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Yesterday I found myself putting together yet another list - this time of all of the goals I'd like to accomplish before 2012. I've made it a big goal to accomplish more than I did last year. What I didn't take note of is how much rushing yourself can make your accomplished goals somewhat void.

For example, cramming 19+ goals into 18 days is a little ridiculous if you ask me. Accomplishing goals shouldn't just be about proving to yourself (or others) that you can do something, it should be mainly about the experience; something to truly enjoy and to take in.

We've been competing with ourselves for sometime; always trying to break our own records, always pushing ourselves further and constantly asking ourselves why we aren't pushing harder. However, one of the many things I just recently learned in life is that, sometimes, you've got to give yourself a little break; push yourself, but allow yourself a little room so that you don't get completely burnt out, and so that you're able to enjoy what you're experiencing. Take in some of your greatest moments and accomplishments before pushing onto the next, and you'll see just how much more incredible life can really be.

Continue to push yourself, but remember to take a look up from whatever it is you're working on every once in a while. Our accomplishments and hard work should not go unnoticed, especially by ourselves. - You never know what you might miss.

We may be the most critical of our work, but we may also receive the most joy from it, and we should.

A.E.C.

It's easy to be critical of yourself, and I'm certainly a master at that. Whether you're a perfectionist or not, there are times when you're down on yourself.

We all do it, but that's not a good enough reason to continue to do it. When you're down on yourself, not only is it hard for you to spend time with you, but other people feel that way about spending time with you too. Oh! And have I mentioned what a toll this takes on your goals? It will delay them inevitably and possibly stop you from accomplishing anything at all.

When I got home from Nashville, I was a complete mess. I'd convinced myself that, by moving home, I had ruined everything. Even though I knew that there was a lot of work that needed to be done here before I could get anything accomplished with the career that I want there, I was constantly telling myself that I was a failure - that I'd missed out on my one shot. This began affecting every relationship that I have. I was completely unsure of what I was going to do, slightly depressed, and wondering why everything was going sour.

Finally, I realized that I was making things sour because I wasn't fighting anymore. While in Nashville, not only was I not prepared for the career of my dreams, but I was rather limited to what I could do alone. I hadn't missed out because that wasn't my only shot, and in order to get another shot, I would have to fight for it, so that's what I'm working on now.

No matter how many times you try and fail, there's still opportunity. Yes - there may come a time when you are in the right place, but if you aren't prepared, then you need to reevaluate things to move forward. You need to weigh your options, explore different routes, and fight with everything that you have so that one day you'll be prepared and in the right place at the right time.

Don't be too hard on yourself. You're fighting for your dreams; this is a lot more than some can say. When all is said and done, you'll have more incredible stories than you know what to do with, and - best of all - you won't have regrets.

A.E.C.

Sometimes we catch ourselves in interesting situations, moments where we're so embarrassed that a blonde joke couldn't begin to compare. We catch ourselves saying things that are unnecessary, doing things that are not like us at all, or thinking things that are bound to ruin a good thing we have going.
The after effect is so strong that we often catch ourselves considering just running away and changing who we are completely. But, instead, many of us spend the our years tiptoeing around instead of being (& embracing) who we really are. But, running away is only delaying the inevitable.
Everyone makes silly mistakes, which means that everyone must overcome them, but how do we get there? Some people never do. Admitting that you've made a mistake can be one of the hardest things a person will do; admitting it not only to themselves, but also to others. It takes every strength that you've got, all of the courage you can come up with, but - whether a small or big mistake - once it's out there  the weight is gone, and the only thing you have left to possibly regret is... darn! Now everyone knows I'm human.

A.E.C.

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The older we get, the faster time seems to fly by. We become busy with work, friends, family and children. Before we know it, our entire lives have changed in what felt like a blink of an eye. A beautiful blur, but some have regrets. Why didn't I stay in college? Why didn't I study abroad? Wasn't I going to travel the world? Wasn't I going to have college funds for the kids?
We all have regrets, but fretting over them is not getting you anywhere. So, before punishing yourself, take a breath.  The questions you want to be asking yourself should include: Where do I go from here? How do I move forward? What do I want now? How am I going to get it?
Just the other day I caught myself wondering how I got to where I am. Although very content, I cannot help but nag at myself for my financial situations or my regrets with schooling. And while it's great to be concerned with those things, we need to look forward. Stop worrying about what you did or what got you here because memory is for learning & being thankful for all of the good, not for torturing yourself.
Learn from your past, be thankful for it, and move on. Start doing things you've always wanted to do and remind yourself that it doesn't matter how old you are. Look toward the future and start fighting before time slips away again.
:) You never know what you'll find.

A.E.C.

It's unbelievably difficult when you have a falling-out with a friend. For days - or even months - you're wondering what happened and how the two of you could possibly go without speaking for as long as you have.
You've both said things that you didn't mean, and though you both feel bad about it, you also want your opinion to be clear - you want to stand your ground. But does this mean that neither of you will ever put up a white flag?
I've had bad fights with friends; some lasting for months in high school, others that seem to stand to this day. And while people have their differences, I can't help but wonder why we can't atleast allow ourselves to be civil; to smile when we run into eachother at the grocery store instead of running in the other direction.
There will be people in your life that you can't stand, but that's no reason to be rude. Not only does this cause both of you an unnecessary stress, but it can also taint the good memories that you made. The moments of laughter and stupidity, it all gets mixed in with awkward moments and 'unresolved' issues.
To all of those that I've fought with - from just two years ago to clear back in high school - we've all changed. It doesn't matter who through the first punch, or who was wrong & who was right. All that matters is that you know that I'm not holding any grudges, and I continue to carry around the good memories instead of the bad. So, if I see you somewhere and smile, I'm not thinking about our fight - I'm thinking about the time you got a giant traffic cone stuck under your car, that time you told the teacher you were going to the bathroom and returned with a bagel, the trips to Wendy's during lunch, the time we decided to make nachos but didn't have any way to melt the cheese, and how much fun it was just being a kid without the drama.
This blog is dedicated to every person that's fought with a best friend, every person who's said something that they didn't mean, and to all of those people out there still holding a grudge. Life's too short to be holding grudges and treating people you once cared about like crap.

A.E.C.

There are times when motivation is hard to come by, especially when we’re expecting instant results. Why should we have to take core classes, like math, if our major has nothing to do with them? I wish I had the answer to that question, but every time the thought pops into my head, I’m constantly pushing it away with another question: How bad do I want this?

At one point or another, we may be a little too hard on ourselves: Living in the past & beating ourselves up for the things we should or shouldn’t have done. None of that matters now, & subconsciously we know that these thoughts of the past are just a waste of the present.

So what now? How do we wake up & face our fears again? How do we decide what we want to do when everything we’ve been working toward is not what we wanted it to be? We find what inspired us in the first place; We figure out what we really want, more than anything in this world; We get brave; We stop worrying; & We jump.

We all change our mind, we take different paths than what we expected every day. This does not mean that we shouldn’t set the bar high, & it certainly doesn’t mean that settling is the answer. Yes, there will be things that we will have to let go of, but there are also things that we don’t have to let go of: Things that we owe ourselves, Things that are worth fighting for, Things that make us who we are. We just need to decide what’s worth letting go of & what’s worth going after.

If you’re unhappy with the path that you’re on – change it. Who cares what others think or say, who cares how old you are, how many times you’ve tried & ‘failed’ or what the odds are. If you want something bad enough, all of those things are irrelevant. You are the only obstacle standing in the way of your greatest dreams.

A.E.C.

Every now & then, our mind can play tricks on us. Whether it be in the dark or in broad daylight, we can often confuse ourselves more than anyone else possibly could. We let our mind wonder where it shouldn't be wondering... and that can sometimes lead to questioning things that don't even need to be questioned, or worrying about things that you don't even need to worry about.
It's almost as though we've decided to complicate our lives, only by accident.
I'd like to refer to this as the Alice In Wonderland Syndrome. One moment, we're perfectly fine, when suddenly a "What If..." pops into our head. What if this happens, what if that happens... And it's not the type of "What if..." that makes us excited, it's one that stresses us out - one that we may not have any control over.
Then, just like Alice, we get stuck in this hole, where we are stressed and confused because we are worrying about something... or multiple things... that we shouldn't be worried about. What if I trip and fall tomorrow morning? Well, we should be careful, but we cannot worry our lives away about little things like that. And we certainly cannot let those worries define us.

Where do I come up with this stuff?
A.E.C.

So the saying goes, "When it rains, it pours." We hear this daily with people describing rough days, economy issues, workload, etc.
The saying seems to have always come with a negative image attached. Rain is cold, wet (obviously), does not often allow for sunny skies (unless you're in Nashville), and creates mud, mud puddles, flooding (ask Nashville about that too), etc.
Many of us; however, have also come to find the saying rather positive too. It can be used to describe good things happening all at once; being showered with good news or having good luck. When thought of that way, we may also think about rain creating rainbows, allowing plants to grow, giving us a water supply, etc.
This may all sound silly, but it really gets you thinking that there are two sides to everything. There's a positive and a negative side to everything.

What side are you on?
AEC

With important goals, we dream big & often. We think about what it would be like to accomplish something so amazing, how we will feel that day, & what we will do after that.
Some people just don’t understand this. Some might tell you that you are dreaming too far ahead, that you’re dreaming too big, or… (my personal favorite) that you’re just going to get your hopes up, because the odds are against you.
There’s always someone who will want to put you down, even if they say they’re trying to help you. And, though I value the opinions of others, I cannot help but laugh. Even if the goal you’ve accomplished doesn’t end up exactly the way you’ve planned, you’ve still got an infinite amount of options & possibilities involving that goal and many others. It would be one thing if you are dreaming things that you aren’t working toward, but when it’s obvious you’re fighting for something so important to you, I feel that these people should step aside.
Just think about all of the amazing places your dreaming has gotten you to. All of the new goals dreaming has lead you to. For me, it’s simple. Without dreaming this way, I would not have visited Nashville to begin with, let alone have moved there for three months on my own. I would not have auditioned for American Idol or have had the very first, of many, road trips with my mother to Salt Lake City. I would not see the world the way that I do today.
To me, it’s either dream big or not at all (otherwise you're just going halfway), and I know I’m not alone.

AEC