Mirrorless Monday

Special thanks to Kasey at Powercakes for inspiring me to write this post #mirrorlessmonday

Ok, I’ll be the first to admit that I am not the best at sticking to goals (see December Goals for my epic November fail). But I love self reflection and making goals. I’ve made cute lists, artsy charts, and even collages to help motivate/inspire myself towards achieving them. But, more often than not, the goals are not reached.

Regardless, I don’t get really down on myself for ‘failing’, because ultimately it is my belief that failing to accomplish a goal does not equate to personal failure. I don’t think that my inability to accomplish something reflects poorly on me; it certainly doesn’t affect whether or not I’m a good person. So that’s why I feel sad sometimes when I hear people get down on themselves for not going to the gym or not sticking to the diet, etc. Sure guilt is a great motivator, but I don’t think it’s a good one. Why must we make (or threaten to make) ourselves feel like crap to achieve something that is supposed to make us feel better?

To me, each and every one of us is a work in progress. There is no ‘ideal Miranda’, there is no ‘ideal you’. There is no way we can achieve the most perfect us, because the definition of our perfection is constantly changing. Individuals are fluid; we continually change to adapt to new circumstances. Things like the perfect body or being rich/successful only hold surface value and upon achievement lend very little to perfection. And as Bartek puts it, “Some of our little vices (which the ideal self would by definition lack) are our most treasured virtues (those little things our loved ones know us by and love us for).”

I’m not advocating a “throw caution to the wind” lifestyle. Instead, I suggest we examine what we really, really want. No matter what we choose, I think we can agree that whatever it is, it will be much better if we feel good while doing it. This may seem like common sense, but waking up in the morning and feeling happy/healthy is something that many people go without. There have been many months when this has been the case for me. And now I’m striving to change that. That’s why I think that it should be the main priority, the main goal.

We know that eating well and being active helps contribute to feeling good in the morning. Being physically healthy, therefore, becomes a necessity. Healthy mentality is a whole ‘nother ball game. Positivity goes a long way, but no matter how you accomplish healthy mind and healthy body, accomplishing both suddenly make your more individualized goals a little bit closer.

After all, no matter which form those goals take (ie, travel to Europe, buy a new car, win a competition), we do them because we think they’ll make us happier (we certainly wouldn’t do them if we thought they’d make us more miserable!). So maybe all of our goals are just to be happy, in which case being healthy contributes right to that. Either way, there seems to be no way around it, or no reason why we shouldn’t strive for a healthy mind and body.

I was inspired to write this post today after thinking about Kasey’s Mirrorless Monday. She urges us, for once a week, to look into the mirror and see what’s great about ourselves, instead of picking about our flaws (aka failings). She’s one smart cookie (or power cake!), because I think this is exactly what a lot of us need to do

So the next time you fail to achieve a goal, realize that it’s not the way in which you become happy, it’s just that you do become happy. And making yourself feel bad is just a step in the wrong direction

Now, come over to my house for a cup of tea…

I know, I know. I’m not suppose to get any more new tea before I move. But I received this in a Christmas basket. So it’s not my fault. It’s by Pukka and comes in a super cute package. The tea is called Love (to warm your heart), and is made up of rose, chamomile, and lavender. It’s so good and not at all perfume-y.

I’m drinking it while I knock off the first Harry Potter book. I want to read all 7 (I’ve only read the first 2 and that was when they came out). Life is good…

xoxo Miranda

Can you think of a better goal than to be happy?