Hi! How are you? How was your Valentine’s Day? I woke up to a fresh delivery of donuts! Seriously. This was the best surprise ever!! Love.
Ben must have had to set 22 alarms to wake up that early. I have no idea. But these were fresh and the happiest breakfast of my life. I love it.
Last night I threw together the most random dinner…
I bought sushi from the store and had cauliflower that had to be cooked.
So I roasted the cauliflower and ‘served’ it right on the sheet pan so I wouldn’t have to do extra dishes. Lazy for the win.
Do you put ketchup on your roasted veggies? Do it. Or dip them in hummus. You’re welcome.
I also scored a few chocolate covered strawberries. These were really good! Strawberries haven’t looked that sweet lately but these were delicious (not just the candy part, but the whole fruit was sweet).
My Hyland’s Team Challenge this week is to talk about POWER WORDS. We’re sharing the mantras and motivational phrases we are using as we train for the Boston Marathon.
I am very scared and intimidated by the idea of running the Boston Marathon. Heck, I’m scared about running any marathon. I doubt myself. I doubt my body. I doubt my abilities. I question if I belong there.
I seriously considered turning down the opportunity to run the race with this powerhouse Hyland’s Team because I didn’t think I deserved it. And because I felt like I’m not fast enough and would look dumb.
This isn’t just with running – I have a lot of fears and self doubt. But I finally found a short mantra that helps me keep going even when I’m scared – BE BRAVE.
For me the fear doesn’t go away most of the time. So, I have to do it scared. I just tell myself ‘be brave’.
Then, I show up (scared) and do my best. That’s all I can do.
At this point I’m not sure I’ll ever be a naturally brave, self-assured person when I show up to the starting line of a marathon OR when a big opportunity comes knocking on my door. That’s okay, I just need to remember to be brave.
Our challenge this week was to write our power phrase someone on our body to remind ourselves of it all day. I have been thinking about getting “Be Brave” tattooed on my wrist like this (and actually got a henna tattoo of it last year) so I did a test run. It’s still something I’m contemplating.
All this bravery talk got me thinking about how it might seem like I’m very confident based on how I appear on RER and on social media.
But, this is an on-going journey. I do have one tip that is the BEST way to build up your confidence in running or work or school or trying anything that you’re scared to do. Check out this random vlog I made when it popped in my head…
Question: What is your POWER word?
This post is in partnership with Hyland’s. All opinions are my own.
I love this and I think My daughter too love this dish. Thank you so much for sharing this blog.
I love the tattoo and think you should do it! Especially since you did the Henna last year and keep going back to it. It seems to fit your personality.
Not ketchup (or tomato sauce as we call it here) but some sort of a sauce I find in the fridge – vegan mayo, honey mustard, some homemade spicy peanut sauce, any dips etc. Hmmm….must try the hummus version now.
Get the tattoo. It’s awesome. I just got a tattoo at the beach near Tampa. I was scared but I’m glad I did it. ‘Be brave,’ is a nice thing to see everyday.
tattoos are so awesome! go get you some! <3 though, across the wrist is especially ick when they get to the veins. if you're not the type to feel feint or like your guts are being touched when your wrist is rubbed there, you'll probably be fine, but i thought i'd mention just in case cuz i almost had him stop when i was getting mine, lol. you can't stop in the middle of a tattoo! if you ARE the type who can't even think of such things, perhaps parallel with your wrist instead of perpendicular would be nice… along the thumb side or something cute.
I love this! I wonder if being brave is something that truly comes naturally to anyone? Or is it something that we all have to work on?
Also, I think perspective is huge here because while I think you are crazy brave for working on your goals each and everyday, it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s how you see yourself.
Right now my power phrase is “breathe.”
Hi Monica! This is my first time commenting on your blog but I have been a reader for years 🙂 A few months ago I got a tattoo on my left wrist of a small arrow (it looks almost exactly like this https://www.pinterest.com/pin/445926800581196323/ ) and it symbolizes moving forward to me. I love the wrist placement because I see it all the time and it’s a nice reminder to me that when things aren’t going my way to keep moving forward. I truly believe it makes me more positive whenever I see it ha!
Mom of a toddler, so a lot of Daniel Tiger over here. He sings “do your best! Your best
Is the best for you”. My 3 year old is learning to swim by herself. Just moved up from the parent/tot class and there were a lot of tears. So no weekly we talk about doing our best/trying and sing this song.
And now that I have two work presentations next Tuesday, I realized I needed the same pep talk for myself!
SO MANY DONUTS!! Did you share?
You know that being brave means being scared and doing it anyway! Good for you!
“You can’t be brave if you’ve only had good things happen to you” -Mary Tyler Moore. You got this.
I have tattoos on both wrists in that spot. One wrist says Family, with an anchor for the i, and the other is the October birth month flower and my husband’s name. I love having them there as a daily reminder.
It doesn’t hurt at all there. Do it!
I love the idea of tattooing a power word- I have a tattoo on my wrist of a power symbol (it looks like a rune but it’s part of the Oghum alphabet/Celtic tree alphabet for an Oak Tree). My power word is “Tough”, and when I get to a rut during a run, the long form is “You’ve done tougher things than this” (meaning I’ve been in situations where I have no control, and running is something I do voluntarily :)).
And I hear you about Boston this year- I’m struggling with lower back/hip pain this week after starting my 2nd trimester and may end up on the sidelines, but for now, just going to do the best I can and stay healthy. Thank you for this post!
I put ketchup on a lot of things, no change that, most things! Love your power word.
I like it! My mantras seem to change every year. One year, it was FIGHT. This year, it seems to be “handle your sh!t” (which I guess kinda translates to BE BRAVE, right?)
I am training for the Boston Marathon too! I qualified back in October 2016 and then got pregnant. Needless to say I am no where as quick as I once was but am still aiming to be at that start line on race day at 4 months popstartum. Training is less than it once was, I’m doing very little speed, and having to focus a lot on strength but I know it will be so worth it! Be brave is in fact the PERFECT mantra for my Boston training this time around!
I love that you tried it out in henna! I’m a tattooed lady, so I guess I’m not one to vote – but I’d say do it 🙂
I like the words boundless, resilient, and determined. But if I’m in a race and want to poop out, I tell myself “you got this. you’re stronger than you know. you got this.” I’m not sure I ever totally believe it, but I like to tell that to other people, because I really do believe that other people are so much more capable than they know. I guess to a point I must believe it in myself because I know they can do more than they think since I have done more than I ever thought I could. Even when I didn’t do it particularly well, I still did it. Because I was determined and resilient. 🙂
I vote for the tattoo! This is a little corny, I have a three year old son and in one of his Thomas the Train books there is just the best quote “Being brave doesn’t mean not being scared, being brave means doing it even though you are scared” Total truth bomb from a children’s book!! This concept actually really helped my son when he started preschool, even though he was scared he knew he could still be brave and go. And it helps me in all sorts of situations.
Thank you! Needed to hear this message. I ran my first marathon (Chicago 2015) and I am running my second marathon Chicago 2017. I am terrified! Marathon #1, did not go well, I was well trained, but stomach problems had me from my 6 on. It was a bad day with a horrible finish time. I need to run another marathon to get through the fear, but it is really scary. This year I have increased the number of halfs I’m going so that I get to that finish line more to build confidence and let go of nervousness.
My power word is “Believe” my son is mentally and physically handicapped and so everyday is a surprise and I just have to BELIEVE!
You are brave! You run the race even though scared, that’s bravery. You reveal your true heart (on the internet no less!), that’s bravery!
Love your blog❤
My power word is “STRONG” and it comes from Joshua 1:9, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you are.”
This is my life verse and definitely my Power Word. I seriously thought about getting a tattoo with an infinity symbol and the word strong in the middle of it. I wanted it on my hip. I had an appointment and everything, but I chickened out. Somehow the permanence of a tattoo completely freaks me out.
You are brave, Monica. You are amazing! You inspire so many women, including me. I appreciate all you do here. You have a mission and you work so hard to accomplish it. I know you will do amazingly well in the Boston Marathon. I am so excited that you are coming here to do it. I may even go out there to cheer you on. Go Monica!!!
Great post. Thank you for sharing, I would have never thought you was not a confident person. It really helps to hear. Get the tattoo, maybe your I just ran the Boston Marathon reward 🙂
I don’t think I have a power word. Whenever I have to do something that scares me, I just don’t think too much about it (which makes me remain calmed) and do it. I basically just surrender, and then I’m not scared.
I tend to rely on the classic Finding Nemo line “just keep swimming”. I am usually fairly reactive and want to bail in hard situations not believing I’ll get through it whether a marathon or emotional rough situation or currently my financial situation. This reminds me to hustle along and not give up. And since I never swim it’s always funny to say 🙂
Get the tattoo!!! And you totally belong at Boston.
Totally agree, you belong at Boston, Monica! You are so close to BQ anyway, you’ve run tons of marathons, and you have a popular running blog. You fit right in!
I have a tattoo on the arch of my foot instead of my wrist since I work in an industry where I want to be able to cover it, if need be. I totally, totally love it.
I feel like that is a super painful place to get a tattoo – was it?
I have one on the arch of my foot. It is my only tattoo so I have nothing to compare it to, but I feel like any tattoo would be painful. It was bearable. And honestly, it is really quick. But if you like it on your wrist, get it there!
omggg those donuts!! I want them so bad!
“Be brave” is actually what I tell myself all the time!
And those donuts oh GODDDD!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
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