I gave it everything I got. Not just this marathon, but this entire year. I rearranged my priorities, created new habits and routines and shifted my mindset – all in support of long-term physical and mental health.
I journaled every day to remain goal-focused, but also to achieve happiness in the present moment – something I’ve struggled with immensely. I took the one leg that was still firmly rooted in the past and planted it in the present. I adopted the mantra that there is no afterparty, no future in which achieved goals will magically increase happiness – that, in fact, THIS is the afterparty.
I deepened my understanding of food, bettering the way I was already eating plant-based. I cleaned up my diet, eliminated most processed foods in favour of whole-foods and, while I was at it, tossed out alcohol too.
I trained twice a day, every day, weekends or not.
Tired or not.
Busy or not.
Rain or shine.
Even when a 25 minute walk was all my body could handle.
Even when what I could do seemed to make no difference at all.
I strayed away from social media and got up at six a.m. most days to do all of this.
And it payed off.
With the help of several professionals and inspirational figures speaking to me through podcasts and books, I healed.
I healed my back from a severe hernia: a bulging disk in my lower back pinching the biggest nerve in my right leg, causing me to almost pass out from the pain.
I healed my skin from acne that, for seventeen years, only a heavy, hormone-infused birth control pill could keep at bay.
I tossed out that pill too.
I grew out my hair that always stubbornly refused to grow much longer than shoulder length before thinning and breaking off.
I walked part of the Camino the Santiago – for seven days, forty kilometres a day.
And today, I reached my goal of two years: running a marathon. On the island where my journey towards becoming started.
But forget about the marathon and forget about goals achieved, because it’s not even about that anymore. More so, it’s about how I gave it everything I got this year. Everything to become the healthiest, fittest, and – most importantly – happiest version of me I’ve ever been.
It’s been a while.
Life truly is a gift and happiness truly is a choice.
*Deze post is onderdeel van mijn voornemen in januari elke dag een (gepolijste) versie van mijn journalsessie te delen. Ik ben er namelijk van overtuigd dat dagelijks journalen me gaat helpen van 2022 mijn jaar te maken. Je vindt alle posts in de categorie journal. Meedoen maar geen idee hoe je begint met journalen? Ik vertel het je precies in Project Journal.
