If you have been following this blog for any amount of time, you may have noticed I have a penchant for writing bad poetry. I don't have any delusions my poems are good, they are just fun and funny (to me).
For me, poetry is less of an art, and more a puzzle with words. I enjoy rearranging words and sentences to make them (almost) rhyme to tell a story. In the beginning, it always seems I won’t be able to get the puzzle to tell a cohesive story, but when I keep playing with the words and sentence structure, it always comes together.
It's flashback Friday when I dig in the archives to share a blog post or two that you may have missed the first time around because after five years of blog posts a few probably have slipped by your attention.
Since it's Valentine's Day, I'll share a love poem I wrote to running years ago. Can you relate? Then we can flashback to revisit a few of the past poems I shared on the blog.
Valentine's Day Love Poem
Dear Running,
How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways…
You clear my head, shrink my butt,
And bring me happier days.
You are always there
When I need you most,
To run away stress
Through the mileposts.
When I need to unwind
You are heaven-sent,
I lace up my shoes
And hit the pavement.
When I take you for granted
And neglect the burn
You patiently wait for
For my inevitable return.
When much time has passed
And you're calling my name
I always know
We can re-spark the flame.
Running, I thank you
For all that you do,
For my heart, my soul,
And my mind, I love you.
Are you intrigued by my bad poetry skills? Here are some other poems I shared on the blog over the years.
In case there is any dispute, I wrote a song about running to convince you that Autumn is the most wonderful time of the year. Won’t you sing along?
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Questions? I’d love to help.
If you read my posts and assume I have it all figured out or do things perfectly, you would be mistaken. I understand why. It’s easy to look at a health and fitness coach and assume they have it all together. But I am human, too. I like sushi, ice cream, and chocolate. I miss workouts and sleep in. Lately, I’ve been running a real-world experiment on my own screen time habits, and it didn't exactly go to plan. Here is what happened when I tried to follow my own advice and why "knowing" is so different from "doing."
When we think about changing our habits, we usually start with the kitchen. But the world around us is much bigger than what is in our cabinets. Our environment is made up of different layers, from the items we keep within arm's reach to the digital spaces we scroll through and the people we spend our time with. In Part 2, we look at how to shape these outer layers so that making the healthy choice becomes the easiest path for your brain to follow.
Stop trying to force healthy choices. If you ever wonder why your willpower seems to vanish by 6:00 PM, it’s not your fault. The environment around you is likely dictating your actions. In Part 1 of this series, we go way beyond the typical pantry clean out to look at the first four layers of your environment and how to shape a path that helps your habits stick.
I’ve always said I’m a better writer than a talker because writing allows for reflection. For years, I told myself I just wasn’t good at public speaking, but I've realized that the stories we tell ourselves can often hold us back. For the last couple of years, I’ve been more intentional, most recently practicing with my Toastmasters club. I’m learning to challenge those old stories and develop new skills. I recently performed a five-minute speech on this very topic, and I’d love for you to check it out.
If you’ve ever clicked on articles about how to get 6-pack abs or how to lose 15 lbs in two months, but never took any action towards those goals, it might be time to reevaluate your relationship with movement and exercise. That lack of action is likely just a mismatch between what you’re told you should care about and what is actually important to you. Hustle culture is everywhere, but what if you viewed movement as a resource to manage stress, improve focus, build resilience, and gain energy? In today’s blog, we talk about changing our perspective about exercise can give us the best results.
Most people only think about nutrition or changing their diets when they want to lose weight. What we often miss is that how we eat is a resource that can improve life in many meaningful ways, even if the number on the scale never moves. Today's post cover three reasons to improve your diet that have nothing to do with weight loss.
Most of us are stuck in habits and thought patterns that we didn’t even realize we were practicing. Whether it’s negative self-talk on loop, the trap of thinking every workout has to be a high-intensity suffer-fest, or being so obsessed with the scale that we miss the small meaningful wins, these mindsets can sabotage our progress. In this blog, we look at how to identify these traps, give ourselves some grace, and start choosing a new way to think about health and consistency.
Before and after photos make it seem like the middle is just something to endure until you reach the end. The reality is that there isn’t really an after picture. The real magic happens in the messy middle. It is found in getting through a tough Tuesday when you’re tired and the fridge is empty. Here is why the middle is where your real life happens and how to find meaning in the journey.
I spent a whole Saturday flipping around on Netflix and scrolling my phone thinking I was relaxing. By the end of the day, I felt sluggish and cranky. It turns out that what we think of as resting is often just junk miles for our brain. Here is why your weekend didn't recharge you and how to find true recovery instead.
I don’t know about you, but I get motivated at the start of the year only to have that energy fade by February. On January 1st, it feels like this will finally be the year everything clicks. Then reality sets in. For many, an ice storm and a week of shoveling snow put out the spark. But what if falling off track isn't a failure? What if it's actually the data you need to start smarter? Let's talk about the dimmer switch method and how to build habits that survive your real, messy life.

There’s no time like now to get started working towards your goals. What are you waiting for?