Many people make New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of January each year and within a few weeks they are history and you feel a failure – again! Before then, we are making excuses as to why it is not worth starting any changes now.
You make promises to yourself to change something, you even tell some close people around you and their reaction at best is a polite smile and others even comment “Oh yes, I have heard that so many times before.” Already you feel a little defeated, but in all honesty; you cannot change for anyone else or change anyone else. It is all about choices and promises to yourself.
If anyone has known me for any time, you know I have battled with my weight, in the height of my burnout, my weight had ballooned and because I was so far into denial I had not even seen it, (or I had not wanted to see it, or believe it.) I had a painful awakening when my daughter took a photo of me asleep, by our pool, a very ungainly pose, me liked a beached whale with my mouth open! That was not the worst of it, she proudly told me he had posted it on Facebook, so it had gone all around the cyber world. For 10 days I was angry with her for taking the phone, until finally, the penny dropped, all she did was take the photo, I had let myself get into the person in the photo.
I wanted to change and had no idea what I needed to do, so I looked for help, which I found in the form of 2 men, terrified of talking to anyone about the size I had become – let alone 2 men, but they were kind, understanding and changed my life. Mike was a Herbalife distributor and he helped me get my eating and nutrition in order and Patrick was an ex-boxer and he got me into a gym (somewhere I had never been before.) Over the next year, I lost 34 kg just over 74 lbs. I looked and felt terrific, it was a big part of me recovering from the massive psychological, emotional and physical burnout that I had been through.
Life is life and changes happen, I moved and worked away in the Middle East, hiding behind an abaya and very limited access to cooking facilities and exercise, my weight rose again, not back to where it was before, but to where I know, I need to do something about it. The word I used – need, not want; so guess what – 3 years back in the UK and I am still not where I want to be, there have been some downs and ups. Even when a good friend of mine started her new business, of weight management and wellbeing, I invested in products to support her, but I did not really make much of an effort, so I did not tell anyone about it, as I did not want the negative testimonial for her. (Making excuses to myself again!)
Since I realised, I am not doing myself any justice by not keeping my promises to myself, I have started making it happen. 2 weeks now and 9 lbs lighter, and I have done nothing except make better choices which makes me realise, keeping promises to ourselves is so important, as I am not just better on the scales, I am better in my outlook, my motivation, my sleep and energy. When we devalue ourself to ourself, we devalue ourself to the outside world, you are worth the promise and you are worth the effort, I am not saying that there are not any rocks in the road, but valuing me, makes it much easier to make good choices for me.
Pick one change you want to make today and write it down, put it in a prominent place, and make your mind up you are worth it and you want it. Each day reinforce this with positive self-talk and picture what your life is like when you have achieved it. If you need some help, you can arrange a FREE call with me, to help set your goals and plan your path to your achievement.
Every journey no matter how long starts with one step, choose what you want and let’s get you going – I will keep you posted on my progress and you can keep me posted on yours.
Here’s to our changes.
If you want to know more about Linda and what she does:
https://bit.ly/LindaSagePodcast
www.linkedin.com/in/linda-sage
Caring for the Caregiver Book – https://www.amazon.com/dp/1974635651
FaceBook Page – https://www.facebook.com/LindajSage
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