Money Saving Mom®

Much as I wish it were true, no one is born self-disciplined. It’s something you must intentionally cultivate with time and effort.

And it starts with making a choice. You must draw a line in the sand and say, “I am choosing to make changes to get me where I want to go.”

However, the immediate changes don’t have to be anything massive. In fact, I’d encourage you not to try and overhaul your life overnight. Instead, start with something small.

Here are some examples:

Want to have less clutter in your home? Start by getting rid of 20 things you don’t need in your main living areas. Make it a goal to do this every single morning and, pretty soon, you’ll start to see some real results!

Dream of beginning a blog? Start by setting up a domain name and committing to spend 15 minutes every day doing something blog-related, whether that’s reading through BloggingWithAmy, working on writing posts, or learning how to change things on your blog’s sidebar. Do something every day and it will add up to a successful blog over time.

Wish you could lose 10 pounds? Commit to exercise for 15 minutes every day, eat one salad each day, and drink 8 glasses of water. These simple changes won’t be too hard to implement and they will start to help you feel better and gradually lose a little weight.

Make the choice today to become more disciplined in one small area. Do this one thing repeatedly and don’t give up and I promise the little habits will add up to big differences over time.

Jumpstart Your Success! Last Day to Get 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life for Just $0.99!

Help kickstart your success by purchasing a copy of my ebook, 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life. In this ebook, I walk you through step-by-step how to overhaul your life from the inside out. I break into down into bite-sized pieces and coach you through a 21-day journey to success!

Best of all, this ebook is just $0.99 through the end of today (Thursday, October 25, 2012) and I’m giving away a free printable Calendar Set to everyone who purchases.

Plus, did you check out the fantastic giveaway with over 150 prizes — things like gift cards, coffee, Thirty-One totes, books, DVDs, and much more? You can enter to win up to five times per person per day by purchasing an ebook or posting about the ebook on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and/or your blog.

Stay tuned because I have one big last social media giveaway coming up this afternoon that I promise you’re not going to want to miss! In the mean time, don’t wait to jumpstart your success, go get a copy of 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life.

photo courtesy of Big Stock

{I was so proud of Silas for running his first half-mile race last Saturday after I finished my first 5K race. He was so determined about it and had a blast!}

You know one quick and easy way to kill your success? To convince yourself you can’t do something before you’ve even tried.

For so long, that’s how it was with running for me. I didn’t believe it was possible, so I didn’t even bother to try.

When I finally changed my attitude and stopped saying, “I can’t”, I surprised myself and trained and trained until I could run a 5K.

The training part wasn’t easy. There were (and still are!) days when getting on the treadmill is the last thing I want to do. But I knew that if I’d just lace up my running shoes and start running, I would never regret it. And I never have.

My friend, Ashley, shared this video with me awhile back and I’ve watched it multiple times since then. I encourage you to take two minutes to watch it today.

As long as you sit and make excuses, you’re never going to go anywhere in life. And you’re going to miss out on a whole lot of exhilaration and excitement, too!

So, I challenge you, stop letting fear of failure and negative “I can’t” thought patterns hold you back from success. Just go do it!

Even if you never make it where you hope to end up, I promise you’ll go much farther by getting up and doing it — something, anything — than you ever will by sitting and doing nothing.

Psst! Get Some Step-By-Step Help — And Have a Chance To Win Some Cool Prizes!

Want some motivation to get up and start doing things and living intentionally? You need to get a copy of my new ebook, 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life. In this ebook, I walk you through step-by-step how to overhaul your life from the inside out. I break into down into bite-sized pieces and coach you through a 21-day journey to success!

Best of all, this ebook is only $0.99 through tomorrow (Thursday, October 25, 2012) and I’m giving away a free printable Calendar Set to everyone who purchases.

Plus, did you check out the fantastic giveaway with over 140 prizes — things like coffee, Thirty-One totes, books, DVDs, and much more? You can enter to win up to five times per person per day by purchasing an ebook or posting about the ebook on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and/or your blog.

Stay tuned because I have more fun giveaways — like Amazon and Starbucks gift cards! — coming up later today plus a Pin-A-Thon we’ll be running! In the mean time, don’t wait to jumpstart your success, just do it: go get a copy of 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life.

Did you purchase my ebook, 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life at the specially discounted price of  $0.99 yet? If not, go get your copy while it’s at this price!

And, if you need some additional accountability, Crystal from Serving Joyfully, Laura from Super Sweet Life, and Erin from Home With The Boys are going to be hosting a challenge/accountability group going through the ebook beginning November 1, 2012. Whether you blog or not, if you’d like more discipline in your life, they’d love to have you join them for the challenge!

Read all about the 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life Challenge right over here.

I’m over on Life Your Way talking about Why You Should Get It Done Early — a concept that has revolutionized my productivity and helped me to be a lot less stressed about life. Here’s a snippet of the post:

Get it done early. Such a simple concept, but it’s revolutionary if you implement it. I know, because I’ve experienced the fruit in my own life!

You see, for years, I’ve struggled with being on time. I was always waiting until the last minute to do what I needed to do and then I’d breathlessly rush out the door barely making it to my appointment in one piece — and late again, as usual.

It wasn’t just getting places on time that I struggled with. Getting things done on time was also my constant nemesis.

Oh, I always had great intentions. But inevitably, something would come up that seemed to need my attention more. Or I’d get distracted and put things off until the very last minute.

Read the full post.

photo credit

Last Saturday morning, bright and early, I got up and did something I’ve always wished I could do… I ran (and finished!) my first 5K race.

For some of you who run multiple marathons a year, that sounds like a cakewalk, something you’d do as a little warmup. For me, on the other hand, it was monumental.

I’d Convinced Myself I Wasn’t a Runner

You see, up until two years ago, I couldn’t even run a half mile without collapsing and feeling like I was going to hyperventilate. So I’d long ago convinced myself that I’m not a runner. Instead, I’d walk or bike or get on the elliptical.

However, after challenging myself to start and follow through with an entire round (all 90 days!) of P90X awhile back, I decided to just try running a mile to see if I’d really increased my endurance or gotten stronger.

To my utter disbelief, I ran a little more than a mile without stopping!

Inspired by this success, I started running on a regular basis. At first, I could barely pull off more than a mile. But I kept making myself get on the treadmill, even when it was the last thing I wanted to do.

Doing Something I Never Believed Was Possible

I started the Couch to 5K program to help keep me on track and gradually working on improving my endurance and time. Some days, it was grueling and I felt like I was going to keel over and throw up. Some days, I had to stop because I just had nothing left to give.

But I didn’t give up. And one day, after a number of months of consistently running, I got on the treadmill and ran 3.1 miles without stopping.

I’m not an emotional person by nature, but I cried the whole last quarter of a mile.

Why? Because I had done something I never believed to be possible. I had run a 5K. Granted, the 5K was on the treadmill, but it was still 3.1 miles — something I never would have thought weak, non-runner me could pull off.

Facing My Fears Head On

But I was still scared to actually run in a race. To go out there with other people and try to start and finish a 5K seemed daunting. I was afraid of failing, coming in last, or just plain not being able to pull it off under pressure. I know it sounds silly to admit it out loud, but I’m just being gut honest here.

As I’ve been learning recently, though, sometimes the best thing you can do in the face of fear is to just do it. Just step out and face head on whatever scares you most. The more you face your fears, the less daunting they seem to be.

So, I signed up for the race, I put on my running shoes, and I showed up. Still nervous about the whole thing, but determined to not cower away from something I’d set out to do — even if it was hard.

Even If I Didn’t Medal, I Came Home a Winner

It wasn’t the best race ever, and I certainly didn’t come close to having a shot at a medal, but when I ran through that finish line, I felt every bit like I’d won a gold medal. Regardless of my time, regardless of the fact that many people older than me had a much better time, I finished — and that’s what mattered.

Truthfully, once I got over my initial fears and pre-race jitters, I loved the experience. And I’m pretty sure that it will be the first of many races to come… in fact, I’m planning to set a goal to run at least one 10K race in 2013.

It just goes to show, you will never find out how far you can go, unless you just get out there and start trying.

Have you faced some of your fears and stepped out of your comfort zone recently? If so, tell us about it so we can cheer you on!