wildheart wildheart revolution
July 17th, 2013
Look…Giving Up On Yourself Is Not An Option, Okay?
I’ve been working out a lot lately. Which you could probably tell because of my bulging biceps I’ve been writing about it.
As I was perusing Pinterest for inspiration, I came across a statistic that said that it takes 4 weeks for you to notice a change in your body. And 8 weeks for other people to notice a change.
And this made me think.
I don’t know if you’re anything like me, but if I don’t drop two sizes with two weeks of exercising and eating well, I’m like OVER IT.
And mad.
And ready to be like “screw it! This doesn’t work, cardio is for losers, yoga is bullshit, and I might as well go eat that block of cheese over there.”
Because OBVIOUSLY it’s not working.
OBVIOUSLY it’s never going to work.
And in thinking about this I had to giggle. Because this is how we all tend to be about everything.
We want it and we want it now.
And if we don’t get it (in a ridiculous and impossible amount of time) we think we’ll never get it.
It’ll never happen.
And we should probably just give up. Stop trying. And go back to our old patterns and habits.
And so we do. And thus the cycle continues.
I was in this place last week.
I had been eating super healthy, having fun while exercising a lot, trying different things, drinking lots of water, and going to sleep early. I did this consistently for about two weeks.
And what happened?
I was the biggest I’d felt in MONTHS.
WHAT. THE. HELL.
And I was MAD.
And felt bad about myself.
And began down the downward spiral of feeling hopeless, helpless, and total victim of my situation.
I looked in the mirror and hated what I saw. With a passion.
Fortunately, I have learned to be a very self-reflective person. So when things like this happen, I can’t just give in to them. Because I know better. I know something needs to change in the way I’m thinking about it.
So I marched back to the mirror and stared right at myself and came up with 10 things I love about my body.
And then, I didn’t eat ALL the cheese.
And I kept going to the gym and eating healthy (because being healthy rocks regardless of what you look like).
And most importantly, I didn’t obsess about it. I let it go. I wasn’t the most comfortable in my body at the moment, but whatever. It wasn’t the end of the world and it wasn’t always going to feel that way.
It’s been four weeks since I started, and just yesterday, all of a sudden, I noticed a change.
I looked in the mirror and was like “BAM! You look awesome!” and I was proud.
Had I given up one day before, I never would have gotten there.
Although it might seem like it, this post isn’t about weight.
It’s about giving yourself time to see changes in your life. It’s about being consistent in your behavior so that you CAN see changes.
Having what you want is a practice.
A practice in persistence, self-reflection, examination of your patterns and habits, and consistent action.
Not everyone always has that little voice in their head…the one that says, “Keep going! You can do it! You’re almost there! It’s right around the corner!”
And I know when I haven’t had it at different times in my life, I’ve really struggled.
But when I figured out how to activate it consistently, my life started to get better and better.
Which is why I’ve created something that can bring YOU that voice of encouragement in your ear no matter what.
Even when you feel terrible and like you should just give up.
Something to remind you to keep it up, keep going.
It’s what I wish was around for me when I needed it (so it didn’t have to take me so damn long to figure all this stuff out) and it’s the kind of movement I want to be a part of.
It’s a place for your Wildheart to roam free (free of judgment, from yourself or others, and free of the OTHER voice—the one that tells you to quit), and it’s coming in 8, 7, 6, 5 . . . (yes, I’m on the final countdown, woo hoo!!!)
If you’ve EVER felt like you needed that little extra nudge when something seems hard (even if that something is life itself some days), then you should go here to make sure I have a way to get in touch with you so I can let you know the minute this sweet little space is OPEN.
Okay Wildheart, I’m off to the gym. Right after enjoying a slice of cheese.
Oh, and in the comments below, be sure and tell me what you think of my mindset shift and what YOU do when something like this happens to you. I love hearing about your breakthroughs every bit as much as I love having my own!
Hugs and hot toddies,
Sally
P.S. You should know that when you let me into your inbox, I promise to only bring positive encouragement, NOT self-promotion. This new space I’m creating is so all about YOU it’s ridiculous. I’d love to see you there!
All my life I have struggled with the same thing. Most of the time I have been the one who says “No! I will not give up.” The notable times I have though haunt me. You can’t take them back. Right now I am determined to sell my photo art, write some damn good short stories and be that person I want to be. Thanks for the good reminder today.
This is all about EGO and ARROGANCE. Most people tend to think those are bad traits. (“Oh, noes! I can’t be proud of what I have done! People will think I am arrogant! I can’t let them know I have an ego! Heaven forbid! I should allow people to cut me down, and tell me I can’t, because that is what people do! I have to live with that, since i wouldn’t want to be thought of as having negative habits!”
I call BS to that. You have to have an ego to WANT to do something positive for yourself. You have to have arrogance to say, “I WILL make this change!” You need BOTH to clear away the doubts and the doubt-ERS, even if those doubts come from within.
There’s tons of cliches about giving up, but there’s a reason WHY these statements become cliches. It’s because they are true.
Here’s a cliche in the making. When you give up on yourself, keep in mind that the only person who suffers is…YOURSELF. That’s also the same person that hurts the most when you give up on yourself.
If life was like the colour version of Jewel’s “Good Day” video all the time, you wouldn’t have depression and suicide. Anything you want HAS to be worth going through BOTH the black-and-white AND the colour. The feeling of the black-and-white is like the scary music or the sad songs of movie and TV soundtracks, but the “happy” or “triumphant” themes (look up “Keating’s Triumph” from the Dead Poets Society soundtrack) is the times when everything seems to be going right for you. Like a movie, however, life has ups and downs, and you have to struggle through the down and survive them to enjoy and appreciate the “ups” even more.
There’s absolutely times when you feel like nothing is accomplished, and those are the times that probably stick out more in the mind of people, but the feeling when something is accomplished more than makes up for those other times. The problem? Staying with something is the harder part.
Again, though, as Aerosmith said, “Life’s a journey, not a destination”, and you take this destination the same way you do any other. One step, one day at a time. You find the one thing (it can be more than one) that motivates you to continue day after day, and you continue on until you find that daily success and you use that success to continue your journey.
I’ve noticed that the people that the people who stick with pilates and who see real results are the ones who focus on how it makes them feel. You will feel a difference within a week. You won’t see a difference for much longer than that. The positive body changes come so slowly that you don’t notice them as they are happening. But you will notice that you feel great after a session or that the stair are easier or that your knees don’t hurt. Changing your focus to the small quantifiable gains while you wait for the global gains can help you stick with it.
I’ve learned that it’s so vitally important to use what I’ve heard be called “re-framing” in order to attach positive feelings and emotions to the actions and steps one needs to take to reach a goal or adopt a new habit. Then, actions such as not eating junk food, or taking consistent action in your business, or exercising daily will elicit positive and empowering feelings and emotions that make you feel proud and excited when you do them, regardless of if the results show up right away.