The Avon Chronicles: Where I Am Today

Where I Am Today - Billy Blanks Quote

I'd be lying if I said I wake up everyday, eagerly awaiting my next Avon move. There are moments when I'm downright tired! Frustrated! Hurt! Don't feel like getting up or out of the bed. Oh, if only I could just lay in bed all day! Of course, this is never healthy --- not for your mental and definitely not for your waistline.

Lately, I've been working out, hence the Billy Blanks quote above. For the past few years, I've been slacking when it comes to working out. Netflix binge with a glass in hand has become quite the routine. I used to go running or find some form of exercise every single day. There wouldn't be a day go by that I didn't engage in physical activity, sometimes twice a day. Thinking back on it, it's when I was at my happiest.

I smiled more often. I felt good about how I looked in my clothes and I was even more socially involved. I don't know how I got into this slump --- an unending downward spiral of depression. The heavier I got, the less I went outside --- the less I saw my family. Ultimately, the less happy I became. My smiles didn't have any meaning or feeling behind them.

A few months ago, I decided to get back in shape --- take control of my life. I began watching what I ate and slowly introduced exercising. The first two weeks were hell but I'm proud to say in less than two months, I've gone down two shirt sizes and possibly two sizes in pants (I haven't went shopping yet). In the very beginning, I was immediately discouraged. Honestly, I wanted to see results after one session. A week went by and I almost gave up! What's the sense in  dieting and exercising if you can't tell the difference?

I found the willpower to keep going. I didn't fluff up overnight so it would take more than 14 days to notice real results. For those that do not know, I service my mom's nursing/rehab home. She's a nurse there and I used to leave brochures there. In my drunken, self-pitying slumber, I stopped leaving brochures. I could never find the time. I always rushed home to hop in the bed. I was just so busy doing nothing! I used to drop brochures off religiously, regardless if I got orders or not --- how can people know what to order if they don't know if it's on sale? Why hadn't I thought of that?

My mom called last week saying the ladies at her job needed brochures. Of course, still feeling the after effects of being a lazy slouch, I didn't make it to her job that night. Instead, I told her I'd drop the brochures off in the morning before work --- at 6 a.m. ---eek! What was I thinking?

Last Tuesday, I got in my car and I heard Billy say "where I am today is where my mind and will put me." It was at that moment that it hit me. Running my Avon business is much like exercising. Do you want to do it everyday? Probably not. Will you see results immediately? Probably not. It's the weeks of hitting the pavement, focusing your efforts elsewhere, sheer will and determination that yield results.

As a society, we have become so wrapped up in instant gratification that we give up before the results even come in. Why let all of that go? Why give up when you're so close to the finish line? 

Am I really willing to give up weeks, months and now even a year of not only blogging, engaging in social media but the physical work of battling the freezing temperatures in the winter and sizzling heat of the summer?

As I drove off, I realized I've come too far to give up. I'm looking at the present when my ultimate goal is complete freedom. I dropped the books off and went to work. Two days later, my mom called to say that three new women wanted to order from me! That two-minute sacrifice of boredom paid off --- literally!

Orders are back in and I dropped them off right before work yesterday and this morning :) I didn't dread either. I'm one step closer to my goal. Where I am tomorrow is where my mind will put me.