“Go the extra mile, it’s never crowded.”
How insanely true is this quote? I took this picture after lunch with my parents last week and all I wanted to do was keep running.
It ended up being a gorgeous day regardless of it being overcast with a major chance of storms. The perfect temperature for a run, yet there was no one around. I started thinking about how often the path is wide open for us to start working and follow our dreams, whatever they may be. Then it occurred to me how infrequently we advantage of these opportunities. Why? Is it because we’re scared of failing? Don’t feel like putting in the extra effort? Too tired when we come home from our day job to work on ourselves and our own goals? There are so many things that keep us from accomplishing our goals, big or small.
My Journey
It was 2009 when I first thought I wanted to be an orthodontist. I was born with a severe underbite and a crossbite and spent most of my childhood with mouth pieces, face masks, and retainers before having braces in 8th grade. I literally had every kind of contraption to straighten my jaw that you could imagine. And it all worked. My teeth were straight and my jaw was (& still is!) perfectly aligned. I had an amazing orthodontist through those years – he made the process bearable and even enjoyable. I wanted to do for people what he did for me. His passion for his profession showed every day in the office and it made me want to be that.
Dental School Dreams
Once he retired, I shadowed a different orthodontist several times. She was not only running her dental/orthodontics practice alone, but she was a single mom, worked out twice a day, and was seriously killing it every single day. We spent a lot of time together before the office opened and after it closed and it quickly became official – that’s who I wanted to be like. For a few years, I felt that same passion, too. Then it took me 5 and half years to finish my undergrad and I decided I didn’t want to spend 7 more years in school. That’s what I convinced myself, anyway.
Or was it that I was afraid I wouldn’t get in to dental school? What if I wasn’t as good at it as those two were? I didn’t have the most exceptional grades, but I’d visited the advisors at UofL and they were encouraging every time I was there. Still, something in my mind was too scared to act on what I once felt so strongly about.
Pure Barre Babe
Then there’s Pure Barre. It was 2011 when I first heard about the studios in Louisville. Instantly, I wanted to try. I even had a friend who told me I could go with her. My excitement and motivation were through the roof! I was nervous and actually terrified. I started talking myself out of it because it was too far from home, I didn’t look like the other girls there – the list goes on. It was 2015 before I ever even tried a class! This is the perfect example of why it’s so important to push ourselves to our limits because we never know how perfect it can turn out. Y’all already know how much Pure Barre has changed my life in the last two years so I’m glad I didn’t wait any longer.
Lifestyle Blogger
It was also 2011 when I considered starting a blog. Now 6 years later and I’ve actually started one! I feel so proud to have this thing up & running, no matter how successful it currently is. I’ve achieved one of my biggest goals and it feels so. freaking. good.
Putting in the Extra Effort
I’ve always been one to put in the extra effort at work especially. I haven’t loved every job I’ve had, so it definitely hasn’t been easy to give 120% day in and day out. But in my experience, it’s worth it.
At my last job, I was selling tickets at a museum on the weekends during college. Then I started going on the trips with the mobile museum and quickly became the full-time weekend manager and Brand Ambassador for the museum. It was an absolute dream job. I moved up quickly and felt successful for the first time in my life. I reached this point because I was reliable, worked hard every day, and made sure to leave lasting impressions on the customers. Obviously not many other people around me were putting forth effort like that because there wasn’t anyone else who moved up like I had. And I’m proud to say I’m the only Brand Ambassador that museum has ever seen.
It’s so easy to give up on ourselves and our own goals because so many of us spend every day working for someone else to achieve their goals. I’m not saying quit your day job. I’m only saying take time to prioritize your own life. Time management is one of the biggest things that has helped me do things to benefit myself. Make yourself better each and every day.
Your Challenge
I challenge each of you to push yourself out of your comfort zone, no matter what it is. Make an extra effort to achieve your goals. Sure we might not succeed the first time or even the second, but we certainly will never succeed if we don’t try. I recently participated in a 5 day boot camp that helped lay out visions and goals for my life and it’s insane how much something like that will help! Write down your visions and your goals, short-term and long-term. Then write out the smaller steps you’ll have to take each day to lead you to achieve those visions and goals.
Tell yourself failure is not an option and just keep going. Go the extra mile, unlike so many people we encounter each day. You will amaze yourself, I promise!
Imagine all the things we could achieve if we would just do them. Make yourself proud, you deserve it!
What are you going to do today that your future self will thank you for? Tell me!