Written April 30, 2018

For those of us in Florida the spring weather continued to be unseasonably cool with no humidity and we are enjoying that for as long as it will last, which unfortunately won’t be much longer. Hope you got to spend time with friends or family and most importantly a little time with yourself.

I was talking with my friend Linda over the weekend and we got on the subject of doing things. How many times do we say we are going to do something and we just never get around to doing it? We talk about it, incessantly sometimes, yet we never really make the commitment to make it happen and before you know it days, months and even years go by.

It can be just about anything. We are going to lose a few pounds, start an exercise routine, take up a hobby, garden more, use electronics less, and the list goes on. When we look back, it is easy to see countless hours spent saying “I’m going to” rather than many times where we said “I did”. Why is that?

My philosophy is that it’s much easier to talk about it rather than do it. As annoying as that is to not only ourselves but those around us, it seems that saying it becomes the norm rather than doing it. But what happens when we actually do make the commitment and follow through?

Several years ago, I started walking with Linda in the mornings. She lives in the same development as I do. I had several reasons for wanting to do this. I needed to lose some weight, I needed to find a way to prepare for a stressful day at work and I really had a desire to run. But how in the world was I going to start running at 54? I made the commitment to walk. Once I got comfortable with that I started adding intermittent jogging and running. I got an app that trained you for a 5k by building up your running each day. I started this in August and in February of 2017 I ran my first 5k race. You see, I had had enough of saying “I’m going to” and the feeling of running past my family and friends on that road was one of the best feelings of my life.

No one in the world has the power to make us commit to doing something except ourselves. In reality, if we spent as much time actually doing as we did talking about it, we would have achieved success a long time ago. But to do that it takes true commitment. We have to believe in ourselves, believe in what we want to do and accomplish and never give self doubt a chance to change our course.

Is there something you have been wanting to do for a long time? Think about doing it today. Start slow, we don’t need to take on the world all at once. Then, when you least expect it you too will be crossing the finish like and you will have made your life just a little more special, with memories that you created just for you, that no one can ever take away.

Have a great day and remember to be the reason someone smiles today.

Ron