"If you're depressed, you are living in the past. If you're stressed, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you're living in the present."

I often find that in my life, I've been defeated (or stressed, which is just as bad) by none other than my own fears. I have a tendency to look at the end goal as opposed to the smaller tasks at hand that individually compose the end goal. And obviously, that often ends in disaster - namely me having a panic attack. This is simply not productive. I do this in my exercise plans, in my education plans, in my job plans (which, at this point i'll be honest are not even close to concrete, and it terrifies me). And I'm going to make it my goal this year to put that mentality behind me and start looking at the decisions that I can make now. Today. This moment. And deal with those as opposed to looking at choices that I can't possibly make right now because they're too large, or too far off. Because the fact of the matter is, when the time comes, there will almost certainly be options available to me that I can't see right now. So for this year, I'm going to work on paying attention to the things that I can deal with now. Am I enjoying my classes? And consequently is this a major that I am enjoying? Are there opportunities in this field that I can take advantage of and test out now? Am I going to pass that test that I have next week? Questions like this are answerable now, and can be addressed in a productive way.
This image above addresses this for me personally because it encourages me to look at what I can do to shape my life in a productive and positive way. It states that there is nothing impossible in this life if I'm willing to work toward it. But it also reminds me in my own personal way to step back and realize that I can only take care of today, and that doing so is the best way for me to shape tomorrow.
While where I'm going in this life is an important question to answer, I have to realize that it is not one that I can answer today. I can simply ensure that I am doing things that I love and to the best of my ability. I have to realize that I can't make a change in my life or in anyone else's unless i'm willing to look at the details that make up a goal as opposed to the end game. Because the individual goals are attainable. The individual goals are the journey. And these little details are what I'll remember years from now and allow me to get where i'm going.

So, I tell myself: Ask yourself not what needs to happen 6 months or a year down the road, but are you giving today everything you've got and truly enjoying the life that you have today and the life that you're building for tomorrow?

See you all later!
Keep Smiling <3 Brandi