Walk Into the Future

Tag: Happiness

  • My favorite thing about me!

    Mirror

    (Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay)

    “On the highest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own bottom”.

    (Michel de Montaigne)

    My efforts to create content for the Walk into the Future blog finds me conducting research in multiple locations.  I’m an avid reader so of course books, online articles and other blogs catch my attention daily.  The goal is to generate fresh content others would be willing to read and share with their network.  Always seeking additional content ideas as I Walk into the Future.

    Came across an interesting guide during my research phase called 365 Days of Writing Prompts which was created by the Word Press editors to prompt bloggers with inspiration to write every day.  Some of the prompts are an attempt to give bloggers a vault of topics which hopefully leads to finished articles.

    I incorporate daily thoughts, conversations and events into Walk into the Future blog posts so most of the Word Press prompts are just things for me to view—not looking to write without a real purpose since this would not help promote my why on the blog.

    Found a few of the Word Press prompts interesting enough to put aside to see if I could develop a future blog post.  The following prompt is my first post using the Word Press guide:

    • Toot your horn: Most of us are excellent at being self-deprecating and are not so good at the opposite. Tell us your favorite thing about yourself.

    Perseverance is defined as persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success (Dictionary.com).

    I’ve talked about superpowers and leveraging my why to make a positive difference in the world.  My favorite thing about myself at this point in my Walk into the Future is my perseverance.

    My goal is to tackle each day with positive energy as I continue to move forward in the world.  Would like to say things always go my way but that’s not true or a realistic outcome.  I continue to persevere even when things don’t follow the plan; my positive energy mantra allows me to quickly regroup, make new plans (pivot) and then move forward.

    The Walk into the Future title was selected for the blog because it gives me purpose and enhances how I interact with others daily.

    Perseverance in my daily Walk into the Future allows me to continue to focus on how my words, thoughts, actions and why lead to small wins daily.  The win could simply be a comment from one of my tree branches, family or blog followers, but it provides the positive energy to strive to do more in this world.

    So, there it is, perseverance is my favorite thing about myself!  Will continue to work on projects and topics to incorporate my why to see where this journey leads.  Always striving for positive energy and outcomes in everything I touch—Irie mindset daily!

    What is your favorite thing about yourself?  How do you display your favorite thing to others?  Thanks for walking with me!

    “A true genius admits he/she knows nothing”.

    (Albert Einstein)

  • Walking in the Future without a return date

    Happy

     Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

     “I want to move and go places and never look back.  Just have fun, forever”.

    (Josephine Marcus from the 1993 movie, Tombstone) 

    I love the quote above for the simple nature of how it signifies life should be fun.

    The quote was a response to a question Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) asked Josephine Marcus (Dana Delaney) in the 1993 movie, Tombstone.  He was trying to understand how Josephine defined the concept of happiness.

    My current Walk into the Future has a bit of resemblance to Josephine’s view with a slight twist.

    I constantly seek out opportunities and adventures that excite me and then find ways to incorporate these things into my current walk.  Had another interesting conversation with a longtime friend prior to heading to Philadelphia for the 2019 Philly Rock n Roll half marathon.

    My travel itinerary was the topic of discussion and I revealed in my typical Walk into the Future fashion the following things were known about my trip:

    • Hotel reservation confirmed
    • Race registration confirmed
    • Arrival flight confirmed

    The list above did not have an official return date from Philadelphia.  To me, this was not a big deal, just part of how I Walk into the Future.

    My friend quickly became worried for me because going somewhere new without a return date was/is a foreign concept to most people.  FYI, for me this is an exciting part of the walk!  Please note, I knew when I planned to come back, I just didn’t book the return flight at the same time as my departure.

    Southwest Airlines tends to reduce flight prices to ensure they have full flights.  I simply gambled on the premise they would lower the price for the return flight from Philly and it happened.  Spent less coming back than I did going up because of my ability to walk without a return date.

    Don’t consider myself as a travel pioneer; I’m sure other people have flexible travel schedules.  This flexibility is an exciting aspect when traveling.  I routinely book travel at the last minute because of the great deals I’ve been able to get in the past.  Please note, it does not always work in my favor and I end up spending the same or more for my travel adventures.  Can’t complain when this happens since I normally come out ahead more times than not.

    I book with a more traditional travel concept when friends and family travel with me.  My wait and see program can cause some level of anxiety so I’m mindful to eliminate this when others are counting on me being in a specific location at a specific time.

    Plan to explore new destinations in 2020 and will not be pressed by a return date.  Will continue Walking into the Future with no return date; been a fun journey so far! 😊

    Where would you travel without a return date?  Would you find this exciting or scary?

    “Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better”.

    (Albert Camus)

     Philly downtown2

    (Downtown Philly!)

  • Nashville & the Wildhorse Saloon

    Rock n Roll Half Marathon

    Made my way back to Nashville, TN for the 2019 Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in April.  This race has become a favorite of mine because it allows me to run Nashville neighborhoods and catch amazing musicians at multiple music venues.

    My training approach for this half marathon and all others moving forward has improved tremendously.  The Walk into the Future approach has allowed me to increase my training efforts and logging ‘true’ long runs.  Long runs for me now routinely cover 10 miles or longer.  The longest training run I put in for this race was 15 miles—didn’t run this distance for speed but used it to build mental and physical toughness.  Turns out I needed all the mental and physical toughness I could display because somewhere in my love for Nashville I forgot about the HILLS there! 😊

    The first 6 miles seemed to go uphill with multiple degrees of incline.  My training runs incorporated hills, so I was better prepared than I initially thought.  Decided to just put trust in my training and have fun as I made my way up each incline.  Slowly found myself enjoying each step with a smile on my face—guess I finally got that runner’s high people always talk about.

    Fast forward a bit and I was able to finish in 2:08:21 (two hours, eight minutes and 21 seconds) which is my personal best.  Improved on my time from the 2019 New Orleans Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon.  I’m still a bit off from my goal of running under 2 hours but I’m making incremental progress towards the goal.  I will continue to take small bites from the elephant.  Next scheduled half marathon will be in Philly in September.

    Nashville after race

    Wildhorse Saloon

    The Wildhorse Saloon is a place I visit every time I’m in Nashville.  It’s a great place to hear live music, dance and get some of the best food in Nashville.  Made two visits to the Wild Horse on this trip and heard some great new musicians.

    Line dancing lessons take place when the musicians take a break and the dance floor was crowded with folks having a great time learning the steps.  The line dance instructor breaks each dance down with step counts and practice for the dancers before turning them loose.  It’s great watching people learn the dance and then actually perform what they learned—yes, I include myself since I first tried line dancing at the Wildhorse.  Believe this place is a must visit if you decide to head to Nashville.

     

     

    NFL Draft

    The 2019 NFL Draft was also in Nashville for race weekend.  This was an extra event to experience while in town.  There were over 600,000 NFL fans in attendance for the 3-day draft event.  Made my way down to draft central two days to soak in the excitement of the draft and enjoy the crowds.   Didn’t realize how many professional football fans were this invested in their team’s draft process.  The passion, excitement and team pride displayed was impressive and Nashville put on an excellent show for everyone in attendance.

    The Pittsburgh Steelers were the most represented team at the draft.  Their fans travel all over the country to show their support.

     

     

    My current Walk into the Future seems to keep bringing me back to Nashville and I love that fact!

    I plan to return to Nashville next April to enjoy the race weekend and live music again—great place to visit if you’ve never been!

    What’s your favorite place to visit?  How often do you get a chance to visit?  Thanks!