Whatever it takes

So I just saw this image and couldn’t help but smile and nod in agreement.  Because I hate, after sweating it out in my itty-bitty lulu’s, realizing that I didn’t check in to my yoga studio on Facebook.

Ever since starting my 30 day challenge on April 1st of this year, I’ve been checking in each and every time my pedicured feet make their way to the studio.  A smart-ass friend of mine wrote on one of my check ins: “Hey Jen, why does Facebook alert me every time you do a yoga class?”  To which I smart assly responded “To motivate you to finally get off your lazy ass and join me!”

Ensuring you get a workout in at least once a day, all whilst running your own business, living a social, twentysomething lifestyle and, just well wanting to hibernate, is tough.  That was a big reason why I shared my challenge with you, my loyal readers, at the beginning of this month – to motivate me to stick to my word.  Often, by saying something aloud and having people possibly nonchalantly following, we can keep on keeping on.  Because that’s what inspires others.

I love getting updates on what my healthy Facebook friends are eating, that they’re at the gym for the second time that day.  Seeing others engage in healthy behaviours instills a similar mindset.  So if ‘Doing it for the Tweet’ is what gets you onto the yoga mat, into the gym or out on the road for a sweat, so be it!  I commend you for making the decision to honour yourself, your body and your mind.

Find ways that help you feel motivated; that help you keep your word, and bask in them to bring out the best you that you can.  Sure, some people will find it annoying-as-fuck.  Hey!  They might even hide your updates.  But someone, somewhere will be grateful.  Will be impacted.  Take those pics, those selfies, update your statuses and keep on finding strength, even on those days where all you want to do is cuddle up with some gross eats and trashy tv.  “I really regretted that workout,” – said no one ever.

Namaste!

- Jenny Jen

Happy hunting

It’s time, girls.  It’s time just put it out there.  To not make assumptions.  That he’s out of your league.  That he’s not over his last relationship.  That he’s in a relationship at all.

We don’t approach the guys we like because they’re guys so if they’re into us, they’d approach us.  Right?  Wrong.  Because guys are just as human as us girls, which means they have insecurities and doubts and fear of rejection just like us.  Hey, he may not even know your single, available or interested.  So why not plant a seed?  Send him a Facebook private message or, next time you see him out ask him if he’s single or what his status is.  Is it a hella forward?  Hells yea.  Will it allow you to not waste your time and get an upfront answer and then, if he’s interested, develop said answer sooner – if at all?  You got it girl!

Have you ran into a former crush in the past few years, only for you to admit to them – or them to you – that you were crushing way back when?  Many of us are shocked to hear someone was just as into us back at the same time we were just as into them, so safe to say, this is a pretty obvious lesson, yeah?

The words for you to either write or utter aren’t up to me.  But instead, when you think it, say it.  Say it naturally in a way that makes sense to you.  See the green light on next to their Facebook name on Facebook chat?  Drop them a message.  See them out?  Say something.  Don’t wait to compose the write words to convey the right message.  The more raw and natural you are, the more likely you are to receive a response.  Worst case scenario?  Dude is flattered, you found out right away without dropping hints and looking into everything he says and does, with or without you.  Best case?  He’s into you and perhaps you schedule a date to see if there’s a potential connection.

Hard to get is all well and good, except when no one has any idea what – if anything – the other person is thinking.  Break the ice.  And if he doesn’t respond or fails to respond favourably, no big deal.  Take it with grace, end the convo with class and have no doubt that in time, the person who is meant for you will enter in your life when the stars allign and it’s meant to be.

Happy hunting, honey.

- Jenny Jen

Photo credit: Source.

Better to kiss your money goodbye than your pride

Money makes the world go round, so the story goes.  But money does way more than that, for it grants us freedom, if only we let it.  Over the years, not only have I witnessed, but I’ve also been a part of those group of us women who let money hold their freedom hostage.

Have you ever gone through a breakup, only to contact your ex telling them they owe you this or that (this being your shirt you left there, your heels, the money they told you they’d pitch you when you grabbed the bill for something, etc.?)  The second you contact your ex to get that back is the same second you not only lose your class in their eyes, but also when you put yourself back into a situation you should be over and done with.

I gratefully learned this lesson in my early twenties when going through a breakup.  I had a nice new pair of runners at my exes house and told him I wanted to come grab them.  He told me that if I don’t get them by ‘insert specific time and place here’ then he would throw them in the dumpster (jackass, but that’s another article.)  I had no way to get them at the time proposed and – knowing no compromise would happen – I called a friend to see if they could do me the favour.  Their response was the lesson of all lessons that has allowed me to keep my chin (and pride) high.  She said something along the lines of ‘Jen, how much were the shoes?” I probably muttered something around a bill or two.  She continued “Would you rather give into his demands, with the chance he might not even be there, or would you rather let go of his control over your emotions, get new shoes and call it a day?”  They were new, and I wanted those ones, but that wasn’t the point.  The point was that that was the best bill or two I could spend, because it removed me from a situation that already ended; a door that need not be reopened.

Does someone owe you money who you know shouldn’t be in your life?  Does someone have a bracelet of yours, some clothes, maybe even one of your heels?  Whatever it is, before you go contacting them – which we do either because we a) want an excuse to see them again or, b) are that desperate for an object or some cash back) ask yourself whether you’d be better off not contacting them.  Whether you’d be better off just moving forward and replacing whatever material good it is.

I’ve been in a situation before (this time in my later twenties) where I covered a whole wad of money for someones expense, only because I was promised and convinced the person would pay it back immediately.  It was not within my budget, but I said ok, with the knowingness that “I” am putting myself in this situation.  I could have said no.  I could have declined politely, but I said yes with the mindset that – if I don’t get it back – I’d move on and accept the loss, as an adult.

Know this pretty girls: We all have control over ourselves and the situations we put ourselves in.  If something makes you uncomfortable, don’t do it.  And if something doesn’t work out the way you hoped, ask yourself if you’d rather have your pride – the best thing you could spend your money on – or whether you need that thing, that amount of cash back.

- Jenny Jen

Photo credit: Source.