So I thought I would share right now, my A-Ha moment with you, so that you get an idea of where I started from. Wake up moments. We all have 'em. It's just a question of whether or not we're paying attention when they happen and if we're ready to make changes.
I have been a bigger - okay, big girl my whole life. There. I said it. I put it out there, and not only can I not take it back, I don't want to. I no longer deny who I once was, and who I am working not to be anymore. I no longer carry shame with me about being the girl who carried all her baggage around with her quite literally. To be honest, I always liked her anyways, and most people who met her seemed to really like her, too...
I digress.... back to the point. Last year - August 9th 2009 to be exact, on a weekend trip to New Brunswick with an lifelong friend of mine, I took a figurative kick to the head, and realized that it was time to make changes in my life. As we toured around P.E.I. and New Brunswick, talking about life, love, sex, personal growth, and everything in between, with great tunes blasting in the rental car, and the wind in our hair (okay, MY hair. He is bald.), I was having the time of my life.
It was important to both of us to get to Hopewell Rocks in the Bay of Fundy on that gorgeous sunny Sunday, and so off we went - the tail end of our weekend of footloose fancy-free fun. So we get to the entrance to this historic site, and trek off down the path, stopping along the way to admire the scenery, and finally making our way 1500 feet down to the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.
Let me tell you, if there is anything in this world that I love and respect, it's the ocean. And we added our time down there to the already amazing chunk of time we had spent together.
But sometimes, the things that go down, must also come back up... And when I was standing beside my friend, faced with having to walk uphill along somewhat rugged terrain for 1500 feet, I didn't even want to try.
Let me say that again so that you fully grasp the weight of it.
I. Didn't. Want. To. Try.
And here is that proverbial kick to the head moment I am talking about.
32 years old at the time, and I had given up. And let me tell you, I was horrified by that moment. That's a pretty scary thing to realize about yourself at such a young age, when you're supposed to be doing so much more than living your life in fear of success. In that moment I knew that I wasn't living the life I wanted to live. And I definitely wasn't living and experiencing the life I so often tried to inspire and push others to live.
Fast forward to 9 months later, and I am still learning, growing, adapting, changing and truly living my life. I see the world through different eyes when I am biking around the city, I am filled with pride when I accomplish a goal I set for myself, and I am soaking up knowledge and inspiration from innumerable resources and my growing circle of inspirational friends who love me just as I am.
I have lost 75lbs to date, and will continue working on myself for as long as it takes. The secret? Move more. Eat less. And everything in moderation. Who knew that that's all it would take!?!
So there you have it. That was the moment when I reached inside myself and turned on the light. And I believe that in order to achieve any goal we set for ourselves, we all have to do that from time to time. Hold up the mirror to yourself - do you like who you are? do you like what you see? What's holding you back from living your best life? Is it weight? a string of failed relationships? troubles with your parents? your spouse? drugs? alcohol? If something is holding you back, examine it, move through it, or change it, and then let it go.
Are you living your best life and experiencing all the awesome things that life has to offer?
I am. And I hope that you are too. Be patient and kind to yourself. And of course, have an awesome day!
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