Hey Hey, welcome back loyal readers, this week anyone who follows
me on twitter or Facebook will know that I’ve been reflecting on the concept of
‘Self-Control’ in a few different areas of my life, mainly because for the most
part I have always been a caution to the wind, go with the moment and let it
flow kind of girl but now that I’m fast approaching the exit of my ‘twenteens’
things have started to change. More importantly I have decided to change.
Since the beginning of the year after setting the infamous New
Year’s resolutions, I have been on a quest to fulfil them. One of the main
goals near the top of my list was to get fitter and lose weight in the process,
so I wrote down my body measurements as they were and set new ones that I
wanted to achieve, under the premise that ‘if you look better, you’ll feel
better and if you feel better then you’ll do better’ but knowing what you want
is the easy step its implementing what you ‘NEED’ to do in order to get it
that’s hard. For instance I knew I wanted fabulous abs like J-Lo but after
having two children I knew it was not going to be easy and that it would take a
lot of hard work and dedication. So I joined a fitness class and attended just
once a week at first because that’s all I could fit into my hectic schedule but
as I gained confidence and started seeing results it gave me the impetus to do
more, However I knew I wasn’t at the stage yet where I could push myself to get
the results that I was aiming for so I started doing sessions with a personal
trainer and literally before I knew it I was addicted to getting fitter,
pushing myself and driving forward to beat my previous targets. It fascinated
me because when I first started the prospect of completing a 10k challenge seemed
so far removed from my reality and now I’m doing 12k challenges which make the
10k seem easy I guess what I am saying is that things can seem hard and out of
reach at first but once you get started and gain momentum before you know it
you’ve crossed the finish line and are stood wondering whatever made you think
you couldn’t do it in the first place. I have to be honest initially when I
began workout sessions with #CXF, I was training to look good with the
intention of eventually looking good while training ;-) but along the way my
aims and thoughts changed. I realised that all the work I was putting in was
actually benefiting my overall life full stop. For example when it came to
everyday tasks like walking up two flights of stairs with all my shopping and my prince in hand I was no longer feeling weak, out of breath or worst still
sorry for myself it was apparent my body had changed because now what was once
a nightmare suddenly felt easy, (I’d become stronger). Also random things like,
feeling
happy and silently wanting to high5 myself for not flying down the aisle when
the bus jerks because you realise all the core strength training has paid offJ. I started playing outside with my
children more than usual because I had more energy and was no longer feeling
lethargic or restless.
The results of trying to better myself physically had actually
filtered down through to other areas of my life as I started to apply the same
principles that I use in the gym to achieve my outcomes. Basically I realised
that just as my Personal trainer would say to me “Don’t give Up, Dig In…this is where you get
results” was exactly the same for real life, you can’t just check out when it
gets hard. It’s the decisions you make DURING a challenge that count and how you
handle a storm whilst in the midst of it that reveals your true strength.
Anyone can make the right choice after the event or with hindsight but the
difference between success and failure is often SELF-CONTROL whether it’s in
terms of your relationships, your career or your personal life.
I knew that when I embarked on the road to health and fitness
somewhere along the line my dietary habits would be called into question but as
we all do I put it off for as long as possible. To be fair my diet wasn’t all
that bad to begin with but I just had few little things that I liked to indulge
in i.e. chocolate, carbonated drinks and alcohol. Luckily for me I get heart
palpitations when I drink caffeine so red bull and coffee had already been
crossed off the list for me; however it was what was going to have to come off
next that scared me the most lol. Needless to say it took me a good 6 months or
so to finally set the goal for a 28 day detox consisting of #NOALCOHOL and
#NOFIZZYDRINKS. I was inspired by the whole ‘STOPtober’ campaign for smokers
and decided it was definitely time. 10 days in and I’m doing a lot better than I
have in the past where my withdrawal
symptoms would kick in after just 2 days lol, granted I’m not where I need to
be but I’m certainly not where I used to be and what seemed unrealistic six
months ago now seems attainable with only 18 days left. I think the key is to
start small with goals that are achievable then as you start ticking them off
and getting more confident up the levels and test yourself you never know what
you’re capable of until you try and whatever you do check your motives. Don’t
set goals based on what your peers/colleagues are doing or how they’re living,
set them according to your wants and desires. If you set your mind about
something and you have a genuine reason as to why you’re doing it, the chances
are that you will be more likely to successfully complete it.
Ask yourself are you doing what you NEED to, to get what you
WANT???
(If you want a body like Kim Kardashian or Kate Moss, Serena
Williams or Kelly Rowland….. is eating unhealthily, not exercising regularly
and just generally wishing for it really going to get you that????)
If you want a High powered job or just a job in general….. Is not
actively looking for one or not honing your existing skills really going to get
you that???
If you want a settled loving relationship……is going out every
night and getting wasted going to provide that???
….. Kenneth Blanchard said,
“There’s a difference between Interest
and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it ONLY if it’s
convenient. When you’re committed to doing something, you accept NO excuses
only results”
Commitment to finish what you start shows character. We all want a
better life but “The difference between WANT and NEED is SELF-CONTROL!!!” DO
what you NEED to even when you DON’T FEEL to and #ALWAYSLOVE <3
No comments:
Post a Comment