Motivational Monday

Whatever you allow to occupy your mind

will overshadow your actions.

Over the past few weeks, this quote truly expresses the way things have been in my mind. I have had thoughts swirling around that make me doubt myself and my abilities. I believe this has been my problem over the past year.

I participated in a Spartan Race in July 2012 and while I completed it, I know this is where all my problems started. I may have completed the race and said that since I completed the race I could do anything, but in reality I didn't believe it.

I was at my lowest weight at the time and shortly afterwards I started to ignore my healthy eating habits and workouts. At first I blamed it on pre- and post-vacation. You all know how that goes, the week before vacation, you're just grabbing stuff quick so you can make sure you're ready to go and the week after, you're working on getting stuff away and have no real food in the house.

But, then I didn't get back into my old habits...well the old healthy ones. I went into the old, old habits that mean I was eating crap and not working out. Know what ended up happening? Yea. You do. I gained weight.

Oh I realized it was happening. I said numerous times that I needed to get myself back on track. But, mentally I wasn't allowing it to happen. My mental processes kept focusing on the back slide that had happened. It was focusing on the slow time at Spartan, which really did a number on the tenuous self-esteem I was developing.

And then to me, things just never got better this year. Oh, I kept telling people things were fine, but they weren't. I felt like I lost a good friend. My job (which I LOVED) took a turn for the worse. Relationships in my family have not been good in years and they still aren't, plus my grandmother was diagnosed with dementia. My training hasn't gone the way it could. My eating habits have been atrocious.

I have allowed all these negatives to occupy my thoughts. Which in turn feeds on itself to continue the downward spiral. I know that a different mindset will bring me out of it. I need to start thinking more positive about things and in turn things will get better. Today's quote makes me realize that what my mind chooses to replay helps determine how I look at things, how I allow myself to think what my mind thinks is right.

What do you do when your mindset doesn't match what you want your life to be like?
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