Slice of Life Challenge Day 18: Mission Accomplished

Yesterday I celebrated the end of an amazing challenge and process. The journey? Completing the extreme workout known as P90X. The truth is that I started P90X many times before but never crossed the finish line. This time I was determined to know the feeling of completion. This journey didn't become about losing weight, in fact, I stepped on the scale only once and only because I was at the doctor's office. This journey was about stop making excuses. I was done. I knew I was going home to Paraguay during the Holiday for 19 days. I worked out 16 of those days. I continued pushing myself through this tough, tough winter that invited nothing else but to go to bed early and rest. But like Tony Horton, P90X coach, always says, "Keep pushing play. Keep showing up. Just show up. Try your best and forget the rest."

And that's what I did. I kept showing up. I got sick pretty often this winter but only one week knocked me out. So I pressed the restart button on that week and tried again. Another thing that helped me a lot was jotting everything down on at-a-glance calendar. I also focused on a particular theme for each month. December was: no excuse. Do your best. January was: creating habits. February was: maintaing those habits & increasing weights. March was all about: let's bring it up a notch.

Each month, I also focused on replacing an old habit with a new one. As many of you know, I love coffee and I always want to munch on something sweet to go with it. BUT, I know I needed to replace that habit by creating another one in its place that would be a healthier choice. After searching for a long time for a good protein bar, I finally found one that has a low number on sugar and high in protein. It was the perfect little kick to go along with my delicious coffee.

 I also brought a lot more veggies into my life. I'm already a huge FAN of spinach and have been eating those every day! But I made it a point to make sure my fridge was well equipped with other great sources of vitamins.

 I shared part of my journey through pictures on Instagram. A way to keep myself accountable. I knew my friends were spectators of this process and I needed to keep showing up.

Another change I added into my life was choosing one book per month that has nothing to do with teaching and all to do with the soul and mind. On January I read The Law of Divine Compensation by Marianne Williamson. This book was recommended to me by my amazing soul sister, Sharon Esswein. For February I chose Notes from a Blue Bike: The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World by Tsh Oxenreider.We all need a book that reminds us to slow down, especially if we live in the beautiful but fast-paced USA.

Both of these books fed my soul and mind in so many rich ways as I'm trying to navigate the changes in my life with the hope of creating long-term healthy habits. I'm proud of myself for reaching the finish lines but I'm even happier to look back and realize that I have make some serious positive dents in my life. After all, the reward is a longer, happier life for ourselves. 

Please don't forget to head over Two Writing Teachers to visit other bloggers and join the challenge!