#19: Day One

First of all, as a follow-up to Thursday's post, I'd like to offer this list from Shane Nickerson's blog, which I found by way of Heather's weekly internet roundup.

Some of my favorites (which is to say, those that resonated most with me) are:

2. Trust your instinct.

If you’re miserable in your job, quit. If you’ve chosen the wrong career, make a plan to switch. If something feels wrong, you’re right. Fix it, and don’t look back. This applies to work, relationships, friendships, and life choices. Wake up in the morning the person you want to be instead of the person you’re constantly trying to change. Sometimes it’s hard work to stay true to the person you know you are. It’s always worth it.

4. Open your eyes to the right person.

The right person is so rarely the one you’ve imagined since you were young. The right person is someone you love to be around; someone who makes you laugh, makes you happy, makes you feel strong. Lots of times, they're so obviously in front of you that you look right past them. If you find someone like that, latch on and never look back. If your current person doesn’t do those things for you, move on. Seriously, today.

10. If you find the sweet spot, everything falls into place.

Get yourself to where you’re happiest in work, relationship, hobbies, social activities...and the world will open up to you. If you’re happy, people will want to be around you. If you’re miserable, you become a chore. 

----

Today around 4:30 I went for my first run in four weeks. I deliberately chose to go during the heat of the day so that, should it feel wonderful, I would be too hot to go for more than the planned two miles. 

Good news? The first mile felt great. Bad news? The same symptoms flared up almost immediately after my watch beeped off that mile. I ran to the end of the street and, at the 1.5 mile marker, finished by walking home.

When I got inside, I immediately began foam-rolling. And there, nestled deep in my IT band, I once again unearthed an egg of a knot that stubbornly refuses to crack. The pain rolling on it and then kneading deep into it burns along the muscle fibers and blooms in my outer knee.

I'm telling myself to trust this process, too; trust the plan I've set out for myself and keep working at my knotted muscles. Keep coaxing them to let go.

I'll get them back to their sweet spot, yet.

-----

After dinner I ran some errands and got caught in a pop-up storm on the way home. 

Oh, 2013, your summer of crazy clouds will be forever remembered.

A sweet spot, indeed.