Challenge yourself

Sunday Lately: Week 54

- Mel

Blogger Tribe_Sunday LatelySunday Lately is a weekly linkup hosted by the Blogger Tribe (lead by Angelica, Meghan, Nicole, and Katy). Every Sunday morning, the Tribe shares a small glimpse into the last week. Every week, a new theme is release for all of us to post and share your link through one of the host’s post. I’m so happy that I found this amazing community of bloggers! All are welcome, so click through and join us in the Blogger Tribe Facebook group.

This week’s themes: Updating, Remembering, Needing, Wearing, Being.

30-something therapy sunday lately

Updating: I had to update my derby number for this upcoming season, which means new scrimmage tanks, armbands… but basically a new identity too. Having butt-hurt feelings about it, naturally, but not really much that I can do about it.

Remembering: Speaking of derby, I couldn’t remember how long ago I joined and thankful for Timehop to remind me. Five years ago, I was skating at my first Steel City boot camp, and I tried out for Fresh Meat a short time later, which means that I’ve been skating for almost 6 years (I started in a rec league in Ohio the year prior). CRAZY!

Needing: PROTEIN. Hard-boiling eggs, eating all the chicken (as much as I hate it), stocking up on protein bars. And I just received a great sample pack of protein powder (angel food cake flavor!!!) and flavor packs to try from Devotion Nutrition. I’m making this Fruity Hoops Protein Fluff first.

Wearing: These days, it feels as though I can’t get into all the fleece soon enough. Unfortunately, wanting to be all warm and cozy is making me LAZY AF.

Being: My first 30-day “challenge” was to acknowledge and attempt to redirect my behavior of complaining. Man, do I HATE being labeled as a complainer! My focus is to reduce the complaints and more be actionable about changing the situation. A lot of my complaining stems from a loss of independence, so these small behavioral changes will help me gain back a little of my take-charge attitude.

Have a good week!

30-day Challenges: on hiatus, but back for the new year

- Mel

It’s not too early to think about resolutions.

Yeah, life is not full of guarantees.
Yeah, life is not full of guarantees – money-back or otherwise.

To say the last year has been difficult is an understatement. As you know, I lost my grandfather in March, was told I had skin cancer in April (subsequent surgery in May), and then my grandmother passed in July. After grieving and vacationing and catching back up on life, I feel like I’ve spent the better part of the last six months… well, not feeling “better.” On the upside, I’m starting to feel like myself again. And feeling like I can handle a few 30-day challenges in the new year that were long-forgotten in 2013.

Promises Made, Promises Broken.

I started off the year with 30 days of NO ALCOHOL – my second year meeting the challenge; third-year attempt (I made it 28 days the first year). February was a lesson in waking up early; March, well, that’s when everything started to fail with my addiction to sweets. My 30-day yoga challenge for May was not possible because of my two-week healing (and no exercise) from MOHs surgery. For what it’s worth, I did NOT spend any money in June — that month’s intended challenge. (yay?) And I accepted a workout challenge in September (to replace giving up social media because… no) to start a fundamentals CrossFit program (not exercising every DAY, mind you, but starting the program AND going to all classes at 6am). Help.

A Year of Promises – 2013
January: 30 days of no alcohol.
February: 30 days of WAKING UP BEFORE 8am.
March: 30 days of no sweets
April: 30 days of “something new”
May: 30 days of yoga
June: 30 days spending freeze
July: 30 days of NO PANTS (dresses and skirts only; save for working out)
August: 30 days of volunteering
September: 30 days without social media
October: 30 days of dates!
November: 30 days of blog posts
December: 30 days of relaxing

Once you get off the ride, it’s hard to get back on.

Anyways, my 30-day challenges took a back seat to life, and I’m ready to go again January 1 with my annual no-alcohol challenge. But I’m also considering coordinating with a total Paleo month as well (I mean, since there’s no alcohol allowed anyway). But oh, THE CHEESE. I don’t know if I’ll keep the same list, but I’ll spend the next month figuring out how to plan the next year.

December, relaxing? Pssh.

What 30-day challenge ideas do you have — or do you complete — as part of your New Year’s goals or resolutions?

Image credit: from Stuart Miles via FreeDigitalPhotos.

oh nothing, just finished the tough mudder

- Mel

Mel_ToughMudder2013

What is the Tough Mudder? Well, it’s a lot of freaking mud. Ten miles of it. Of course that’s why we called ourselves Team F*cking Mud! It’s not really a race, but a challenge — both physically and mentally. If you look up any of the obstacles and videos, you’ll know why. These things test every fear.
Team_ToughMudder

There was a little of this:
MudTunnel_ToughMudder

A lot of this:
MelMud_ToughMudder

And some of this:
MelElectric_ToughMudder

THOSE ARE ELECTRIC WIRES AND I’M IN WATERY MUD. Yeah, that was the one obstacle that I almost walked away from. I’m so proud that I finished it.

MelShannon_ToughMudder

And this girl — one of my oldest friendships. We’ve known one another since elementary school, and she’s the tough cookie behind why I do stuff like this in the first place.

MelMile10_ToughMudder

I dove under barbed wire, crawled on my elbows through mud (under said barbed wire), jumped in ice cold freezing water (seriously, my heart stopped), jumped off a 15-foot plank, got electrocuted, jumped over fire, climbed through tunnels, pulled myself over walls, ran up a greased-up halfpipe… ran/climbed/swam/trudged through more miles of mud than I could even keep track.

My team finished in around 5 hours (whew). It was really fun to train for and accomplish an endurance-type event. I’m kind of still in shock that TM is already over AND that I actually finished that course and got my orange headband! And I think I might actually be back on a runners kick.

OrangeHeadbandsBeer_ToughMudder

30 Days, 30 Posts Challenge: COMPLETE!

- Mel

And here is December! Whew. I did it! I published 30 posts in 30 days. Even with a vacation and a road trip under my belt for November! Yes, I subsequently took a couple days soon after the 11/30 deadline.

What I hoped to achieve:
Find this blog’s direction and purpose. Find other bloggers (especially other therapists or counselors, or wannabes, in their 30s) in my niche. Find if the topics I wrote about — or were interested in — would resonate with 30-something Readers.

What I learned:
I was devoted. I was determined to finish. I even made some new online friends. When put to task and under stress and the all-too-ubiquitous “I’m busy,” I had something to prove — to you or to me?! Isn’t that kind of statement always some kind of unnecessary pressure to ourselves to complete goals?

Well, because of all that, I have a new passion: to share my personal experiences and lifestyle as a 30-something woman to evoke a reaction, a response — heck, a follow-ship! And thank you for reading along.

Going forward:
More guest posts like this. More pictures. Regularly-scheduled themed posts like this. And this. MORE 30-something awesomeness. Definitely more shoes.

Did you participate in either Nanowrimo or the 30 Days of Posts challenges? Leave your blog link in the comments!

30s Life List: 52 Books in 52 Weeks

- Mel

Do you have a Life List or Bucket List?

I have a few items on mine.

One, is a goal to get back to reading. I love reading — or, at least I did at one point in my life — but I haven’t made the time to do so. In fact, I spend WAY too much time mindlessly trolling the internet instead. This, a shutdown mode of my multi-tasking brain in overdrive, which doesn’t allow me to watch a television show or movie OR sleep like a normal person. Ultimately, with my intent to return to school next Fall, I need to get my brain in shape.

Goal setting promotes motivation and focus. By setting clearly-defined goals, you can take pride in the achievement of tasks that initially may seem lengthy or impossible. As you progress through the steps of “goal work,” you embrace challenges and overcome obstacles, ultimately succeeding at something that makes you very happy.

I attempted the 52 books challenge last year, but derby responsibilities got in the way. I need to make time to unwind though even from that, and reading helps me do that. By this time next year, I want to have 52 books — of all topics, lengths and genres — completed.

I’ll be keeping a weekly log here (I also created a Google Doc) to help me track. I’ve completed my first book since Thanksgiving week (via Kindle), and halfway into my second (checked out from the local library). I read two books at one time; it’s weird, but I’m always getting ready to finish one while I’m already started into another. Remember that aforementioned multitasking brain? It’s a blessing and a curse. I like the convenience of bringing my Kindle everywhere, yet still enjoy the page turning of real books (book stacks and shelves make me happy). I can love and appreciate both.

Week 1, Book 1:
1. “My Mother Was Nuts” by Penny Marshall

I’m also in the middle of “Nixon’s Darkest Secrets” and starting Kelly Cultrone’s “If You Have to Cry, Go Outside” (should be a quick-and-easy read) and have two others that go back to the library next week on my “to finish” list. And another two just received from Amazon (I suppose these two from Malcolm Gladwell could wait a bit though).

Ambitious? There’s no other way.

51 books left to go!

More about Goals from a Psych perspective: The Paradox of Goal Setting from Psychology World — takeaway: don’t fear failure, and do your best without focusing on the results.

Please recommend a good book in the comments!