Stepping Out of your Comfort Zone

Hello, everyone. I have returned from my vacation and am now ready to write about it. It took a few days to figure out what kind of post I wanted to start with, what I wanted to talk about, etc.  Today's post focuses on something that happened the first night we were on the ship; something I didn't think I would be doing. It's also a fun story and I figured that it could serve to be motivational in a sense, so I decided to share.

We arrived on the ship on a Saturday and instantly wanted to know what events were going on, any fun game shows, and things we could do to have fun. Karaoke seemed like it would be a fun idea for that night, so that's what we did. My plan was to watch, but that changed throughout the night. Lots of people went up on stage, sang their hearts out and sang the songs well. I've done theater and have sung in musicals, but I always get stage fright when it's just me in the spotlight. I had no intention of going up on that stage and singing. 

The friends we traveled with also had their older cousin with them and she went up and sang "Baby Got Back," which the entire crowd loved. She was encouraging me to go up and sing a song, but for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to because I know how nervous I get up there. However, my friend, Daniel, had something else in mind. He signed up me without asking to sing "Shake It Off." I guess you could say I was mad at first, but it was more nervousness than anything else. I didn't think my name would be called in all honestly as they were only doing a few more songs, but alas it was and I didn't want to turn down that challenge. So, I did it. I went up to the front of the room and sang the song. I've sung it countless of times in front of friends and family when it comes on the radio, but I was still nervous and I never settled out of it, so my voice was shaky, but I still sang the song straight through nonetheless. I guess you could say I couldn't 'shake them off' in regards to the slight anxiety I had. I made it through and after I was done, I went back to my friends who I saw were sitting on the floor so I could see them and laughed about it. (They did take videos, but I hope those never make their way to the internet haha.) It was something I wouldn't usually do and I'd done it. 

I'm not sure what caused me to go up on that stage that night. I didn't really think about it when my name was called, so that allowed me to go up there without realizing what I was doing. At some point it hit me that I really would never see these people ever again so I should just have fun with it. I'm glad Daniel signed me up to do it and I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone. It's so important to try new things and have new experiences, even if it is something you couldn't see yourself doing before. 

The whole point of this post is to encourage you all to do the same. You don't have to sing karaoke in front of a decent-sized crowd to do so. Try something new. Don't care what people around you will think. That's the thing that plagues us from doing so many things we enjoy. We care about what other people will think and we can't do that. That's not living. You have to do the things that make you happy and that will allow you to have new experiences. It's scary, I won't lie to you about that, but the pure joy you feel after it happens as you feel a sense of accomplishment overpowers that initial fear. 

I hope you all have a great day and I'll see you all with another post soon. 

Saturday Morning Musings (#3)

Good morning (afternoon now, really), everyone! Welcome to another 'Saturday Morning Musings'. I had to take the SAT this morning - definitely stressful, but it has to be done. I scheduled this post so that it didn't go up at 7:00 AM, but it never actually posted, so instead it is being uploaded now. Today's topic? A healthy lifestyle. I've been wanting to address this since I made a major change in the way I eat and go through everyday life, but wanted to give it a few weeks to ensure that results were there and I wouldn't be writing something I thought was true, but wasn't showing results, for you. It's about to get a little more personal, today.

It's been around five weeks since I've changed my diet and everyday activities. I first want to address what sparked this change and the answer to that is simple: complete and utter frustration. I've played softball for years, always kept a relatively healthy diet, and even after all of this, I never could lose the weight I wanted to. I went from playing softball five days a week over the course of four months to losing nothing and I became frustrated. It's not that I was so focused on becoming this thin person that could fit into the smallest sizes, it's the I was putting work into something that required me to be active and nothing seemed to change. It was discouraging - to work so hard and see no results has an effect on a person. There were times where I thought there wasn't anything I could do that could help, but I kept at it, figured out what needed to be changed, and realized that these things take time.

I changed the way I ate, entirely. I've cut down to one meal a day with carbs, so if I have a sandwich for lunch, I'll avoid having any bread for dinner. I've also cut out any fried foods and any thing processed. If I'm going to eat something, I'll make it from my own ingredients this way I know exactly what's going into a dish. This also means that if I'm making something, I can substitute ingredients to make it a healthier recipe. I do tend to use a healthy recipe to begin with, but sometimes there isn't one. I've substituted whole grain/wheat pasta for the normal pasta. I've pretty much avoided pizza, and since my family tends to have it every Friday night, I'll either just have one piece or make myself something with eggs, which can be made so many different ways. It's not a diet. It's a healthier way of eating that makes me feel better everyday. It helps me to have more energy.

As for breakfast in the mornings, for school I tend to have a granola bar in the morning or some fruit, such as an apple with a spoonful of peanut butter or almond butter. On weekends, I'll often have an egg and some fruit or if I'm feeling like something different I'll have a smoothie. I absolutely love smoothies because it's as if you're making your own delicious concoction. What's also great is that you can throw in some greens, such as a handful of baby spinach, and although you can't taste it, the benefits are there.

For lunch on school days I usually have a sandwich or wrap, or if I buy lunch I'll have a salad. As for weekends, it depends on what's in the house, so this often changes. I always tend to not eat a heavy lunch on the weekends, and if I do, I won't have a big dinner. It's all about portion control. Dinner is another thing that changes, but I will say that two nights ago I had a grilled vegetable wheat wrap that was delicious. And also, I only drink water.

Besides eating a healthy diet, I work out at least three days a week for 30 minutes. Sometimes, I'll workout for longer depending on the time I have. I won't lie, there are days where I have absolutely no want to workout, but you have to keep pushing in order to reach the goals you set for yourself. Find the workout program that works for you. For me, I personally either use the Nike Pro Training app from the Apple App Store or I'll use a video from Blogilates on Youtube. What's great about both these things is that they both have scheduled workouts for you. For Blogilates, you can find the fitness calendars on her website which can be unlocked by subscribing to her newsletter. You may find these useful or you may enjoy a completely different program. Either way, stick to it. You may not see results immediately, but you will.

I'm a very impatient person, myself, so when it comes to getting things done, I like to do it as soon as possible. Getting fit is something that definitely takes time, but this time helps you develop this lifestyle, change the things that aren't working. Most importantly, it helps you keep it. This is something you're going to want to continue for the rest of your life. Once you do feel like you're satisfied with your body, stick to your healthy eating, but you can do less intense workouts.

Lastly, be happy with who you are. We all have things we want to change and if that's your body size, work for it. Do things the right and healthy way. Self-acceptance is such an important thing, especially with the images put out by society. You don't need to look like the model in the magazine you saw or as thin as one of your favorite celebrities. This is all about you. Not trying to make yourself look like someone else. Everyone is different and has their insecurities, but this is about getting healthy for yourself, no one else.

I think that just about covers everything. I hope you all have a fantastic day or whenever you read this!

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ICYMI:
Reminder: CW Shows come back next week, which means episode recaps will be back! The Flash returns Tuesday. Arrow and Supernatural both return Wednesday.