This quote, is the one that has stuck with me the most from watching the Shaytards. I think I truly realised the meaning of this quote from Shays first marathon vlog. I had watched Shay change from a man who was just at the very beginning of believing that he could make changes, that he had the capability to do them, to someone who had followed them through and made so many changes to his, and his family's life, and signified this by running a marathon. Moving a wife and 4 children to LA, with not much money, creating an incredibly successful business, and losing 110lbs cannot be easy, but he showed that it is possible, by creating small changes day by day, so small that you barely notice them. The small changes build up, until eventually you have reached your goal. 

I recently tried to make a very personal change, in order to reach a goal. Although I was able to make that change, it took a great deal of effort, and left me exhausted, emotionally and physically, and more stressed than I started out with. I guess some goals are harder than others.

We should all make goals, no matter if they are tiny, such as having one less can of pop a day, or big such as quitting smoking or drinking alcohol. Making one small change each month, will lead to twelve changes in a year, which in itself, is a big change. The pursuit of happiness and positivity should never stop, it's what we all want, right?

Here are some of my changes that I have been trying to make:

1. Cutting down on sugar - At Christmas, I noticed just how much all of the extra chocolate and sweets affected me. I wasn't able to relax as much, I felt horrible and bloated inside, and had heartburn. One day I decided to not have any sugar that wasn't naturally occurring (such as in fruit), and I instantly felt a change. I didn't feel as jittery, or bloated, and I didn't have heartburn. So this year I have decided to cut out all sugary foods that aren't naturally occurring. So far it's going okay. I have slipped up a couple of times, but this doesn't mean I am going to give up and say I can't do it, I'm going to keep on trying. 

2. Treat myself more often - For some reason, for a while now, I've sort of told myself that I don't deserve treats. I think it stems from the fact that a couple of years ago I did put on a fair bit of weight but I didn't really notice, until I started noticing when I lost the weight and a lot of ignorant relatives started saying I looked a lot better, and what was my secret for losing the weight. Equating my stupidity of putting on weight, to not deserving things started to occur, but now I've started caring far less what people think, and therefore I am learning to treat myself to stuff now and again. 

3. To start a blog! - I feel like my law degree and other aspects of my life sucked away any life that was left, out of me, and I can't really remember the last time I did something creative. So my resolve is to start doing things that I want to do that are fun, and stop putting so much pressure on myself to do what other people want me to do.

I hope I manage to achieve these goals , and I hope if you haven't made any goals, that this inspires you to make some :)

Friendship

In life, you go through times where you think you will never see the light, that it's impossible to ever get through that time, and you don't know what you're gonna do. Then, that certain person who you can ALWAYS rely on, comes running to your aid, to walk with you, side by side, to get you through to the end. That person for me, is my best friend Clare . We've been friends since before we can remember, and have always been there for each other in times of need. 

Now we're moving on, and live far apart, Skype has become our lifesaver, and whenever she comes home from University, we always without fail, first thing, go for a walk around our local park. Today was a cold miserable day, but the swans were out and about which is always pretty! 

Moral of the story is, always make time and effort for the person who always makes the time and effort for you. Keep building on the friendships that have survived the test of time, and don't worry about those that haven't.