Mackenzie Carose

I Stopped Waiting

By Mackenzie 4 Comments

So, I had a baby about 18 months ago and since then, I have tried to eat healthfully and get back to some sort of exercise regimen but wasn’t seeing results because let’s face it: my attempts were half-hearted at best. And truth be told, taking care of small children is in and of itself exhausting. Sometimes you just want to sit on the couch and eat some chips and salsa in peace.

The months have gone by and I just kept wondering when was it going to be my time? When was the time going to be available for me to get my act together? When? When? When?

When would be the perfect time to take care of me?

I’ll let marcandangel put it succinctly:

If you wait until you are 100% ready, you will be waiting the rest of your life…We waste our time waiting for the ideal path to appear . But it never does. Because we forget that paths are made by walking, not waiting.

Boom.

I was reading a book recently that really helped me which is by a yoga teacher and it talked about trauma and healing. It helped me for a whole host of reasons that I may or may not go into one day, but the fact of the matter is, she made me realize that I matter.

Let me repeat that.

I MATTER.

Sounds simple and maybe for some people they are like, well duh, of course you matter. But here’s the thing: we are all carrying some form of emotional baggage or doubts, or bad habits, that are messing with our mindset and preventing us from evolving or changing or just doing the damn thing.

I matter.

And I am no longer waiting.

A path isn’t going to just appear before me full of healing and hand weights, along with exercise equipment with packs of hummus and carrots for the journey.

I have to walk the path. And in order to forge that path, I need to actually get on it.

I am no longer waiting.

My heath is important and I need to make it a priority. I have people around me that care if I am here or not and I want to physically be there for them.

And I need to do this for me. To be the strongest and healthiest person that I can be. I matter and I need to make sure that I am making choices that support just that.

In the last week or two since I’ve had my small but mighty epiphany, I have exercised. Consistently. I get the whole endorphin thing. Whoa…

I have also made small changes in my eating habits. Nothing drastic, but enough that I am feeling better and not so bloated.

I still have a ways to go, but this is a journey, not as destination. I am in this for the long haul.

I matter. And so do you.

Simplify: My Word For 2019

By Mackenzie 7 Comments

If you have been a reader of my blog for a while, you know I am not a New Year’s Resolution kind of girl. I am more of a “word” or “phrase” kind of person.

That being said, my word for 2019 is SIMPLIFY.

Here’s the thing: 2018 kind of sucked. I was supposed to Let It Go, and I did no such thing. Between bringing home my second baby, to my post-partum depression, to other life and world events, it was not my strongest year. I didn’t let anything go except possibly dirty diapers.

There’s no use in crying over spilled milk though. Last year is in the rear view and it is time to press forward.

On to 2019!

When trying to figure out what I wanted for the next 365 days, the overwhelming need in my soul, was to simplify. This pertains to many different aspects of my life, which I think is important for my overall well-being.

img_2914

MY HEALTH

Food: less processed food. More water. More whole foods. Simple meals. More veggies.

Physical: more movement, more walking. Incorporate meditation back into my life.

MY  HOME

Get rid of all the things! Seriously, my apartment has looked like a tornado has hit it for the past couple of months and I am going to run screaming out the front door one of these days if it is not rectified.

Also, we plan on upgrading to a larger apartment sometime this year and there is NO WAY we are dragging all this crap into a new dwelling.

SAYING NO TO DOING ALL THE THINGS

No more running a million errands. No more driving here, there and everywhere. Try to have more things delivered if need be, to free up time to spend together as a family. No more going places we don’t want to go and seeing people we don’t want to see.

Freeing up this need to get “all the things done”. More white space. More time at the beach just watching the waves hit the sand. More walks. More time.

ANYTHING THAT CAN BE AUTOMATED

Still working on this one, but I am determined.

Simplify. Simplify. Simplify.

Who’s with me? 🙂

What is your word for 2019? Let me know in the comments!

If It Makes You Unhappy…Unfollow

By Mackenzie 6 Comments

IMG_2650

Many of us are looking forward to the end of 2018, which will forever be branded under the word “tumultuous”. I am one of those people.

But before this year of truly trying our patience ends, maybe think about also saying good-bye to what doesn’t fill you up, and I am specifically speaking to our tenuous hold concerning social media.

I know this is not a light bulb moment but you actually get to choose the accounts and people you follow on social media. Yes, I am stating the obvious, but just because someone “follows you” doesn’t mean you have to follow back.

Mind-blowing, I know.

Here’s the thing: social media can be a good thing in the right doses. But when you follow accounts and/or people who bring you down or don’t make you feel good about you, it is time to clean house with these accounts.

For example, I know that no matter what part of the world we are living in, there seems to be some upheaval. Do you really need to follow several media news outlets on Twitter? Do you need to constantly see what so-and-so is tweeting about in regards to said issue? Do you find after checking your Twitter feed and seeing that the same crap is happening, it is just a different day, feeling low?

Unfollow.

This doesn’t mean sticking one’s head in the sand and pretending that everything is fine, but you don’t need to follow EVERYBODY. The world will keep spinning without you needing to know what is going on every single minute. Your well-being will thank you. And if unfollowing all the news people, news outlets and people advocating for change is way too difficult, that is fine. Start with unfollowing one or two people/news outlets once a week and see how you are getting your information. See how it is making you feel.

Then keep pressing forward the next week with that unfollow button.

Say it is people on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook who are constantly talking about how much money they earn and you are over here wondering if you should turn on the heat or throw on another sweater and tough it out. You look at their fabulous lives and wonder why yours isn’t fabulous and then the cycle of feeling crappy rears its ugly head again.

Unfollow.

Seriously.

If these accounts are making you feel bad about yourself, feel good about yourself and unfollow.

If there are people whose blogs you used to follow but don’t anymore, but are still following them on social media, maybe that is another avenue to explore in regards to unfollowing. Maybe you used to be a mom blogger and now you are a personal finance blogger but you still follow all these mom bloggers/blogs from your past life, consider clicking that unfollow button.

Because here is the thing: social media, in theory, is supposed to make us happy. It is a medium for us to communicate with others and be happy about it.

If social media and the accounts you are following are bumming you out, take a good hard look at what and who you follow and what you are occupying your time with.

Really look at all of your social media accounts and think about 2019: do you really want to start the new year following people and/or businesses that you are truly not getting any value out of?

Less is more. Always.