I remember reading somewhere, I think it must be from Andrew’s book entitled ”Being Happy”, that once you decide to pursue a goal, the universe will conspire to test your commitment and resolve. I call these ”roadbumps”.  For instance, on the week you decide to go on a healthy diet, you find yourself invited to several birthday parties in a row where there’s lots of cake and ice cream. Or you decide to sleep early, and your friends out of the blue, call you up and invite you to a night out…  or you find out that movie you’ve been wanting to see for the longest time, is being shown on HBO that same night.

Funny how it works. The reason I’m bringing this up is because I feel like I’m being tested now. As I mentioned in my previous post Life Changes and Stress, I’m trying to overcome stress and taking better care of myself (by eating healthier foods and doing regular exercise, getting more sleep, etc.). I also want to commit to balancing my life among my work, wedding plans, church commitments, quality time for myself and my special someone.

However, the past couple of weeks have been quite challenging. I’m afraid I haven’t done a single physical workout (yoga, weights, or cardio) and I’ve gone back to drinking coffee everyday. I’ve got a cold now. I wasn’t able to update my blog last week. Because of this, among other things, I am feeling a bit discouraged this week. I want to get back on track because I’m afraid if I let things slide any further, I might fall off the wagon completely and give up altogether.

I think that’s the key. To not let those irritations or roadbumps get to you. To not let your goals become a burden, so much that instead of motivating you they become a source of frustration and discouragement. To not give up on your goals.

Conversely, I also believe that when you decide to pursue your goals, God or the universe (depending on your beliefs) will also open up a way for you to reach your goals. I call these “fast forwards”. For instance, a couple of weeks ago when my fiance and I went to Tutuban Mall to buy cloth for our principal sponsor’s clothes, it seemed like everything fell into place. Once happy coincidence after another.

We couldn’t find the section selling cloths, and we stumbled upon just one cloth shop.  It so happened that the owner of the shop was a distant relative of mine, who helped gave us a discount and accompanied us to another store in the next building for the other fabric we needed to buy. The owner at that other shop turned out to be the cloth supplier of our couturier as well. After that, we were looking for an invitation supplier, but we couldn’t park because of the crowds. However, on the way back home we passed a street where there was another invitation printer and we ended up going there instead. It was quite a productive day.

I suppose we all experience roadbumps and fast forwards in our lives. We shouldn’t let the roadbumps get us down, but rather persevere and don’t give up on our goals. Stay positive. Use the fast forwards like a springboard to propel yourself higher, to accomplish more in a shorter span of time. Above all else, enjoy life’s journey and be thankful for all the blessings (be they big or small), and BE HAPPY!