Having a Relationship with Myself

Just ME

If I did not have a GREAT relationship with myself, I would be a complete mess.  This is just not a physical existence for me, but a very deep spiritual bond with God, and being truly content with me and my life.  The healthy lifestyle that I maintain comes from how I treat myself, how I allow others to treat me, how that is perceived, how I grow from my journey, continually being enlightened by both positive and negative experiences, setting healthy boundaries, and wrapping all that up into how I respond to life’s circumstances. 

 

As I have journeyed through this life, I have suffered physically and emotionally and would not be honest if I did not say that I have felt the sting of both from time to time even now.  The difference in the now is my past experiences have been a life education on how to love myself enough to see things and handle things in a healthy way, and navigate through boundaries that I now have to take

care of me.  A great example would be a person that has hurt me emotionally through an insensitive act or words.  I have realized that this has nothing to do with me or who I am as a person, but all about the offender not knowing how to be sensitive or compassionate in that moment.  Would it hurt…well of course but the important thing is realizing the behavior is not my fault, and even more important is responding to it in the healthiest way possible.  The best part about life is learning through the experiences, being enlightened by what is acceptable and not acceptable, not reliving the unacceptable, and “the knowing” of what is wanted and not wanted.  Looking at all things this way has created a healthy perspective of circumstances and a clear understanding  that God wants me to learn something from the situation and possibly create a circumstance that I will be able to help others going through a similar experience in the future.   Emotional growth has not been an overnight learning method of how to handle things, but a cultivation of experiences, over time that has developed my emotional self and created a bit of thicker skin as well in a positive way. 

Having a relationship with me also includes my physical day to day actions.  Believe me, there are days where I need to be In Your Face MOTIVATED to get my bootie moving to workout.  I feel very comfortable eating healthy a very high percentage of the time, but as I get older, I find that the workouts are my more difficult area and because of that, I have become wiser with my workouts.  This has become an enlightenment experience for me as well as some days I will be gang busters and full of pep in my step, and other days…OH MY…throw a towel over my ARC trainer monitor and beep when it is over.  I have also fine tuned my fitness training using what works for my body to reduce/avoid the chance of aggravation.  Nothing is worse than aggravating an injury during a workout and spending days rehabilitating something that could have been prevented.  My relationship with my physical health is all about HEALTH and feeling great, not so much on how great I will look on the outside.  Although, I do appreciate that my outward appearance is a reflection of living a healthy life.  I also want to add that I do not feel looking healthy to be a “vain or ego” thing and that it is OK to enjoy the “physical look” of living a healthy lifestyle.  Many people get so caught up in “acceptance”, and I think that is healthy to a point…but not to be taken to an unhealthy one.  No one should accept being in an unhealthy state of life in my opinion...how can that be a happy place or something to accept? 

Both the emotional and physical parts of my “self” relationship have taken years

to fine tune and develop, and still nothing in life is great all the time.  Life is not perfect or even easy, and in fact it is all the challenges, bumps in the road, hard work, and experiences that sand down the roughness of our inner and outer shells into smooth, beautiful gems.   Through it all, I have learned to not give up, be patient, and above all to know that I am worthy of great things, and I have definitely learned not to settle for anything less.  Life is too short to not want to be healthy physically and emotionally and the BEST place to start and maintain all that is within ME. 

IN YOUR FACE MOTIVATION

Me with My Fabulous Kids

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Stay Healthy~ 

Darla 

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GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Happy New Year!

I live with expectations for myself, and push the word of anticipation of something to happen into making it happen.  Truly, I am responsible for my own expectations and waiting around just does not make sense.  The problem with expectations, and I have been guilty in years gone way past of this BIG NO NO…creating “unrealistic expectations”…you know…the kind that we create in our heads that say, and I will use “he” for this example, is going to surprise me with flowers, dinner, dancing and when “he” shows up offering nothing but his cute self ready to tune in to some sports event on TV, a 3-alarm fire goes off in our heads, feelings of anger and OMG…how could he let me down like that…and guess what…the night is ruined…WHY…Did he do anything…NO.  What did I do … well, I created this unrealistic expectation in my own mind…HOW CRAZY IS THAT.  Can you relate…been there and done that maybe? Or still doing that?  I stopped thinking in “Cinderella Land” through my journey of life many years ago, and have realized that it is I who needs to be clear in my communication of my wants, needs, etc.  It is a fact, that people will let me down in this life and instead of having unrealistic expectations of this truth, I have accepted, grown in positive ways, and now have Great Expectations for ME that I control. 

YES…I know, what does this have to do with maintaining my health, physique, and all things living a Stay Healthy life?  Having clear expectations for ME is a huge part of my healthy life and I do not expect anyone to create things for me.  I am responsible for my health, my workouts, what I put in my face, and how I treat others.  When it comes to my health, I have great expectation of remaining a healthy person through what I eat and how I work my body.  OK…am I saying I do not enjoy the anticipation of receiving something from hubby, or my kids…well of course not, BUT,  I consider that to be an extra blessing or something unexpected that is treasured.  I do not go around thinking he or they should do this or that for me…that would be a back pedal into an ugly scenario of self created drama.  No way for this fitness chick.  Life is so much simpler and REAL with genuine expectations for my life, day, and moment ...you get the picture.  Kicking “Cinderella” to the curb years ago was one of the best things I have ever done for Darla.

Some of my expectations have had to take a detour due to injury and that was a letdown, but not a self inflicted unrealistic expectation.  I have picked myself up, dusted my knees off from being on the ground praying so much, and with strength bigger than I, I am here to tell you that I still have GREAT EXPECTATIONS for ME.  In fact, part of my expectations involve YOU, and my passion to In Your Face MOTIVATE  each and every one of YOU to adapt healthy lives.  Living with self expectation has taken me to a satisfied place of acceptance, and more…I have plans for this New Modified Me and sometimes as with my earlier detour, I may not be in control of all my expectations, but I am going to do my very BEST to make each plan I have for ME happen.  As I shared earlier, having expectations is not only about clear communication within ME, but also to those in my life.  I do my best to offer clear communication of my expectations for ME, my family, friends, and clients.  In my opinion, success comes from Great Expectations and clear communication…they really go hand in hand. If I desire something, then it is up to me to communicate that, to take the action necessary, and if I fail in that area, that is on ME. 

IN YOUR FACE MOTIVATIONS

 

Me and My Fabulous Daughter over the Holidays

Thanks for stopping by my Blog, hope you enjoy the content, and if you have not become a follower yet, I would love to see your face on my friend's list.  If you are inspired, LIKE my entry, leave a comment and I look forward to responding! 

Happy New Year and Stay Healthy~ Darla :)

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