The Journey of Self Improvement

A button up light blue collared shirt, my rock star jeans, my fossil watch, Vurt cologne, my hot new coat courtesy of miss Jaworski and a hint of new found confidence were among some of the things I put on as I started my second to last semester today.

The cool thing about this new semester is that I am utilizing it for so much more. It's more than just a new semester, it's almost like a new beginning.

So many times it's easy to get to a point in your life where you feel like you just aren't heading in the direction you should be going in. It's even easier to get yourself down about the fact that you aren't heading in the direction you should be going in. What is not easy however is First - figuring out what changes need to happen in your life to get in the right direction, and even more difficult is Second, implementing the appropriate changes!

I have been blessed with a great transition point. I am starting a new semester, and a new year. What better time to work on trying something new! Unfortunately many times people decide around new years day that they want to work on this, or that... 2 weeks later, they are no longer working on this or that. This was very obvious to me when I worked at the Spring Valley YMCA. January 1st - 14th were always very crowded, not so much after that. Anyway, with this new semester I have made several changes already that will help me jump start into a more healthy person. The biggest difference here is asking yourself "how bad do you want it." and feeding off that answer. I want to share with you some big changes going on in my life!

1 - Accountability - Having someone to bear your soul with is a necessity to a healthy lifestyle. What is even more healthy is when you can be disgustingly honest with that person, and that person can tell you the really hard things to get you on track. I am so blessed to have two of my accountability partners come back from semesters abroad in Lithuania and Uganda. It will be a really positive semester.

2 - Organization - I have worked as hard as possible to use every organizational bone in my body, and even borrow a couple from others to stay organized. Some of the new habits I have implemented are a "to do" white board at my desk, an up to date planner, a neat work space and room, and lots of help from people who are gifted in this area!

3 - A DO IT NOW mentality - Perhaps you have fallen victim to ending up on one of my voicemails or perhaps I have told you I was going to do something and it was done... several weeks later of course. It is really hard to recognize your own true shortcomings, but when you do, you can address it head on. I am forgetful sometimes, so something I have been working on that has been quite successful has been doing whatever someone asks me to do, or answering voicemails RIGHT AWAY. It has been wonderful... it will take time though.

4 - An hourly schedule - I have made a schedule of what my normal week will look like. Everything from class times, office times, hockey games and my weekly Panera Bread work session are on there! I have stuck to the plan pretty closely so far and it has helped me with my next improvement.

5 - Discipline - With the new schedule I have, I have been learning to teach myself discipline. Discipline is one of the most important things a person can have. Everything from disciplining yourself spiritually with prayer and meditation, mentally with your school work, or physically can make a more healthy person. Lastly...

6 - Fitness - Today I am a proud new member of "Anytime Fitness" in Trappe. I can throw a rock there from my house. It is a gym you can scan yourself into 24/7. It is the best possible thing for someone with a crazy schedule like mine. I am 100 percent convinced that a more physically healthy person is more likely to be a spiritually and emotionally healthy person. I have worked my gym times into my schedule and hope to see some results before summer!

Obviously this isn't going to always go exactly as planned and it's going to be a very hard thing to pull off, but I hope perhaps you can see this as hope for yourself. I am a hardcore ENFP personality type. To be able to take these steps to get me to where I want to go is a good feeling to know that even a disorganized person can learn some new tricks to make them more efficient. Regardless of how it goes I must still love exactly who God made me to be. I do however think this will all be very good for me, and I am excited to see how it all works out!