purpose – Jenna Jamieson, Author

Always help others…no matter what!

By Jenna Jamieson | September 12, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

Summer has officially been over for a month and it has taken me this long to sit down and write about someone that touched my heart when I was volunteering one evening in August. I was volunteering at my alma mater because I love to help welcome the students back to campus. It was a casual evening where I helped give directions to students, greet students, and welcome them during a “Back to Campus” event. It was simple and easy to do. I didn’t feel like I had done much other than say hi and welcome back to students. As I was walking around at the very end of the night I came upon a student that was walking home after the event. I walked by as I was browsing my phone and then circled back because there was something about the student that concerned me. He had a physical handicap that made walking very difficult. He was also staring at his phone with a confused look upon his face as if he needed something. I could tell he was struggling so I asked if he needed help. He said, “I am trying to figure out what direction to go to get back to the dorms.” I explained the location of the dorms, but also wanted to make sure he could get to a bus because walking was very difficult for him. It made me realize how much I take walking for granted.

He seemed very grateful for the help. I actually wasn’t sure if the buses were running on their normal bus schedule so I went to verify it with campus staff to be sure he was able to get to where he needed to go. He got the directions he needed to get to the bus stop and that was something that made me realize how important it is to offer help. I came across this young student at just the right time to assist him with getting back to the dorms safely.

Not only did he remind me of the importance of helping others and being present rather than browsing on my phone, but he also forced me to think about how much I take my legs and feet for granted. That student had a permanent handicap that prevented him from walking at a steady pace or maintaining quality balance. It’s something that many of us take for granted on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. Next time you see someone who may need help, may be handicapped, or may need guidance I implore you to do the right thing. It’s too easy to look down, look at your phone, stare, or just simply not want to get involved with others, but that’s not the right thing to do. We are meant to be kind and help other people. There’s a reason why we should be kind – that reason is often to help someone else, inspire someone else, or make the lives of those around us better. After all, you will find more purpose and meaning when you give back and help others than you will in any other facet of your life.

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness

What is #ProjectKindnessBook?

By Jenna Jamieson | June 16, 2016 | Comments 0 Comment

I have almost completely finished my #ProjectKindnessBook which focuses on the bumps in the road that life presents and how to get through them successfully. In a nutshell, it is a book about the twists and turns of life, learning, and giving back to others.

Along the way, I offer bits of advice to “stick in your pocket” to carry with you through life. I don’t have everything figured out and am still eager to learn more from other’s experiences. The one lesson from my pocket that I have come to understand most is that the roadblocks in my life have allowed me to reach inside myself to create a path that has led to where I am today. It has taught me that it is never too late to accomplish my dreams. This book being a paramount example of accomplishing a dream.

It has been the most challenging and time consuming project I have ever taken on yet a very fulfilling thing I could do for myself and others. Stick the stories, quotes, and advice in your pocket and pull them out along the way to use in your own life. By the end of my book I hope you recognize that the little things are precisely just the little things. I didn’t learn this overnight, but rather through my experiences both personally and professionally over time. I wrote this book knowing that I am a “work in progress.” I am not perfect, but the stories you read are about learning and giving. It was a learning curve, taught me more about the world, and expanded my growth as a person. I hope it does the same for you. It is meant to give you new perspective about others and teach you something about yourself. If nothing else I hope it reminds you that kindness and giving will give you purpose–purpose that will change your life.

My “Project Kindness” is meant to encourage others to pledge their age on their birthday as the minimum number of random acts of kindness to achieve in a year just as I have chosen to do with mine. I challenge you to help me make the world a kinder place by pledging your birthday as a way to give back. Learn more by visiting jennarpjamieson.com!

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness

Giving is good for your health!

By Jenna Jamieson | January 20, 2016 | Comments 0 Comment

Emotional and mental health are important. Very important. Sometimes these two components of health take the back burner to social and physical health. We might focus on our social media relationships, comments, and statuses. Stuff that in the scheme of things won’t matter when we look back on life. I am even guilty of this sometimes.

I actually have someone in my family that struggles with finding a balance between her emotional and mental health versus her social and physical health. She struggles with finding happiness, being self-confident on the inside, and feeling a sense of contentment. She chooses to focus on her social and physical health as a way of combating the struggles she faces with her emotional and mental health. She walks daily and puts effort into how she presents herself to others, but in reality it doesn’t fix how she feels about herself. She is missing a sense of self-purpose in life. She struggles with identifying meaning by the roles in which she chooses to play in society.

Giving may not seem like it has to do with emotional or mental health. It may seem like a big stretch, but it actually isn’t a stretch at all. Giving provides purpose to a person’s life. It gives meaning. It is a reminder to be appreciative for what we have. It feels good to give to others. It gives you that warm and happy feeling on the inside knowing you contributed to a good cause, helped someone that is struggling, baked cookies for your local police department, or helped a stranger on your way to work. The feeling you have from doing those things contributes to your emotional and mental health.

You do not need tons of money to give. Giving can come from the heart. It can be coloring a picture for someone, writing a “Thank You” card, volunteering with a local organization, helping someone into their car, or a multitude of other ways to be kind and give back. I work at an elementary school where I am given pictures and coloring pages almost every single day. While students love to give me pictures and have a huge smile as they hand me their masterpiece I feel equally as blessed. It warms my heart that they want to give me pictures that they work so hard on. It is a reciprocation of mental and emotional health. It makes them feel good and me as well.

In a world full of consumerism and materialism, I challenge you to remember to give (year round)! Just because the holidays have passed and it is a new year doesn’t mean all your time has to focus on New Years weight loss resolutions or bikini bodies for spring break. It is still important to smile at strangers, say hi to people you pass in the hallway, or compliment someone. I challenge you to increase your purpose and role in the world. I challenge you to remember what giving will do for your emotional and mental health.

I hope this blog, as short as it is, captures how much giving can do for you and the world.

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness

Believe in yourself and you shall achieve!

By Jenna Jamieson | September 28, 2015 | Comments 0 Comment

It’s been a long time since I have had the chance to write, to inspire, to motivate, to share fitness advice, and engage with readers. I am excited to have the opportunity (and time) to make this a priority again. After all, helping others is a passion, a goal, and a dream.

I haven’t been conscientious about fitness, nutrition, health, and wellness my whole life. In fact, I actually didn’t care about it at all in high school and weighed about fifteen to twenty pounds more than I do now. I didn’t care about working out, taking rest breaks to clear my mind, or eating fruits and veggies. Once I graduated from high school and started college, I realized I needed a way to clear my mind and relieve stress. I also wanted to develop healthy habits that I would carry with me through life. That’s when I changed my life and started working out as my personal way of clearing my mind, de-stressing, and making my workout “me” time. I changed my life. I changed my future. I developed a workout schedule, nutrition habits, and maintained a routine that would fit my lifestyle.

During this time, I tried several different types of exercise and different workout schedules to figure out what I liked, what I didn’t like, and what I thought worked best for me. First, I started working out at my house. I would go on jogs outside each day or jump rope. It was an effective (and cheap) workout and made me feel better once I was done. Eventually I bought a treadmill and usually ran five to ten miles each day. I liked this because I could fit it in when it was convenient and I didn’t have to think about the weather. I stuck with that for a long time, probably a few years. I got bored with the treadmill and wanted a change in pace. I decided I would start going to a gym rather than working out at home. I started using the bike, elliptical, row machine, and occasionally the treadmill along with the weight machines. I got much more variety which was great.

Then, one day I started experiencing pain in my shins and ankles. I went to an athletic trainer and physical therapist to see what I had done that was causing me to feel pain. They said the machine use was causing rubbing on my joints so I started nine weeks of physical therapy to help loosen up my body, joints, and muscles. It started to help, but the physical therapists suggested lessening my machine use as that can often be hard on your joints. It was back to the thinking board. I decided to invest in fitness DVDs and workouts (which are very expensive I might add)! This allowed me to workout from home, let me do my workout whenever it fit into my schedule, made me be accountable, and forced me to use my own body weight during the workouts. I found that when I did workout at a gym it was easy to change my fitness days or routine. I could easily skip the stop at the gym causing me to rotate a workout day or two during the week. The fitness DVDs helped to fix that problem! I always had the DVDs at my fingertips and could do my workout at my convenience – no excuses!

So, you might be thinking she just rambled on and on about working out from home, working out from a gym, having sore joints, etc. The point being that sometimes fitness changes over time. Sometimes you are completely dedicated (like I am now) or completely not interested like I was in high school, BUT it is never too late to start making changes to lead a healthier lifestyle. Small changes, large changes, or just adding more changes that will help you sustain your lifestyle. You might start working out at your house, as I did, then change to a gym, and then end up back at your house, in a fitness club, or creating your own walking group, etc.

Regardless of what you choose is best for you, there are always resources and people that can help you achieve your fitness goals. You can find resources all over the web, there are cookbooks and exercise books everywhere, but one of the most important things you can do for yourself to further your health journey is believe in yourself. In life, whatever your goals are personally or professionally, you have to take your goals and believe in them, own them, have a strong passion for them, and make them part of you. That’s part of succeeding in fitness, health, nutrition, and wellness (and in life). Own up to what you put in your mouth, challenge yourself to a workout, and remember to focus on your goals. If you can do that, you can do about anything and that includes changing your health habits for the better.

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness