Why do we QUIT?

I don't know about you but most of my life I was a quitter. When I wasn't automatically good at something or seeing results I wanted I would quit. Just assume it wasn't ever gonna happen and just end it. Its almost like I got it into my head somewhere down the road that if I wasn't a rock start at something I shouldn't be doing it. I had no idea that failing and learning to be good at things was just a part of life.

I know I am not alone in thinking this way so I ask why do we do it. Why do we stop reaching for things we want SO bad. Why when things get tough do we just throw in the towel? I dont know about you but for me it was a combination of self doubt, a lack of patience, selfishness, and being a victim. But thats just me lol.

We have to see that anything worth having will take time and that time will pass wether we do it or not so we might as well keep going and get a reward for it. Although it doesn't feel like it the small things that we do each day that seem like they don't make a difference DO. They make a HUGE difference. You can do anything you put your mind to (I know easier said then done right?).

Here are my tips for starting what you finish:

1. Have an accountability partner. Someone you know will tell you how it is and will hold you to what you said. Even better someone who is on whatever journey it is with you.

2. Find you BIG and TRUE WHY. Why are you doing it? Really think about it. And not just something like "I want to loose weight". That will not be strong enough. Something that will drive you to the end and make you never want to give up. Things like, getting out of debt, looking AMAZING at a certain event, being healthier for your kids, leaving a legacy for your family. Something STRONG to you. And take it a step further, make a vision board you will see everyday.

3. Don't neglect your personal growth! It seems silly but we shouldn't ever stop leaning especially about how we can become the best us. So read an amazing book, listen to a podcast, watch youtube (I love TedTalks), or even go to an event.

4. Remember you are like the top 5 people you hang out with . So if you are haning around people who don't want the same things as you, maybe you should rethink spending so much time with them while you work on you.

5. Most important, remember NOTHING is worth your happiness. You are worth it and CAN have it. So no more limiting beliefs and Knock them dead!!

I was where you are I though so little of myself and what I could do that I never though I could ever have the things in life I wanted. But I was very wrong. Successful people are not people who never fail, they are people who never QUIT.

21 Day Fix Extreme Turkey Meatloaf

Serves 8 servings, 1/8 meatloaf each

2 lbs.         raw 93% lean ground turkey

1 cup         all natural mild salsa

1 cup         cooked quinoa, cooled

2                 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 cloves      garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp           sea salt or Himalayan salt 

                   Ground black pepper (to taste)

                   

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Combine turkey, salsa, quinoa, eggs, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl; mix well

3. Shape mixture into shape of a loaf and place on un-greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

4. Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until center is no longer pink and meat is cooked through.

5. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Tip: Cut cooked meatloaf into single servings and freeze in single plastic bags for future meals.

**I served mine with a Kale salad. Dressing for salad was 1 Tbls Olive oil, 2 Tbls Low sodium soy sauce, 3 Tbls Fresh Lemon Juice

1 Red container

1/2 purple container

1/2 Yellow COntainer

I may lose battles but I will NOT lose the race; My life with mental illness

The women you see today was once where you are, in a place no one wants to be, in a fight for her life. Once my amazing husband told me he wished he could understand what I went threw to help (he's a fixer). He just didn't understand at all what it is like. So I though about it and told him, imagine your life is a well a DEEP dark well. When your in the bottom you cant see the light. Most days you have the strength each day to climb. No matter why you do it, you do it. Somedays you make it SO close to the top you can almost touch the light. Then out of no where you get knocked back down. Each day feeling like your closer but never really being out of the well, seeing the light you have been working so hard to reach slowly get smaller and smaller.

I know SO many of you know this all too well. You feel like no one understands and like there is no hope and you will never be free. I was one of those people too. I was a victim along with my "disease", and I allowed it (YES allowed) to consume who I was meant to be...

I am a child of a broken home. My dad, I was DADDIES girl, left when my twin sister and I were seven and our sister Becca was just one. I remember hugging him goodbye and running after him as he drove away, wondering why he wouldn't turn around. Soon after that there was a huge move, mom remarried, he was gone after 6 years. Then it was just us again. In case it wasn't clear, my mom is a rock star and has made it threw so much. But Im getting ahead of myself...I was diagnosed with depression pretty early on. I don't remember how old I was but I know my first "break down" was in eight grade. I remember this overwhelming fear my mom was going to die. It consumed me. I even carried her scarf around. Was I crazy? No, something was just happening that I couldn't explain. I remember the kids staring at me. I remember the stares as a walked down the hall feeling so small. It got so bad my mom had to come get me. Thats when therapy started and my journey began. I was soon after diagnosed with Depression, anxiety, and slight OCD. 

Life went on, it was hard. I tried to find my way and was even in a gothic phase in high school lol, I know right?! ME GOTHIC lol. Everyone I loved thought I hated them but what was really happening was a girl who just didn't know how explain how she felt. It didn't feel normal. I tried to fight it but nothing seemed to work. So there I sat....in the bottom of my well. I usually don't like to share this part but I feel like there is so many people it could help so here we go. I started cutting my leg when I was about 14. It was no ones influence, I don't even know why or when it happened. I just remember feeling SO much I didn't know what else to do. I hid that for a LONG time and even my amazing twin sister didn't know until a few months ago. 

Fast forward to 2010 (there was stuff in between but you don't need all that LOL). I had married the marine of my dreams. An amazing man who I don't deserve at all. At this point we had moved to Hawaii and I just had our second daughter (the girls are 19 months apart). I don't remember doing much when he was at work but crying. Feeling like no one understood and that nothing was ever going to change. Feeling like something wasn't right with me. I hated talking about it because I couldn't explain it. It was just sadness ALL the time. Feeling like I should be happy because I was so blessed to live in Hawaii and have two beautiful, healthy girls, and a husband who is so much more to me then you can imagine. This sadness and CRAZY anxiety about everything was so much to handle. Crying to Cory (my hubby) wondering why God wasn't "helping" (not realizing I had to actually try too lol). That I was just tired, tired of fighting, tired of having to work so hard to be happy. I couldn't even go anywhere without my heart racing wondering what others were thinking of me. Couldn't look in a mirror without seeing faults. This and so much more went one for years. 

We now live in NC and one day I saw something that I didn't know but it would change my life forever. I found coaching. Now Im not here to tell you about coaching, but thats what did it for me. I learned about Personal growth and how I could take control. That I would never be "cured" but that being a victim and blaming everyone and everything around me was NOT going to ever work. So something had to change, and it did. I realized that I didn't want my kids to grow up to be like me. That I never wanted to feel like they had to "make mommy happy" or "fix me". So I put on my big girl panties and tool CONTROL. I became a coach, started working out full time (at home thank goodness lol), ate right, and started working on the inside. 

I cant even go into everything I have learned, we don't have enough time for a book lol. Just know if you suffer from anything like this you are NOT alone. People go threw it and you CAN overcome it. But YOU have to take the steps to do it. I don't know what that looks like for you, but no one can do it for you. So even on the days when the light is so small in the well you don't even know if you can try to climb out, keep climbing. NEVER STOP CLIMBING. Life is SO short. God would never want us to feel sad all the time. I truly believe He give us these things to learn how to overcome them and become who we were meant to be. I am becoming that person. I cant even explain how amazing it feels. I stopped being a victim, stopped blaming others, stopped making excuses (EVERY excuse lol), and just DID IT. It has been the hardest thing I have ever done. And I will never be "done". But I will never stop, not ever.

SO with that I beg you stop "just allowing" life to happen and start LIVING life. Nothing is as bad as it seems and you will be ok. It will never be perfect. Even happiness isn't like Pollyanna all the time. Happiness is being ok and hopeful no matter what may come. 

All my love and God bless, 

Kathryn K

Hate on the playground....

I don't know if its because I became a mom or if I have always been more of a people person, but as I learn more and more about everything that has been going on, I cant help but really think about an almost Epidemic that has been sweeping across the human race. HATE....

Today for my birthday (because Im a mom and I do kid stuff on my bday lol) I took my beautiful girls to the park. It is a beautiful day so of course there were a lot of kid there. Well my sweet Hailey (7) found a little girl named Lily to play with and she was running around with her playing tag without a care in the world. They were both chasing a group of kids who made it seem like they were playing tag with them. I soon realized this was NOT what was happening. Lily was born different. This beautiful little girl had a bent spine, and arms that were basically stick in one position. The other kids were pretending Lily was a zombie (her back issues made her walk with some difficulty). As I heard what they were saying about her I COULD NOT believe what I was hearing. She was just trying to play with them, no one should be made to feel like something is wrong with them when God just made them a little different (PS we are ALL different in our own way).

While I was sitting on the bench watching this I couldn't help but think of all of the sweet lives lost yesterday. No one should ever loose their life that way. We are never all going to see eye to eye, that just how it is. But hating someone because of a difference (in thinking, living, and looks) is NOT ok...EVER. 

Do a agree with everything I see people do...of course not. Do I love them anyway and am still friends with them, of course. God sees ALL people (and sins ps) the same y'all, the same. No exception to the rule. So when we look at someone on trial for murder (ps TERRIBLE thing murder but go with me) and hate them and judge them for their crime, its not ok. I feel like the world has made us feel like there are things we are almost suppose to hate in others and when we don't we are looked at as weird. Even as parents we teach our kids hate as they see us do it and then they too think its ok, and they never know better. 

I am so proud to say that my sweet Hailey just kept on playing with Lily not even noticing what was happening. She came over to me to get a drink and she noticed I was thinking about something and asked me what was wrong. I told her my heart hurt because of some things I was hearing the other children say about little Lily. Hailey said "what do you mean?", I tried to explain it best I could (come on being a parent is hard sometimes). I said "well baby, God has made us all different. Some people are different on the inside and some on the outside. Lily's is on the outside and the children and teasing her for it". Without skipping a beat Hailey looked over at Lily, then looked back at me and said "Lily's not different". At this point my 5 year old was with us and she looked at me and said "mommy Im gonna go tell Lily something to make her feel good". I saw her walk over and say"Lily I LOVE your pants, they are beautiful". 

WHY cant we think like an innocent child. Why don't we understand that our children hear and DO everything their parents say and do. We need to look past "differences" and just LOVE . Who cares about others sins. Thats none of your worry. Thats the beauty of it, God has got that part covered. 

We are simply called to LOVE. Now go make someones day be the best you you can be to everyone. 

Just Do it...

WELCOME to my page!

Ok so you all are amazing for taking the time to stop by and see what I am up to! I have created this site to better serve YOU. In here we can connect and you can get all kinds of great tips and inspiration for an amazing life. That's a weird to say isn't it "amazing life". Especially knowing where I was just a year ago. Lost, not feeling like things were going to ever get better. Little did I know I had to actually WORK to make that happen lol (who knew right...work lol). 

Now when I say amazing life I don't mean "perfect" (not possible). I mean living for what you want the way you want. We have been taught that following our dreams is kinda a fairytale. That we need to be "safe" and "secure". Well in the words of Jim Carrey "You can fail at something you hate, so you might as well do something you LOVE". I cant even tell you what has kept me going this whole year...usually by now the old me would have QUIT and given up. NOT this time my friends. It has been a lot of hard work yes, but fun and amazing work.

SO I'll ask, what is it you want? I want to encourage you to really think about that. Don't stop yourself from thinking big either (I know I used to). It will take work but In here I hope to show you how you can start really living!