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A Merry Life

Healthy Living & Budgeting Blog | Health, Wealth & Everything Else

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When Things Go According To Plan… And When They Don’t

January 20, 2012 by Mary

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for details.

All is right in the world today.

For me, part of recovering quickly (after some tears) from things that are hard or sad or just don’t fit with my plans is accepting that some things I can’t change. I’m getting better at that and accepting that even if I make lots of plans things won’t always go according to my wishes.

Also helpful? Making silly faces before working out.

DSC 0947500x333

Things that did go according to plan this week:

  • completed LiveFit workouts every day
  • bumped up weights in certain exercises – stronger all the time!
  • brought my bike out and rode it a few times
  • only ate out once this week
  • ate multiple servings of fruit & veggies each day (mmm, nutrients!)

Not on my plan exactly but other good things from this week:

  • Greatist featured my blog in their 60 must-read health and fitness blogs. I’m pretty honored to be on a list with such great company!
  • Got some super cool stuff from Polar which I’ll post about later. (*disclosure: I’m a Polar Ambassador*)
  • JuJu & Kitty are getting along:

Photo 1 500x375

So yeah, things are great really. Active, eating well, hanging out with the hubs, pets are getting along, weather is nice. I really can’t complain and focusing on the positive (and the funny) helped me get over my negative feelings yesterday.

Sometimes when things don’t go according to plan – dinner fails to come together or I miss a workout or a bill wipes out my savings account – and my first reaction is to be and stay upset about it. I come from a family where things get beaten into the ground and if you are mad/upset you stay mad/upset for hours or even days (not my mom, because she is cool). It’s in my nature and my habits from the past to stay upset for a LONG time once I get upset, but that really doesn’t do me or anyone around me any favors. I’m working hard these days to let myself feel my emotions (be upset) when things don’t go according to plan but not wallow in it for longer than I need to. Moving on is important and something I’m getting better at honestly.

How do you react when things don’t go according to your plan?

Filed Under: Emotional Health, Thoughts


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Comments

  1. Emily says

    January 20, 2012 at 4:32 pm

    Oh I love the pre-workout face!! :) I’ve really been enjoying your posts about LiveFit. It’s always awesome to hear about a new program (at least, new to me!) and how you’re loving it! It great to know that there *are* programs out there that aren’t just a money-suck.

    Quickie question on the Polar ambassadorship … is that something you approached the company with? I’ve been working with a few brands over the past two years, and would love to “take it to the next level.” I’m not sure I know what that really means/entails. ;) LOL. Would love to see a post on that topic from you – you always explain blogworld things so clearly.

    Much love from the states!

    • Mary says

      January 20, 2012 at 4:44 pm

      Hey Emily,

      LiveFit is great. I will admit I’m starting to hate that it takes soo much time, but it’s something I enjoy and it’s free so I’m still happy with it.

      Re: Polar ambassadorship… Actually I don’t really remember how it first started, but they approached me (and several other bloggers) when they first started their ambassador program last year. Prior to that I had reached out to them about heart rate monitors and since they are great working with bloggers they gave me one to try out. I used it during my triathlon training and ended up LOVING the data it gave me (it really helped me train by staying in the right heart rate zone) so I think the fact that I had interaction with them and loved their products (and just naturally talked about it) led to the ambassador thing. The program they have has now grown and they’ve added more bloggers and they also have lots of real athletes and fitness professionals. Overall I think it’s great and even if I wasn’t at an ambassador I’d still talk about them.

      I haven’t really approached any other companies because there aren’t many that I use as often (I use my hr monitor for 90% of my workouts) or feel I have the time to properly represent. I started chatting with Polar via twitter, so you could always check social media outlets for first contact. If you are already working with companies, I would recommend just sending an email asking about those kind of opportunities to be an ambassador. It’s easier if they have a defined program but if not you could explain a bit about what you could offer the company and maybe what you would like in exchange. Basically, you just have to put yourself out there and ask for opportunities! Never hurts to try! :)

      Guess I won’t be writing a post any time soon since I just about wrote one in this reply!

      • Emily says

        January 24, 2012 at 12:01 pm

        Oh, you can still write a post! I’m sure a lot of people would be interested :) Thanks for the info! There’s really no particular company I feel I would like to represent at this time … just interesting for future ventures!

        I do love my Polar. It just died this morning (sad face!) but I use it every single day!

  2. Mom says

    January 20, 2012 at 4:54 pm

    Ohhhhh they look so good together and I love them both. Polar Yeah!!!!! You know what I mean, Ha. Love you Mom

  3. merri says

    January 20, 2012 at 6:29 pm

    Yay congrats on getting featured! Wow, the puppy looks big till you put her next to the cat. They’re the same size! I tend to get very stressed when things aren’t going to plan. I like to be in control of everything, and myself, at all times. When I can’t be in control I totally stress out and can’t think of anything else. I get cranky, can’t eat, upset. I’ve been trying to work out or listen to music to help, and try to let it go. Can’t be in control all the time. Ps the headband looks cute on you.

  4. Jody - Fit at 54 says

    January 20, 2012 at 8:09 pm

    Congrats on being part of that list Mary – very exciting!!!

    I so love the pic of you making faces AND JuJu/Kitty.. TOO CUTE!!!!!!!!!

    Mary, like you, I used to really hold onto things when they went wrong or did not go right… I have really been working on not doing that! It is tough but holding onto stuff just makes us ill mentally & physically. I am glad you are doing better with that!!! Yup, we have to move onward! :-)

  5. Deb says

    January 20, 2012 at 9:52 pm

    Love the pic! lol The face cracked me up!

    Unfortunately, I suck at handling things not going as planned. I get pissy, I get cranky, I get anxious. Something I get so frustrated I cry. And I can’t even explain why in a way that anyone understands which makes it worse. Needless to say, I’m not a big planner because of this. It’s not worth the fuss when things go wrong/astray.

    Juju is smaller than I though now that I see her next to the cat, but such a cutie still.

  6. Jennifer says

    January 21, 2012 at 8:55 am

    It’s really an honor that Greatist featured your blog in their 60 must-read health and fitness blogs. When things go right, I can even ignore some bad incidents. But when things go wrong, everything seems to go wrong. Unfortunately, If I become upset, it remains for a very long time and someone close need to motivate me. But fortunately I’ve got plenty of them. I am also continuing fitness programs. Nice to see vegetables an fruits in your daily meal chart, I am trying to eat more of them too. At last I want to say, what a beautiful pair- Juju and kitty !

  7. Liz says

    January 21, 2012 at 6:19 pm

    Mary – I agree. Learning to accept the things I cannot change is something I am working on ALL the time! I also come from a fairly disfunctional family although it was the opposite to yours in that we were never allowed to be upset about anything…and, like you, I’m working on just letting myself be upset when i’m upset, instead of trying to channel that in to something else and get all controlly and stressed (advice from my therapist). Sometimes, when things are s**t, they’re just s**t. And thats that. This week has been average for me, I usually work out 5 – 6 times a week and this week I’ve only had time to work out ONCE. So, hoping to get a run in today. When the going gets tough, the tough go running! I am a big animal lover and your little pets are just gorgeous, you must be so proud!

  8. Liz says

    January 21, 2012 at 6:21 pm

    ps did you do a farmers market this week? I thought about going to Avondale but i’m broke and couldnt get myself together in time anyway.

    • Mary says

      January 21, 2012 at 11:11 pm

      I didn’t! I’m flat broke sadly so I couldn’t afford to go to one. :( Maybe next week, but it will probably be two weeks since it costs both in gas and what we buy at the market. Boo! I’ll get to them all eventually! :)

  9. Nancy B. Kennedy says

    January 21, 2012 at 9:38 pm

    Congrats on being named to the list of must-reads! Dealing with frustration? The thing that’s helped me the most is having a child! Kids teach you pretty quick that your day isn’t going to go the way you’d planned! Being a parent has made me more flexible and less “flappable.” (Is that a word?)

  10. Caity says

    January 22, 2012 at 1:33 am

    I love your workout face!

    Congratulations on the mustread list! You’re definitely on my mustread list! Not that that’s an important list or anything but hey! :P

    For me, I’m getting better at dealing with frustration. I used to deal with it by overeating and for a while if I did anything other than that I was happy. Now, I am finding more creative ways with dealing with it like working out or channeling my energy elsewhere by cleaning or doing something productive.

  11. Roz@weightingfor50 says

    January 22, 2012 at 1:31 pm

    Congrats on the feature!! YAY!! Glad things are better today, and also LOVE the picture of Kitty and Juju. Have a great day.

  12. Ann says

    January 22, 2012 at 5:14 pm

    Sounds like an awesome week! :) Great job!!

  13. George says

    January 24, 2012 at 4:10 pm

    Hey Mary,

    Great post! It’s nice to know that other people struggle with the same tendency to linger on the frustration or negativity. I’ve been trying to curb this habit of mine over the past year and I’ve found that fitness and exercise have been a great outlet for me. Sometimes just sweating it out and drugging myself with my own naturally produced endorphins is all it takes. If I’m feeling extra mad at someone (and now this is shameful) I’ll picture their face on the treadmill as I squash their face with my runners. Savage? Perhaps. Effective? Absolutely.

    Thanks for the inspiration!

    George

    PS: Awesome workout face.

  14. james says

    January 25, 2012 at 6:00 pm

    Hey mary,
    Just wanted to say I love your writing style and the way you have your blog setup. your blog has a very engaging feeling. I just embarked on my own weight loss challenege and I can definatley sympathize with you. sometimes your plan works like a well oiled machine and then sometimes it falls off the tracks. Keep up the hard work and best of luck with your continued weight loss goals.

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