Monday Morning chat + Goals for the week

Hello everyone!

Breakfast this morning: Whole Wheat 'french bread', scrambled eggs with peppers & onions, cafe w/ soy milk.

[please pardon the dirty-looking coffee maker, I promise it'll get cleaned up today]

Woke up bright and early this morning and have been working non-stop. Decided to take a short break to say hello and apologize for not being able to post the "What I know for Sure Sunday" post yesterday. Ive been thinking of alternating the series to every other Sunday but still debating on that. What do your guys think? I already have an outline for this coming Sunday's post. So, stay tuned for that.

Anyways, how was your weekend? I have to say I had a very nice and productive weekend. On Saturday I went to the gym early in the morning and then hung out with Felix the rest of the day. We had dinner at a Japanese restaurant and indulged in yet another Kevin Hart movie, Get Hard. I cant ever tell you how many of his movies we have seen together. Dinner was delicious. I had sushi (again)- shrimp tempura and dragol roll.  Refrained from taking a picture due to the awkward looks I get from him when I do... :) #dontjudgeme

On Sunday I went to the gym with my bestie Christina, hit up Target for some things I needed and then hung out with my parents house for a bit.

In other news, I cannot believe that March ends tomorrow. I hate to think about how quick these months are going by. Besides work projects, I have some "fun" things I'd like to accomplish this week so I figure i'd share with you guys:

1. Complete 3 days of Jillian Michael 30 day shred work out

2. Share a recap of my March goals and whether or not I was able to tackle all of them (or most)

3. Find my nearest CVS or Target photo center and get all my Dominican Republic pictures in a CD or online so I can share with you guys ASAP (still trying to find the cable for my digital camera)

4. Complete 2-3 days of cardio (complement my strength training routines)

5. Hit up Trader Joes, if possible (finally get my hands on some quality crunchy almond butter)

I will leave it at that for now. Besides these goals I want to continue making a conscious effort to eat healthy, wholesome foods, continue working hard and succeeding with my work, have fun and spend time with loves ones.

How is your Monday going? any set plans or goals for this week?

Thanks for reading.

Love,

Mabelle

What I know for Sure Sundays III: Commitment & Consistency

Hello everyone!

Can you believe March is here? I realized it this morning when I took a quick glance at my Ipad and the date on the screen indicated the # "1"--  took me half a second to realize "its march 1st". This means spring is almost here. One of the things I am looking forward to is nicer weather so I can start running outside again, something I haven't done in quite some time. Mother nature has been a little tough on NYC this winter.

But anyways, here we are again with another edition of "What I Know For Sure Sundays". If you missed the other two posts, check them out here, #1 and here, #2.

Today I want to talk about the power of commitment and consistency. In all my life accomplishments there's always been a common theme. And this is what I know for sure:

"I've realized that when things get challenging as we work towards our goals; keeping a mentality of commitment & consistency is what allows us to keep going and push through".

We all face challenges in our lives when we are on our way to accomplishing our goals. Things may start out okay and easy to handle but many times they may start getting difficult and complicated. There will always be opportunities for us to get discouraged and take our eyes off the prize. However, if you make a deal with yourself from the very beginning to stay committed and consistent, you will get through the difficult times a lot easier than if you give yourself a chance to give up at the first sign of trouble.

From reaching my fitness goals, to passing super difficult classes in college and grad school, to accomplishing other life goals-  I've had many opportunities to throw in the towel either because I wouldn't see the results I wanted soon enough, or because I felt that despite my efforts I wasn't getting anywhere. In the times where I kept pushing through and remained committed and consistent despite my doubts, I eventually saw the light at the end of the tunnel and everything eventually fell in to place.

The mind is a powerful thing--- it can drag you to desperation and anxiety or it can motivate you to push through and thrive. So, during difficult times, I'd choose the latter and kept my eyes on the prize NO MATTER WHAT. Eventually, I'd see my way through.

Hence-- word to the wise: don't give yourself the opportunity to give up when things get difficult. Remember commitment and consistency are the key ingredients to get to where you want to go. It's worked for incredibly successful people in this world, its worked for me, and I'm sure it works for all human kind.

Tell me, do you have an example of a time in your life when it would have been easier to give up and you didn't? What did you learn from that experience?

Motivational Mondays- Transform Your Life!

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all had a great weekend! On Friday night I attended my sister's house warming party and on Saturday I went to New Jersey to visit a special someone. Visited a gorgeous park and had some yummy sushi in the process. I ate too much food overall this weekend and I am conscious of it. I also know my period is coming and is trying to bring with it an anxiety to eat everything in sight. Ugh! Working on stopping the process!

But anyways, I have been reading up on a lot of motivational literature lately as well as listening to some great podcasts! I figured I'd share what I learn along the way with all my wonderful readers. Today's "Motivational Mondays" edition is dedicated to TD Jakes. An amazing pastor whom I admire and whom always has some incredibly uplifting sermons. I download them as podcast and listen to it during runs or just while cleaning around the house.

His "Transformational Instinct" series is nothing short than AMAZING. I've listened to all 3 podcast at least 2x each. I tried to gather the main points which uplifted me the most. Some of it may sound like things we've heard before or common sense. However, they serve as strong reminders that can help us get back on track of our goals and ambitions. At least that is what his sermons do for me in addition to helping me move forward. Here they are a few points from part II of the series:

1. Write your VISION not the Victim-- This refers to the idea that the past is the past. We cannot change whom we were or what we did. However, we do have the power to change our vision of how the future is going to look like. We can do that by using the present to live it and to make plans for what we want to see in our future.

2. After your write down your vision, align your life and your actions to it-- "Build According to pattern".

• Invest in alignment to what is central to your core. Don't invest in what is not central to your core. Dont invest your time or money on things that are not good for you.

• When you spend your time with someone or engage in an activity, ask yourself: Am I getting a good return on investment on this? What am I getting in return-- Growth? productivity? change? development? OR, are you simply throwing your time away? Be very careful of the people that steal your time. Invest in what is TRUE to you. 

The above served to remind me of the following: Time is something we never get back. A second, minute, hour, day, month, year wasted on the wrong things or the wrong person or the wrong activities is time that will be gone-- forever! So, Is important what we are strategic about what we do with each given moment and think about whether the way in which we are investing our time is helping us get to where we want to go.

In Summary:

1. Write it
2. Build it
3. Invest in what is investing in me
4. Invest in what is true to what I am about

Support what is supporting and helping me. 

Remember: Knowledge is not power. The APPLICATION of knowledge is power. So, lets all take action and gear up for amazing lives!

Love,
Mabelle