As I sit here in my chair writing this post, I can’t help but think about how very thankful I am. You see, I live 30 miles from where multiple EF-3 & EF-4 tornados touched down Saturday night. Multiple deaths have been reported, with many more injuries. Hundreds of others are looking for shelter and a way to rebuild their lives and homes. This happened the day after Christmas! Earlier in the day the temperatures reached 80*, with high winds and high humidity. Now it is cold (39*), windy, and rainy. Yes, north Texas is having some bizarro-world weather.
I am inside my nice warm apartment, under a blanket looking around at all the blessings I have. Sure, I didn’t get all that I wanted for Christmas. My husband and son are beginning to be a bit annoying because we have all been cooped up together for so long, with no regular routine. I’m sad that my older son didn’t get to come home on leave from the Marines.
But, the reality is I have all that I need. I have my family; both immediate and extended. I have a home that is comfortable. I have my friends. I have my health. I have plenty of clothes and shoes. I have plenty of food. My son could be in some foreign land, but he isn’t. He’s safe in the USA. I’m starting to look at things from a totally different perspective: one of thankfulness and gratitude for all that I do have. Not everyone around me has these things. Several of my friends have experienced terrible tragedies this year and I wonder how they get up in the morning, but they do and their example reminds me that I have things pretty darn good!
Determined was my word for 2015 because I was determined to keep going, to not go down without a fight. Determined to keep putting one foot in front of the other, to make positive changes in my life. I am sitting here at the end of 2015 having not achieved most of the goals I wanted to at the beginning of the year, because of stress in my life, but I did make some changes. I am now eating exclusively gluten free and it has helped me tremendously in the way I feel on a day to day basis. I have cut soda from my diet and don’t feel the need to have it. I have been making continual progress in my eating habits, although I have a lot of progress to make in the new year. I have walked another city for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day to help put an end to breast cancer. I have also signed up to walk for the 6th year in a row, because I believe it is something that will make a difference in the world. I will be walking in Michigan this year, in honor of a friend’s aunt who recently passed away from a very long battle with breast cancer.
There are some things I want to change for 2016 and I think they all start with being thankful. Thankfulness and gratitude will change my whole perspective in my day to day life. The first change I am going to make in 2016 is to follow the Whole30 plan again. It made a huge difference in the way I ate and saw food last year, when I followed it before, I was thankful someone else had put together a plan that I knew will work for me.
My initial goal is to follow Whole30 for a minimum of 30 days and quiet possibly for 100 days. I am committed to reaching my weight loss and fitness goals this year and I believe this is the way to make it happen. I think it will help me break the sugar habit and help me determine the foods that are really hurting my body (like I found that gluten was hurting me).
My word of the year for 2016 is going to be “THANKFUL”. Regardless of what is going on in my life, I have much to be thankful for. In all areas of my life there is something to be thankful for and sometimes I just need to be reminded. Sometimes I might have to dig a little deeper to find it, but I will always find it, when I look.
Do you have a word of the year? Why is it important to choose a word to focus on for the entire year? For me, it’s like a touchstone. I can regularly reflect on the word to see if I’m living my year the way I intended.
Now is the time to put together a plan and figure out how you are going to achieve your goals and your word! We have lots of ways to help you reach your goals! Check out what we have going on in January!!
xoxoxo,
Ann