They say you need to hit “rock bottom” before you really feel motivated to change.  I had been serious about running regularly with my New Years resolutions many years before, however, at approximately 11 months into the year, I had decided to seriously commit to running on a regular basis.

Going to school full time and work part time, I always felt that there was “never time” for exercise.  I felt that if I dedicated time to exercise and reduce stress, I would be considered a “wimp” and not “hardcore” enough in terms of being a dedicated graduate student.  However, hitting rock bottom helped me realize that everyone needs to let their stress go and spend time on themselves- it is a must.  I had no way of releasing my stress and then ended up projecting it on others (which is a no-no).

With this realization, I have been running regularly (or incorporating some sort of cardio exercise) for about 6 weeks.  This is probably the longest I have maintained in terms of a physical activity.  I am especially proud of myself because I didn’t make any excuses for the weather (despite it being winter and rainy here).  Although it didn’t start off as much (about 15 minutes three times a week), I have slowly increased this to 30 minutes three times a week.  Going out for a run has been completely stress reducing.  I can see why all the runners chase this endorphin-feel-good-high after running.

So, hopefully I will be able to continue this new dedication to running and endorphin chasing in the new year.

Readers, what made you decide to change your behaviour?  Did you have to hit rock bottom too before you got serious about behaviour change?  Have you started thinking about your new years resolutions?

PF Blog Love

Justin @ My University Money writes Six Online Shopping Safety Tips - Many of us have become pretty comfortable shopping online. That’s good because it enables us to save money and it also shows that we’re embracing technological change. At the same time, that comfort level can also expose us to identity theft and security breaches that can do a lot of damage.

K.K. @ Living Debt Free Rocks! writes How Not To Lose Your Mind This Holiday Season – Travelling during the holidays can be stressful. Here are some tips to help make it a more enjoyable experience.

John @ Frugal Rules writes How to Slash Years Off the Life of Your Mortgage – Buying a house is one of the largest purchases many people will make. Unfortunately many of us have to finance the purchase and repay for many years. There are a number of ways though that you can reduce the life of the mortgage as well as lower the amount you end up paying.

Ken Faulkenberry @ Arbor Investment Planner writes Sustainable Competitive Advantages: Definition, Types, & Examples – Finding companies with multiple sustainable competitive advantages will greatly improve the probability you have found a real value stock. Types and examples are included.

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes Rearranging My Financial Priorities – A dumb decision in college kept me from catching the travel bug for more than a decade. Now, I’m rethinking my financial priorities.

Eddie @ Finance Fox writes Tipping Etiquette a Touchy Subject For Patrons and Servers – I’ve written a few articles in the past about the tipping etiquette, how much to tip and in which cases to tip. Yet, tipping etiquette is different for everyone.

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes 5 More Ways To Prepare Your Home For The Winter – Here are 5 more ways in addition to the earlier ones on ways to prepare you home for the winter.

krantcents @ KrantCents writes Year-end Tax Planning Tips – Are you doing year-end tax planning? If not, be prepared to pay more in taxes! As a former Chief Financial Officer (CFO), I routinely did year-end tax planning for the companies I worked for. Along with our accounting firm, we took a proactive role in reducing our taxes.

Daisy @ Add Vodka writes Giveaway: Apple iPad3 – Last week, we were in the mall Christmas shopping for our families and we walked by the Apple Store. It was, of course, chock full of Christmas shoppers. I dragged the boyfriend into the store to take a look at an Apple iPad3.

PPlan @ Provident Plan writes Should you rent or buy your next home? – Buying a home is definitely a large investment. There are a lot of things that should be thought about, but what if renting your home is actually a better

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes How to Improve Your Family’s Finances – It’s been a while since I have written specifically about family finances. In the past year, my wife have made huge progress in our family’s financial situation. In the past year, both of us have received promotions/new jobs, increased our savings, invested more money, and also splurged a little.

SavingMentor @ How To Save Money writes Netflix Canada Doesn’t Suck – About 2 years ago, shortly after Netflix was launched in Canada, my good blogging friend Simon from Sustainable Personal Finance proclaimed confidently to the world that Netflix in Canada Sucked after trying out the service for a short while. Conversely, I have been a subscriber to the service paying the $7.99 a month faithfully almost since the service launched.

SFB @ Simple Finance Blog writes Who Should Pay For Bridesmaids’ Expenses? – Who pays for the expenses incurred by bridesmaids? It’s a question every bride-to-be has grappled with, and one that lacks a coherent answer.

Corey @ Steadfast Finances writes How Much Does College Really Cost? – College costs a lot more than just tuition. The cost of college also includes other fees associated with getting a college degree.

Michelle @ The Shop My Closet Project writes What if money didn’t matter? – Read my take on if money did not matter! What do you think?

Debt Guru @ Debt Free Blog writes Budgeting for the Year – The year is almost coming to a close and that means a lot of things. Not only does it mean Holidays, vacation, time with family, but also the beginning of a new year. This is the time of the year that people start to go crazy with new years resolutions.

Jester @ The Ultimate Juggle writes Savings Account vs Money Market – If someone were to tell me a year ago that having a savings account could be a bad thing, I would have probably laughed in their face.

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder writes Moving Jobs? Take Your Retirement Fund with You – How many times have you changed jobs? Three, four, five, or more? Each time you change jobs, do you make sure to take your retirement with you? If you are young and only employed briefly, do you just pay the penalties and instead cash out the retirement and pocket the money? We live in a The post Moving Jobs? Take Your Retirement Fund with You appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

Ted Jenkin @ Your Smart Money Moves writes What Is An Appropriate Holiday Tip To Give? – Thanksgiving is behind us and now it is on to the mad holiday dash that will include office Christmas parties, trips to the local mall, and lots of gift

Your Boss @ What Your Boss Really Thinks writes Ask Your Boss: How To Negotiate a Job Offer – how to negotiate a job offer, points of negotiating, salary negotiating, job interviews, boss’s point of view on salary negotiating.

Greg @ Club Thrifty writes How Much Money is Enough? – You probably heard that the Powerball jackpot recently reached an estimated $550 million dollars. It got me thinking, “How much money is enough?”

Marvin @ Brick By Brick Investing writes How A Single Person Should Live If They Want To Be Rich – A detailed letter providing guidelines to a young fraternity brother on how to become rich.

DPF @ Digital Personal Finance writes 5 Ways Bloggers Can Use Fiverr to Outsource Tasks – Saving money is generally a good thing, and this can particularly be enticing for bloggers. This post shares an experience using Fiverr, and discusses ways to outsource tasks.

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes Save Your Pennies for a Rainy Day – Saving money is essential. You never know when you are going to run into a “rainy day” where you will need that money. Medical emergencies, car emergencies, or family situations may arise where you need to dip into your emergency fund.

Little House @ Little House in the Valley writes Keep Warm This Winter with Proper Insulation – To truly have a “green” holiday, not only does proper insulation reduce the cost of heating, it also minimizes the total carbon footprint we leave on this planet.

Carnival Love

• Carnival of Wealth, Only 14 Shopping Days ‘Til Christmas Edition
• Carnival of Financial Planning 12/7/12
• Yakezie Carnival – Bringing Personal Finance Excellence to Thriftability!
• Investing Edition–Wealth Management Carnival #6