Encourage self love

Encourage self love. What an amazing concept! But is it possible in this day and age to encourage self love when we struggle to love ourselves AND our bodies?  We are constantly bombarded by images of what social media considers beautiful (which usually means wearing size 0, sporting bright white teeth, having flawless skin and shiny hair).  Unfortunately, we tend to compare ourselves to these images and as a result, we often begin to develop negative feelings about ourselves. So how do we overcome these negative feelings and start loving ourselves, inside and out?

Below is an article about one woman's journey toward self love. It's called, "Seriously, let's end the war with our bodies."  I loved her story for a few reasons. One, I could totally relate! As a personal trainer, I am constantly aware of my own body image because of the industry I am in. Two, I am training for my second Ironman so I am even more aware of my body because I need to fuel it properly for energy. I also need to train "smart" (this includes rest, recovery, interval training, cardio training and strength training) to ensure I develop stronger leaner muscles while preventing injury.  Third, I loved her strategy of how to encourage self love!

1. Start by loving yourself just the way you are.  This means loving everything about you and your body! i.e.  Your wrinkles, your graying hair, your love handles, your thighs, your arms, your feet, your hips, your chest (no matter what size it is!), your freckles, your nose, your chin.......

2. Engage in positive and uplifting conversations about yourself.  In other words, STOP the negative and depleting self -talk.  Try this little experiment.  Say something negative about yourself and exam how you feel. (You can either be in a conversation with yourself or with someone)  Now say something positive about yourself and exam how you feel.  Do you feel a difference? You may discover that you have more energy, you feel good, and you feel more alive. So why not continue to have those feelings and talk positive about you?

3. If you hear someone else talking negatively about themselves, turn it around.  Tell them something positive about themselves instead or get them to say something positive about themselves.

4.  If you are giving a compliment to someone and they deflect it, let them know that your compliment is genuine!

I challenge you to give at least one of these steps a try.  It just might make a difference in how you see yourself and how you can help encourage self love.

Stay active and anything is possible!

PS. Here's the link!

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-17157/seriously-lets-end-the-war-with-our-bodies.html

New Year, New Goals!

It truly is amazing how fast time goes by. I am now in Week 7 of my Ironman training and already we are 12 days into the new year. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays and were able to spend quality time with family, friends and yourself!

As we head into a new year, I am sure you have been overloaded by social media on topics such as  detoxing, cleanses, weight loss, and goal setting. I know I have and I felt myself beginning to stress out thinking about what my goals were going to be for 2015!  Then my husband forwarded an article to me called "Happy New Year! 12 Steps to Thriving in 2015. " It was written by Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief at the Huffington Post and was posted on LinkedIn.  I was blown away by her article.  It was the first one that I read this year that made me stop and re-evaluate what I wanted to accomplish in 2015.   Her article made me reflect not on my financial or fitness goals, but rather on my personal goals.  Her 12 steps were so simple and basic that I ended up changing mine to incorporate not one, but all of hers! Here is an overview of what I took out of her 12 steps.

1. Sleep more
2. Move your body
3. Meditate every day for at least 5 minutes
4. Let go of what does not serve you
5. Start a gratitude list
6. Turn off your devices at a specific time each day
7. Focus on your breath for 10 seconds
8. Pick an image that ignites the joy in you. (aka; Think of your happy place!)
9. Don't judge yourself or others and be more forgiving of yourself and others
10. Be kind and giving
11. Take the time to make a connection with others. (aka: Make eye contact)
12. Share your talents/skills within the community


It has been 10 days since I've read this article and already I have incorporated not one, but all of these 12 steps. Of course there are a few that I still need to work on such as #9, but I know with time I will get better as I continue to practice this every day.

As for the other 11 steps, they are simple and they really are simple! I mean, how hard can it be to go to bed earlier at night, even if it's just 15 minutes earlier? How lazy am I to not take the stairs instead of the elevator to move my body more? How busy am I that I can't afford to take 5 minutes to meditate or focus on my breath for 10 seconds? How selfish can I be to not write at least one thing that I am grateful for at the end of the day? How addicted am I to my devices that I can't shut them off or keep them in another room when I go to bed? How great do I feel when I think of my happy place, especially when I am stressed? How absorbed can I be to not be able to smile, or say hello to someone I pass by or make eye contact as I place my coffee order or open the door for someone? These are the questions I asked myself as I read her article and thanks to Arianne Huffington, I feel I am off to a great start for 2015 and I hope that you are too!

Stay active and anything is possible!
Donna


If you would like to read her article, I have listed the link below.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/happy-new-year-12-steps-thriving-2015-arianna-huffington?trk=hb_ntf_MEGAPHONE_ARTICLE_POST

Happy reading and happy New Year!