I swear about it… I dislike it.
But I know when the day ends and the night falls… the transformation continues.
My path is lit with hope, faith, dreams, and goals as wide as my paper will allow me to write them. No one person, place or thing is going to force me to see it differently.
Stay your course… and know it’s your journey… it’s your pen… and you have something very valuable to teach others.
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!
To be a front runner in our personal lives requires us to lead with an open heart, display a willingness to be consistent, and have the courage to face our monsters hiding in the closet.
As I reflect back on the slideshow of my life, often times it seems surreal. The moments when I retrace and pace the steps of how I got to this place, in this very moment, seem translucent.
My years of active addiction and being overweight ingrained feelings of shame, driving the markers of failure deeper. I denied my inner cry for help.
For years I tried to hide the whiskey on my breath. I wept in silence, I gulped processed food in silence… and I hated myself out loud.
I don’t know what you’re facing today… but I do know this. Perhaps today is the day you must descend down in order to rise up to a better tomorrow.
Sit or lie with whatever it is, until you have comfortably declared that it will no longer control you. And remember: just as the autumn leaves must fall to face their destiny… even on the ground, their beauty is magnificent.
Today does not have to be radical nor does it have to be complicated. We are all worthy of moving at our own pace. Today is about understanding that as we grow inward and in faith, it gets harder to fake what we won’t be.
Make an advanced choice to put your truth in front of your impression.
We start slow. We start by admittance. Ask yourself… what do I need to face today? Maybe it’s been hidden for years, or maybe the prints are still fresh.
Move through today with grace and strength. Life is waiting for you.
Victories come in all ways that are unique to our goals and our personal achievements. It doesn’t always have to be about the time on the watch, the number on a scale, or what page 37 of the magazine says it is…
This morning I watched the most incredible sunrise I almost have ever witnessed. The sky was lavender, mixed with reds, and oranges, and a stillness that is hard to put into words… to be alive, out of bed, for my eyes to see that is a victory.
I struggle with running in heat and humidity. This morning I ran up the same hills that often defeat me, with ease and a lightness I haven’t felt in a long time. That’s a victory.
Maybe getting out of bed today for you is a victory. Maybe smoking one less cigarette, drinking one less drink, eating one less cookie, those are all victories.
Speaking the truth in love is a victory. Being a little kinder… not tolerating other people’s crap… all victories. Saying yes to yourself and no to societal stigmas. VICTORY.
It doesn’t matter how small or immeasurable you think your progress is. Feel the joy of it all. Your victories are your guide. Use them… thank them, and be glad in them. They are all part of your story.
Go find a victory today. Amen. 🖤
#whataview #runningmotivation #imaluckygirl
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.
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.
