Sparkle

Would you rather have a crew that....

Gives you warm water Gives you cold water

Misses an aid station Is at every aid station

Eats your race food Has your food ready

Isn't ready when you come in - OR- Are prepared

Forgets your bars Got you even extra bars

Sits in your seat Take care of you

Tells you you look weak Tells you you look strong

Asks you why you are even trying Motivates you

Is negative, fearful, or lacks confidence in you? Is positive, loud, cheerful?

Now, that is not including some of the honesty we need at times... but lets say we aren't talking about a race, lets say we are talking about life.

Why is it that instead of lifting one another up, some of us try to pull others down?

Especially when the person may be overcoming challenges, excelling, serving, and inspiring?

Lack of confidence. Insecurities. Fear of Failure. Fear of rejection. Jealousy. Fear of ... fill in the blank! But worse yet, sometimes we let them don't we? Or maybe you are the one trying to pull others down just so you can step on them on your way up?

We've all heard this, revised it, maybe even tried to live it...

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Nelson Mandela ~

We are all guilty of having insecurities from time to time but what's the difference between those that REALLY SPARKLE and those who don't?

FAITH.

I'm not saying you have to believe in God (well I'm not NOT saying that either, as you all know, I certainly do and would encourage you to as well..but even if you don't and you do believe in a higher power, or don't or aren't sure yet... read on.)

Faith- complete trust or confidence in someone or something. So you see, it doesn't necessarily have to be God but does money fill those holes? Your good luck charm? Your blanky?

Have you ever realized there isn't any "kind of" faith? It's you either have it or you don't.

So when God says : "For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20-21).

There is:

Disbelief: Inability or refusal to accept that something is true or real.

Unbelief: When someone doesn't believe in something and/or is "middle of the road."

Ultimately, the unbelief is disbelief because we can't go into a race, into an interview, or sparkle if we are living in a state of unbelief. It's not good enough. And our unconscious minds know this and resort back to "I'm not good enough."

Basically, if you think you are going to fall running downhill on the trail, you will fall because...what's the first thing you think of if I tell you to tell yourself "don't fall."... FALLING!!!

One must have complete faith and one must have help to obtain this mindset.

You may need some rewire, you may need to do some spiritual spring cleaning, you may need to detox from certain people, certain crew members...So I will challenge you this spring to set aside your insecurities whether you are the one in the spot light or vice versa and make some changes so you can let you light shine, sparkle, GLOW!...as we were intended to.

Refuse to let others or society tell you how YOU feel, don't let neigh Sayers think you are burnt out, crossing boundaries, doing too much, or trying too hard... for they are the ones that lost their fight.

YES!!!! we live in fast paced world where most are burnt out, so if you find yourself late to work daily, not getting self care in, crossing lines with too many "yes's" over any no's and can't breathe, short tempered, PULLING OTHERS DOWN INSTEAD OF LIFTING THEM UP ...or being happy for them, consider yourself burnt out and take some time off please.

For those of you that are catching negative comments, losing so called friends, or are seeing changes happening around you because you refuse to wallow in misery with those that FEAR SPARKLE.........STAY STRONG!!!!

We have to deal with fear because it is possible that it will make us miss the best parts of life. The same goes for burn out. It is a delicate balance as we all know and we must not only manage time but manage our energy as well... and recognize when that energy is negative!

DEAL WITH IT!!!

1. Sit down for 5 minutes in the quiet without any distractions, think about where you are now in life and where you want to be.

2. What is keeping you from where you want to be? Is there a gap of education missed? Certifications you don't have? Experience? Lack of money? Lack of support? Fear?!

3. Now deal with it. Create a plan of point A to point B and all the in betweens that may include that spiritual spring cleaning I mentioned, changing your crowd, reshaping your mindset.

This past weekend I embarked on a journey that at one point in my life I didn't think I would ever be able to do again. My last 5 years have been hijacked by Fear of Fatigue.

With double hip surgeries, tailbone removal, thyroid, heart, asthma, getting put on oxygen at night.. WHO WAS I TO THINK that I could run with some of the fastest masters women in the country in a road 5k? Or that I could do a road marathon again after what my pelvis had been through? Not to mention it had been 10 years or more since the last one!

Better yet, WHO WAS I NOT TO BE?

My faith equipped me with the mindset I needed to go out there and get the job done. I believe I exist to inspire. You have heard me say that before. I mean that. But what I don't mean is that the results will turn out how I WANT them too always, or that it won't always look perfect or go perfect. But because I took that step in faith, because I saw nothing but growth with trying ... a positive mindset, I won. NO, I am not talking about the marathon win, I am talking once again about a feeling that is not like any other.

You know that feeling? That feeling most of you are chasing right now?

The reality is, if you set goals, or set out to do something, and you train your mind to unconsciously shoot down the negativity, drown out the noise, avoid the poison, listen to the holy spirit, be obedient, then you will win.

Well how the heck do I know it's the holy spirit telling me what to do? Hint: it's that gut feeling you get, the hairs standing up on the back of your neck, or even your heart sinking when you may have missed the chance... the opportunity. ALL GUIDANCE.

You don't need me to tell you that though, you feel it. It's just whether or not we listen to it.

Pounding away on the pavement, no the concrete, wait no...the bricks, I shuffled my feet up and down the curbs, around corners, and all different types of hard surfaces. It was like I was running in a dream. My hips and pelvis took the hammering without any problems. I felt strong and free to fly (almost naked really with the absent ultra running vest, bottles, gear). Although I was out there to give it all that I had, I wasn't sure what that was even going to look like given it had been a decade and numerous surgeries since I've been on the road for a race. Not to mention the hard fast 5k that resulted in an asthma attack the day before. But I was running on a high note, because that 5k the day before was the master women's national championship. The best were there and I was right in the mix. Making every effort to hang with the lead ladies, after passing mile 2 I tasted it. That yucky almost metallic weird taste that one gets right before they are going to have an asthma attack. I couldn't push. If I did, it may result in not even finishing the last mile! So I held back, finished as strong as possible just missing both of my goals for the race. 4th place and sub 18 not sub 17.

Did I allow this to affect my mindset? No. I celebrated my win of getting back out there, putting on my big girl pants and doing something I never thought. RISK=GROWTH.

Back to the marathon. Cold and windy, I was oddly smart and cut some of my long socks I had into arm sleeves before I left the hotel room. I drafted behind all the big guys I could find (there happened to be a lot in this race:) Georgia peaches maybe haha?! ) The miles flew by, I wasn't sure who was actually in the women's marathon or the half ...until the half point when some ladies veered off and the bike escort was with me. Hearing first lady hoops and hollers sure felt good but there was still a lot of grinding to be done. I thought of who may be watching my little dot on the tracker from home as I continued on. It made me smile to see not only some adult faces but the little faces of my youth team too. Things in life (although NOT EASY ) had changed for the better since the last time I ran a roadie, I thought. As I approached the last 1/4 of the race, I was STARVING! My watch was already reading 1000ft gain plus and I totally underestimated it and did not bring enough calories! I took the bananas from the few aid stations that had them and used my trusty GU gels for electrolytes. I'd end up overly swollen and with charlie horses rolling up in my calves those last few miles due to shooting down the gels for glucose purposes not electrolytes but I had no choice. I was bonking horribly.

A little earlier, I caught a glimpse on a switchback road of what appeared to be the 2nd place women rocking out behind me. I knew she was probably close as I approached the last half mile because my bike escort kept looking back. It didn't become real until she was right next to me at the 26 mile mark and I took one look at her from my "elk like" side eye (I would have loved it if someone got a picture of this?!) and took off like a snake bit me! I did not look back even after I crossed the tape.

I knew I served. I grew. I did not reach my time goal. It was not perfect. But I won in more ways than one.

So in case you didn't catch those steps to really grasping and harnessing faith...

1. Make a small change (baby steps and step in the risk direction=growth)

2. Step out of your comfort zone. (there are no sparkles here!)

3. Get into God's Word. (or whatever you believe, but if you are coming up short, take the risk and come and see)

4. Find a supportive community ( spiritual spring cleaning sometimes includes social media and family too) hint: They should be happy for you and celebrating your wins not turning the other direction or spilling negative soup all over you because of their insecurities.

5. Pray about everything. (If you don't take times outs for self care including your mindset, then how do you expect for it to recover and grow? Like a muscle you can't continuously break it down, break it down... break it down, and not let it recover.. you must take time out to do so too!

Need a little more help with your Spiritual Spring Cleaning? Consider Rugged Retreat this April! A few spots left and registration closes in a week! click

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