As worded in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English the meaning of the phrase “When the Smoke Clears” is as such: when things have stopped happening and the results can be clearly seen.

This phrase can be used for different purposes. I’m going to use it in regards to my life. Yesterday I went on a hike. I know, what an unsuspected thing for me to do! I needed it for a few reasons, one I am a single mom, a mom period, and I needed to clear my head, two, the business that my best friend and I are building, I needed to do “research”, and three, I need to get in shape for the upcoming trail clean up that I volunteered for. Montana has literally been in a cloud of smoke for several weeks now due to fires, and with many in the area that I reside, it has caused potentially dangerous air quality. I went on this hike none the less. The mountains called and I needed to go.

The trail I was on was St Mary’s Peak outside of Stevensville, MT in the Selway-Bitterroot wilderness. It was a 3.8 mile trek to the lookout, and with a 2500 ft. gain in elevation, it was a good workout to get up to the

elevation of over 9,300 ft. It was a beautiful hike all of the way up, but my lungs could feel the smoke in the air. As I sat at the top and looked out into the wilderness I was so glad that the smoke did not keep me away. The eerie sight, although cloaked with sadness due to the two lives claimed by the flames, beheld a beauty that only nature, and its unrelenting anger, could provide. This trail is known for it’s views, but with the smoke those were limited. I look forward to returning to the same spot and seeing what beauty it possesses on a clear day.

My husband, God rest his soul, never waited until the smoke cleared. I was always the one to step back and over think everything in the fear that one step might make a turn that was undesirable. I wanted the smoke to settle, I wanted clear answers. In my defense, in the 14 years we had been married things never stopped. Moves, rough patches in our marriage, a child, a logging accident, recovery period, business en-devours, another kid, a separation, and then cancer hit and tragedy. I was forced to move through the smoke no matter how hard I fought it. Looking back, I realized how I let the smoke, or those unclear answers, keep me from living a life that I desired. I let the smoke keep me from reaching my goals and from seeking that adventure that was pulling at me.

I can’t say that I never step back and wonder if I am making the right decisions, if I am brave enough to try out this new trail by myself, if I am capable of riding my bike on a trail without making a complete fool of myself, if I will survive taking kids out to find adventure in mountain biking or camping, if I am brave enough to get through the EMT course coming up in February, or if, just recently, the decision I made to make the move and put in an application to be a Volunteer firefighter. Sometimes fear grips me and I have to put my big girl panties on and walk through the smoke. I have come to the conclusion that if I waited until the smoke cleared, I’d be waiting forever. Nothing in life ever really stops and there are never any clear answers. If I really stop and think about it too, what fun would life be if there were clear answers all of the time? What fun would it be if I didn’t make a fool of myself here and there? I have been on some amazing adventures in the last couple of years. I’ve seen some amazing country on my bike, had an overnight camp trip with my best friend after we biked into the woods with our gear (and even some hula hoops), sat on the beach and learned how to relax on a complete whim. I got to understand the beauty that the screen of smoke in my life is, the beauty of the unknown, by seeing the mountains that I love so much covered in it . I am taking a page out of Jeff’s play book and I am going to live this life through the smoke.

Make many small changes over a longer period of time instead of big changes quickly if you want them to last. This is some of the best advice you can follow when starting a new work out routine or diet. Often times, usually around New Years, people make big resolutions about changing their lives, getting fit and eating better. The gyms are packed all through January and then it tapers off around March. Why is that? It’s because large lifestyle and habit changes can’t be made all at once. It becomes overwhelming and you are bound back slide no matter what you’re doing. Often it’s at this back sliding phase that people give up. They don’t have the support or energy to continue and it’s easier to do what they know and are used to.

To understand this better let’s look at the Transthoretical Model of the stages of change. It’s important to note that these stages are cyclical, meaning you may move back and forth between any stages. Once you progress to stage 5 doesn’t guarantee you’ll remain there forever. The stages are as follows 1. Pre-contemplation 2. Contemplation, 3. Preperation, 4. Action 5. Maintenance.

In the pre-contemplation stage you aren’t thinking about changing anything or aware there might be a need to change. The contemplation stage is where you are now aware a change is needed/wanted and are thinking about it. Once you’ve thought about it hopefully you move into the preparation stage. Here you will begin getting ready for your change. You might get a gym membership, look up healthier recipes, or buy any equipment you will need. This is an exciting stage, you are full or hope about your new beginning.

Now comes the hard part, Action! In this stage you begin doing what you’ve set out to do, exercise and eat healthier. You go to the gym, and make healthy new meals and everything is going great. You are healthy and glowing!! Then after 2 weeks it you’re sore and your kale veggie burger with a side of seaweed chips isn’t quiet filling you up, you walk into Wal-Mart and buy a bag of Oreos and order a pizza on the way home. And they taste sooo good! And then you skip the next day at the gym. Now you feel guilty and wonder why you even tried in the first place. Did you fail? Are you destined to never be able to get healthy? No! Remeber that these stages are cyclical. People in the action stage are at the highest risk to back slide. You moved back but you can also move forward again!  It takes 21 days of doing something consistanly to form a new habit so the first month will be the hardest but keep going!

The action stage generally lasts for 6 months. The new activites are being done consistanly and you are seeing the positive outcomes of your hard work.  After that you move into the maintenance stage! Here the new habit or activity is well ingrained into your life. Although backsliding is possible at any stage it is much rarer once you’ve come this far!

Making lifestyle changes can be stressful. This is why it’s important to make small changes one at a time. Say you want to eat better. That’s all encompassing and not very specific. Its a great goal but you need small specific goals to get there. So say for the first month you want to stop drinking soda and drink at least 3 glasses of water a day. To do that you make a plan of how much soda you will drink and have it taper off until by the end of the month you aren’t drinking any soda.  You increase your water intake as your soda consumption decreases. That’s more specific and reasonable. When you first start drinking water it can taste bland. To help add some flavor add 2 drops of Doterra Lemon oil. Cutting soda out of your diet contributes to your end goal of eating healthier with out being too overwhelming. Once you have soda out of the picture you can pick a new area of your diet you want to work on. These small changes will over time lead to major lifestyle transformations.

Remember small step climb mountains!