Do things for YOU, not for the approval of others…

Some days you need to hear that you have done a good job… You work really hard on something at work and you want to hear that you have done a good job and that someone noticed…  We all need it, even if we shrug it off out of embarrassment or laugh it off because we don’t know how to accept it.

There are times that we need to do things and do them without expecting a pat on the back or a “Job Well Done!”  It can be frustrating at times and challenging not to have a cheerleader keeping you going.  But there are times where you have to do something because it just needs to be done.  This can relate to many facets of your life; health and fitness, work, love, and so much more.  When you take the garbage out you don’t expect your partner to make a scene…pom poms rustling through the air… you do it because it is something that needs to be done.  Why then, do we have such a hard time taking care of ourselves?  If you need to lose weight, why are you putting the onus on someone else?  I can’t lose weight because I need to have someone cheering for me, making me feel like I can do it.  That last part right there tells you all you need to hear.  YOU CAN DO IT.  You are doing the hard work, sweating your ass off; it isn’t that other person losing the weight for you.  It is all you baby.

Or perhaps weight isn’t your issue but you smoke or drink or eat too much white bread…  You are all fighting the same fight…  You need to believe in yourself and do this for YOU!  Not to hear “oh wow great job!” or anything like that.  Do it for the pure and simple self-satisfaction.  Do it for the ease of getting dressed in the morning (those of us who have/are struggling with weight know how hard of a mission picking out clothes can be), do it for the health benefits, and do it to prove to yourself that you are strong and you are capable!

Now, some of you might be saying… well that’s great and all if you believe in yourself… but I just can’t… I have tried and I have failed… I don’t want to fail any more… I don’t want to ever feel that again…

I have been there, too.  We are brought up thinking that failure is a bad thing.  Failing is really just discovering what didn’t work this time, and what to change so the next time is better.  Take every failure and find the lesson you can learn from it.  Cook the pasta too long – its mush.  FAIL.  Lesson – cook pasta less.  It seems pretty simple when we remove our feelings from the equation.  Workout like crazy – lose 5 lbs – stop working out – gain 6 lbs.  FAIL.  Lesson – this is a lifestyle, not a quick fix, keep at it :)

I truly believe that you have to love yourself before you can grow – whether that be in a relationship or your personal goals.  Find something you love about yourself and focus on that, rather than the things you aren’t so fond of.  Your perception of yourself can make or break you…  If all you see yourself doing is falling and never getting back up – you will stay on the ground forever.  You MUST see yourself getting up, dusting yourself off, and trying again (and again, and again, and again…).  You have the power to change your life; it is all in your heart!  Just put your mind to it and forget about everyone else.  Don’t worry about people at the gym (they aren’t looking at you and thinking “why does she even bother”), they might be checking out your form, learning a thing or two!  Don’t worry about your family or your friends either, it will take them a while to notice the changes in your body… you see them every day and they may not be comfortable suggesting that you look smaller…it’s a roundabout way of suggesting you once looked bigger… people are weird.  Just ignore everyone else and do this for your damn self.  It will feel oh so good when you succeed :)

Stay tuned for my next blog post about positivity and changing your mind to change your life!  It will feature some words of wisdom from Pastor Joel Osteen, he is a very motivating and uplifting man with a great story of his own :)

XO
K