Cheri Dixon: A Girl and Her Dog

Hey there, y’all! Thumbing through my file of quotes today, I came across this one…and boy, this is one we all need to be reminded of every once and a while! How often have you tried something and quit because it wasn’t going right…or worse yet, kept going on a bad path, just because you really did not know how to pivot and create that new ending? I know I have been there during my life!

Life is funny…we get so many great opportunities to do whatever we want in the world. Sure, some of us believe we are held back by society, our own upbringing, or just bad circumstances…but, we really do have the power to design the life we want. I have met so many people in the world who have faced this adversity and came out on top! When asking them how they did it, I hear the same thing time and time again…which resonates with me, as I do the same thing in my own world! One, they don’t give up when it gets hard. And, when they go on the wrong path, they adjust so that they can find success in the end…not stay on that wrong path!

One year, as I was training for one of the many half marathons I do, I thought I would try something a bit different in my training schedule. Instead of doing 3-4 runs during the week, a quick, short run on Saturdays, and one long run on Sunday, I tried to run 2 times in the week and one long run on the weekend. I did this due to work commitments and time constraints. I was actually thinking, “I am in good shape, I should be able to do this plan and still complete my run.” Well…as you have already probably guessed, it didn’t work. My December (I complete my half marathon in mid January) long runs were becoming harder and harder, and I noticed I was losing strength and endurance fast! Once I realized this, I made a big change quick, instead of staying on the path and just chancing that I would successfully complete my run.

Here is the thing….life happens. We make good choices and we make bad choices. We have great plans and then sometimes we fail to plan at all. But, as I mentioned, we have the power to create the life we want to live…although sometimes hard…and we also have the power to pivot when we are on a path that we know is not working! I challenge you all to think about this the next time something is not going the way you had hoped. Rather than continue in the wrong direction, or just give up completely, find a way to pivot and find the ending you were hoping for! Until next time! Cheri ❤️