You Are What You Think
The age old saying “you are what you eat” is only partially true. Yes, you want to put good things into your body because eating junk food doesn’t supply your body with the nutrients it needs to thrive and be strong. We end up with digestive issues, lethargy, sallow looking skin, extra weight in all the wrong places, and a ton of other things. Plus let’s face it, nobody wants to look like a McNugget. Most of the time we focus on our diets to change how we look on the outside. Everyone wants to be in shape and attractive, right? Well I’m about to burst your bubble and shout and unpopular message here….it’s all crap. Diets don’t work, and it’s because there’s a much deeper issue that what you eat.
The saying really should be “you are what you think”. What you think about yourself, your job, your family, and your life is exactly what it will become. If you keep telling yourself that you’re fat, unattractive, not smart enough for a better job, not good enough for a healthier relationship, a terrible parent, a loser, etc… you are essentially programing your life to be exactly that. You are telling the universe that is what you want, and it is giving it to you. I was stuck in an unending loop of self pity for years. I look back on conversations with my “safe place people” (you know who I mean…the people you can be your raw, uncensored self with) and I’m overwhelmed about how much I complained. I thought I was just getting it out so I would feel better. But without action to change the things I complained about, these things just became my reality. I hated it, and I hated admitting that it was my own fault.
My life began to change when my mindset began to change. I went back to school. I found a new job. I changed how I viewed my kids, my husband, and myself. I make it sound like it was easy, but pulling myself out of the darkness was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Pushing yourself for something better when you feel you’ve got nothing left is exhausting. But it’s exhausting with a purpose. It wasn’t as simple as waking up one day and choosing something new, and having it magically change my life. I was constantly reminding myself what to do, sometimes through tears. I had to talk myself out of negative thoughts and remind myself of my goals. I sometimes looked like I was losing it because I’d remind myself out loud. In public. And I gave zero f**ks about anyone else’s judgement.
One thing I changed was putting my needs first. I wanted to get in some yoga every day but once my kids got up, I did their homeschool lessons, completed my own school work, and I started working, it was nearly impossible to slow the inertia of the day long enough for 20-30 minutes of yoga. I decided that the only way I could accomplish this was to do it first thing in the morning. I’ve never been a morning person. Like EVER. Waking up to an alarm started my day with so much stress that I wanted to stab anyone that talked to me before I had coffee. But I told myself that I am now choosing to be a morning person. I started setting my alarm for 5:30am so I could do yoga before my family needed me every day. Yes, I felt like a crazy person but I stuck to it. You know what happened? I was happier. I had more energy, I would reach for comfort foods less, I lost weight, and I accomplish more. Yes, I chose a form of exercise, but it was more about choosing ME. I stopped drinking coffee too. To this day, nobody has been stabbed. Go me!
I’m not saying flip your life upside down, get up at the butt-crack of dawn to workout, or make any other radical changes. I’m saying start by changing the little voice inside of your head. For a moment, pretend that voice inside of you is talking to your kid, spouse, best friends, etc… Would you say those negative, hateful things to someone you love? Of course not! You’d never intentionally hurt someone you love. So why are you doing it to yourself? Stop programming your life for mediocrity. You are worth the sun, moon, and stars, my loves. You deserve to be treated with unconditional love and support, and you are the only one that can do it. So stop procrastinating and go do it!
