Day 23 and Start of New Challenge

I've come a long way in the last 11 days.  These have been much much better than the first 11.  I'm starting to get up and about, I was able to drive my kids to and from school a couple days last week, and I'm feeling stronger by the minute.  I will never ever ever take my health and physical abilities for granted!  I'm hoping to be cleared for light walking/exercise in the next 2 weeks.  I think just being able to get out and get some fresh air and move my body (albeit slowly) around is really going to help get some normalcy for me.  Every day has been a step forward, some smaller steps than others, but I'm moving in the right direction and feeling like I can see my life returning to at least a slower version of normal soon.

The Spring Weightloss/Fitness Challenge kicked off this past Friday, we've got another great group, nearly 70 challengers, and Blythe and I have made a few adjustments as we want everyone to get the absolute most out of this challenge.  We have weekly physical and nutritional challenges as well as tips to discuss and help everyone find their groove.  This week's discussion is about motivation; What motivates you?  I closed my eyes and thought about the question.

PEACE.  I just feel like a better person when I'm eating well and exercising. I feel like my mood levels out, my body handles stress better, I'm stronger and capable of handling... LIFE. When I wasn't in a healthy mindset, my life was very chaotic and stressful. The stressors haven't changed, but my outlook on life has. So that's what keeps me motivated, because I never ever ever want to go back to a place where I don't feel comfortable in my own skin. I can't control the world around me, but I can control how I feel and how I treat my body.

I think it's important for us all to think about what motivates us.  What keeps us going when we want to give up?  Motivation is something that gets us started, gets us back on track and pushes us when we just don't think we have anything left to give.  When I start feeling lack of motivation, I think back to the times in my life when I wasn't very healthy.  I think about that girl, how lost and trapped and frustrated she was with everything going on around her.  PEACE.  It's when you can be confident of your abilities and know that you'll get through it as best you can, regardless of what's going on around you.  It's peace within yourself, in a chaotic world that doesn't care what you're going through.  PEACE.  You cannot control it all, you can only control yourself.  PEACE. Believing that you and you alone can pick yourself up and if need be, put all the pieces back together.  Everything you need, is already inside of you.