I fell off the horse. It started with a bad virus that had me sidelined. Then I just fell into a rut. I became overwhelmed with my PERCEIVED lack of progress. I failed to recognize the progress that I had accomplished thus far, which has been: down 22 lbs and I am wearing clothes that I wasn't able to wear three months ago. I also failed to focus on the most important aspect of all this training: how I feel.
I lost focus as well. I allowed the chaos of others to infiltrate my life. It rocked my discipline. It took over space in my head that they weren't entitled to have. What was the most scary was that I wasn't even aware as to how much space and time they took over until I caught myself sleeping in until 6:00 am.
In the past four months, I was already at the gym for an hour and now I wasn't even out of bed. The time where I was excited about facing the day and hopping out of bed; of being awake before the clock chimed to wake me, was gone. I found myself sluggish and tired all day long. I found myself needing a nap instead of getting my second wind. I found this affecting other areas of my life as well: my business. I was unfocused and lacked concentration. By allowing their life to infiltrate mine, I in turn sacrificed what was my goal: healthy body, healthy mind. Their drama replaced my serene place. Well, no more I say to you!
Once again, this is my life to do with what I want!
Today I hit the gym with 60 mins of strength and cardio. And it truly was a busy and great day!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Getting Refocused
OK, now I am over the flu and this is the first week that I have been able to really get back into the groove of things. It's always something.
This week on Tuesday and Thursday, I focused on upper body weight/strength and core & lower back. I decided to focus more on core because this is my trouble spot. These are also the days that I run in the afternoon.
When I ran on Tuesday, I found my body comfortable with the pace. Near the end, I slowed a little. My lower back was tightening up a bit and so I stopped to stretch it out. But when I'm running since I started this journey (before my flu infection) I felt my abdominals in a different way. My core was positioned in more of a support role, helping to my destination and not necessarily something that I use to feel was holding me back. It didn't feel like it something I had to push through to complete and to me, that is change. And when I was in the shower last night, I could see the definition in my arms, specifically, my biceps. It was a sight to see.
So it is where I see the little changes that I focus. It's not the number on the scale (which I still kind of watch - but hate that I do). It's the good, healthy fatigue that I feel in my body. I focus on how I feel in an outfit when I look in the mirror. I focus on the self-talk that I have when I feel that I haven't achieved what I believe enough and if I hear anything negative, I refocus on the positive things that I just identified not even two minutes earlier.
Evaluating myself is very important to success. Being honest, fair and objective is the only way to get what I want. It's what keeps me moving forward.
Another thing I have focused on is saying good-bye to the past. I've always had a pretty healthy sense of self and we all have our stories to tell. So as I said good-bye to those things that I just no longer afford to hold onto, I started a ritual of saying good-bye to my body.
I rub my core/waistline/hips and say good-bye. I will not miss you. I rub my triceps and say no more flapping in the wind. I am certain you kind of get where I am going with this. So I say good-bye to all the negatives things I don't like about my body and tell myself I am changing, embracing the new, stronger, healthier me. Crazy, I know. But the connection with how one thinks and feels, whether good or bad, only allows those things to stay around for a very long time, whether good or bad.
And I realize now, that if I truly want to embrace healthy change (professional or physical), I have to say good-bye to the connection of what was once thought of as bad in my self-talk and my self-image.
This week on Tuesday and Thursday, I focused on upper body weight/strength and core & lower back. I decided to focus more on core because this is my trouble spot. These are also the days that I run in the afternoon.
When I ran on Tuesday, I found my body comfortable with the pace. Near the end, I slowed a little. My lower back was tightening up a bit and so I stopped to stretch it out. But when I'm running since I started this journey (before my flu infection) I felt my abdominals in a different way. My core was positioned in more of a support role, helping to my destination and not necessarily something that I use to feel was holding me back. It didn't feel like it something I had to push through to complete and to me, that is change. And when I was in the shower last night, I could see the definition in my arms, specifically, my biceps. It was a sight to see.
So it is where I see the little changes that I focus. It's not the number on the scale (which I still kind of watch - but hate that I do). It's the good, healthy fatigue that I feel in my body. I focus on how I feel in an outfit when I look in the mirror. I focus on the self-talk that I have when I feel that I haven't achieved what I believe enough and if I hear anything negative, I refocus on the positive things that I just identified not even two minutes earlier.
Evaluating myself is very important to success. Being honest, fair and objective is the only way to get what I want. It's what keeps me moving forward.
Another thing I have focused on is saying good-bye to the past. I've always had a pretty healthy sense of self and we all have our stories to tell. So as I said good-bye to those things that I just no longer afford to hold onto, I started a ritual of saying good-bye to my body.
I rub my core/waistline/hips and say good-bye. I will not miss you. I rub my triceps and say no more flapping in the wind. I am certain you kind of get where I am going with this. So I say good-bye to all the negatives things I don't like about my body and tell myself I am changing, embracing the new, stronger, healthier me. Crazy, I know. But the connection with how one thinks and feels, whether good or bad, only allows those things to stay around for a very long time, whether good or bad.
And I realize now, that if I truly want to embrace healthy change (professional or physical), I have to say good-bye to the connection of what was once thought of as bad in my self-talk and my self-image.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Staying The Course
One of the things that is most difficult about this journey to health and wellness (as well as my career and financial goals) is staying the course. Being focused and disciplined enough to know that every day when I wake ~ this is my life to do with what I want ~ and hold tight to that.
As I take this challenge, I take it one day at a time. I motivate myself by finding the motivation in others who have gone before.
Muhammad Ali was, undoubtedly, the greatest of all time. When I was younger and would watch his weigh-ins, I was so far removed what his rants. I thought he was a crazy man. But of course, hindsight is 20/20 and now I realize what he was doing.
It doesn't matter who you have around you that may believe in you or not. What matters is how you believe in yourself. What matters is how you handle yourself through your self-talk. It's very easy to quiet the external chatter that is going on about you. What's the most difficult is to quiet the mind and the chatter within.
I am taking great efforts to do just that, to quiet my mind and the chatter within. I am taking great efforts to change that chatter to something more to my liking. To something that is more in align with who I am and what I want for myself and my family.
So my morning habit is 30 minutes of meditation. I love the self-hypnotizing effect of meditation. That is my time. Which is a part of my life to do with what I want.
Aristole said that we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.
These are my new habits.
Today is truly a great day!
As I take this challenge, I take it one day at a time. I motivate myself by finding the motivation in others who have gone before.
Muhammad Ali was, undoubtedly, the greatest of all time. When I was younger and would watch his weigh-ins, I was so far removed what his rants. I thought he was a crazy man. But of course, hindsight is 20/20 and now I realize what he was doing.
It doesn't matter who you have around you that may believe in you or not. What matters is how you believe in yourself. What matters is how you handle yourself through your self-talk. It's very easy to quiet the external chatter that is going on about you. What's the most difficult is to quiet the mind and the chatter within.
I am taking great efforts to do just that, to quiet my mind and the chatter within. I am taking great efforts to change that chatter to something more to my liking. To something that is more in align with who I am and what I want for myself and my family.
So my morning habit is 30 minutes of meditation. I love the self-hypnotizing effect of meditation. That is my time. Which is a part of my life to do with what I want.
Aristole said that we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.
These are my new habits.
Today is truly a great day!
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