Copyright: Disney
Sunday is movie night in our household. This week we had Lemonade Mouth on the DVR, so we all sat down to watch it. If you have not seen the movie yet, turn back now as there will be spoilers included this review. I figured it would be a typical Disney made-for-TV musical in the mold of High School Musical. Boy, was I wrong. I thought the movie was very well made and not as predictable as most made-for-TV movies are.
With Spring in full force and Summer just around the corner, many kids are hitting the soccer fields and baseball diamonds for the fun of participating in team sports. With this phenomena also comes the parents who volunteer or are asked to coach a team. Many volunteer coaches think they need to know the game inside and out in order to be a successful coach, but most of the recreation leagues out there do not keep track of wins and loses. If the kids have fun, that’s a win! 
With the WDW Marathon behind us and the Disney Princess Half along with various other RunDisney events coming up, I want to write a post about the dos and don’ts of traveling to a RunDisney event. Walt Disney World and Disneyland are great places to visit, and the magic of these places pull thousands of runners and walkers to the parks each year. If you are not careful, you can get so wrapped up in the event that you don’t leave enough in the tank to power you through the event.
On my last trip to Walt Disney World in June, I left very disappointed in that the trip was missing a good deal of the “Disney Magic.” It was my daughter’s first visit, and she had her “1st Visit” badge on at every park we visited, and not one person said anything to her about it in 7 days at the park. On top of that, only one cast member said anything to us about our volunteer badges we were wearing. At Pop Century, we encountered more of the same. The eating area tables were consistently dirty, and the fountain drink stations were out of ice 90% of the time. It seemed that everywhere we went the cast members were really troubled to be helping us. All in all it was just not a “magical” trip.
Many times people start something to only stop and think that they failed. This way of thinking can hurt your potential for doing something great in the future. When living a healthy and active life, one must live in the present and reach for the future. It does not benefit anyone to live in the past.
In the movie “The Lion King” Pumba tells us that we need to “put our behind in our past” which Timon translates to “Put your past behind you”. You cannot let past failures determine your future successes. Just because “XYZ” diet did not work for you in the past does not set you to fail in a new attempt. You have to learn why it did not work and avoid those pitfalls in moving forward. This will allow you succeed in your new effort. One cannot dwell on what did not work, instead we must focus on what does work and surround ourselves with those things. Are your friends the boys on Pleasure Island from Pinocchio who sabotage your efforts, or are your friends a positive influence like Pumba and Timon who will help you on your path to become the “King” your are destined to be? If you are new to losing weight or making a change, find someone who will help you stay accountable. Maybe it is joining Weight Watchers. Find some friends within the Neurotic Disney Community who want the same thing. Maybe you can find some friends on Twitter or Facebook to keep you accountable. Try out the Zero2Hero plan on the Disney Driven Life. The point is if you are going to make changes, you need people in the front row who are going to cheer you on, the people that are going jeer you and work against you need to be at the back of your auditorium.
While my iPod is not chock-full of Disney songs, there are quite a few on there, and they seem to have a knack of knowing to play when I need them most. Why is it that during my runs, when I start to struggle, “Go the Distance” From Hercules, “On my Way” from Brother Bear, or “He Lives in You” from The Lion King always seems to start playing? This surge of motivation always gets me back on task and able to power through my hard moments in a long run. Something about the words and the meanings behind these songs give you the strength to complete that hard moment. In 2008 while running the Marine Corps Marathon, I really hit the “wall” at mile 20. I had some severe self-doubt going on. All of a sudden “Go the Distance” from Hercules came on my iPod. It gave me just the boost I needed to get through those last 6.2 miles. It made me realize I could finish the race when I heard these lyrics:
Have you ever wanted to participate in Walt Disney World Marathon weekend but thought that there is no way you could run the 26.2 or 13.1 distances? Welcome to your own personal Philoctetes(Phil). With every good hero and tales of mythological proportions, we have to start at the beginning. Which in this case, would be the Mickey 5K (3.1 Miles). Hercules had to start somewhere, and so do you. With running, you have to start slowly and build up your base. If you just took off out the door today and ran 3 miles, you would definitely feel some pain in places you did not know you had. I only ask that you dedicate 10 weeks to the Disney Driven Life Zero to Hero Plan, and you can go from Zero miles to running a 5K.
“It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.”
~Roy E. Disney
What is a healthy life? Is it being active? Is it hitting a certain number on the scale? Is it eating only foods that are found naturally? A healthy life can be one of those or it can be all of those. I think in order to live a “healthy” life you first have to find what you value. Once you know what you value then as Roy Disney said the decisions will come easy.