March 20, 2011

No one makes it on their own.

Filed under: Inspriation — Silver Blue @ 5:15 pm

Or do they? What happens when you want to make major changes in your life, but you don’t have anyone to support you in living healthier, eating better, exercising, and the like?

One of the major components for success is to have a support system. The important thing, however, is to not give up in your journey, even if you do NOT have a support system.

As I discussed in the last post, there are limiting things that people say — and those limiting words become limiting thoughts, and have the potential of becoming limiting actions. In the end, however, it all comes down to…who are you making these changes for, and why?

If the answer you give to the first half of that question is anyone other than yourself, I suggest you go back and re-evaluate your reasons for wanting to make a change in your life. The why, at this point, is irrelevant. You have to want to make the change for you.

One of the things I suggest anyone do who is starting (or continuing) on a journey of self-improvement is to have a journal that you keep to write thoughts, notes, or even just inspirational quotes in. The written word has a power that merely typing on the screen does not.

You see, I’ve made (in my own humble opinion) a great deal of progress in my life these past 11 weeks. I’ve done most of it without a support system. But, as the title of this post goes, no one makes it on their own. I’ve had a couple tools in my arsenal. One, is the FitBit device (only available in America — sorry everyone else world wide) and its website with the food diary has done wonders in keeping me honest to myself and in check. The other is someone very dear to me, many hundreds of miles away.

The obstacles, however, have been tremendous. As you read in the past post, time is very much in short supply. I’ve had people who should have been supportive, but have attempted to thwart and sabotage my every move. I’ve had those who have acted or spoken to me in untoward manners that, in another place and time, would have sent me back into my pattern of bad eating and lack of exercise. When those things happen, and believe me, they will to you, too, you have to dig deep inside and pull strength from the person you’re making these life changes for. That’s why it’s so important to know that it is you that you are making these changes for. Not someone else. Not a loved one, or a friend. The strength has to come from within you.

The first time I was on this journey, I made the change for myself. The year was 2000, and D3 had introduced me to the program. I became healthier, lost some weight, but I was making the changes to attempt to salvage a relationship. Bad move, as my focus was external, not internal. It didn’t work, and neither did the relationship.

My second leg of the journey was in 2007, parts of which are chronicled here on this blog. I was making the changes for myself. I wanted to be healthier, to be more fit, and I was taking control of my life. Of course, there were setbacks there. I’d come out of another unhealthy relationship, yet we still lived together (due to financial reasons). That was a bad move on my part, but still…I was relying on myself. The pitfalls were that every time I turned around, I was being tempted with my favourite restaurant, or sugary treat, because habits are like comfortable shoes. They’re easy to get into, and difficult to cast away. The more weight I lost, the healthier I became, and the more evident it was that I was moving on with my life, the easier I found it to ignore these temptations. It took some doing, but they moved out, I moved on, and life improved.

Fast forward to 2011. January 2. Not a new year’s resolution (I gave up making them years ago). The weight I’d lost in 2007 I’d mostly been able to keep off. But inside, I still felt like I needed to do more. So, back on the journey I travel. What a strange, exciting trip this has been. LOL. I was 31 when I started out…. 37 in step two, and in 2 months and a day, I turn 42. Does it get any less stressful? No. Any easier? Well, yes, in fact, it does. I know what healthy eating is. I know what exercising requires. I know that you don’t see drastic changes until week 8 of your modification plan. I also know the benefit of a “free day” where I can eat whatever I want in whatever quantities.

No one makes it on their own…but then again…no one is truly on their own. Create your own support system, even if it’s just a journal where you can revisit where you’ve been. Write down your trials, your successes, your hopes, fears, dreams, ambitions…what you want out of life, what you want out of your health, and most importantly, what you want out of YOURSELF.

Then, and only then will you realize that even if you are alone, you’re not on your own. The greatest believer in yourself should be you. How about it? Are you ready to start on that journey? It’s up to you. No one can make that first step for you.

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