Are you where you want to be physically? Mentally? Spiritually?
I could almost bet 99% of people are not. And guess what? THAT’S OKAY. We are constantly bombarded with posts from people we are motivated and inspired all day long. What we don’t realize is we are only seeing the BEST of those people. I know the enemy LOVES to implant envious, negative thoughts to either knock us down or kick us when we are down. It’s easy to look at these posts and compare yourself to where others are at. i do it myself.
Please know that you aren’t alone in your battle, and it may take many battles with negative thoughts to win the war. These are things I’ve struggled with myself, even when I “looked my best” I was suffering beyond belief, and of course I would never admit that my life wasn’t perfect on social media. The truth is: everyone is on a different journey and in a different place along their path. Even if your goals are similar, your life circumstances are not, but in knowing this, it still may not stop those negative, envious, comparative thoughts. If I can help just one person by sharing what I’ve learned on how to overcome and gain control of your thoughts then I would have fulfilled the purpose in this post.
1. Building a solid foundation is key. and there are many foundations to be built when embarking on a fitness journey or continuing on an existing one. The first and foremost is giving it to God. And I mean everything. A simple prayer relinquishing your heart, body and soul for God’s purpose, and not your own, is all that is needed ( Proverbs 3:5). God places the desires of our hearts within us to carry out His good purpose. Praying for what God has put into your heart you will surely receive (Matthew 7:7). Spending time with Him, in His word, not just when you have time, but when you MAKE time will build the base to build your temple upon.
2. Seeing yourself as God sees you is difficult! Our self-worth is not dependent or based on how others see us, our accomplishments, our past, the expectations and unrealistic standards we set for ourselves. We think things about ourselves we would never utter to anyone else. Why do we think it’s okay to say and think the most vicious things to ourselves? Made in His image, I can only imagine the love He has for us, and how He wants us to see ourselves with just as much love as He does.
3. Embarking on your journey for the right reasons. Just that. In a “visual”, attention-seeking world, we are surrounded by the want to be as “successful” as others. God has a specific purpose for every single person, but this ties in with Tip #1, He wants to use us to reach others, and all too often people get caught up in how the world views them instead of how God does. What is your motive for your journey? Is it so others will love you? Is it so others will pay attention to you? Or, do you want to glorify God by treating your body right? Do you want to help others obtain respect for their bodies as well? Do you want to set a good christian example? The ultimate motive will ultimately determine whether you are truly happy and truly doing what you do for the right reasons. We all want to be accepted for who we are, but we should never conform to the ways of the world for “love” and attention. Being the YOU God intended, allows the right people to be in your life for the right reasons when you DO things for the right reasons.
4. The Base of your temple/body really goes back to the basics. Feeding your body whole non-processed foods that come from the earth and are not man-made or come in boxes; and treating your body right with daily activity. Our bodies were MEANT to MOVE, and it doesn’t have to be dull, boring and tedious, It should be FUN, something YOU enjoy doing. Even if you are experienced in any and all levels of fitness and nutrition, it is sometimes essential to hit the re-start button, and return to the fundamentals. If you don’t know what to do take a hike… no, literally. find a buddy and go for a walk, jog, find some body weight exercises and do it at home, do a dance workout, Pilates, Yoga, there are so many options to choose from! Our bodies are our temple, we only get one, and loving ourselves means respecting what we do with them and what we put in them.
5. What you think, you say, you feel and ultimately lays out the path in your life. Your outlook is everything. Ever notice that when you say “I can’t” you’re usually right? What if I told you all it takes to reach any goal you set for yourself is saying “Yes, I can”? The moment you stop telling yourself you can’t, or that you’re not good enough, or any negative thought you have, is the moment big changes begin to happen. Want help in overcoming the negativity? One thing you could do to help is self affirmations or something like “The 5 I-AMs”; every night or every morning, number 1-5 and write “I AM…” after each number. After each “I AM” write down something positive (i.e. Strong, confident, beautiful, relentless, persistent, etc.). Say each one out loud in front of the mirror, and repeat them 5 times, write down 5 different I AMs every night. You don’t have to believe it right away, in fact, even just writing these things may be difficult, but each time you do this exercise, it gets easier and easier. This exercise is to prove that when we start to tell ourselves positive uplifting things, we start to believe it. It’s the same
with each and every single thought we have throughout the day. You should be in control of your thoughts at all time, not to linger on the negative thoughts and to replace those with positive ones; after all, what you think, you say, and ultimately dictates your mood throughout the entire day. You have the choice every day to have either a good one or a bad one.
6. Give it to God once more… We’re human. We will fall and fail and fall some more. But that’s why we NEED God, and He’s there, always. Negative thoughts are the most difficult to break, but they can be broken and prayer is a powerful tool God has placed in our tool belt. When we fail and fail and fail, we can pray for strength to get back up. Persistence is another tool God has blessed us with to carry out His purpose.
Realizing that we aren’t perfect is such a beautiful gift. We are all different, all flawed in different ways, all meant to lift someone else in a world that is so focused on bringing others down. Comparison is the thief of joy and only creates negative thoughts, which in turn affects our outlook and our mood. Giving our mood, thoughts, actions and words to God can make all the difference in just day to day life, giving us a bigger purpose than that of living for the world.
What are you living for?