Category: Writing as Self Therapy

Posted on

Talk to Your Heart.

Something on my heart today is… you. The messages just this morning alone I have received… they come flooding in with words like “Help, I can’t, I’m drowning, I’m trying, I’m lost, I’m lonely, I’m fat, I’m done, this scares me”… the list goes on.

The darkness of each of us is real. Goals we don’t meet. Disappointing news at our door daily, failed diets, health problems, divorces, addictions, all the profound uncertainties that we know we can’t control… yet each day we give them an open invitation to burrow inside us…striking that all too familiar feeling of unrest and discord.

Waking up and doing something is victory. Drinking one less drink, smoking one less cigarette, moving your body two more inches than you did yesterday is victory.

Saying no is victory. Saying yes is victory. Trying to outrun all that weighs you down will tire you, and eat away at the goodness of your core.

Sit with whatever it is… let the tears sting, and the saltwater cleanse… move toward grace and possibility with ease rather than breathlessness.

Talk to your heart. Find out what it needs. When life saddens me, or pushes me into heightened awareness… the Scorpio in me wants to fight… the empath in me wants to cry… but the soul in me wants to run. My answers are always in the asphalt, and the open road.

Find where your answers come from. Let it in… hold it tight… and know that your words are not lost on a message board, they are not unread… they are here.

I hear you. I see you. I believe in you. Now let’s get going… there’s work to be done.

Posted on

“New Year, New You”

Sleepless nights. Tossing and turning. Hating my choices. Angry at where life “put me.” Feelings of low self esteem. Daily wars with my inner self. HATE. EAT. DRINK. REPEAT.

That was my life for years, only I did it in silence so I could isolate myself from penetrating words, good people, and the truth.

It wasn’t until the long distance sport of running taught me to be tougher than my demons. It taught me patience, and endurance. 

It taught me humbleness, and mercy. It taught me that a little daily discipline, coupled with passion, and a good diet could be the answer to unlocking the door and leaving my living hell, and a hell I chose to stay in far too long.

We all hear the same crap. “It’s a New Year, New You”… “Start tomorrow, today is over.” “I’m going to do it… just not today.” 

I’m here to tell you: today counts. This minute counts. You don’t need a new month, or new turn of the numbers to give you permission to become your greatest self. Our addictions, the errors of our ways, and our poor choices can only thrive if we allow them to.

Be done with your own crap. Take the good advice you give others but never follow yourself. Make YOU a priority, don’t over complicate it. Eat a vegetable, drink more water, and let your story tell itself.

Somewhere today someone is watching you. Be a good teacher, and be a kind human. That. Is. All.

Posted on

No. More. Excuses.

“I’ll start tomorrow.”

“I’ll do it in the New Year.”

“Next month, I’m taking control.”

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.

#RUNBEFOREYOUFLY #nomoreexcuses2021 #takeyourpowerback

Posted on

Let it Go.

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.

Join Us for the Peaceful Holidays Journaling Challenge

We love to write, and are pleased to bring you this simple, peaceful journaling challenge.

Thank you to those who have joined us for the Journal Your Way to a Peaceful Holiday Season 6-Day Writing Challenge!

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.

Learn more and sign up here

Merry almost Christmas!
🤶🎄🎅♥️⛄🦌

Suzanne and Dina of Run Before You Fly

Posted on

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


Need More Peace? Write Your Way to Christmas Calm. The Holidays can feel like you’re going non-stop. But the introvert in you is screaming… no, actually whispering politely, hoping to be heard.

Journal Your Way to a Peaceful Holiday Season with Our Simple, Emailed 6-Day Writing Course

Give Your Stressed Self the Gift of Comfort and Joy this Christmas Season.
One journaling exercise a day for 6 days.

No pressure. Course arrives by email. Try it on your own time… or hold it and settle in with some writing after the holidays!

Just write, think, breathe easy and enjoy.

Learn more and order the 6-day All is Calm journaling challenge here

Loved this message? Please share the Run Before You Fly blog with a friend. You can also welcome them to hear from us via email from this page.

Posted on

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

Posted on

Steady as she Goes.

Something about the wind comforts me. Not too much wind, or too cold wind, but a gentle wind that takes me to a place of peace.

As I stepped outside today, the wind greeted me. There was a familiar yet unfamiliar smell that takes me back to a place of nostalgia. It reminded me that I’m alive to feel all the things… the good, the bad, the comfortable, the uncomfortable.

The wind allows me to sway, it moves me with force… yet it eases up just enough until I gain my footing again and can continue to move.

We will always loose our footing. We get unsteady, we swerve, we stumble across places that both unearth feelings of deep questioning, yet serve our souls to accept grace and become better people.

Move about, sway from time to time, force yourself into those places of pondering. Realize just how miraculous this life is. Accept what your challenges are, and be determined that no matter what… when we practice, smile, and persist… we will find our balance.

Steady as she goes. Amen.

Posted on

Transient Thursday

She took a trip deep inside her. She didn’t pack much for this day trip. She wasn’t staying long… her past asked her to sit, pull up a chair, and stay awhile.

She smiled softly with an all knowing that the overthinkers, the overwhelmers, the doubters, all the cunning games of her mind would soon enter the room for a visit too.

She allowed them all to sit and one by one she gave them an opportunity to pitch their deal of opportunity to her… if she chose to stay.

As she got up to leave they spoke quickly and desperately, asking why she was leaving so soon.

“I’m a transient guest today,” she answered.

“I respect what you have taught me. I acknowledge the things I cannot change, and I will never give up and allow you to hijack the contentedness that I cultivated from the cracks of light that you barely let in.”

My past is impermanent, my presence is joy, and my future is whatever I want it to be… and so is yours.

Know that the places we must visit from time to time are necessary. That sometimes to “become” we must “unbecome” first. That the dark places deep within us are often softer, and kinder than we think.

The greatest of your strengths are often built from the aftermath. Settle for nothing less than what brings you warmth, brilliance, and passion.

“Shut the door on your way out,” the past screamed… and with her eyes she spoke:

“Think twice about inviting me next time… good day.”

Stay in Touch with Suzanne

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

With a Pen in Her Hand

…she is free.

Rest days come in all forms. On the days I know my legs need a break, I take the time to truly focus on how my mind is doing.

Writing is my release. It cleanses me. It is here on a small space between two lines that I can share my personal reflections, say goodbye to the crap that believes it’s still in control, and draw in some perspective.

It is here where I can release all the thoughts that are crowding precious space for new ideas, gentle guidance, or joy to enter.

It is here where I can visualize on paper what I have accomplished with my sneakers, what I have set free from my heart… and sketch my nutritional game plan for the week.

The investigation into our whys becomes the base layer for change. Put ink on paper, feel the pen in your hand, and make a contract with yourself to live better.

Words are powerful, tough, and have tremendous meaning when you take the time to read them… simplify your life… prioritize what helps… and may the pen and paper be exactly the rest you need.

Keep an eye out for “Journal Your Way to a Peaceful Holiday Season.” A mini course Dina and I will be offering to my Run Before You Fly members! Details coming soon!

#RUNBEFOREYOUFLY #withapeninherhandsheisfree

Journaling courses are here!

Interested in creative writing therapy as a way to heal from trauma or initiate self growth? Check out our latest emailed journaling course.

Sign up for our list to be notified of when our next, affordably priced journaling challenge will launch.

Posted on

Crossing the Threshold.

At today’s dawn I am awakened with the usual background noise of my head. That old voice starts placing doubt, emanating false scenarios, doing its best to convince me that my symphony of renewal and joy is not possible.

To acknowledge and cross a new threshold is always a challenge. The beauty of our being insists on taking its time. Nothing is rushed, and change only arrives when we abruptly shut the door to our pain, our limitations, and old patterns of behavior.

Receive your threshold as an invitation that whatever comes to you today in great amounts or minimal affirmations is meant to be yours.

Life always remains faithful to us even when grace is invisible. Hope is silent, and glory seems miles away.

Go out and do good today, meet your threshold, and may you feel that you have a great belonging.