This morning I had to wake up early to get ready for a flight, but what I really wanted to do was sleep in. Went to bed last night with a stuffy nose and sore throat and this morning, nothing in the world sounded better than just pulling the covers over my head and staying there. But I committed to being grateful for something about my health, my body and myself for 25 days, so I need to get up and write…who’s idea was this anyway? Days when we feel lousy, tired or stressed out, are not usually days we remember to love ourselves or be grateful for that new definition showing on our triceps. Cranky, pissed off, hurried, stressed or overwhelmed are the anti-gratitude attitudes. When my alarm went off this morning, I initially felt resentful that I had to get up and write when I really wanted to sleep in. Knowing that I committed to this project and gave my word got my tired, stuffy head up and out of bed. As I sit here writing though I feel very grateful that I kept my word to myself and didn’t talk myself out of doing what I said I would for me. How many times are we literally on our way to the gym and talk ourselves out of it? We are getting ready to order a big salad with chicken for lunch, but when we open our mouth “I’ll have the cheeseburger with fries” comes out? We’ve bought loads of fresh produce and lean proteins for the week but we sleep in, don’t get prepped and we let it all go to waste while we order in sandwiches and Chinese take out. When you say you’ll do something – does it happen? When you give yourself your word, do you believe it? I think one of the reasons we all struggle keeping our word is that even we don’t always believe ourselves anymore…I mean we’ve heard it all before right? I’ll work out before work, I’ll give up sugar, I’ll stop drinking wine with dinner, and on and on….. Committing to 25 days is in the big scheme of life a really short time, but even 25 days can be long enough to show yourself that you can keep your word. And more importantly, 25 days in an attitude of gratitude can shift any manner of attitudes that are holding you back. I am trying to get to the point where feeling grateful for what I do have in terms of my health and fitness is as much a habit as brushing my teeth in the morning. It’s like a muscle I’m working for these 25 days, it will get stronger and it will get easier. I’ve certainly spent enough time complaining about this or that, 25 days feeling good about my body is a drop in the bucket! Have you joined me in this project yet? If not, start today and you’ll still have 20 days of being grateful for you!
Another great reason to get out of bed today is that I get to see my best friend Taryn!
Taryn and I on my last trip to Milwaukee.