I really enjoyed writing last week’s blog post! If you didn’t know, I have both a bachelor’s and master’s in psychology. I couldn’t possibly be more passionate about health and wellness, including mental health, personality and understanding yourself. I can’t believe it is already August. A new month to me, always feels like reaching a new chapter in a book. I feel excited about what is to come, and always spend time in reflection. I really enjoy thinking through monthly goals. On my Saturday morning run, this statement came to mind.
“If we aren’t working toward something, we aren’t working toward anything”
How true is that? When I think about monthly goals, I like to choose what comes to me first. I want monthly goals to be attainable and relevant to what is going on in my life during that time. That is why I feel like for me, the most genuine monthly goals are ones that I don’t ponder on too much. When I sit down and think about a new month’s goals they are what come to mind first.
Running
My personal health journey started in 2013 when I was in college. I lost 50 pounds and through that discovered a passion for health and fitness. Although I had always wanted to do CrossFit, I didn’t start that until moving to Colorado. Back in college, I worked out at our amazing Student Recreation and Wellness Center at the University of Central Missouri and ran a lot of miles. I consistently ran 2 miles almost every single day, and even pushed that to 3 or 4 miles some days. I remember one day thinking that I could run more than 2 miles, so I ran 4. This was a time in my life where I really first started to break down the limited beliefs in myself, and ultimately push past them. Running is significant to me because of this.
I am now an avid CrossFitter, and am obsessed with every single aspect of it, but I never forget where my health journey began. I enjoy supplementing my CrossFit routine with yoga and running. I’ve noticed lately how much running helps me mentally. I process a lot of thoughts while running, and feel like I do some of my best creative thinking. New ideas for this blog have even come to mind from running. I’ve been saying for quite a while now, that I was going to begin running more and I still haven’t done it quite consistently as I would like to. So for August, I’m committing myself to running 2 miles a day. Let’s do it!
Reading
The YouVersion Bible App, has been a huge blessing to me. My preference for reading the bible, is The Message translation. I honestly call it the “Yo Yo Jesus” version-but really it is just broken down into simple language, easy to understand, easy to read, no excuses. Last year I was so happy to discover the YouVersion Bible App, which includes The Message translation, and a ton of Bible study plans. I’m currently reading a plan with my sister-in-law who is in upstate New York. My goal for August is to read from a plan every day, and read from the Bible every day. If Jesus is your jam, definitely check it out!
I’ve grown up loving to read, thanks to my wonderful parents-especially my mom who is a Title I Teacher. As a kid I always thought that reading was fun, and when my mom would bring me home new autographed children’s books from reading conferences, it was the best day ever. I’ve kept a list of all of the books I have read monthly since August 2018, and I always have yearly goals associated with how many books I want to read. It is important for me to always be learning. I’ve got to catch up on my yearly reading goals, and August is a great month for that! This month I will be reading/finishing 5 books.
Writing
I’ve never been someone who kept a journal, but lately have found it useful to capture my thoughts. I have an online document I am calling my journal, and if I am not on my computer I type up my thoughts in the notes app on my phone. As much as I have enjoyed reading my entire life, and learning about different authors, I should also say that I have always wanted to become an author myself. I’ve realized that unless I start writing more now, this won’t happen for me in my future. Journaling has also been great for my mental health, and I am all for that!
Affirmations
When I first learned what affirmations were, I wasn’t sure they worked. This is surprising for me to say, because I am usually on board with absolutely anything self-help. I just love it all, but I wasn’t convinced when it came to affirmations. Affirmations are positive statements that you recite to yourself. Although affirmations are simple in nature, they can be powerful. If you are interested in learning more, check out this article from Psychology Today explaining the research behind affirmations. I really utilized affirmations when I was unemployed. Every day in my planner, I would write a new daily affirmation. This helped me get into the right mindset for applying to jobs, preparing for interviews, and not losing faith. I haven’t thought about affirmations in a while, and I want to get started again. In August, I am going to create 1 new affirmation for myself daily. Affirmations are an easy tool that we can all use to get into a healthy headspace and ultimately speak positivity and belief into ourselves.
If you haven’t focused on monthly goals before, I encourage you to start now. Yearly, monthly, and even weekly goals have helped me tremendously. I hope this post resonates with you, and that you feel inspired to create your own monthly goals. If you do, I’d love to hear what you decide on for the month of August.
In the Spirit of Adventure,
Demie