Don't live your life by the status quo

Are you in a rut? Where you just feel like you do the same old thing, and nothing ever changes? Even once you admit that you are in a rut, do you know how to get out of it? I have decided that the way it's always been is no longer good enough. I have mentioned to a few of you that this year is the year of "yes". What I mean is that I have been willing to say "yes" to more things this year than I have in a long time. I am trying new things and living outside the shell that I had created around me. Inside the shell, I could not get hurt, but I also could not experience life either. Take chances and be happy that you took them; not that you failed or that it didn't turn out the way you thought it would. I have mentioned previously that I have been getting up (before the crack of dawn) to jog about 4-5 times a week, sometimes with a very great friend. People have told me that they don't run...well, I never considered myself a runner. I would never put "Michelle" and "runner" in the same sentence, unless it was, "Michelle ran over a runner with her car." (I would never do that!) But I run and I feel so much better afterwards. I started slow and could not even run 2 blocks without getting out of breath. It was pretty sad. But my running partner kept encouraging me with her "just 10 more steps" (which by the way, really doesn't mean 10 more steps - it's more like 40, so I don't know where she learned to count). Now, I am jogging about 12 miles a week, sometimes more. It is what I do now to start my day and I really get upset when I cannot run at 5am. I know...it sounds messed up. I have lost 10 pounds since we started in April. In mid-May, my mind set changed dramatically. Part of it was watching a young man who was born with no limbs below his elbows and knees who was training for a triathalon. I could no longer make excuses. I yearned for something different in my life and I was determined to persevere. Running became that release and has allowed me to be more free than ever before. I have gone outside my comfort zone and continue to challenge myself and make that comfort zone bigger each day. Regardless out the outcome, continue to push yourselves to do more today than you did yesterday. I promise you will be so happy that you did. Just tell yourself - 10 more steps! Have an awesome day!