Operation Reboot

Several months ago I confessed that I had lost the ever important mojo in my journey to become a better me.  I pondered this dilemma for a while and ultimately came up with three key points to get me back on track.

Be Flexible – I’m not talking about touching your toes or doing backbends.   I’m talking about adjusting to situations instead of using them as an excuse.  This summer, I found myself using my daughter’s softball practices and games as a reason to forgo healthy eating.  Once I realized that I was using this situation as nothing more than a convenient excuse I began packing healthy options in my lunch bag and taking it with me to the games.  I packed enough items not only for myself but for the whole family.  And typically everything was gone by the time we made it home.  The old me would have totally went hog wild with the hot dogs, candy bars, chips and soda readily available at all the games. 

Rewind & Remember – When you’re on journey like I am, I think it’s easy to forget where you started because you’re always focused on going forward.  I found it necessary to stop thinking about the next 5 or 10 pounds to lose, but instead remember - find those old hideous overweight pictures of yourself, try on those now huge jeans that are several sizes too big for you.  Remember how you used to feel about exercising and eating right and how much you have learned since you began your journey.  I found it VERY rewarding and uplifting to stop beating myself up about what I was or was not doing ‘right’ and focus awhile on what I have accomplished.  

Below is a picture that my mom took of me and my family dying Easter eggs in 2011.  I never knew she took the picture and she gave it to me, along with a stack of other pictures, almost a year later – right in the middle of me losing my mojo.  Not knowing this little gem was hiding among the stack, I took them home and started flipping through them and this one stopped me dead in my tracks…I felt sick, tears filled my eyes and then I showed the hubby the picture.  It left us both speechless; he gave me a hug and simply said “I’m so proud of you!”.  At that moment it hit me how critical it is for me to concentrate on the positives and not the negatives in my journey. 

This was approx 45 pounds ago

 This picture now sits in my jewelry box, right next to where I put my wedding ring at night – so I see it every morning…and some days it still brings tears to my eyes. 

Affirm – I learned about affirmations from my previous employer.  The organization used to ‘highly encourage’ you to attend a personal development class which had a lot of emphasis on affirmations.  For those of you that are not sure what affirmation are all about, here is what Dictionary.com says about it:

• The assertion that something exists or is true.
• A statement or proposition that is declared to be true.
• Confirmation or ratification of the truth or validity of a prior judgment, decision, etc

I think I was on Pinterest or Instagram when something popped up and reminded me of the concept of affirmations.  I thought about it for a while.  I wondered if I could make it work for me and my then-lost mojo.  I decided “What the hell” and decided to give it a shot.  I came up with about 5 statements that I wrote down and began saying to myself while looking in the mirror, it then evolved and I started saying them to myself during my long commute from work to the gym and sometimes even during my workouts (I’m sure those around me thought I was a nuts, lol).  I discovered in a very short time, IT WAS WORKING - just hearing the encouraging words coming from my very own mouth would be the perfect medicine to help cure my lack of mojo.  

Here are some of my affirmations:

• I am a work in progress; which means I will get there a little at a time, not all at once.
• I have it within me.  Right now, to get where I want to be!
• I am in charge of my future
• I am a force to be reckoned with! (personal favorite)
• It does not matter how slow I go.
• I CAN do this!
• I am a role model for my family

Go ahead, try it - what's it gonna hurt??

These are my three main concepts that I used to get my mojo back, but there are several mini ones that I used too.  No worries, I'll be sharing those soon.  In the meantime, I hope everyone has their mojo and rocks it hard!

Later Gators!