What Drives Me?

What drives/motivates you every day?

My family has struggled with money for as long as I can remember. So from an early age I learned to do without some things. I feel like this made me a stronger person, but also increased my motivation to not want to live like that anymore.

My goal is to simply live a life that I am happy with and proud to live. I know that is kind of a broad goal, but it is true all the same.

Every day when I wake up and think “ugh I don’t want to get up and do ____,” I remind myself that I am working towards a cause; I am striving for something important. I want to be successful yes, but over all I want to be happy. I refuse to live for the rest of my life struggling to get by and stressing about how everything will turn out. I think about everything I have faced in the past to get to where I am, and I remind myself that today is just another step down that road.

So in the most simplistic terms, I am driven to be happy and find happiness within my life. Life, if nothing else, should be about making yourself happy and finding who you are and where you want to go. You shouldn’t have to wake up every day and hate your life, resent your occupation or despise the pure thought of facing another day. I want to live a life in which I am happy to wake up and face the day (after I grumble a bit about not getting to sleep more…I love my sleep lol). But I want to look around and be happy with what I have accomplished.

My goal every day in life is to keep going, to never give up and to keep shooting towards my dreams. Remembering that if I work hard enough I can reach the stars and I can find peace and happiness in my life (if just happiness.).

What drives you to wake up every morning? For those of you reading please leave your answer in a comment, I would love to hear from you.

Hugs from my computer to yours <3 Kimmie

My First Ever "In Response Post"

In the post Cassey shares two girls stories who were able to bounce back from eating disorders and how fitness and being healthy changed their lives.

So I wanted to do a response post because of how much of an impact this post had. Blogilates "Gaining Weight. The Reverse Transformation from ED to Healthy" is a really inspiring post because it shows that fitness is not all about slimming down to a size zero.

Gaining Weight. The Reverse Transformation from ED to Healthy

Read more at http://www.blogilates.com/blog/2014/03/15/gaining-weight-the-reverse-transformation-from-ed-to-healthy/#qWYQHrYXehrCEbHL.99

Read more at http://www.blogilates.com/blog/2014/03/15/gaining-weight-the-reverse-transformation-from-ed-to-healthy/#qWYQHrYXehrCEbHL.99

Gaining Weight. The Reverse Transformation from ED to Healthy

Read more at http://www.blogilates.com/blog/2014/03/15/gaining-weight-the-reverse-transformation-from-ed-to-healthy/#qWYQHrYXehrCEbHL.99

Read more at http://www.blogilates.com/blog/2014/03/15/gaining-weight-the-reverse-transformation-from-ed-to-healthy/#qWYQHrYXehrCEbHL.99

I used to be slightly anorexic, not as intense as these girls but still, it is enough to impact my life. Eating disorders are a form of a mental illness and most people don't realize that. Almost 50% of people with eating disorders meet the criteria for depression and eating disorders have the highest mortality rate out of any mental illness. This is not something that should be joked about and don't make fun of someone who is dealing with this or may have in the past. Instead you should be encouraging them and motivating them.

I wanted to "reblog" this and share it with the world to remind everyone out there that there is no "one perfect size." We are all individual and unique and we should focus on making ourselves happy and healthy not kill ourselves trying to look like the photoshopped twig girl on the front of a magazine.

One magazine I read is called Fiterazzi. It was started by Cassey (blogilates) sister. It encourages girls to be healthy and fit. I love it because you don't feel like you want to shoot something with the constant "loose 10 pounds in a month" statements that constantly grace magazine covers.

So please, take a few minutes to read Cassey's post and listen to these girls stories.

If no one else has told you today, or even if they have, always remember that you are beautiful, smart and you shouldn't have to live up to any one's expectations but your own. Live your life to make yourself happy because in the end it is your life, no one else's.

Big computer hugs from my screen to yours,

<3 Kimmie

Defeat and Motivation

One of the hardest things to do is pick yourself up and keep going when all the odds are against you and at every turn something goes wrong.

That's how I feel when tackling the challenge of cleaning and repairing my house. I feel like every time my boyfriend or I make a dent wither someone else in the house dirtied what we just accomplished, or we find something else that needs repairing...

It really dampens your spirit of motivation and drive.

Sometimes I just want to curl up and cry every time we find something new that kicks my goal in its butt and makes it harder.

But, I do know that you have to take every setback with renewed motivation and realize that you can't let ever little issue tear you down.

And that is what I'm trying to do. So for everyone out there dealing with a similar challenge of motivation I hope this is a little confidence booster.

Always remember that you can do it! You are strong and powerful and just remember that if nothing else, I believe in you!

The Magic - Power of Gratitude

My mom bought this book by the lady who wrote The Secret, Rhonda Byrne. It is all about positivity and the power of gratitude. The description says:

"ONE WORD CHANGES EVERYTHING For more than twenty centuries, words within a sacred text have mystified, confused, and been misunderstood by almost all who read them. Only a very few people through history have realized that the words are a riddle, and that once you solve the riddle—once you uncover the mystery—a new world will appear before your eyes."

The book has thing you need to do daily to get yourself into this habit of gratitude. Each day the practices change and it evaluates another part of your life. But every morning you write ten things you are grateful for and why. Then as you read back over them after each one you say thank you three times. 

It is really interesting and a lot of the practices really make you think about how grateful you actually are during your daily life. I know you are probably thinking, well I say please and thank you and I am glad for what I have. But how thankful are you really? Do you even think about how good your health is until you catch a cold or what not? Do you think about how thankful you are for your senses, your job, all the little things you have that others are unable to? 

This book really makes you think and I recommend it to anyone. 

To Write Love on Her Arms

Last night on the news I made a discovery that really got me to actually take interest. There was a segment about a tour for a non-profit organization called To Write Love on Her Arms. On their website their vision states: "To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery."

This really hits home with me because for a long time I struggled with depression (and to be perfectly honest, sometimes still do), cutting and was suicidal. I'm not ashamed to admit that I faced this during my life because I want to encourage people who might possibly be going through something similar to message me if they just need an ear to listen or a friend to lean on. 

TWLOHA is now on a tour called Heavy and Light and the tag line is "An evening of songs, conversation and hope." I am still doing research into the movement but I am truly inspired by their vision and the story behind the movement. 

I encourage everyone who reads this to at least take five minutes to look at their website, read a little bit and see if this amazing movement can inspire you as well. 

Have a wonderful day from my wacky world to yours!

Revaluations! Be yourself and don't ever change for someone else!

Everyone has those days where they wonder and question “Who am I? Where do I fit in? What is my purpose here?” And unfortunately, there is no easy answer. Everyone faces challenges and trials that they must overcome. Everyone will encounter those who claim to be friends but have two faces or only call you their friend when it benefits them. It breaks my heart that I have been losing friends recently, but in the end I guess it is what best because if they are willing to hurt and only use me as a puppet then they aren't really a friend. Everyone deserves to be happy and I have finally come to realize that I shouldn't have to sacrifice my happiness to keep everyone else around me satisfied. It’s like every time I was offering myself up on a silver platter to do their bidding all the while hiding how I really feel because I was too afraid that they wouldn't like me.

So I have come to a realization, one that has taken me my entire life to reach. I am no one's puppet and I refuse to continue to apologize for who I am and the way I feel. I have finally decided that it is ok for me to say no to others and actually put my feelings first. Because I have feelings and beliefs and opinions of my own and ones that should actually matter to those who actually care about me. And just because I am finally standing up for the way I feel does not make me “a selfish bitch.” (Yes that is an actual quote of what I was told the first instance when I stood up for myself.) Yes, I may have a flirtatious personality, and it’s something I don’t always have in check. While I am trying my hardest to be mindful of it, it is my personality and it doesn't exactly have an off switch. Just because someone is going to tell me that they think I am a “boyfriend stealing slut” just because I make friends easily and can be clingy does not make it true. So I will wait for someone who will actually take the time to understand my personality and not constantly try and change me. I am not going to hide or change who I am because it is an inconvenience to someone else. I am an actual human being, not just a thing to be used for someone else’s needs.

So I did not simply post this to rant about my moment of self revelation. I wrote this because of the fact that it took me a really long to finally do this and hopefully I will inspire someone else to do the same. You are an individual and you matter. You should never belittle yourself or feel that you have to change yourself to have to please others. It is completely alright to sometimes be selfish and have bad days and want to scream at the top of your lungs just to feel better. You should never have to hide your feelings because someone made you feel that your feelings aren't as important as someone else’s. So be selfish and put yourself first every now and again and don’t continue to put up with fake friends who only want to use and not return your friendship.

I hope that this encouraged or inspired someone out there! And for a little extra motivation here are some awesome quotes! (I will be posting inspiring and motivational quotes on my blog from time to time to help people through the day and remind you that you are special!)

“Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.”

― Bernard M. Baruch

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson