My New Mantra

Even though I've been awake for too many hours, with too many thoughts running through my head today - this needs to be blogged. So here I am at nearly 2am and I just can't figure out this particular funk. I wasn't so naive to think that my "new life" in NYC would be peachy, but I just wasn't fully prepared for where I am today.

Perhaps if I had spent more than a year away from America, I could have fully grasped who I truly am and what I want out of life. Ah, but that isn't what happened, so I'm forcing myself to learn and grow within the great island of Manhattan. And daily, I learn more and more about this important topic.

While I was having a quite difficult time in Japan, I created a mantra. My mantra. Something to focus on, to help me through the really difficult times. I would read it. Repeat it. Stare at it. All until I felt a bit better. That simple mantra made all the difference in the world because it gave me focus. Since I arrived back in the States, I've been cruising around aimlessly. (Or so it feels.) So I'm editing my mantra into my new one.

Old mantra: Save money. Lose weight. Get to New York.

New mantra: Be frugal. Get healthy. Stay in New York.

I need to be frugal for obvious reasons. I need to have funds to survive. Yes, I want to have a good time in NYC - even without employment; however, I need to be realistic. It's so easy to drop $40-$60 on a simple dinner with a drink or two. And it's not like I do that often by any means, but I need to just be more mindful of all my spending. (Mostly so I can fulfill the third item in my mantra.)

Get healthy. Yeah, I changed it from lose weight to get healthy because losing the weight is still important to me, but being healthy both physically and mentally is the goal. Without my health, I have nothing. I want to be a healthy individual. I want to eat healthily, live healthily, and live healthily. Plain and simple.

More than anything in the world, I want to stay in New York. More than I don't want to return back to my hometown with my tail between my legs - but because I feel right here. I feel like I've finally made it to my HOMEtown. Where I belong. Where everyone knows my name. Well - not quite, but it does feel right. All my efforts need to be focused on that.

I feel like if I can keep my mantra at the forefront of my mind - I will be successful. Keeping your eye on the prize is important. If you don't know where you are going, how will you know if you get there? Although these "goals" aren't SMART (simple, measurable, achievable, realistic, on a time frame), they are good goals for me to have.

I would consider myself successful with my goals in Japan. I saved *a considerable amount of* money. (Which is quickly depleting as anyone would guess living in the most expensive city in the world.) I lost *a considerable amount of* weight. (Over 40 pounds baby!) And I got myself to New York. Done.

So, if it worked once, it should work again. With my new mantra, I feel like I have a focus, a plan, a goal. Something to work toward. I need that and I think it will make all the difference in the world. Again.