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Somehow we’re halfway through the year…(HOW?) I wanted to check in with myself and with all of you (because accountability rocks) on how I’m doing with my new year resolutions.

To save you the searching for the post to compare, here are some of the public items on the list and the updates:

I will workout 182 days out of the 365 days of the year.

Last week I hit a huge goal which I am super proud of. I hit 100 days of working out. Originally I had this idea that I would do the first 100 out of the 182 in a row. Then life happened. There was a long necessary three week break in there from injuring my back and fracturing a bone in my neck (ouch!) so although I was very frustrated (believe me, I was not a happy camper) with the situation, I allowed my body to heal with the help of wonderful practitioners and some light yoga. Then got right to it with my daily workouts all the way to last week when workout number 100 was crossed off the list. It was a wonderful feeling, and it’s hard to describe. 100 of anything is a lot of something, and the fact that I didn’t give up, that I continued on is such an exciting and motivational accomplishment as I race to get those last 82 in there.

I will say that the mental battle I went through during the injury was a rough one. I felt like I had failed, that by taking a break I was being lazy, and that every day I didn’t work out I was getting further away from my goal. Talk about negativity levels through the roof! It took some time but with the help of my ever loving and incredible husband I started to understand that no, I wasn’t being lazy, and yes my back did hurt and my bone was fractured, and resting is what I needed to focus on. I was able to feel proud for the 50 some workouts I had completed up to that point and resting my back was not going to take that away from me. Getting the last few workouts in last week was pretty hard from a motivation standpoint. I don’t know if it’s because I felt like I was basically already there or if it was my mood just being a little low for some time prior but it’s now done! Regardless, I just have 82 workout days left before I can officially check off this goal! Here we go!

If there is one takeaway I got from this journey it is to learn to celebrate the small victories. Rejoice after every 5 or every 10 and celebrate your determination. Be kind and gentle to yourself through this journey and if you decide to give a 100 workout challenge a try, do send me a quick message! I’d love to cheer you on on your very own journey!

We will pay off all of our debt, excluding our home.

This is a pretty exciting resolution for me. We’ve been using the every dollar app for a while now and it’s truly been a lifesaver when it comes to reaching $$ goals. Living a debt free life originally seemed like a crazy idea. How can anyone live without a credit card? How does a family not have a car payment? What do you mean you’re going to buy a car with cash, I thought the options were finance or lease? A mind shift has happened in our home and both Christian and I are so excited to be so aggressively shooting for this goal. It’s odd, when you start drifting away from what the norm is and you start creating your unique way of going about life. We know not everyone will agree or understand, but then again, we’re happy with our decision, so nothing else matters. Finances are a taboo subject, so I’m staying pretty vague, but with a plan in action, a goal, a deadline and a whole lot of drive, anything is possible.

I will eat 80% clean and reduce my dairy intake.

I can say this has so far been very consistent. I have been eating a very healthy diet this entire year and it has helped to have the workout challenge at the same time. You need lots of good food to have the energy to sweat every day! I’ve also enjoyed cakes and ice cream, pizza, and veggie burgers with fries etc to fill up that 20% They really taste better when they’re eaten less often!

As for dairy, I have lowered the amount of cheese and yogurt I eat and aside from those two items, there weren’t many other things in my daily diet that had dairy. This has been surprisingly natural and since I’m not looking to eliminate dairy it has gone over well to just reduce it.

I will continue to grow in this beautiful marriage my husband and I have forged for ourselves.

Throughout this year, Christian and I have continued to live every day however we choose to. We’ve planned for so many exciting things in the future and have really taken to enjoying where we are today. For someone like me who lives attached to goals and improving in all these different areas, it can sometimes be easy to forget how wonderful life is today, this very moment. Thankfully my counterpart works very much the other way. Christian is all about enjoying today, being silly and funny and keeping life light. He’s the “things will work out,” to my “what are the steps we are taking to get to this goal,” and do I love him for it. He keeps me young and happy and honestly, I’m the luckiest girl in the world.

We have some huge plans for this year, some trips planned, some days for us to get away just the two of us, and sometimes that’s just with frozen pizza binge watching Netflix. Can’t wait to see what else we get up to this year that isn’t planned because I’ve grown to expect the unexpected and I know together we can tackle anything. It’s now JUNE which is the month of our anniversary. June is my love month. We were flirty high schoolers in June, we started dating in June, we got married in June… It’s just our month and I’m looking forward to thinking back on our journey through all these past Junes.

We will travel to someplace warm.

In February, Christian and I had a most magical trip down to Texas, New Orleans, and many warmer places like Belize, Mexico, and Honduras. We’ve never traveled with other people but this year my beautiful cousin Susy and her husband Roberto agreed to join us on this wild adventure. I am so grateful to have such a large and loving family filled with cousins and aunts and uncles sprinkled all over the globe. It’s difficult when it comes to holidays, seeing as we are all so far away. But when it comes to traveling it means you have many cozy beds to choose from.

After meeting them in their home in Houston we road-tripped it (is that a word? it should be) to New Orleans where we stayed in a super cool guest house that used to be an orphanage in the 1800s. The creepiest photographs littered the walls and the amenities were… well none. No matter though we had a great time celebrating on Bourbon Street until the wee hours of the night the first day of Mardi Gras!

The next morning we cruised down to these magical and beautiful locations and had an incredible time on the ship. The memories that were made will live in my heart forever and I am so grateful to have shared this trip with family.

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Throughout my life, I have tried many things. Therefore it goes without saying that I have failed at many things too. I have been very lucky, in that I have an incredible support group. My parents and siblings have always believed in me. Often more than I believed in myself. I was lucky enough to marry one heck of a supportive husband who let me try new things even when he didn’t understand them. I’ve had supportive people in my life from a young age, but even so, there have been times that I’ve had to deal with unsupportive behaviour from others around me. It made me think about those of you reading, and if perhaps you fall into any one of these ‘maybe’s’. I wanted to share what I’ve observed over the years, and how I push through, no matter who isn’t cheering for me.

Maybe you have that one family member who makes jokes about what you do. That business you want to start, the fitness routine you are on or the healthy eating lifestyle you are committing to. They poke fun at it or make sarcastic comments here and there. All in all, they make you feel shitty about whatever it is you have set your mind to do.

DO NOT. I repeat, do not let them get to you. I’ve had this happen to me, and what I can say is that it’s hard at first. You want to defend everything you’re doing, you want to show them all the facts about why this is a good idea, you want them to be on your side. Because, you know, they’re family. Aren’t they all supposed to support you? Truth is, no, not all of them will. In my case, it was one, in your case, it might be many who stand against you. No matter what, fighting back is exactly what this person wants. They may secretly want to see you fail so that they can feel better about never giving it a shot themselves.

“Look, I knew she wasn’t going to finish that workout program, that’s why I didn’t start, I knew it wouldn’t work” Do you see how sad this person’s life must be, that THIS is the monolog in their heads?

Nowadays I choose to focus on the support and love I receive from the rest of my family. And it’s a big family! Because they are louder. It just depends on who you choose to listen to! If you do fail, because we all know failure goes hand in hand with trying new things, they’ll be the ones saying “I know you’ll succeed next time, I believe in you,” rather than “I told you so.” They are the people that matter, they are your support group. Don’t let their voices be drowned out by the negativity of one sad human being.

Maybe you have that close group of girlfriends, and in your mind, they should be your biggest supporters! They know all your secrets, they know what you’re like at your best and worst times. Why then, when you tell them you’re starting a home business do they refrain from cheering you on, or even supporting your business if they’re in the market for something you offer/carry.

Home Businesses have grown dramatically over the last few years. It seems like everyone you know is making or selling something now, and guess what, this isn’t a bad thing at all. There are these large movements to support local shops, to stay away from big box stores and support those mom and pop shops because we’ll be helping our local community’s economy. Well, guess what, your friend’s business is just that. It’s a place where your dollars go towards their little girl’s ballet class fees or their next family vacation.

It still shocks me when I tell someone about how amazing I think (blank) is because of what it’s done in my own life and have them blow me off when they hear they can get it through me. But then turn around and buy it from Walmart or Amazon. (WHAT?) When one of your closest friends does this, I’ll admit it, it hurts. If you take it personally it can seem like a clear statement that they don’t believe in what you do. That they don’t support you as much as you originally thought, and that at the end of the day, they don’t want to see you win.

Don’t let this negative train of thought ruin the plans you have for your business or service this month. Don’t waste your precious energy on trying to figure out WHY they did it, just take it as a learning moment. Were they clearly aware they could have bought this product from you? Did they just see it at the store and were reminded of your recommendation and picked it up without any malice in their actions?

You see, it isn’t all about you. It’s about the end result. If your friend is now eating healthier because of something you recommended, or they are getting a better night’s sleep because of an essential oil mixture you endorsed, just be happy for them. Yes, it hurts sometimes. But when we focus on why we do what we do, all of this negativity goes away. When you focus on helping people and making their lives better, no matter what goods or services you provide, you will feel more fulfilled with all you accomplish.

You can’t control what other people do, but you can control how you react to it. And this is by far the best way to let icky moments pass and prepare yourself for all the goodness that is to come!

Here are some tips to help you stay motivated no matter what unsupportive behaviour comes your way:

I wrote a post about dealing with unsupportive people in general. In it I break down many of the reasons people choose to be unsupportive. I wrote it after receiving some messages from women in my wellness online group about their family or friends playing these unsupportive roles in their lives. If you liked this post you may find some more insight in this ither one too. Check it here: Dealing with unsupportive people.

Remind yourself of your Why.

Why are you doing what you’re doing? Focus on that and only that. With a strong enough why you can achieve anything no matter what life throws your way.

Write down your goals and don’t let anything or anyone sidetrack you.

Push that negative family member’s comment aside. Brush off the fact that your friends don’t support your business and keep going. A goal that is not written down is just a dream. Read up on how to make the most out of your month and crush those goals!

Read personal development.

I recommend Personal Development often.. Show me a person that is not succeeding and I will show you a person that isn’t reading personal development.

Connect with others doing what you’re doing.

Find other entrepreneurs, bakers, business women. Whatever your field, there is a group out there waiting to be found. If you really can’t find one, then make one, you may be what other’s have been waiting for.

Believe in yourself.

Because at the end of the day, this whole thing depends on you and how much you care about it. Believe, be positive, be efficient with your time, work hard, and work from a good place in your heart. The rest will come as it must. I wrote this post about moving on from failure. It may help you learn to believe in yourself again.

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Do you have a car payment? A line of credit? A mortgage? Do you have student loans? If you said yes to any of those questions, this post is written specifically for you.

I can’t figure out when or how I came across Dave Ramsey, but I am so grateful I did. Dave is the voice of debt repayment. Every day for three hours a day he hosts a radio show that is broadcasted live on youtube, facebook and is later offered as a podcast anywhere you listen to your favourite podcasts. He teaches millions of people how to get out of debt and how to be debt free. By following Dave Ramsey’s baby steps it is possible for anyone to become debt free. The hubs and I are on his plan and are currently on Baby Step 2 and crushing our goals hard.

So why should I worry about debt? I make my monthly minimum payments, I’ve never been late on a payment and my credit score is awesome.

Well, with most debt, the longer you have it the more money you throw away in interest payments. Banks WANT your money, and interest is their bread and butter. As Dave says, your greatest wealth building tool is your INCOME, and debt makes this number lower the more you owe! Imagine having no car payments, imagine keeping all the money you make? Yeah, it’s possible, and the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps will get you there.

Baby Step 1: $1,000 to Start an Emergency Fund

Sell anything that isn’t attached to the floor, make a budget and cut back on expenses. Save the $1000 as FAST as you can. If you already have a savings account, take everything out of it and leave $1000 in it and put all the rest to your debt. The idea for this fund is that it’s an EMERGENCY fund. A birthday is not an emergency, because you knew it was coming up. With this in the bank you won’t have to go into debt if something were to happen.

Baby Step 2: Pay Off All Debt but the House

List all your debts from the littlest one to the biggest one and list your monthly minimums. Every month, make a new budget with your partner and attack that little debt with a vengeance! Throw every last dollar you can at the little one until you pay it off. When you do, take all the extra money you were putting towards the debt AND the minimum payment you were making and add it to what you pay to the second debt on the list! This is his snowball method and the idea is that the motivation of knocking off the small debts will inspire you to keep going while freeing up more money to pay off the larger debts!

Baby Step 3: 3 to 6 Months of Expenses in Savings

Now you are debt free! Congratulations!! Time to build your emergency fund to a full fund. This means, add up all your expenses for the month. Mortgage, food, utilities, insurance etc and multiply that number by how many months you want to save. He recommends 3-6 month’s worth. Now this is your new savings goal! This will allow you to be prepared were life to throw a huge wrench your way. This and all his steps are also available on his website.

Baby Step 4: Invest 15% of Household Income Into Retirement

Now that you have no payments and a fully funded emergency fund, time to make that money work for you. Invest!! Take 15% of your gross household income and invest it into a Tax Free Savings account, your work’s matching RRSP etc. Remember, time is of the essence and you will benefit from compound interest when it comes to this step. Stay consistent and soon you will be a millionaire. It’s just math!

Baby Step 5: College Funding for Children

Now that your future is taken care of thanks to investing it’s time to start saving for your kid’s post secondary education! The Canadian government has something called the RESP and by contributing to it the government matches 20% of your contributions up to $500 a year. (aka, free money!) This is a great way to start saving for your child’s education.

Baby Step 6: Pay Off Home Early

Now, there’s just one more debt standing between you and a truly debt free lifestyle. Can you imagine not having a mortgage payment?! I’m freaking out over here just thinking about it! Any extra money you put towards your mortgage is going to shave off so much interest and so many years off your mortgage! This is a huge one, and usually, especially in Canada, we don’t often find mortgages for 80 or 90k like our neighbours to the south do, so our debt here is quite large. Just keep at it. You have no payments, your life is well set up after following all the baby steps, so enjoy your money while paying down your house faster!

Baby Step 7: Build Wealth and Give

Max out your RRSP and TFSA investment contributions per year, and have FUN. As Dave says, you live like no one else so that later you can live and give like no one else. Become incredibly generous, and do whatever you want. You have done so well. Congratulations!

All the baby steps and more on the entire idea behind Dave’s plan, including his own personal story, is detailed in his book the Total Money Makeover, which I could NOT recommend more. I actually wrote about My Top 5 Personal Development books and you better believe this was on that list!

Best of luck on your journey. Are you following his plan? What baby step are you on?

 

 

This post contains affiliate links. What does that mean for you? It doesn’t cost you anything extra but I get a small percentage of your purchase if you decide to purchase something from the post. I do this to make some side income while linking you to the great products I use. I will never write a post about a product I do not believe in, and no one has paid me to write this post. All opinions are always my own. Just like supporting a friend’s small business, by clicking on my affiliate links you are supporting a small time blogger who deeply appreciates it. Read more about this on my about page.

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5 Favourite Personal Development Books

I like to read. Though, I scrunched up my nose when I was younger at the idea of reading non-fiction books. I just thought if it wasn’t fiction it was an autobiography and I didn’t care about real people. I cared about wizards and Hogwarts and Hagrid… yes, I basically only read the Harry Potter Books on replay. Every time I picked up a fiction novel I’d start it and endlessly compare it to J.K. Rowling’s way of writing and the story and I always made my way back to re-reading my beloved series. I still have yet to read a biography but I have a couple on my list of books I want to read.

Personal Development books weren’t even on my radar. But when they got on my radar… girl you better believe I read them all. (Well not all, but I’m getting close, haha) I have gained SO much from reading personal development books and I have compiled a list of my ultimate top 5. The 5 that have changed my life in some way, taught me lots and pushed me forward, closer to my goals.

I read Personal Development books with a highlighter in hand. Gasp! You mark up your books? YES. Personal Development books are TOOLS. And as such, they should be used and abused. I dog-ear and highlight like nobody’s business because when I don’t, I have to re-read the whole book to remind myself of what I’ve learned. When key pieces of information are highlighted you can skim through a book you’ve read and quickly point out what you felt was worth remembering. Say you were studying for an exam (a life event) and you had your textbook full of information (personal development book). You wouldn’t want to aimlessly search the textbook for answers, you’d want your notes clear and jumping out at you, that’s the goal.

Also, I’m a quote lover, hence the highlighting, so I have also included some of my favourite quotes from each. The best part about it is there isn’t a book over $15 on the list, so it’s not going to break the bank either, and they have been some of the greatest investments I’ve made recently.

The Slight Edgethe slight edge

This book is just awesome. It kicks you in the butt and gets you into high gear that’s for sure. It awakens that lion inside of you that WANTS that goal real bad. It makes you question what you do every day and reassess your priorities. It shines a light on your procrastination and guides your focus to the right places.

Favourite Quotes:

♥ “Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do.”

♥ “The truth is, what you do matters. What you do today matters. What you do every day matters. Successful people just do the things that seem to make no difference in the act of doing them and they do them over and over and over until the compound effect kicks in.”

♥ “The journey starts with a single step—not with thinking about taking a step.”

♥ “Instead of writing down what you’re going to do (chances are you’ve been doing that your whole adult life anyway, and it doesn’t make you any better at doing them), write down at the end of the day what you did do that day.”

You are a Badassyou are a badass

Man, how I love this personal development book. It’s like having that person in your corner telling you that you can do it! Jen Sincero writes like a friend in your living room. She tells it how it is, a wonderful blend of life experiences and client stories. There are so many points to think about in here. Seriously it’s hard to not highlight entire paragraphs, I highly recommend this if you’re in the need of a reminder that you CAN do it and that the Universe has your back! You CAN live an amazing life. Energy is real y’all. read this book to find out how to use energy to your advantage.

Favourite Quotes:

♥ “You are loved. Massively. Ferociously. Unconditionally. The Universe is totally freaking out about how awesome you are. It’s got you wrapped in a warm gorilla hug of adoration. It wants to give you everything you desire. It wants you to be happy. It wants you to see what it sees in you.”

♥ “You are responsible for what you say and do. You are not responsible for whether or not people freak out about it.”

♥ “If you’re serious about changing your life, you’ll find a way. If you’re not, you’ll find an excuse.”

♥ “Because if you base your self-worth on what everyone else thinks of you, you hand all your power over to other people and become dependent on a source outside of yourself for validation. Then you wind up chasing after something you have no control over, and should that something suddenly place its focus somewhere else, or change its mind and decide you’re no longer very interesting, you end up with a full-blown identity crisis.”

7 habits of highly effective peopleThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Personal Development hits full steam with this book. There is some serious information in here. This one comes from a recommendation from an old manager and I’m so grateful I got a chance to read it. It’s really insightful and does make you look at yourself a little differently. There are some real action items in this book, so if you’re looking for fluffy PD, this is not the book for you. But if you’re looking for a super clear guide you can start implementing now then this is the book!

Favourite Quotes:

♥ “But until a person can say deeply and honestly, “I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,” that person cannot say, “I choose otherwise.”

♥ “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”

♥ “Two people can see the same thing, disagree, and yet both be right. It’s not logical; it’s psychological.”

♥ “It’s not what happens to us, but our response to what happens to us that hurts us.”

the compound effect The Compound Effect

This is the first Personal Development book I read. A few dozen boss babes in my network read it, and it was so eye-opening. This is the book that hooked me into PD forever. To me, learning from books was restricted to school’s textbooks and that they were boring, real boring. I used to read to escape reality and jump into magical worlds but now I love reading to learn, so that I can take a hold of my reality and immerse myself in making it work for me every day!

Favourite Quotes:

♥ “You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”

♥ “It’s not the big things that add up in the end; it’s the hundreds, thousands, or millions of little things that separate the ordinary from the extraordinary.”

♥ “Forget about willpower. It’s time for why-power. Your choices are only meaningful when you connect them to your desires and dreams. The wisest and most motivating choices are the ones aligned with that which you identify as your purpose, your core self, and your highest values. You’ve got to want something, and know why you want it, or you’ll end up giving up too easily.”

total money makeoverTotal Money Makeover

Oh Dave Ramsey. This guy, all I can say is I’m obsessed. If you owe anyone any money, you need this book. Credit cards? Loans? Car Payments? Student loans? A mortgage? Everyone in the world needs to read this book. Get out of debt. Get Gazelle intense and just knock it out and give yourself a raise by doing just that! Sve for retirement, pay off your home way early. Pay cash for everything, and never use a credit card again. He goes over 7 baby steps that are honestly so simple you’ll be looking around thinking you’re getting pranked. Yes, it’s THAT simple.

Favourite Quotes:

♥ “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.”

♥ “You must walk to the beat of a different drummer. The same beat that the wealthy hear. If the beat sounds normal, evacuate the dance floor immediately! The goal is to not be normal, because as my radio listeners know, normal is broke.”

♥ “The enemy of “the best” is not “the worst.” The enemy of “the best” is “just fine.”

♥ “You have to live like no one else so that then you can live and give like no one else”

I hope you enjoy the list, and that you pick one of these great reads up, do it and see how your life changes!

Love,

Mariangelica

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You failed. It happened, and now you can’t stop thinking about it. It’s ok, we’ve all failed before, and guess what, we’ll fail again. But we need to move past it! Here are some tips on how to finally STOP OBSESSING over that time you failed! Time to move on, move forward and get to the next thing.

1. Admit it, but don’t BECOME it.

Don’t let that one thing that didn’t go quite right define who you become. You do not become a failure, ever. Admit that it happened, but don’t let it touch who you are. You are a try-er, and these are the things you have to go through to get to the place you want to be! Our self-esteem drops when we decide to become our fails, and that’s not only damaging but it lowers our frequencies and slows down our progress. Nobody wants or deserves that!!

2. Feel what you feel.

There’s nothing good that’s ever come from ignoring our emotions. Figure out how you really feel and put it into words. Do you feel angry? disappointed? sad? It’s all ok, and guess what? It’s all natural! Allow yourself to feel what you feel. Once you do, it’s time to move on.

3. Turn it to ashes.

Writing something down gets the energy out of your body. Putting your emotions and situations on paper allows you to clear your mind. Truly. So take a moment, and write it down. The failure, your feelings. Put it all out there onto the page. And then, turn it to ashes. Burn the paper and let the ashes fly away and take everything with them. It’s a very freeing moment.

4. Sage it.

You’ve now gotten rid of all these negative thoughts and emotions that were swirling around inside you. Here’s the thing, though, energy lingers. I can’t seem to focus when I have a cluttered space or when it feels stuffy and heavy in the room or in the house. Ever feel that? Like no matter what you did, you still don’t feel quite right? it’s time to clear the negative energy and clean the space around you. Nowadays you can find these things anywhere, but go grab yourself a sage smudge stick and use it. Sage has been used for centuries to clean and purify areas. Make it work even more by saying some positive thoughts as you do this, or pray, whatever you’re into.

5. Let go of other’s opinions.

Sometimes, when we’ve failed it isn’t so much the failure that we get really anxious about, it’s when it’s a public failure. When people know. What will they think now? Deep down we all have this fear of not being respected or believed in, and failing makes us feel less than. But guess what? You’re not the first person to have failed. You’re not the only person in this world that things have not turned out for. So let go of the care for what other’s think of you because you tried, and somewhere along the way, you will succeed, and that day, you’ll know that it was all your hard work, your dedication, and your drive to stop obsessing about that one time you failed.

Love always,

Mariangelica

 

This post contains affiliate links. What does that mean for you? It doesn’t cost you anything extra but I get a small percentage of your purchase if you decide to purchase something from the post. I do this to make some side income while linking you to the great products I use. I will never write a post about a product I do not believe in, and no one has paid me to write this post. All opinions are always my own. Just like supporting a friend’s small business, by clicking on my affiliate links you are supporting a small time blogger who deeply appreciates it. You can read more about this on my about page. Thanks love.

 

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