Don't Shrink Your Dreams

February 8th, 2014
Don't Shrink Your Dreams. Supersize Your Courage and Your Abilities--Karen Salmonsohn

Tracy Story

I did something courageous last night. I signed up for a half-marathon.

It may not seem courageous to some, but it was a big deal to me.

I use to be a pretty fit gal quite some time back, but without going into all my drama and the reasons of this and that, I'm not fit anymore. I started my path back to fitness a few years back and slowly but surely I have had good leaps and strides, and I have made some excellent progress, more than excellent, fantastic really. I still have a lot that I still want to do.

In the beginning of this year I laid out a set of physical fitness activities that I wanted to accomplish. I wrote down how many times I wanted to do these things during the course of one year. To give you an example, in addition to participating in a half marathon, one of my goals is that I want to snowshoe 3xs a month in Jan., Feb., and Mar., and possibly April if the snow holds. I didn't make it at all in January, but in February, I'm two down and one to go. It feels fantastic. I think I was riding on that high when I thought "What the heck? Why not?" and proverbially "drunk-dialed" the half-marathon website last night and signed up. I was ecstatic, elated, and filled with the power of "I CAN DO THIS!" I was planning out everything I needed to do. I went to bed knowing I could do this, I could make this dream. When I woke up this morning, and remembered what I had done, I wanted to throw up and I kinda freaked out a little bit. I thought "WHAT DID YOU DO???" "You can't do this?" "You're not ready for this!" "You. Are. An. Idiot." Not kind words to my usually happy little inner self and nothing near the excitement and joy of last night.

With some help from my husband I talked myself back off the ledge and have decided that "Yes. I can do this. I can do hard things. I can make a change." I am going to do more than dream and hope, I am going to take action. And so I let it be, and in the end of March I'm going to make my way several hours south of here with my sister and BIL, my mom, my brother and SIL, and I'm going to be a woman of action and I'm going to do something exciting and new, something that will build me and stretch me and give me experience. I am nervous (and a little scared) and I am excited.

I want to be a doer, not just a dreamer. I'm not ready for this, I am definitely not in prime racing order . . . at all. My purpose was in the taking a step towards something that is important to me, which is being a woman who does hard things because they are fun, a woman who braves the unknown and stares down fear of failure because she can and because the "doing" is the important part that will lead to more doing and more doing and more doing.

My goal is to go. My goal is to start. My goal is to go as far as I can and that will be the measure of my success. I hope to finish, but if I don't, the failure to finish will be a victory in the beginning of my path to becoming a woman who loves the outdoors and thrives in the use of her body.

I hope all of you have dreams and desires that are exciting to you and maybe even a little scary, or perhaps a lot scary. Don't wait to start. Be courageous. Begin now. I am with you.