Motivation Monday – When Motivation is Zero

I know it’s supposed to be “Motivation Monday”, but truth be told, my motivation lately has been at an all time low.  Less than zero, to be exact.  In my last post, I mentioned life had thrown me a curve ball and I wasn’t going to let it get me down.  Well, I guess I lied.  But, I will at least own up to it.

I recently had found out that the home I was renting was being sold and I would have to find a new place for myself and my son to live.  We had lived in that home since my divorce.  It had taken me in at my darkest of times and was the only home that my son had ever known with me.  It was the one constant in our lives.

It was definitely something that I was not prepared for.  In the first moments, I was filled with fear, stress and overwhelming panic.  I had become so comfortable in our neighborhood.  We had a great friends, a great school, we didn’t want to leave any of it.

By a stroke of sheer luck, I was able to find another home in the same school district and somewhat bigger than the place we currently had. It all seemed great, except for the fact that it wasn’t in my son’s eyes.  He didn’t want to leave, he didn’t want the change.  As a Mother, my heart was breaking but I had to put on the brave face for him.

I knew at this point, my focus needed to be on showing him this was going to be a good thing for us;  a bigger place, walking distance to his school, closer to many of his friends.  At the beginning, he wasn’t convinced.  He didn’t even want to look at the place at the beginning.  I knew I had to change his mind and make this move as quick and painless as possible.

Luckily, from the time of finding out we were moving to the actual time of moving was less than a month.  Sure it mean absolute chaos for me to get everything packed up and ready to go, but less disruption and chaos overall.

Fast forward several weeks, and now I have moved into my new place.  It’s only been a few days and we are still surrounded by boxes and mess but it is ours.  My son is happy and adjusted well.  My heart is happy.  My motivation levels however, zero…..big, fat zero.

During the past few weeks, my focus has been packing, organizing, moving.  Nothing and nothing else.   I have let everything else fall the wayside.   Don’t get me wrong, it has been weighing strongly on my mind, but I have done nothing about it.  And now, when I need to get back to focusing on those things I have been neglecting, I am truly struggling to find the motivation to do anything about it.  I know that I have not been going to the gym and have been eating terribly and I feel it….really feel it.  And that is probably a contributing factor to my lack of motivation.  I feel yucky and just want to lay on the couch and continue to eat terribly.

So what do I do about it?  When the motivation level is less than zero, what can I do to change this?  I know I need to put one foot in front of the other and move forward.  Stop taking steps backwards.  I can write these words but they are just words.  How can I put these words into to actual actions?

I guess it really is just one step at a time.  One foot in front of the other.  I need to stop wallowing and get up and make things happen.  Getting my gym clothes out is the first step, then I need to actually put them on and go to the gym.   I know I have said it before, and I will say it again….I can do this!

Advertisement

To all the single ladies on Valentine’s Day

As I said in my post last year, to me Valentine’s is not about being in a relationship or whether you are single.  To me it’s about celebrating the ones you love.  But once again, as it is every year, we are being suffocated with advertisement after advertisement, post after post, photo after photo that try to enforce the message that being single on Valentine’s Day makes you somewhat unworthy!

There is constant scrutiny on the fashion and fitness industries for creating the wrong message to young women about body image.  Are Valentine’s advertisers not creating the same sort of message to young girls as well?  The message that if you are not in a happy, committed relationship that allows you to be showered with flowers, jewelry, card or any sort of gifts then perhaps there is something wrong.  I thought we were supposed to be teaching the young women is this world that it’s okay to be a strong, independent woman.

I am not trying to sound like an old, bitter, single woman.  That is not my intent at all.  But I would be a bold face liar if I didn’t admit that when the onslaught of media being rubbed in my face day after day for the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day doesn’t get to me once in a while.  Are there days that I would like to have someone to come home to, absolutely.  Does it make a lesser of a woman that I don’t, absolutely not!

Well, regardless if my two cents mean anything to anyone or not, this is my message to all the single ladies out there.  You are worthy!  You are out there, doing it on your own and doing a damn good job.  Sure having someone to share the good and bad times with is nice to have, but it doesn’t make you any less of a woman if you don’t.

So today if you are feeling the pressures of Valentine’s Day, remember I have your back!  And today I will remind myself of the great word of Stuart Smalley “I’m good enough. I’m smart enough. And doggone it, people like me.”

Easy Crafting with the Cricut Explore Air

I have to admit when I first got my Cricut Explore Air, my mind swirled with the possibilities of what I could make with it.  However, when I got home and was ready to start crafting, I felt like I hit a road block.  I think I was more overwhelmed than anything else.  There were so many possibilities, I  didn’t know where to start.  I decided the best place to start was with the experts themselves and headed to the Cricut website.

Cricut has an amazing program called Cricut Design Space.  This is the program you use  to design your crafts and subsequently cut the piece.  Design Space has all kinds of fonts, images, etc to help you with your project.  It also has an area with already designed projects that you can make for yourself.  The Design Space program is currently available for use on your computer and also has an iOs version.

For this particular project I knew I wanted to do something Valentine’s Day related.  I was coming up empty on what exactly I wanted to do, so I head to the Valentine’s Section in Design Space to see what projects they had readily available and considering I was leaving this almost the last minute, I needed something quick and easy too.

Luckily, I was able to find some very cute coloring Valentine’s cards that would be perfect for my son.  Being 8, he’s at that age that he doesn’t want anything so mushy or “girly” as he describes it.  The great thing about using one of there pre-designed crafts, is everything is laid out for you in easy steps that you just have to follow along.

I made sure I had all of the supplies that they required and I was ready to go. If you aren’t really crafty or are short on time and want to come up with something that will wow people, this is definitely the way to go.

One of the neat features on the Cricut Explore Air, not only does it cut projects, it can also draw them as well.  With your Cricut pens loaded into the machine it was able to draw the coloring picture on the card and cut it out all at once.  You do have to change the pen for each different color in the drawing but it so neat to watch the project come to life.

Before I knew it, my Valentine’s cards had been drawn, cut and were ready for my son to sign his name and insert the crayons so they can color. The end product is super cute and I can imagine his friends will be impressed.  It was so easy and having it already available for me to use when I didn’t have a clue of what I was going to make.

However, for my next project I want to design and make something without the help of the Cricut Design Space projects.  I am moving in a few weeks and want to make something for my new space that really challenges my creativity.  Anyone have any suggestions?  I would love to hear them!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.

 

Motivation Monday – When Life Throws a Curve Ball

Ever feel like you might just finally have all your ducks in a row and then life throws you a curve ball right out of left field? One that you never saw coming? How do you deal with it? Do you let it get the best of you or do you stand up, be strong and keep moving forward?

Sure, everyone is allowed to have a moment to wallow, pout or scream and shout but in the end most situations aren’t the end of the world and you need to rise up and face it head on.  If I didn’t, what would that be teaching my child?  Giving up at every curve in the road isn’t going to get you far in life.

But there is strength in numbers.  When life takes an unexpected turn, turn to those that you can depend on; your family and friends.  You don’t need to go through it alone.  I know I am the worst at asking for help, but I have never been disappointed when I have.  Whether it is kind words, a helping hand or just a shoulder to cry on, they will be there for you.

But I think you also need take a look in the mirror and dig deep into your inner strength.  You will probably shock yourself.  I know that in the past years when life has thrown me a curve ball or 2, now being a parent, I had no choice but to dig deep and be strong not only for myself but for myself.  Never doubt yourself, you’d be surprised how strong you can be.

I have also started to use theory in my weight loss journey.  Life isn’t always going to go the way you want it.  You’re going to have situations out of your control and you need to dig deep and push through.  I can’t give up and go back to where I was.  I need to move forward.  It won’t be easy, it will be hard.  There will be bad days. but in order to become the best version of me, I have to take that curve ball and throw it back in its face.