The Next 14 (Day 15-28) IFTL Mind, Body & Soul Challenge

The reality is we’ve had great days, and not so great days when it comes to staying on schedule with our IFTL 30-day challenge.  We’ve definitely been off course in terms of gaps in posts (not good on my part), but our mapping is precise when it comes to the paths we’ve begun to outline for our minds, bodies and souls (Kudos for us).  No one said this would be a perfect challenge, and at best, it could probably be described as unconventional one but Ladies guess what? None of that is really important.  The most significant aspect about this challenge, from day one, has been your commitment to seeing it through.  Your determination to make a change in your life.  Your motivation.

The next 14 days, (day 15-28) will be about you. It’s a true moment, when you don’t have the luxury of someone challenging you to do something, but instead you challenge yourself.  The 1^st half of this challenge gave us an opportunity to tackle a few things together, but in life there are just some things that have to be worked on alone.  Bring yourself to the forefront of your thought process, and ask yourself, seriously, what can I get accomplished for “myself” in the next 14 days.

Journal Entry: Target the truth. Write one free style journal entry, per day, for the next 14 days.

Challenge:  Be completely transparent in your thoughts and your quest. Stay committed.    

Good luck!

You, Your Wardrobe & The Next 72hrs: Day 12, 13 &14 (Combined) IFTL Mind, Body, Soul Challenge

So many times we here people say “One persons trash, is another persons treasure”.  One of the greatest challenges I face, outside of committing to my exercise routine, is keeping my closet up to date, and in order.  This is primarily due to the fact that I seem to want to hold on to clothing that I don’t even wear anymore.  Obviously, I’m not the only person that does this, but what annoys me the most about my wardrobe dilemmas is that I continue to shop for new things on top of the old, and still feel like I don’t have anything to wear.  Either the clothes are too small, too big or just plain Blah! In order to love your wardrobe, I believe it has to vibe with your current style. Ladies, I think it’s time for a closet wardrobe makeover ( an affordable one that is LOL)!

Journal Entry:

Evaluate your wardrobe.  Are you happy with the style on display in your closet? Do you have clothes you haven’t worn in excess of a year or more?  Realistically, will you ever wear them again?  Come up with a plan to restructure your wardrobe. Is there room in your budget to incorporate a few new pieces to your wardrobe that expresses who you are today?

Challenge:

Out with the old, in with the new.  In the next 72 hrs get rid of the surplus clothing in your closet. Take a picture of your closet, before and after; attach it to this journal entry. Treat your self to one new clothing item per pay period through the end of this challenge (min $1- max $50); share your 1st something new with the IFTL crew! 

Suggestions for your wardrobe woes, you can decide to:

• Donate
• Sell
• Gift

 Good Luck!

Lets Get Physical: Day 11 IFTL 30 Day Mind, Body & Soul Challenge

Let me just be honest right off top and say that I am not a fan of working out.  I definitely want to make the effort to stick to a routine, but it almost never plays out that way for me.  I know I should be focusing on my health and of course the results, but instead I think of the pain, the effort and the pain (again).  Another thing, I might as well admit is my reluctance! I can get lazy real quick and always find a way to justify that laziness each time.  I don’t want to do that anymore!

My Goal: I want to commit to an exercise plan that’s flexible for my schedule, and doesn’t make me cringe at the thought of doing it.  I want to be able to do my regime without feeling the intense physical pain, well at least over time that is.  I want to get out of my bed when its time for my workout, and not dread the thought of doing so.  More importantly, I want to be able to focus on my work out, no complaints, get the results I want, and feel amazing abut the process.  Question is, how?

Journal Entry: The Workout Plan- create/improve upon your exercise regime.  Customize it to fit your schedule, your strength, your goals and commit to it.

Challenge: Reignite your workout regime!  Create a music playlist that displays your personality.  Musically motivate your fitness enthusiasm and movements.  Whether its jogging to jazz, running to hip-hop, lunging to reggae or Yoga and Pilate stretches to a contemporary sound; design or research a fun routine that you can absorb into your daily regime.  Share it with the #IFTL team 

For ideas and inspiration follow our Healthy Living board on Pinterest

Have a GREAT one!

Decide, Declutter & Organize: Day 8, 9 & 10 Combined IFTL Mind, Body & Soul Callenge

Good morning Ladies! First I want to send you my apologies… as you can see there was a break in our challenge.  I was under the weather and had to pause for a bit.  That’s one thing that I know to be true about life; it is totally unpredictable!  But as they say life goes on, and I’m back feeling better, so with that said lets play catch up!

Day 7, 8 & 9 Combined

De-clutter, Decide, and Organize!

One of the things I love the most about the coming of a new spring season is the widespread urge to initiate spring-cleaning! It never fails! We make plans to clean out our closets, our garages, our desks at work, the bedrooms, lets just say the entire house as a whole, and then somehow as time goes by we slowly begin to witness a mess again.  Often times that rebuild of mess can be seen as an early sign of Clutter! Most of us have dealt with it.  For some it’s evident in everything and for others it’s hidden in disguise.  From the car, to our handbags, unopened mail, magazines, clothes, shoes, the kids’ rooms…etc., etc. the list can go on.  How can we get a handle on clutter? More importantly, how can we stop it from reoccurring, or can that even happen???

PS-  My clutter confession:  I’m tired of losing my keys, my wallet, my phone and my lip gloss (on different occasions people) only to find it minutes or even hours later in the first place I searched for it…. MY BAG! I'm Cluttered by receipts, pens, mail, pamphlets and whatever else is in there!

Journal Entry: Do you have clutter? If you answered yes, are you ready, I mean seriously committed to doing something about it? Identify the clutter in your life.  For ex, PAPER is a huge thing for me, and also unopened mail; I keep saying I’m going to go through my bills, but the reality is I pay everything electronically, yet still my monthly statements clutter my space.

Challenge (Part 1)

Decide to let it go! Operation De-clutter!  Create a flexible spring-cleaning plan that coincides with your schedule, and allows you to free up space in your everyday areas.  Structure your plan to target one section/room of your home at a time.  You will come across many items, but you have to be willing to ask your self the following question: “DO I REALLY NEED THIS”?  There will be many decisions to make, decide what goes and what stays?  Some things may be gifted, but some will have to be discarded.

(Part 2):

Organize as you go!  Do you need a file cabinet?  A bookshelf, or a desk maybe?  How about some boxes for those pictures, or storage container for toys?

Here are a few blogs I follow for everyday organizing tips:

I Heart Organizing 

Delightful Order

Have a great one!

PLAN: Day 7 IFTL Mind, Body and Soul Challenge

So far on our Mind Body and Soul and challenge we have identified the following:

• Revealed our personal hopes for this challenge
• Outlined our “to-do” list
• Asked ourselves the day old question
• Deviated From the norm
• Committed to 30 mins of solitude
• Rejuvenated our minds for the week ahead
• Restructured our vision

So where do we go from here?  What’s your life’s strategy? What are you striving to accomplish?  Where does your determination lie in terms to your goals?  …. I honestly don’t think there is an end to the questions that can be asked, or even that we ask ourselves, but what I do now is that we cannot successfully initiate our objectives without a plan.  Successful planning comes from taking time to identify your wants and needs, and being able to create a timeline for crossing those things off the list as they are accomplished.  You’ll find that working on these set tasks can vary in means of time and execution.  It doesn’t matter how long you take to reach the finish line, just as long as you always work towards it.

Day 7:

Journal Entry: Come up with a life plan, if you don’t already have one, and create a timeline to coincide with your strategy.  

Challenge:

Take 3 of your short-term goals and execute them for completion by the end of this challenge