In January of 2021, I ran a half marathon for the first time. Prior to this race, I had never been much of a runner (AT ALL) and had only run about 3 miles in a different race. Despite this, my friend asked if I would run with her, which turned into training for a half marathon. I completed the race, but during the last half of training and after the race, I had pain in both knees. It hurt to crouch down at the grocery store, go up and down stairs, jump, run, etc. Around April, I finally got in to see a physical therapist. She told me that while my strength was great, I was very inflexible for someone in their 20s. She gave me 10 minutes of stretches I needed to do everyday to improve my flexibility and work towards healing my knees. Since then, my knee pain has immensely decreased, and I can run short distances again.

Think of this as a challenge, one with few repercussions if not completed but possibly some unrealized benefits if accepted and acted upon. The next time you pull out your “to-do” list and start making plans, goals, or dreams for the day or even the year, leave some room for fun. Give yourself at least 20-30 minutes a day to do something you really enjoy but often think of as a “waste of time.” Read that book, go for a drive, call that friend, sing your favorite song, paint a picture, let yourself dream again, and find out what you didn’t know you were missing.

Ready to set one food goal? Do a quick internet search, and you’ll find endless suggestions about nutrition—what to eat, what to never EVER eat (OMG!), and what the expert of the day advises. I’ve read boatloads of theories, tried lots of diets, suffered some disasters and had some big successes. In the end, I think it boils down to one thing: Eat nourishing food. 

There are so many benefits to cleanliness and organization. You may not have control over everything going on in your life, but this is one thing you can control. This space is YOURS. Also, like I briefly mentioned earlier, physical clutter can add to mental clutter and make it harder to focus. Each messy item is just reminding you of all the other things you have to do. Peace comes with putting everything in its place. Lastly, a clean space can also promote healthier choices. In one study, when participants were placed in either a messy or clean room - the ones in the clean room chose healthier snacks and were more generous (Madormo, 2021). 

Sometimes letting go of a goal is not the bad thing we think it will be. Instead, it provides us with the space and time for other things that we may not have been able to make priorities if we had stuck to the original goal. Also, it may mean that now is just not the season for us to pursue a certain goal if the motivation, passion, and determination is just not there no matter how hard we try to convince ourselves we can do it.