Recently, I’ve been feeling like I’ve been losing traction. Not just from a running perspective, but from a life perspective in general. Last Saturday, we had an almost all day snow that, although only amounted to a trace amount on the ground, created havoc on the roads. While out running errands of my own, I came across two bad accidents, with one closing the road completely.
I had headed out earlier for a run to find this in our driveway –
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Gotta love friends who run by our house and leave their mark!
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Running was tough that morning. I felt like I couldn’t get my footing. I’m anxious to get back into my normal stride again, my normal speed, and my normal natural running “feel”, but found it frustrating because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get any traction. It would probably have been easier with a foot of snow instead of an inch.
Work is another area of my life that has recently found me losing traction. Our team has been down a person since October, there are a ton of projects competing for attention…thus explaining the feeling that every step forward means two back.
And of course, there’s Christmas. Christmas has a way of taking something that should be special (whether one is religious or not) and turning it into a crazy, chaotic spending spree. I don’t consider myself a Scrooge - I love certain things (i.e. music, family, baking) about Christmas, but in general, I’ve had a hard time gaining traction in that area for a number of years now.
Wednesday felt like the icing on the chaotic cake I’ve been stuffing my face with. I had a company meeting in the city next to my office. It should’ve taken approximately 10 minutes to get there. It took a little over 45 minutes, with 3 lanes of traffic trying to merge off of the busy highway onto an exit ramp that was snarled by an accident. Super. Later, I left the meeting only to rejoin more chaos and additional accidents. On a good note, I was not part of any of the accidents I crawled by. Glass half full folks.
So what is one to do?
How do we go from this –
To this –
During that ride home, I started to relax as I realized I do have control over many of the slippery slopes in my life. Traction is gained in different ways. Sometimes, it’s about getting better shoes or better tires. For me, most times it's about slowing down to speed up.
This week, I chose “slowing down to speed up” by doing this –
Which included some much needed “fixing” of the hair –
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| Fun to go "straight" for a day! Don't worry, the curls are already back in force! |
While watching/listening to this –
I think it's working!! Aaahh....
How do you gain/regain your traction?
Sounds like a much deserved half day! The hair looks great.
ReplyDeleteI think I do the same- try to take some time to do something for me, whether it's quite time with a book or movie or a nice long walk with the pup.
Sometimes it's hard to stop, but I gotta remember it's also recharging :) And yes, long walk w/ the pup should definitely have made the blog cut!
DeleteYeah, hot chocolate makes it all better!
ReplyDeleteAmen to that ;)
DeleteI know EXACTLY what you mean, this time of year can be HARD. I personally don't let it get to me. It is totally normal to cycle from ups to downs in the process of a healthy lifestyle. we all do. My running has not been on point, I've eaten more crap that usual. Oh well, forgive myself and move on. I got this!!! I, like you, always try to keep perspective when stuck in accident traffic...thank you Lord that it was not ME in this accident, and I only have to bear the burden of a longer commute home and not the burden of being IN the accident. p.s. your hair is cute like that. :)
ReplyDeleteHow fitting that you watched It's a Wonderful Life! I just watched part of it on tv before my marathon... love that movie. Love Jimmy Stewart. It sounds like things are whirling all around you but you have been able to stay planted firmly on the ground, even though it feels like losing traction. Such a good reminder to find things that help keep the balance during the holiday craziness. You are awesome and your hair looks really cute! Good for you for taking the glass half full approach :)
ReplyDeleteA much deserved re-set day! You look fabulous!
ReplyDelete