Hello loves, how are you today?

In episode 119 about chasing silver bullets and why action beats affirmations I mentioned that I’ll soon be talking about moving out of a period of stillness. That’s what I want to talk about today.

We’ve just come through the autumn equinox of 2o25, and I always use the cross-quarter days as a time for reflection and resetting goals. This year was especially poignant for me as it marks just over a year since my life flipped around, again, with great loss, and incredible new beginnings.

Both can co-exist. 

There have been some lovely moments this year that my dad hasn’t been here for. I am balancing the joy and excitement of planning a wedding with the pain and grief of my dad not being there, especially to give me away.

For the past year or so I have been taking the time to just be. After many, many, years of being a warrior, I had moved into a restful warrior space, and I needed it. To be at home. To rest. To be still. There was still that tiny part of me that might have wanted to go for a run, but I also wanted to snuggle up under blankets. I split the difference with taking Oscar for a less-energetic walk, and then curling up under blankets.

Something is now shifting, and the runner in me has been getting more assertive. The woman who loves to declutter, and DIY is showing her face. The warrior awakens.

Now here’s the thing. I really believe in Future You visioning. 

I apply it to everything from my health, my fitness – marathon finish lines especially, my relationships, my career. Just as I really believe that you have to believe you want to heal, the exact same applies to this. You absolutely have to believe in the version of you that you want to become. You might not know how you’ll get to her, but you need to work on the belief that you will. The one that wants to dream bigger, and craves adventures, freedom and flexibility.

Part of being able to believe it is by setting a goal to where you want to be. Questions I ask myself on the cross-quarter days include who was I a year ago? What 3 wins have I had? What 3 ways have I improved my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health? Who do I want to be a year from now? And, what version of me do I want to embody? How do I want to feel? How do I want to spend my time? Where, and with who?

When you know that, it’s how you get there. The daily or weekly to-dos really. Mine are spending time outside in nature, with Oscar and my fiancé. Having structure in my day. Checking in on my nutrition and hydration. Monitoring my self-talk. Connection with others. Putting down the phone and being more present. Being creative and making things again, I have been loving sewing again lately. Active rest, and sit myself down on the sofa to rest. We’re decluttering. We’re planning holidays, a wedding, and we’re very much planning our December from cocktail nights to buying the Christmas tree. For context, it’s still October, and yep, I managed to find myself a guy who is as forward planning and nuts about Christmas as I am! I spent years finding it difficult to connect to future plans and get excited about them. I still have moments, I still often say there’s a lot that can happen between now and then. I sometimes still find it difficult to believe that the plans I make will actually happen, and that something won’t happen to cancel them.

What to do on the down days when it’s so hard to believe? 

I remind myself that it’s more important to have the goal, and to strive for the goal than it is to actually hit the goal. We judge ourselves the hardest. Say I have a goal for a 2hr2o half-marathon, which will be a PB for me, and I cross the finish line in 2hr28. Does that take away from the fact that I trained for, and finished a half-marathon? No. Not at all. No more so than not being able to control the weather, or how many other people turn up wanting a similar time and possibly make for a crowded race. When it comes to the sometimes two steps backwards with my ME and everything, well, for that I have a scale. Some days getting up and dressed is the win. Other days it’s when I can taste that food has slightly more flavour than if it was cardboard, and I’ve actually been able to eat it.

It’s about how I respond, and choose to move forward. 

We’re doing the best with what we have and know in this moment. Not all days will be good, but there will be little pockets of joy in every day if you allow yourself to seek them. Progress isn’t linear, although I’d love it if it were. Progression over perfection, and consistency every day, that’s what will get you there!

If you like these questions and ponderings, sign up to my weekly newsletter to get tips and tricks from inspirational strategies to motivating mindset hacks I’ve used on myself in my fight against my illness, and with my clients in theirs. There’s a link in the podcast bio, or you can find a sign-up link on my homepage – lifeinalign.com

And remember, you are worth it, and you get to choose.

Have a lovely day.