Throw back the sheets
Not to long ago, in a land not so far away, I woke up and realized that I wasn't where my potential says I should be and the voice in my head was doing everything it could to keep me there.
"You don't have the time for exercise."....
"You're not pretty enough for that".....
"You aren't around enough for her".....
"You just haven't worked hard enough yet".....
"It's alright, that doughnut won't really affect your healthy eating goals".....
"You just haven't earned it".....
I decided at that very moment that I wanted to be the person that my dog and my daughter think I am.... and also accept myself as readily and happily as they do. Without judgement.
They love me so readily and unconditionally and I have no idea why. But I guess it doesn't matter why.
So.... This is where the first chapter in the newest edition of my life begins.... January 1st of 2015 I resolved myself (just like the rest of the world) to be a better me. To exercise. To eat better. To spend more time with my daughter. To be a better parent. To stop procrastinating. In fact, I told myself that this was going to be the year of the "YES"..... and for anyone who has seen the movie Yes Man with Jim Carey, that's pretty much what I was going for.
Well I found that there is a problem with saying "yes" to everything.... You will say yes to a lot of the wrong things too. Like the friend who says "Hey! Wanna come to a party this weekend and get smashed?" -- SURE! What could possibly go wrong!?
So I realized that it's not about saying 'yes' to what people as of me. It's about saying yes to what I ask of myself.
Yes. I will eat better.
Yes. I will exercise more.
Yes. I will be more present in my daughter's life.
Yes. I will finish the projects I need to do around the house.
Yes. I will enjoy my weekends.
Yes. I will have a glass of wine or a beer here and there.
Yes. I will spend time with my friends.
Yes. I will love myself.
I have spent so much time being so critical of myself that I will falter and I will make mistakes. But yes, I will forgive myself.
I understand that, while I am really no different than every other 20-something year old writing a blog about self improvement, I am unique and amazing in my own right. I am the main character of my own novel. I don't want to be ordinary. I live to be extraordinary.
Everyone should know that, while it is possible to go through life alone and be successful (and even contented), you don't have to. Somewhere out there is someone who is willing and ready to help you.
I never thought I could, but one by one, I am slowly letting more people in and allowing myself to accept help. I don't have to do it all along. and I don't have to be everyone's everything. It may sound selfish, but sometimes you have to put yourself first. I can't show my daughter how to lead a happy healthy life if I, myself, am neither happy nor healthy.
I should also note to those reading this that I have ADHD, so I sincerely apologize if I sometimes go off on tangents or what I say isn't entirely coherent..... we can get into that in more detail at a later date.... but my point is that I was surfing through YouTube late a couple nights ago and I came across this FANTASTIC video that I encourage you to watch. It is slightly lengthy, but it is called "How To Stop Screwing Yourself Over." In it, Mel Robbins talks about why we don't accomplish the goals we set for ourselves, but what we can do to change it. She challenges the audience to do something that I myself am going to challenge myself to do.
She challenges everyone to set their alarms for 30 minutes earlier and then, when it goes off, rather than just hit the snooze button, FORCE yourself to get up. "Throw back the sheets, get up, and start your day. The activation energy required to get your ass away from your computer and out your front door to go on the walk you said that you were gonna go on is the exact same amount of force that it takes you to push yourself out of a warm bed and into a cold room."
I encourage you to challenge yourself daily to get out of your comfort zone and do the things you don't feel like doing.... because you're never going to feel like it!
As a side note on my blog, I encourage interaction, so as you read each post, if you have something to say go ahead and comment.
"You don't have the time for exercise."....
"You're not pretty enough for that".....
"You aren't around enough for her".....
"You just haven't worked hard enough yet".....
"It's alright, that doughnut won't really affect your healthy eating goals".....
"You just haven't earned it".....
I decided at that very moment that I wanted to be the person that my dog and my daughter think I am.... and also accept myself as readily and happily as they do. Without judgement.
They love me so readily and unconditionally and I have no idea why. But I guess it doesn't matter why.
So.... This is where the first chapter in the newest edition of my life begins.... January 1st of 2015 I resolved myself (just like the rest of the world) to be a better me. To exercise. To eat better. To spend more time with my daughter. To be a better parent. To stop procrastinating. In fact, I told myself that this was going to be the year of the "YES"..... and for anyone who has seen the movie Yes Man with Jim Carey, that's pretty much what I was going for.
Well I found that there is a problem with saying "yes" to everything.... You will say yes to a lot of the wrong things too. Like the friend who says "Hey! Wanna come to a party this weekend and get smashed?" -- SURE! What could possibly go wrong!?
So I realized that it's not about saying 'yes' to what people as of me. It's about saying yes to what I ask of myself.
Yes. I will eat better.
Yes. I will exercise more.
Yes. I will be more present in my daughter's life.
Yes. I will finish the projects I need to do around the house.
Yes. I will enjoy my weekends.
Yes. I will have a glass of wine or a beer here and there.
Yes. I will spend time with my friends.
Yes. I will love myself.
I have spent so much time being so critical of myself that I will falter and I will make mistakes. But yes, I will forgive myself.
I understand that, while I am really no different than every other 20-something year old writing a blog about self improvement, I am unique and amazing in my own right. I am the main character of my own novel. I don't want to be ordinary. I live to be extraordinary.
Everyone should know that, while it is possible to go through life alone and be successful (and even contented), you don't have to. Somewhere out there is someone who is willing and ready to help you.
I never thought I could, but one by one, I am slowly letting more people in and allowing myself to accept help. I don't have to do it all along. and I don't have to be everyone's everything. It may sound selfish, but sometimes you have to put yourself first. I can't show my daughter how to lead a happy healthy life if I, myself, am neither happy nor healthy.
I should also note to those reading this that I have ADHD, so I sincerely apologize if I sometimes go off on tangents or what I say isn't entirely coherent..... we can get into that in more detail at a later date.... but my point is that I was surfing through YouTube late a couple nights ago and I came across this FANTASTIC video that I encourage you to watch. It is slightly lengthy, but it is called "How To Stop Screwing Yourself Over." In it, Mel Robbins talks about why we don't accomplish the goals we set for ourselves, but what we can do to change it. She challenges the audience to do something that I myself am going to challenge myself to do.
She challenges everyone to set their alarms for 30 minutes earlier and then, when it goes off, rather than just hit the snooze button, FORCE yourself to get up. "Throw back the sheets, get up, and start your day. The activation energy required to get your ass away from your computer and out your front door to go on the walk you said that you were gonna go on is the exact same amount of force that it takes you to push yourself out of a warm bed and into a cold room."
I encourage you to challenge yourself daily to get out of your comfort zone and do the things you don't feel like doing.... because you're never going to feel like it!
As a side note on my blog, I encourage interaction, so as you read each post, if you have something to say go ahead and comment.
Comments
Post a Comment