This morning I had a great conversation with my sweet sis.. .. she is such an encourager to me and she told me I should post a bit of a blog about some of the things we talked about.. some of what I have learned along the way and just some stories about my journey.
First of all.. this is me. I am who I am and I am in control of what I will become.
Now the above statement might sound like no big deal, but there was a time where I would have never said that. I wasnt in control of my life, I was spinning out of control and just letting the little train of life take me wherever it wanted. There is a saying: "If you dont control your life, someone else will." Now I know part of being truly happy is taking control of my life, grabbing the wheel and going where I want to go. Now. I am not talking about being selfish, I am talking about living MY life and dreaming MY dreams.. and not depending on others to do it for me.
With that being said.. here are a few "stories or ruthieisms" I thought I would share.
1. The only thing I can change is myself. I cant change the past(and all the bad decisions I made) and I cant change other people. I should never change because because of what others think or feel. I should change because of what I think is best. This sounds very simple.. but once I started not worrying about what other people thought of me and decided to live my own life is when I realized how great life can be. I put way too much pressure on myself to be what others thought I should be instead of being happy and being the person I knew I was meant to be.
so.. I decided to stop worrying about other people and just started praying for them. Praying that God would give them what they need in their life to be the person He meant for them to be. I let go and let God take care of them. I also stopped "feeling" the need to judge others and stopped worrying if they were going to judge me. And let me tell you girls it has been very freeing to let this go.
2. Before I or anyone can change their ways (be it health, or other).. they have to reach a point where THEY want to change. I have reached this point several times in my life.. most recently 18 months ago when i decided to get healthy again. I made the decision .. again.. that I would give fitness and healthy eating ONE more shot.. if it didnt work and I was still miserable and out of shape in 12 weeks then I would just stop worrying about how "fat" i was and love the body i was in. That was my breaking point.. and of course.. I did change and am so glad i did give it one more try.
3. Change is more mental than physical. I could be in the most incredible shape but if I am mentally unhappy with my body and feel like a looser then .. whats the point. So.. when I decided to take this journey I slowly realized it was more of a mental challenge than a physical one. Working out and eating right even when life sucks, things happen, or being "to busy".. making a mental note that I AM worth this work. That the work of being physically fit is hard sometimes.. that's life. .. learning to get up and get it done no matter what life throws at you. The mental challenge of just NOT QUITTING. To NOT QUIT is to be successful but that not quitting is a mental battle to be won.. not a physical one.
4. I want to talk a minute about self talk. Self talk is what you hear yourself say in your head. I have slowly come to realize the importance of my internal dialogue. Am I talking to myself they way others would? Am I treating myself as great as I would treat other people? Do I give myself a break? Am I encouraging to myself? I use to have such awful self talk.. "I'm so fat, My legs are ugly, My belly too big".. or.. " how can anyone love me when I look like this?, Why do you bother working out.. its NOT going to work", .. you get the picture and I could go on and on.. but Ladies.. that was then.. and this is now.. I have worked at turning my self talk in to positive things about myself and I promised a long time ago.. if I wouldnt say it to my girlfriend or my daughter I cant say it internally to myself :) ..
5. I realized a few months ago.. that anyone who is healthy and in shape didnt get that way by sitting on the couch and going to fast food joints all the time. People who I saw (not very many of them) that were phyically fit.. were not gifted with the genetic tendancy to be ripped. They worked for it. Being raised on junk food and living in a world where getting a to go meal is the normal thing to do.. I believe being healthy is not as easy as it was 50 years ago. Being in control of my life also means being in control of the messages that I let advertisers put in my brain. .. I fast forward through or pause most commercials... I made the DECISION a while ago that I would be the most influentual voice in my head when it comes to eating. Being in shape and eating right IS WORK.. It doesnt come easy as sitting on the couch does.. but most things in life worth anything are the ones you have to work for. Being healthy is worth the work.
6. Although getting healthy is work.. is does eventually get easier. I use to have to drag myself to the garage to workout.. I would go as far as to sleep in my workout clothes so I would be one step closer the next morning to working out than normal..Most days in the beginning I had to force myself to workout.. but not anymore.. These days working out is second nature. Its habit. So .. dont let the drudgery of the first few months of making yourself workout get you down.. it wont always be like that.. one day you will realize.. wow.. I REALLY enjoyed that workout.. or.. "I cant WAIT to work out."
7. Why is it important to share your journey no matter where you are along the way? Because you will inspire others to change.. It doesnt matter what size you are or how long your journey has been.. the simple fact of being open and honest about your struggles with fitness and the journey/dreams you hold for yourself will inspire others to change. I have been amazed at how many people have commented along my journey.. in person and on the net.. There are so many people out there that are looking-searching for encouragement and hope.. HOPE that there is still a way to change. This blog has helped me in more ways than I can count. But what is so surprising is I think its helped others too! I know there are people who are reading my blog that never comment.. I dont know who they are and in some ways its so scary for me. I started this blog 18 months ago with no desire or intention of sharing it with the world. To get out of my comfort zone and share my journey hasnt been easy but its been so rewarding. Its so important to share our journeys no matter where we are in them.. sharing brings understanding, encouragement, inspiration and HOPE.
8. And lastly.. some things I have done in the past to help encourage myself along the way.
so..
thats all for now.. Lots of thoughts up there and I hope you didnt fall asleep while reading it all this is SOOOOO long :) I am sure there are some points I forgot.. but will come back and add those as i remember them.. I am off now to take care of my DD who just "i just dont feel good" .. hope you are happy and healthy today.
blessings to you and yours..
r
First of all.. this is me. I am who I am and I am in control of what I will become.
Now the above statement might sound like no big deal, but there was a time where I would have never said that. I wasnt in control of my life, I was spinning out of control and just letting the little train of life take me wherever it wanted. There is a saying: "If you dont control your life, someone else will." Now I know part of being truly happy is taking control of my life, grabbing the wheel and going where I want to go. Now. I am not talking about being selfish, I am talking about living MY life and dreaming MY dreams.. and not depending on others to do it for me.
With that being said.. here are a few "stories or ruthieisms" I thought I would share.
1. The only thing I can change is myself. I cant change the past(and all the bad decisions I made) and I cant change other people. I should never change because because of what others think or feel. I should change because of what I think is best. This sounds very simple.. but once I started not worrying about what other people thought of me and decided to live my own life is when I realized how great life can be. I put way too much pressure on myself to be what others thought I should be instead of being happy and being the person I knew I was meant to be.
so.. I decided to stop worrying about other people and just started praying for them. Praying that God would give them what they need in their life to be the person He meant for them to be. I let go and let God take care of them. I also stopped "feeling" the need to judge others and stopped worrying if they were going to judge me. And let me tell you girls it has been very freeing to let this go.
2. Before I or anyone can change their ways (be it health, or other).. they have to reach a point where THEY want to change. I have reached this point several times in my life.. most recently 18 months ago when i decided to get healthy again. I made the decision .. again.. that I would give fitness and healthy eating ONE more shot.. if it didnt work and I was still miserable and out of shape in 12 weeks then I would just stop worrying about how "fat" i was and love the body i was in. That was my breaking point.. and of course.. I did change and am so glad i did give it one more try.
3. Change is more mental than physical. I could be in the most incredible shape but if I am mentally unhappy with my body and feel like a looser then .. whats the point. So.. when I decided to take this journey I slowly realized it was more of a mental challenge than a physical one. Working out and eating right even when life sucks, things happen, or being "to busy".. making a mental note that I AM worth this work. That the work of being physically fit is hard sometimes.. that's life. .. learning to get up and get it done no matter what life throws at you. The mental challenge of just NOT QUITTING. To NOT QUIT is to be successful but that not quitting is a mental battle to be won.. not a physical one.
4. I want to talk a minute about self talk. Self talk is what you hear yourself say in your head. I have slowly come to realize the importance of my internal dialogue. Am I talking to myself they way others would? Am I treating myself as great as I would treat other people? Do I give myself a break? Am I encouraging to myself? I use to have such awful self talk.. "I'm so fat, My legs are ugly, My belly too big".. or.. " how can anyone love me when I look like this?, Why do you bother working out.. its NOT going to work", .. you get the picture and I could go on and on.. but Ladies.. that was then.. and this is now.. I have worked at turning my self talk in to positive things about myself and I promised a long time ago.. if I wouldnt say it to my girlfriend or my daughter I cant say it internally to myself :) ..
5. I realized a few months ago.. that anyone who is healthy and in shape didnt get that way by sitting on the couch and going to fast food joints all the time. People who I saw (not very many of them) that were phyically fit.. were not gifted with the genetic tendancy to be ripped. They worked for it. Being raised on junk food and living in a world where getting a to go meal is the normal thing to do.. I believe being healthy is not as easy as it was 50 years ago. Being in control of my life also means being in control of the messages that I let advertisers put in my brain. .. I fast forward through or pause most commercials... I made the DECISION a while ago that I would be the most influentual voice in my head when it comes to eating. Being in shape and eating right IS WORK.. It doesnt come easy as sitting on the couch does.. but most things in life worth anything are the ones you have to work for. Being healthy is worth the work.
6. Although getting healthy is work.. is does eventually get easier. I use to have to drag myself to the garage to workout.. I would go as far as to sleep in my workout clothes so I would be one step closer the next morning to working out than normal..Most days in the beginning I had to force myself to workout.. but not anymore.. These days working out is second nature. Its habit. So .. dont let the drudgery of the first few months of making yourself workout get you down.. it wont always be like that.. one day you will realize.. wow.. I REALLY enjoyed that workout.. or.. "I cant WAIT to work out."
7. Why is it important to share your journey no matter where you are along the way? Because you will inspire others to change.. It doesnt matter what size you are or how long your journey has been.. the simple fact of being open and honest about your struggles with fitness and the journey/dreams you hold for yourself will inspire others to change. I have been amazed at how many people have commented along my journey.. in person and on the net.. There are so many people out there that are looking-searching for encouragement and hope.. HOPE that there is still a way to change. This blog has helped me in more ways than I can count. But what is so surprising is I think its helped others too! I know there are people who are reading my blog that never comment.. I dont know who they are and in some ways its so scary for me. I started this blog 18 months ago with no desire or intention of sharing it with the world. To get out of my comfort zone and share my journey hasnt been easy but its been so rewarding. Its so important to share our journeys no matter where we are in them.. sharing brings understanding, encouragement, inspiration and HOPE.
8. And lastly.. some things I have done in the past to help encourage myself along the way.
- mark off the days of healthy eats and workouts or both on a small calender.
- tell myself.. "how many moms of 3 do YOU know that got up and ran 2 miles today?" be happy with your progress.
- I have gone into stores to try clothes on for FUN. Saying to myself.. this is NOT to buy.. this is to encourage myself. I would try on all kinds of clothes with no intension of buying them and most times ignoring the sizes.. just picking the ones that looked like they would fit.. AND promising NO negative self talk while in the dressing room.
- I have cried in the walmart dressing room. Broke down crazy crying as I slipped over my hips the size 8's that I didnt believe I would ever fit into. .. and I cried a second time 2 weeks later when the 6's fit!
- making a list of the things I desired on my free day. (one challenge it was all blizzards, on it was all bout dark choc.)
- promising myself if I didnt want to workout before I made the decision I would check out Josha's blog and .. 9 times out of 10.. i was encouraged to just get it done.
so..
thats all for now.. Lots of thoughts up there and I hope you didnt fall asleep while reading it all this is SOOOOO long :) I am sure there are some points I forgot.. but will come back and add those as i remember them.. I am off now to take care of my DD who just "i just dont feel good" .. hope you are happy and healthy today.
blessings to you and yours..
r
Comments