Happy Valentines Day!

Today is a day to spread love to those in your life!! :) I can honestly say that I am blessed to have a life full of loving family and friends, whom I care for deeply and truly appreciate! Take a second to let people in your life know you care. I hope you all have a wonderful day, filled with love and joy! Happy Valentines Day!

And, I'm sure there are many people who don't celebrate the day, like the day, or just want to ignore it. And you know what, that's fine too! But, I still hope that you have a good day!

Intentions 2013

Lately, I have been thinking about what goals I want to achieve this year and in the future. At the new year, I thought about setting resolutions, but who am I kidding, resolutions never actually workout; at least, they typically don't for me. Last week, while perusing through The Everygirl (one of my favorite sites that I read fairly regularly), I came across one of their features, "Living Well: Ditching Traditional New Years Resolutions." The post was by Jess Lively, another blogger whose blog I also visit pretty frequently. Basically, the point of the post was to introduce the process of living a life with intention. 

What is an intention? How is it different from a resolution? Well, as the post describes, resolutions are so quantitative. I will work out 5 times a week, for 60 minutes, and I will loose 40 pounds in 6 months. Because the goal is so specific, not only is it prone to failure, if/when you don't stick to it, you feel a sense of defeat, which causes a loss in motivation and eventually failure in succeeding with that resolution.

So, the idea behind intentions is to create goals that require an ongoing effort. Life is constantly changing and moving forward, but not necessarily in one, strict direction. So why set goals that are so rigid. Rather, set no specific time limit to achieve the goal, set goals that are flexible and attainable over time. So that when you stray from the intention one day (or in my case 2 or 3), you don't completely feel down on myself. You simply say, that's okay, tomorrow I will pick up where I left off. As you work to accomplish these intentions- there may be setbacks, but you've got to keep going.

Jess Lively's posts gives a few things to remember:
1. You will stumble
2. There will be deviations
3. Incremental progress is still progress: my favorite and something we should all try to remember.

So with that, I stop here. I've been thinking about what my intentions for 2013 and after will be. I have a few things and I will definitely share it with you soon!

For now, share with me your intentions!

Rosa

...Connecting the Dots....

Man, I've been radio silent for over a month...sorry! Truth be told, I've been feeling a bit down lately. I've gotten no interviews and 4 medical school rejections- which I've taken a little harder than I thought I would. I thought I prepared myself for it- but I guess you really can't be prepared for that! Needless to say, I've been in this melancholy mood for about a week and a half.

Anyway, I need to get over that. It gets old after a while! So, I woke up this morning with a bit of a better attitude and decided that I wanted some motivation to get my day going! So, I found Mr. Steve Jobs. I'm sure everyone has seen this video at least once...I, on the other hand, have watched it like 6 times over the years. I find some of his words so motivating and I felt like it was just what I needed on this Monday morning. So below are some of Mr. Jobs' quotes I will carry with me today!

"You can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards." : How true is this! You really can't and I fall guilty to trying to make my own dots and connect them. I have to remember, that they can only be connected looking backwards. And as I look back, they truly do connect. Some of my past decisions, at the time, seemed to not have made sense. Half the time, I was like "Oh God, please let this be the right decision." Now looking back, there is a lot I wouldn't do differently. I've had some AMAZING experiences and opportunities, I've discovered who I am and where my passion lies and I've met some of the greatest people on this planet. So, I need to trust that as I move forward, the dots will connect.

"I've been rejected, but I'm still in love": So what, I've been rejected from 4 schools, but I'm still in love with medicine, healthcare, and service. Currently, I am still waiting to hear from 12 more schools and I only need one acceptance! And even if it turns out to be 12 more rejections- yes,  I will be sad, but that doesn't mean my life is over. I simply have to remember my passion and keep moving forward. And as Mr. Jobs says, I will "keep looking and don't settle."

"Sometimes life's going to hit you in the head with a brick, but don't lose faith": I got nothing to say about this except..."ain't that the truth"

So, if you too need a little Monday motivation, take 15 minutes and watch.

Happy Monday everyone!!!