Look, life is straight up wild. There are a million things that make you worry, make you stress, make you rush, and it is so easy to forget all the things that make you happy. Consider this your reminder to go ahead and live!
The fact is we all have lives. There are bills to pay, jobs to work, and events to plan. We are surrounded by things that demand our attention. We are in a flurry of justs. Just scraping by, just taking another minute, just doing another dish. We are very caught up. Let's try to remind each other to unravel.
You're at work and you're about to dig into the third tuna salad sandwich of the week. It's cheap, it's healthy, and it's easy to pack up for the day. But there's a taco truck outside. It's taunting you with its shiny metal sign. The scent of taco meat is about to drive you mad and it feels like you are the only one eating a bagged lunch. You know what I say? Go to your car, dig through your quarters, and eat that greasy taco! The tuna salad will still be there tomorrow and those quarters weren't doing any good anyways. If you are feeling guilty about the calories, do some extra crunches or forgive yourself. If you're feeling guilty about the price, work through lunch or forgive yourself. Stop piling guilt on where it is not necessary. You follow that gut right to the taco truck and then forgive yourself when it leads you back to the bathroom for the rest of the day.
You planned a wicked workout for your Sunday morning. You've gone over it in your head and you are so set on getting up and doing it. But it's Sunday and maybe the sunshine is so warm on your cheeks and the blanket is so soft and your pillow is so damn plush that you don't make it up until 10:00. When you wake up, your husband suggests that you go to the dog park and then get breakfast out. You're telling yourself that you should go do that workout. You're convincing yourself to give up a fun Sunday with your family for a sweat session. You know what? There's clearly a better choice here and I'll give you a hint: it doesn't involve a sweatband. You can turn this little date into a mini-workout if you want to. You can juggle fun and fitness! In fact, I highly encourage this. Instead of the stationary bike at the gym, go on a bike ride outside with your partner. Instead of doing an incline on the treadmill, go find a place to hike for a few hours in the sunshine. Instead of the row machine, hit the water with a kayak or canoe. Go out, enjoy nature, and most of all have fun! If fitness is important to you, find a way to incorporate it into the rest of your life instead of the other way around. You don't need to sacrifice all the time.
It's the end of the month and, as usual, your bank account isn't making you jump for joy. Most months you would throw the extra money on a credit card or pop it in savings. Most months you are turning down every invite between the 20th and the 30th and just this once you wish you could have fun. I say do it. Every once in a while, forget about being a responsible adult and just say yes! In the early hours of the morning when you stumble into bed, I promise you won't be regretting your choice. Memories are worth so much more than money. Try to be creative with your ideas so that you can enjoy fun and frugality a little more often. There are tons of things you could be doing for little to no money. If you have good family and friends, you won't need to break the bank for a good time. Much like exercise, I am going to remind you that nature is the best resource out there. If it's Winter, go have a snowball fight, go build snowmen, go ice skating. If it's fall go see if you can pick apples somewhere, rake some leaves and jump in them, make hot cocoa and sit on your front porch and chit chat. If it's Summer or Spring your possibilities are bottomless.
The big point here is that life is always going to be the expensive, wild, untamed creature it is right now. You are going to feel like there aren't enough hours or enough dollars. Just remember that every single day is up to you. After the bare minimum has been met, prioritize everything else in a way that pleases you. Is it really important that you get that extra hour of sleep, or would you rather call up an old friend and catch up? Are you dead set on your diet, or could you spare time for an impromptu lunch date?
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