Don't Let a Setback Send You Back

Hi There Victorious Sisters!

In this, my latest update on my fitness journey, I talk about the progress I've made so far since BEGINNING AGAIN. Also, I briefly talk about setbacks and what to do when you encounter one. If you're pressing your way toward a change you need to make in your life, expect that there will definitely be times when you may miss the mark. Listen to what happened to me...

Are you on the journey towards a better YOU? Leave me a comment and share your ups, downs, and lessons learned along the way. We'll all get better together!

Banish the Box: How to Repossess Your Life (Part Two)

Part Two: It's NOT About What You Stop, It's About What You Start

Have you ever tried to kick a bad habit? Hard isn't it?

Can I tell you why?

It's because you're focused on the wrong thing. 

Change doesn't happen by what you stop doing, but by what you start doing. When you focus on trying to stop doing something, you exhaust yourself physically and emotionally. This happens because all of your potential power is being given to the negative instead of to what's positive.

It takes only one step to start something new. It takes several steps to stop doing something old. So consequently, when you endeavor to stop repeating a bad habit, you feel more stressed and you struggle more. But if you exert that same energy toward making a simple step in the opposite direction, you'll find that you feel less stressful and more empowered. Make sense?

Here are a few examples of how to put this tip into action:

• Instead of trying to stop overeating by restricting yourself to 800 calories a day, start eating a half-sized portion of what you normally eat at each meal
• Instead of trying to stop complaining so much, start repeating a favorite affirmation to yourself out loud in the mirror every morning after you wake up
• Instead of trying to stop watching so much late night TV, start setting an alarm or a reminder to cut the TV off at a certain time each night.

Extra Tip: Every time you complete a START, make note of it, perhaps in a journal, by making a short video blurb, or being accountable to your spouse or friend. Each victory will spur you on to the next one.

As I ALWAYS suggest, PRAY and enlist God's help. Without Him, we can do nothing. Take action one day at a time and share your progress. I'm looking forward to celebrating with you!

"Mile by mile, it's a trial; yard by yard, it's hard, but inch by inch, it's a cinch!"

~ Anonymous

Stop Ignoring the Obvious

Ever done something that you knew beforehand wasn't going to work but you did it anyway? I have.

Just recently, I was on my way home and when I got off at my freeway exit I saw that the traffic was being rerouted away from a bad accident. This was the main thoroughfare that I actually live off of, and to be detoured wasn't going to take me that far out of the way, but I was on a tight schedule and ready to get home. Apparently, my fellow drivers were also not willing to go out of their way either. As we took the U-turn onto the feeder road, each of us blindly following the other, the traffic turned on a side street that had a "Dead End" sign prominently displayed on the corner. However, all of us chose to ignore the sign and followed the procession of traffic onto the street anyway. Even a city bus driver followed suit; and you would think he, of all people, would have known better. Looking back on it, I think the fact that someone who presumably would have more knowledge of the streets than I did influenced me to go against my better judgment. Hmmm....

Anyway, we all inevitably ended up turning around (some, like the city bus, with great difficulty) and taking the "out of the way" route after all. After turning around and getting back to that same corner, something struck me. I saw other cars rounding that same corner, also ignoring the sign as well as the rest of us who had turned around trying to tell them not to turn down that street.

Wow! What makes us so determined to continue going the wrong way even when we KNOW that it's not going to turn out right? What drives us to ignore the obvious? More importantly, what is driving YOU to ignore the obvious right now? If you're making the same bad choices that have failed you before, it's time to ask yourself 'Why?'.

Let me know what answers you come up with.