Well - here goes....I'm changing my life

I'm really going to put myself out there with this post because if there's one thing in life I've learned, it's that accountability is everything.

My family recently got involved in martial arts. I am doing Muay Thai kickboxing, Sydney is in a Lil Dragons karate class and Aaron is going to start Brazilian Jhu Jitsu in May. We LOVE it. There's a different mindset in the martial arts world - it's not just about a workout, it's a lifestyle. These people are serious and it has been very enlightening to be around them.

At Inferno MMA (which is where we attend classes), March is "Change Your Life" month. It's about picking something, anything, that you want to do and making it happen. Our instructor gave us this speech last week about not listening to that voice in your head, making lists and making your goals happen.

Honesty Check:

I wasn't into it. I had about 3 little voices telling me that I didn't have time to change anything, I was a wife and mommy with a work from home business and those 3 things alone took a lot of my time. I listened politely - but, secretly, I wasn't going to do any of it.

Honesty Check #2:

Sadly, I realized that I didn't know what my goals were. I didn't have goals.....what kind of person, at the age of 34, doesn't have goals????? I mean sure, I want my kids to sleep through the night, I want them to be happy and healthy, I want a fabulous marriage, but I, me, myself.... I didn't have any goals for just me.....

Honesty Check #3:

That made me sad. I felt like I had been so busy being a wife and a mom that I had lost sight of what I wanted to do......

So - I begrudgingly decided I would visit, just briefly, this "change your life" thing. I would take about 5 minutes to go back in time and decide what I was missing - what did my aspirations used to be? If I discovered something, great - if not then I was right to keep going to kickboxing to get my fitness on and that would be that.....

I asked myself one question:

What's the last thing I can remember really wanting to be? (not do, but "be")

The answer came in about 30 seconds.

Honesty Check #4

When I was in college I wanted to be a writer. I majored in English. I had a really crappy Comp 1 teacher, got a C in the class and changed my major to P.E. to become a personal trainer. It was an easy out. I already was a personal trainer/aerobics instructor and I knew I could do it.

You might be reading this blog and thinking "no way will she make it as a writer". I might not, but I owe it to myself to try. I went online yesterday to see how I could learn to be a better writer. Here is my pledge:

1) I will read more - I will spend no less than 30 minutes a day in some sort of publication

2) I will write more - I will make an entry in my blog at least twice a week

3) I will continue to research online "how to be a writer" (that sounds ridiculous, but there's actually a lot of stuff out there)

4) And one of these days I will take the advice of a friend of mine and send some of my stuff to the local newspaper to see what happens - I'm not ready for rejection yet.

There you have it - This is the way in which I will attempt to change my life. You can hold me accountable. You can ask me how it's going. But do not tell me that I'll never make it. Not yet - As I said, I'm not ready for rejection.....