Refocus

Guys it’s 10 weeks! The number is 10! Sounds so short, also long, but aaaahhhh, 10! Only 10 more weeks!

Okay so you must think I’m crazy! What’s it with the number 10 and what is left? Huh?

Well, let’s take a few steps back and start from the beginning.

This last few weeks, I’ve felt a little unmotivated with my exercise routine and diet. Trying to balance it all with uni (University), homework and studying. I’ve been exercising but not following the plan I set out to do. So even though I am doing something, I don’t feel like it’s my best. I’m getting “lazy” to go to the gym, not because I have to workout, but because I’m so tired after classes and then still have to do homework. I then do a home adapted workout instead because I don’t feel like packing my gym bag and catching the bus etc. This is still better than nothing but it leaves me feeling like I didn’t push hard enough and this way I won’t make personal progress. In saying this, the little “evil me” inside my thoughts that make me feel like even environmental and situation adapted exercises is also a fail, resulted in my diet not being super clean either…There might have been some emotional eating happing every now and again. Just some of my personal inner thoughts damaging my own personal goals. Not proud. Although it hasn’t been so whack, it hasn’t been so good either. Even if I’m eating healthy, my portions are sometimes too big.

Safe to say that this called for some serious re-motivation! Already having a plan in mind and actually already knowing what to do and what needs to be done, I was looking at YouTube videos, Pinterest and doing some Google work to get my motivation back! I found this really good affirmation card on Pinterest and to make it more personal I rewrote it and added my own endings to some sentences or switching some words. I read it every morning as I wake up. Now I’m still working on the habit of reading it before bed. Affirmations might sound silly, but they do wonders for that self-talk we all so love to do….mostly in a negative voice than a positive one. I frequently have to remind myself, when I find that I just thought something negative about myself, would I say what I just said to myself to someone else who maybe also looked like me or did something that I did? The answer almost every time is….NO! I wouldn’t! So why do I think those things of myself? Affirmations, let me tell you….KILL that “devil you” voice! It brings out the “diva voice” (in a good way) that says …. Just read for yourself. Maybe you would also like to make them your morning and night time affirmations.

 

My new plan.

I had some thought about when to exercise, having a look at my schedule and shifting my workouts so that I could make it to the gym. Also keeping my studies in mind and on paper it will be ideal. The real test will come on Monday when I give it a go. If I’m determined enough I can make it work. I need a short-term goal. Everyone needs a long term and a short-term goal. The long-term goal for me is to be healthy and fit to the best of my capability. That is a journey and not a destination. But a short-term goal is something you can work towards with a deadline set. And this is where the number 10 comes in!

My new plan is ideally 12 weeks long, however, I only have 10 weeks left before I get on a plane! So not only do I have a fire lit under my bum to push and motivate myself to get where I want to be mentally and physically but I only have 10 weeks to do it instead of 12!

I found my short-term goal!!!

I was not planning on counting the weeks till I come home, it just kinda happened while preparing my new plan. It didn’t at first sink in, still hasn’t 100%, but I only have 10 weeks left out of the 8 months of being here = my first year! Feels like 2 weeks ago when I had to tell someone I’m going to be studying in Russia and them asking for how long, my reply being 5 years and now I’m here! Almost done with the first-year and only 4 left! Can’t believe it but I’m super excited to make the last few weeks count!

So here are the 3 things I’ve learnt this week…

• Affirmations, affirmations, affirmations! Feed the good self-talking voice not the bad one. It could make or break your goals…or anything really.
• Find your short-term goals and work to reach them one at a time.
• Practicing the first two will be the thing that keeps you motivated.

I hope you all have your short-term and long-term goals set out…they will keep you going in the right direction. And whenever your worst critic comes to town (you), may your thoughts be strong enough to know not to listen. Remember there is a difference between the motivated, caring, knowing when you did wrong, could improve, beautiful, strong voice and the harmful, destroying, you’re not worth it, ugly, not good enough, not strong enough, deceptive voice! Whatever you feed your thoughts, that’s what you will get. Next time you say you’re not good enough, you are absolutely right. You are what you think! Time to change your thoughts! Even I’m still practicing this, because I still sometimes give fire to the wrong voice.

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Bonus:

In last week’s post, I mentioned that I still haven’t been to the Philharmonic Theatre here around the corner. Well our teacher surprised us Friday morning with tickets for Friday night to go watch the Orchestra from The Kostroma region, Russia. The Kostroma State Orchestra of Folk Instruments. They were only here for 2 days. Friday and Saturday. I didn’t take many photos and only one video because it was so beautiful and mesmerizing that I tried to enjoy every sound in the moment. But here are a few photos and one video of the last piece they played… on folk instruments, that includes the accordion! You will be surprised what the piece is! 😀 Enjoy!!!

Hope everyone enjoyed this week’s post! 😀 May you all have a wonderful week and please subscribe, it’s free! I hear that some people are reading my blog but I never knew because I don’t see them in my subscription list, so I don’t know that they are readers! If you are one of them, could I ask that you enter your name and email in the subscription box?! Everyone’s support is greatly appreciated.

Have a wonderful and blessed week everyone!

To Live is To Dance

xoxo