Healthy Habits: Morning Jump Start

My healthy habit focus right now is exercise.

As a teacher on summer vacation, my mornings have been pretty lazy. 

All too often these slow, lazy mornings lead to an unproductive day. 

I decided to start my day off in a more active way 

by making a small change to my morning routine.

Now, I'm not usually one for exercise videos, but I needed some motivation.

Netflix instant stream has these 10-minute Solution workout videos.

I decided to give it a try, and did one, 10-minute video each weekday last week. 

 

Even though I was only exercising for a short amount of time,

it really helped me to start the day off right. 

I felt like I had more energy and motivation to be productive during the day.

This week, I felt like I could do more and increased the time to 20 minutes.

 

Sadly, these videos will no longer be available on Netflix, starting tomorrow. 

So, my willpower to maintain this habit is being tested a little bit. 

But I'm feeling pretty determined, 

because 10-20 minutes in the morning feels really doable. 

I think it's something I can keep up, even when I go back to work.

 

At least these videos have given me some ideas and a place to start.

I may have to use a timer and add my own music,

but I will be exercising first thing tomorrow morning. 

I'm Worth It.

In the last few years, I've struggled with an issue that so many people struggle with: self-worth.

My story is not an original one. It's not even a particularly inspiring or heart-felt one. Everyone in my family weighed less than 100 lbs, and I weighed more. My mother was constantly dieting, my sisters were eating whatever they wanted and not gaining any weight, and I was eating cookie dough all the time.

The sad part is that there were many more people out there who had it worse, which only made me feel more unworthy. It's not like I was struggling with my weight. I wasn't overweight. Most people didn't even know I was having a hard time with my body image. I, however, was having the same mindset that so many people do. I was thinking that if only I could lose ten pounds, I'd be happy. If only I had a boyfriend, I'd be happy. If only I could fit into a size 2, I'd be happy.

If only, if only, if only.

Longing for something doesn't make it happen. Longing for something only makes you sad and disappointed.

After longing so long for the kind of life my sisters had (a skinny life), I heard a saying that really struck me.

If you're not happy with yourself in the present, you won't be happy with yourself in the future. 

This might take a bit of explaining. I'm all for wanting to be better and changing bad habits. But, in this context, being happy with yourself has less to do with unhealthy habits and everything to do with self-worth. If you don't think you're worth anything when you're fat, that's not gonna change if you get skinny. If you don't think you're worth anything when you're single, that's not gonna change when you get a boyfriend. If you don't think you're worth anything now, and you continue thinking about the future instead of the present, your perspective won't change.

You deserve happiness. Everyone deserves happiness. It's ok to want to be better, as long as you know that you are worth everything to somebody. You are.

It took me a long time to figure that out. Once I truly realized that my family and friends love me for me, I decided that I wanted to be healthy. I had motivation to be better.

Honestly, the way to be healthy starts in your head. So, you. Start now. Look at yourself in the mirror every single day and say these words:

I'm worth it. I. Am. Worth. It.

I don't even know you. But I know that no matter how far gone you are, no matter how lost you think you've become, no matter how overweight or lazy or lonely or unhappy you think you are, you're worth it. A loving heart has no physical form.

I believe in you.

Be Happy

Source: sayingimages.com

A quote from Sara Breathnach's book Simple Abundance:

"When we can't access our inner resources, we come to the flawed conclusion that happiness and fulfillment come only from external events. That's because external events usually bring with them some sort of change. And so we've learned to rely on circumstances outside ourselves for forward or backward momentum as we hurtle through life. But we don't have to do that any longer. We can learn to be the catalysts for our own change...

"...you already possess all you need to be genuinely happy."

I love this. 

All too often I find myself in the "I'll be happy when..." trap.

I forget that my happiness depends on only one thing--  me.

I can find and create my own happiness. 

I already possess everything I need to be happy. 

That power is inside of me.

I just have to choose to use it.

Healthy Habits

Whenever I think about changing my eating and exercise habits, 

I get really overwhelmed.

There are so many things I could be better at!

But getting overwhelmed is a big barrier to making changes. 

So I've decided to start with smaller goals.

I'm going to focus on one or two healthy habits at a time.

That just feels more manageable. 

Well, now that I have a plan, 

it's time to start doing something about it.

Let the changes begin.

Starting Somewhere

I want to be more healthy.

This is something I've said to myself, and others, time and time again.

I almost always say it around New Year's...

and when my pants start to feel a little too tight.

It's a nice thought,
but thinking it has never led me to lasting change.

So I think it's time to start doing something about those thoughts.

I want to be more healthy, and not just physically healthy.

I want to improve my mental, emotional, and spiritual health as well.

I want to cultivate healthy relationships with others around me.

I want to have a healthy heart, literally and figuratively. 

I consider myself to be a happy person.
I have a great life.
I think working to create habits and live a healthier lifestyle now
can help me to maintain and even increase that happiness as the years go by.
I want to keep my happy heart happy.

I plan to use this blog as a place to record and reflect upon

 the healthy ideas and experiences I'm hoping to find.


You've got to start somewhere,
so I'm starting here.