Weekly Wishes

It's time to stop the chatter and listen!

Hello everyone! Today's post is all about hopes for the week and I'm excited to post my second Weekly Wishes link-up with Melyssa @ The Nectar Collective.

Last week, I decided to focus on being completely present in the moment and I'm happy to say that I feel like I rocked it! I spent much of last week in beautiful Boracay and so focusing on the moment and really embracing everything around me was just what I needed. People have been telling me that I look more relaxed and carefree and I know it's because I have been working on just enjoying the now, and not stressing about where I'm supposed to be in the next few hours.

This week's wish is:

Listen to myself, and listen to people.

When I say listen to myself, I really mean listen to my body. I'm a fitness nut and I have been nursing an injured knee for almost 2 months now. I can't seem to completely get over it because I refuse to give up my Taekwondo, but I'm going to try and do better for my body...hopefully. >.> I don't want to be 50 years-old with a crazy injury because of something that I did foolishly in my 20's.

I want to be able to listen to be people better. I won't lie because I love to talk, but I love hearing interesting stories and making the person I'm listening to feel important. I can't stand being in a conversation where I feel like the other person is just waiting to speak and I always want to ask them to repeat what I last said. I am going to strive to be more of a listener this week and I hope that by doing so I'll gain a new perspective on conversation and relationships.

BTW, how adorable is that pretty little baby? Her name is Amy and I went to her first birthday, which is a massive deal in Korea. Amy loves to play "telephone" with her foot, and has all kinds of conversations with her very stylish self. Amy dismayed her grandfather when she picked a microphone up out of the items she was presented with for her birthday. In Korea when a child turns one they are presented with 3 items, which they "pick" from (basically whichever item ends up in their hot little hands OR mouth) and this item will indicate what kind of life the child will have. For example if they choose a gavel then they will be a lawyer/judge, or a sack of money means they will be rich. Amy likes to jam and snapped up the microphone in .5 seconds so apparently Amy is future K-Pop royalty!

If you want to get in the Weekly Wishes link-up action then here Melyssa's rules straight from The Nectar Collective:

1. Share your posts about your goals, challenges, and wishes for the next month, week, or year! Posts completely unrelated to the theme will be deleted.

2. Link back to this site so others can get their goal-setting on, too (You can use the button below)

3. The most important rule of all! You must visit the person's blog who linked up before you and leave them some motivating comment love. This is non-negotiable and is such an important part of this link-up! We are here to encourage each other to accomplish our goals. Let's do this together! Can't wait to visit your blogs and see what you are wishing for this week!

Goals are GREAT

This beautiful graphic was created by Always Rooney and you can find it and other great content, here.

Today I wanted to talk about goals. Goals are great and everyone makes a goal at some point in their life, but often we give up on our goals when they seem unachievable or we experience adversity. At first instinct we tend to shy away from difficulty in favor of the quick fix or instant gratification, and this is a gut reaction we must learn to overcome if we ever hope to get the very best from ourselves.

For years my life was bleak and I was utterly unhappy in my circumstances. I hated my body, suffered panic attacks when attention was given to me, and was failing nearly every one of my classes. I didn't think I had a future that extended past the city limits of the small town I was born in and expected nothing more than a job at the gas station.

But one day I got fed up. I woke up and rejected the life that I was accepting, and decided to create a life that I was proud of and fulfilled by. My decision wasn't easy and there were moments that I felt myself slipping back into my comfort zone, but I pressed on and kept my resolve.

The result is a life that I am excited by and in constant awe of, and it is evidence that hard-work and staying the course we set for ourselves is worth it. When I was younger I hated things that were hard or uncomfortable, but now I recognize a simple truth.

If it's hard then it's probably worth the trouble. 

Every trouble in my life has only made me stronger, and I have only discovered how much further I am able to go than I originally thought.

I thank God that I wake up everyday ready to embrace a new day with an open heart, and I am constantly asking him to show me more of the woman I can become.

Is there a goal that you have set for yourself that seems daunting? Have you accomplished something that you never thought possible, and did you ever want to give up along the way? How have/did you stay motivated?