We Were Made to be Awesome: A Birthday Pep-Talk

First, if you've been hiding under a rock, please view the first 3:30 of this video....seriously, just do it...

Now, let me tell you about how this little piece of awesome plays into life and birthdays.  A few years ago I wasn't terribly happy about everything.  Life was OK, but it wasn't awesome EVERY SINGLE DAY (actually, most days were nowhere close to awesome).  Then one day, I made a split second decision:

I wanted every day to be awesome.

And it happened.  I have no idea what it specifically was, or how it happened, or how I did it, but I came to the realization the other week that I am an incredibly happy, loving, passionate person and am truly grateful for every single piece of positiveness that happens in my life.  Literally, EVERY time I go for a run at 6am and watch the sunrise, I take a moment to be grateful that I get to experience something so beautiful.    EVERY time I'm able to successfully help someone at work, I'm grateful.  I'm taking split seconds, or sometimes moments, to reflect on that one thing that made me happy.

A colleague that follows me on Twitter told me, "I love following you, you're always so upbeat, life seems wonderful, and everything is amazing."  I had to pause for a moment, because I never "try" to put on a specific persona on social media - I am who I am - and the fact that someone loved my account because I was living this seemingly charmed life made me realize that yes, I do have a terrific life.  An awesome life.  Not because I'm completely carefree or have endless means to do whatever I want, but because I MAKE the day awesome.

Some call it "living in the moment" others may call it "living in lalaland" or even "carpe-ing the diem" but either way, taking the time to remind yourself of all the small things that make your life awesome make the hard times easier to handle.  And the decision to make things awesome is completely up to you.

So, like Kid President said here, "We were made to be awesome" - and we are...in our own special way.  We all have awesome things that surround us, that make us who we are, and help us through the harder times.

Go. Be. Awesome. It's what you were made to do.

To Pass or Not to Pass: That is the Question

I'm Competitive.

In case you didn't know that, it's true.  Whether in work or play, I like to win.  It's weird, cannot be explained by logic, and awkward at times, because I've actually tried tricking my husband into stopping near the finish line of a race so I could ditch him to finish first.  True story.

With that said, let me tell you about this woman in my neighborhood that I don't know.  She's slightly over weight (she just had a baby), but she's been running pretty consistently.  At first, she was doing a lot of very short runs with longer walking periods, but she's been VERY consistent over the past few months and is now running a lot.  I know this because I've seen her run by our house many times, and I always take note because you can tell she's been dropping the weight and getting faster.  I smile whenever she passes my house - it's pretty awesome to see someone make such wonderful improvements over time.  I'm genuinely happy for her and how awesome she is for losing her baby weight through hard work and dedication (because there have been mornings that I've refused to go outside due to chilly temps).

Well, yesterday while I was out running, I saw her in front of me as I rounded a corner.  Instinctively, I picked up my pace...my usual race strategy is to find someone ahead of me and pass them....but this time, I laid off the gas and slowed down.  I don't know why, but there was a part of me that didn't want this woman to be my "person to pass" - she's been working so hard that I didn't want to come off as a jerk who likes to show off that they're faster than you (although don't get me wrong, I'm no Lolo Jones).

She "won" yesterday....because she has silently earned my respect and admiration over the past few months.

You go, girl...you go...