Month: February 2022

Fear

Fear

Everything you want in life is on the other side of fear.  To be able to accomplish those goals you will have to face those things that scare you or stand down and not accomplish them.  The choice is yours, every single time.

You may have also heard the saying that fear can either represent:

Forget Everything And Run

or

Face Everything And Rise

 

I understand fear, and the chance that I may not succeed. The fear of failure, or looking “stupid” trying and failing, is real. I hate NOT being able to do something that I set out to do and have really had to dig down deep to push through the fear of failing at it. Losing my leg has definitely made me face that fear every single day. It became a thrive and survive situation for me with no way out except through.  I have learned a lot about me, learned to control my emotions as I face fearful situations, and grace when I don’t succeed on the first try. I pick myself back up and try again, and again, and again, until I get it done, and done right.

The reality is that every day we all face something that can stop us in our tracks or push us to rise and conquer, and each day we have a choice on how we will handle the situations that confront us.  What will you choose? How will you handle the fears that challenge you?

I know that each of our stories is different, but fear is fear. What I have realized from overcoming amputation is that when I choose to push through the challenges and fears in my life, I am richly rewarded with success, which then helps me drive through the next situation.

This can be your story too! Don’t let fear take hold of you and dictate your life. Grab the bull by the horns and take charge. You only get this one life, you deserve to find happiness, live well, and be healthy.

 

I am still learning to function in my running blade. It isn’t easy and I have a lot of fear associated with it, as I often trip and fall hard. The past few days I have worn it into the gym and gotten on the treadmill and worked out in it. I have been pushing past the fear that people are watching and if I fall and get hurt, I would be mortified, and yet I continue to wear it and work through it, at my own pace. My stress levels are a bit higher than if I went into the gym with my normal leg, but I wouldn’t learn to rise from this fear and overcome it.  The only way to winning this war is straight through. I must have patience and grace with myself as I learn to function with this leg, so I will continue on this path until I don’t feel this way anymore.

 

Now it’s your turn:

Start now. What are you most fearful of right now in your life? Start small, if you must, fear is fear. Your goal this week is to face your fear head on and push through. You may get burned, you may stumble and fall-metaphorically or literally like in my case, but work at it. Each day spend time facing it, dealing with it, instead of pushing it aside for “another day”. This is the day to rise up and feel great about yourself. By completing something difficult or challenging yourself to something you fear you grow. You build character and come out a little stronger, and a little wiser, ready to take on the next roadblock that appears in your life.

Best of luck at kicking fear aside and rise from the situation this week. Attack and don’t give up. Have grace with yourself if you fall down, pick yourself up by the bootstraps, and go at it again, until you find success. You can do it, I have faith in you!

And as always:

Be Healthy,

Be Happy,

Be YOU!!!

 

Much love,

Angie

The look of facing fear and coming out on top! 💪
Hit the Pause Button

Hit the Pause Button

Now is the time. You deserve it and you probably need it, too.  It’s time to slow down, breathe, and enjoy your life.

If you can spare 5-10 minutes each day to stop what’s on your schedule, slow yourself down, and put aside your to-do list you can reap the benefits.  Set down your phone, eliminate distractions, and make time for YOU!

It’s not always easy to find the time, I get it, but start small and build on it.

I feel like I spend all day working on this thing or that.  I don’t slow down, and my list grows and grows on what needs to be done. I find myself always on the next step while doing the previous task, telling myself that if I get X, Y, Z done then I will sit down and rest for a moment…. but you know those times never come, right?  Can you relate?

What I HAVE figured out is that it takes time to work out the schedule that fits your life. I know people who have set their routines up and have told me to just do it “first thing in the morning”, like them. or at lunch break or right before bed, but the truth of the matter is, you need to figure out what works for you.

As a mom and wife, I have felt that even certain years in my life there was no time for me, and that’s unfortunate, because those moments when I was a new wife or a mommy to my babies, I probably needed “me” time more than ever. I guess that’s just part of the journey, better late than never.

I want you to know and learn to do this, spending time for yourself, earlier than I did, if you can. I want to help you make the most of your life, wherever you are at in it. There are so many benefits to slowing down and learning to breathe correctly, no matter how old you are, or what you are going through.

 

 

To my surprise this week, as I began taking my mornings to be still and outside in our Arizona sun, feeling the fresh air go deep in my lungs, quieting my thoughts, and shutting down my phone, my dogs let me know we had an unusual visitor.  A large mule deer, a buck, was laying out in our backyard. He, too, was enjoying our warm sun.  What a gift it was to watch him, photograph him and be present and enjoy his beauty.  Any other day, I would have missed him, and that got me thinking. What else have I missed?

Well, no more! I plan to make a moment in my day, each day, all about disconnecting with my regularly scheduled programming, to connect with nature, breathe, silence my mind, and listen to the sounds of the world…. even if only for 5-10 minutes a day.

How about you? What do you have to lose? I challenge you to give it a try and see what benefits you see in your day to day thinking, emotions, and health.

 

This week I want you to figure out what works for you, make time for yourself, where can you afford to take a 5-10 minute break.  I get it, it won’t be easy to find the time, but YOU A WORTH IT! Make it happen. Leave your phone off, stop all actions. Find a place where you won’t be tempted to do ANYTHING, a place, preferably outside.  Even if it’s still wintery cold where you live, poke your head or body outside for 5 minutes and breathe slow, dep breathes. Feel the air enter your lungs and clear your head.  If you struggle letting go of your thoughts then practice counting while you breathe in, hold, breathe out, hold.  Count to 10, slowly, as you breathe in.  Hold your breathe for 4 seconds then breathe out, slowly, as you count to ten again, then hold.

Do this for at least 5-10 minutes a day for the next week.  See what happens from it. How do you feel afterward? How productive are you this week because of that time you spent on yourself?

You might be surprised at the results, even if you are just a bit happier, isn’t your mental well-being worth it? I think it is, and so are you!

 

Give it a try and let me know how it’s going.

Have an amazing week,

And as always,

Be Healthy,

Be Happy,

Be YOU!!

 

Much love,

Angie