I went on my first hour long jog yesterday along the beautiful seawall. Although it was raining, the downpour was not strong enough to deter me from running 60 minutes non stop. In my opinion, I always feel like a intruder in the fitness world. Perhaps it’s because I am just starting out, or because I don’t look the part. I stole one of my dad’s old baseball caps and mom’s waterproof jacket (which was way to big for me) for the run. Figured I’d rather be warm and funny looking then drenched and somewhat cool looking. I was lucky enough to find a good friend who agreed to accompany me on the run. I am someone that gets bored pretty quick when exercising. Therefore, it was nice to have that companionship as it made time fly by. I am proud to share that survived running non stop for one hour and did not feel like I was going to die after. The aftermath included sore legs/butt but I figured it was nothing that a lot of stretching, hydration and a hot shower would not cure. 

My lessons from this experience included: 

-If you don’t try, you don’t know. I think that jogging will be great for my cardio strengthening and committed to more one hour jogs on a regular basis. I think this new activity may stick for me. 

- It’s all about companionship. It was really enjoyable hanging with my good friend pre, during and post workout. Training can be social and a way to make more connections with people.

Shout outs: Emily and Sarah, thanks for accompanying me all day to find the right bike (still looking). Had a day full of good laughs (and tears!) haha. Quyen, regardless of your busy schedule, thanks for waking up early and running alongside me, even in your puma shoes. 

You really know who you can count on during certain times of your lives. Thanks to those mentioned above as well as friends who have stepped it up and taken the time to graciously donate to my cause. 

Side note: I initially felt uncomfortable with posting my running stats on this blog. However, as an advocate of accountability, I feel like this will also push me in a positive way to keep improving. So here it is. 

I went for my first jog today. I do engage in yoga x2-3 times a week but today was my first day where I did cardio and trained with the ride in mind. As June 15th-16th is creeping close by, its been on the back of my mind for days since registering. I can be athletic when I want to be (if I want to beat someone at the grind, but it’s not in my nature). You know those fit joggers who have all their cool gear, breathe with intention and seem to be moving at the speed of light? That’s great you know them, but thats not me. I am the girl that is still wearing her running shoes from back in the day as they haven’t been used enough. I wear my heavy Russell Sport sweats (why invest in running clothes when you can buy nicer every day clothes!?) and keep my hands to my ears to keep my apple earphones from falling out as I run. And I’m puffing and wheezing like crazy. Attractive right? 

My friend had shared with me about the Nike Running App and so I was curious to check it out and see how it worked. To anyone who has chosen jogging as one of their outlets for training, I encourage you to check this app out! There are a lot of cool features (especially, logging all of your runs and calculating your speed and distance). It helped to keep me on track, knowing that there was a set time to run and that it was recording my progress. Also helped to know that I was being accountable to someone as I had promised to send the results of my run over. Although I felt tired after work, I was glad that I made the decision to start training today. Procrastination does not do anyone any good, me included. I ended the day with a warm shower and awesomely healthy dinner made by my momma. Feels great to get started on this transformational journey of commitment, faith and hope. 

I’d like to thank everyone who has taken their time and resources to donate to my cause. It reveals your faith in me, keeps me accountable and makes me stronger. In just a mere two days, I have accomplished 17% of my overall goal and its all because of your support! I am excited to keep you all in the loop with my training endeavours and valuable life lessons as I push myself mentally and physically to gain strength and build power for my ride.

Hello Catalysts! Happy Sunday! Hope you had an amazingly restful weekend and are fuelled for the upcoming week ahead. I know that many of you will agree with me that although the holidays were amazing, now it’s time to get our butts back into action. I’d like to take a moment to warmly welcome all our new members to the catalyst crew. We look forward to seeing you at our monthly meetup and learning more about your dreams, ambitions and currently engagements in life! I’m excited to announce that we have reached our 80 member mark in the community group and excited to see the crew solidify as community and expand out into the city of Vancouver.

I’ve had many group members message me and update me with their progress on their monthly goals and the exciting interactions with their accountability buddies. I’m impressed with your determination to achieve your established goals whilst also supporting your peers to do the same. To those who have fallen off the bandwagon this month, no worries. Get back up and shoot your accountability buddy a message hello. That in itself is moving towards success and actualizing your goals. I’m proud to say that I have kept up with my x2 a week hot yoga challenge for a month and feel better then ever (mind+body+soul).

Looking forward to seeing you all this thursday @ the office (http://www.theofficevancouver.com) to hear Anxiety Coach Lucas Mattielo speak to us about the importance of stress management and how to effectively alleviate anxiety. As leaders, we will always be on the go and testing our limits in regards to time management, risk taking etc. Lucas will provide us with the essential tools/skills that we can quickly incorporate into our daily living to ensure a better quality of life. The evening will then continue with our regular accountability circle and opportunities to relationship build. Please RSVP if you haven’t already done so! (http://www.meetup.com/catalystcrew/)

And lastly, here is your booster combo for the week form yours truly:

What kind of questions do you ask yourself everyday? Is it about where to eat your next week, where to go on your next vacation, what to spend your next pay cheque on? Maybe it’s time to start asking the questions that truly matter. The questions that will activate us and guide us on the path towards our ultimate destiny. How am I going to use today to make tomorrow even better? What do I need to do today to bring me closer to my life’s purpose? How will I live the next five, ten years of my life?

The five/ ten years will come in a flash and where you stand at that time is solely up to you and the accumulated decisions you have made everyday to that point. Now is the time to design your life and there is no one more qualified then you. There are two types of people in this world. Those who passively live their life (environment) and those who make consciously make life choices that align with their destiny (values).

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavour” -Henry David Thoreau.

A great deal of Tony Robbin’s work has centred around this topic of decision making and I thought the following would be valuable information to share with you all.

Here are six quick keys to harnessing the power of decision. (Awaken the Giant Within, 2003)

1) Remember the true power of making decisions. Its a tool you can use in any moment to change your life. The minute you make a new decision, you set in motion a new cause, effect, direction, and destination for your life.

2) Realize that the hardest step in achieving anything is making a true commitment- a true decision. Make your decisions intelligently, but quickly.

3) Make decisions often. The more decisions you make, the better your going to become at making them.

4) Learn from your decisions. At times your going to screw up no matter what you do, learn from the mistakes.

5) Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach. Don’t become rigid in your approach, cultivate the art of flexibility.

6) Enjoy making decisions. You must know that in any moment a decision you make can change the course of your life forever. If you want your life to be passionate, you need to live with this attitude of expectancy. 

Thanks Tony, you rock.

Folks, that’s it for today. Seize the day. (Probably not tonight as it’s almost over)

Most Warmly, Mika

“Know that it’s your decisions, and not your conditions, that determine your destiny” -Tony Robbins

This blog post is dedicated is to my accomplishments in 2012. It’s been an unforgettable year of personal and professional growth. I bit the bullet and left the comfort of home, moved to Toronto, and successfully completed my Masters degree in Social Work (a goal I had set for myself at the age of 22). Those are things I can tick off on my bucket list. Another would be that I decided to start a personal passion project, the Vancity Catalyst Crew. 

For a community group that shows much promise and potential, I wish I could tell you that I had strategically planned everything out for a year before it’s inception. And that I had thrown myself into toastmaster groups, read 100 self development books on how to become a leader, and crafted out a fool proof business development strategy plan. No, the truth would be that on one uneventful Friday night, it took 30 minutes to decide, and one hour to launch. I didn’t have a plan, just a vision. 

Why did I create the group?

My WHY is because I was tired of waiting for the right opportunity and time to get started. My expectation was a sign, nothing short of an enlightening experience. This could be a great leader telling me that I was ready to step it up in life, or my busy schedule magically clearing up, or something of the  supernatural such as clouds in the sky shaped into the letters “N-O-W-I-S-T-H-E-T-I-M-E”. I waited and waited, but as expected, none of these things happened. It was a conscious DECISION made one very normal night. Another important reason is my passion for life long learning and making impact in people’s lives. Without these things actively happening in my life, I would feel as useless as a drenched sponge (stream of consciousness writing, don’t judge). Unfortunately, I was not obtaining these things at work and decided that I needed to create these things for myself instead of waiting for it to find me.

In the land of logic, we will find any reason not to start, not to leap, not to pursue. Blocking out your mind and listening to the stirrings of your soul, is the first step to achieving your greatness. My logic said, “You’re not developed as a leader yet”, “You should focus on making income”, “Your day job as a social worker is stressful enough, don’t commit to anything else”. My heart said, “Shut up logic, this is a fabulous idea and it needs to begin today”.

Although its only been a short four months since the group began, I have already made leap and bounds in my personal/professional growth. I have regular opportunities to work on my public speaking, group facilitation and project management skills, while doing what I absolutely love; connecting people and creating opportunities for others to grow. I also feel more courageous and confident in my special skills, abilities and ideas, something that I was struggled with before. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. I battle feelings of doubt and regret on the tough days. Working in a more then your average, emotionally/mentally draining job, sometimes the last thing I want to do is organize events, meet new people and be accountable to a large group. However, choosing to persevere and work through these challenges has been one of the best learning experiences ever. Yes, I don’t get to relax as much or hang out with family or friends often, luxuries that others may have; however what keeps me going, is knowing that I am making positive impact in the lives of others and learning along the way. Creating new friendships with likeminded people is also a huge bonus ;) 

The most important lessons I have learned from this experience is, to JUST START, FAITH OVER FEAR AND TRUST IN THE PROCESS.  If you can find a way to warm up to these these things, you can achieve whatever you decide to do. Just go out there and do it. I know that this venture will open the doors to my next opportunity and I’m excited for what my future holds. I’d like to also thank my new and old friends for helping me along the way with this project- wouldn’t have been possible without you.

So here is my question for you. What do you want in life and what are you willing to do to make it happen?

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. -Walt Disney