modern is

had a great opportunity to comment on a wonderful blog called this photographers life, which defined many different perspectives on what modern is today. modern has many definitions  but here i wanted to share my thought of what modern is today far and beyond design.

self- confidence is modern; being comfortable in your own skin is modern. confident enough to display your passions, to live your passions, to represent them and highlight them in your home. to take the road less traveled. to carve your own path. aspirational pieces have been replaced with pieces that are found second hand, providing a new life to a piece of furniture with a sanding and coat of oil to make it shine, yet again. it is function and necessity. need vs. wants. recycling is modern. modern is making no excuses for what you don't have, but proud of what you do have and making the best of it. this modern confidence is manifested and exhibited through your home through color, or lack of color, photos, art, design. modern is how you choose live your life for yourself, not others. modern is the art of positive.

share your thoughts on what your idea of modern is.

say it, and you will be it

i recently read three lines the other day on a coffee mugs {and i wish i bought all three, but bought none}, but they are still with me posted over my desk. 

• stop wasting time finding yourself, instead create yourself
• dreams point to unique gifts
• desires point to talents

i have to say - i tested the territory today of putting things in the atmosphere to see what would happen. so what else would you do in a world of social media - i tweeted it. i said "i think it is going to be a fabulous day, full of opportunity - how about you?". so i did still hit the snooze today, despite my last post - but i tweeted the wonderful words. i have done this before, spoke or wrote what i wanted to happen, and it worked. i said it, and it happened. i did it again, and it happened again. over and over and over. i did it in training challenges posting self fulfilling prophecies. the result - pigs flew. great opportunities are there, just put them in the atmosphere - stay true to who you are, really...deep down. remember what you loved as a child, the most honest time of your life. what did you love?

i remember as a child, laying in the grass staring at the big white fluffy clouds on a warm sunny day. your imagination was so rampant that you could see all these fabulous animals, in the shapes of the clouds. you would lay there with your friends, giggle {if you were a girl like me}, talk about who you were going to marry, who you had a crush on, and what you saw yourself doing when you grew up to be old enough to be a mom {i still cannot believe i am now old enough to be a mom}. yuk - so old, i would think. 

what i remember from those days, were all the beautiful daisies in the grass, the dandelions that most found a nuisance, i found delightful.  the beautiful buttercups that if put under your chin and it reflected yellow, it meant you loved butter.

the more you learn of yourself, and the more you become your own. the more you become what you dreamed of as a child - who you really were before all the world began its' influences. it is now, that i am beginning something that i have dreamed of as a little girl, all through my twenties while i was working to become what society seemed to tell me was the right direction in the corporate world. don't get me wrong. i love my job in marketing . i love marketing.  but i love the idea of having something of my own, too -  full of my passions.  what did your inner child tell you?  think about it and capture it. you may find what your true passion is. then say it. write it. be it. 

recently i was blown away when asked to participate in a photoshoot on inspiring women for a local blog called The Local Dash. b.l.o.w.n. a.w.a.y ! but what also happened is it allowed me to tap into myself even deeper when answering the questions on myself. see further into what my passions were. caused me to think and ponder on just those things that cause you to look into yourself.

i suggest you post this over your desk as well, if it pulls your inspiring energy to the surface.

• stop wasting time finding yourself, instead create yourself
• dreams point to unique gifts
• desires point to talents

i am a trier-in-training in many ways, aside from just triathlons.

the art of positive

you have the power to choose positive, consciously, continuously.

it is amazing the pondering that ensues during training. and for those of you that are not familiar with triathlons, you cannot race with music, so you do not train with music. swimming silently, biking silently, running silently. alone with your thoughts, breathing, and the sounds of your feet on the pavement.  tricky subconscious territory.

during my training session this morning (which happened to be my run, today) i was trying to figure out something that is so difficult to put my finger on, because so many factors come into play.  during another very challenging run, i was contemplating  my training, and why  this past month and a half as proven more difficult for me than any other trainings i have done since i began racing triathlons just a year, and only 9 months since my first race. is this a mental handicap that has come forward, am i depressed, is it all my travel that has ensued for work, not eating and drinking properly, is it the heat, do i have too much on my plate, am i just completely exhausted? it has been only a month and a week since my last race; certainly i could not have lost that much endurance, but pure exhaustion has over come me like i have not experienced before.

everything is such a mental game. my work life has become a huge challenge, in not a 'good challenge' way; but at the same time - i am working on a new venture for myself that i am very excited about.

after thinking some more, i realized that i (and i know there are a few more of you out there) seemingly, and unknowingly start my day procrastinating. i am not a procrastinator, i typically do not let grass grow under my feet. every time i hit the snooze button, i am inadvertently procrastinating not only waking up, but procrastinating starting my day, and my morning training. the training that is supposed to empower me through my day; empower me that i can accomplsh anything, conquer the world, get the day started accomplishing maybe the only thing for myself for the day(corporate world work not included). is it my state of mind that is causing the problems i am having, is it causing the exhaustion? can it be that powerful? if this 'procrastination' is causing me to start my day off on a negative, how can the training be a positive?

after reading some old posts from my newbie traithlon training times (a whole year ago) when i started training, i tapped into some of the energy that maybe needed to keep me going. i read on my huge challenge, and it re-taught me to end my training on a positive, always.  i was also reminded that you DO have the ability to become powerful, and it CAN work through the power of positive thoughts. i had experienced it first hand with my first triathlon.

we all have our trials and tribulations in life, and as an athlete - it is amazing how they not only are with you during training, but also throughout your day. your training completely effects your outlook on your day. if you did not conquer your training with your upmost ability and power, subconsciously it translates in other areas of our life.

my dips have become a crater, a crater i need to work very hard to overcome. athlete or not, mental state plays a gigantic roll in all we do - either it plays as a limitation, as an analyst (and with too much of this causes paralyzation), or as a amazing force that exuberantly can move you forward. you do have the power to choose that path. consciously, every moment - you have that choice. it is an art, and the art is to  choose to stay positive even when it is tough to do so.

my goal is to not hit the snooze, wake up with joy - and end the training with joy. if it takes all i have, i am determined.  next race july 11.  i have a very big goal for this race, and i will not let my mental state waiver one more day. i am taking you back over.

every training day will be a great one. every training day will be a great one. every training day will be a great one.....