Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Regret vs. Discipline: A Pin for Motivation
I found this pin on one of my favorite sites, Pinterest, and it rings very true for me where adhering to my goals is concerned.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Beware of the "Shiny Buttons"
Do you know what the biggest obstacle to personal growth is? It's the inability of the individual to perceive that the only road blocks in their way were placed there by them.
Sure, there are unforeseen circumstances in nature that can keep you from moving ahead and doing the things you most need/want to do but, for the most part, our obstacles are embodied in the preconceived notions, misinterpretations, and ill-intentioned actions of those we surround ourselves with who may or may not have our best interests at heart.
You have to start taking stock of the people you're letting in and decide how much of their presence is necessary for a positive effect to be had on your life. If you find that you have to constantly supplement their actions in order to make the relationship work for you, then you're working too hard to sustain something that, in truth, is hurting you more than helping you.
My late grandmother used to tell me to be careful of the "shiny buttons".
Let me explain.
Back in the day when I was a very young girl, my mother used to love dressing me in these beautiful full-length dress coats with these ridiculously shiny, gold-plated buttons. The buttons made the color of the coat pop and looked deliciously cute on Sunday mornings.
However, my grandmother would say, 'you know, you can get buttons that are just as shiny by polishing the ones on her older coats. Why waste time buying new coats that will eventually suffer the same fate as the ones you now choose to eschew in the name of style?'
She would later apply that theory to everyday life where relationships with people and a relationship with God were concerned. She'd say, 'Tara (my nickname), don't get caught up with the shiny buttons'. To her the "shiny buttons" were the temporary friends who would dot my life throughout high school, college, and my adult years. They were the people who could hold me back from both reaching my greatest potential and fostering my relationship with my Heavenly Father.
However, that old coat, with the pretty brass buttons that simply needed a quick polish, was her symbol for Heavenly Father because no matter how much you choose to neglect that old coat, you'll hang onto it because you know it's still the warmest, most well-made coat in your closet. And you would miss it if you ever let it go.
It may seem like a weird analogy, but it's one that I find comfort and wisdom in whenever I'm struggling to reassess a personal relationship.
Each of us have to answer for our choices so, the way I figure it, we may as well make them good ones.
Sure, there are unforeseen circumstances in nature that can keep you from moving ahead and doing the things you most need/want to do but, for the most part, our obstacles are embodied in the preconceived notions, misinterpretations, and ill-intentioned actions of those we surround ourselves with who may or may not have our best interests at heart.
You have to start taking stock of the people you're letting in and decide how much of their presence is necessary for a positive effect to be had on your life. If you find that you have to constantly supplement their actions in order to make the relationship work for you, then you're working too hard to sustain something that, in truth, is hurting you more than helping you.
My late grandmother used to tell me to be careful of the "shiny buttons".
Let me explain.
Back in the day when I was a very young girl, my mother used to love dressing me in these beautiful full-length dress coats with these ridiculously shiny, gold-plated buttons. The buttons made the color of the coat pop and looked deliciously cute on Sunday mornings.
However, my grandmother would say, 'you know, you can get buttons that are just as shiny by polishing the ones on her older coats. Why waste time buying new coats that will eventually suffer the same fate as the ones you now choose to eschew in the name of style?'
She would later apply that theory to everyday life where relationships with people and a relationship with God were concerned. She'd say, 'Tara (my nickname), don't get caught up with the shiny buttons'. To her the "shiny buttons" were the temporary friends who would dot my life throughout high school, college, and my adult years. They were the people who could hold me back from both reaching my greatest potential and fostering my relationship with my Heavenly Father.
However, that old coat, with the pretty brass buttons that simply needed a quick polish, was her symbol for Heavenly Father because no matter how much you choose to neglect that old coat, you'll hang onto it because you know it's still the warmest, most well-made coat in your closet. And you would miss it if you ever let it go.
It may seem like a weird analogy, but it's one that I find comfort and wisdom in whenever I'm struggling to reassess a personal relationship.
Each of us have to answer for our choices so, the way I figure it, we may as well make them good ones.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Change Starts With You
The biggest excuses I hear from those who want to "get fit" but don't ever really make the effort to do so is they either 1) aren't motivated or 2) don't have the time. Those reasons may as well be the footnote to about 60 percent of all the fitness plans that end up going the way of the dinosaur.
While I empathize with those who don't succeed, I know that if you want something badly enough, you'll make the effort to do it no matter what your circumstances. So, I've never been a big fan of any one who complains and gripes about bodily dissatisfaction if the only moves they've made towards changing is to talk about what they're going to do as opposed to actually doing it.
On a personal level, the majority of the women in my family are either overweight or obese and it's a condition most of them have come to accept—and even embrace—as a fact of their life. They've convinced themselves that they're just "curvy", "thick" or "real" women.
I often look to them as motivation to not become complacent because, as shallow as it may sound, my desire to be thin trumps any desire I have to over-indulge in the types of foods that were once a staple of my Southern upbringing.
That next level confidence I have in myself as a woman and as a, pardon my frankness, sexual being, comes in large part from being comfortable with my body—both clothed and not. You can't buy that sort of thing over-the-counter and you certainly won't understand the great love it inspires within oneself to know that you've set a goal and stuck with it.
Fitness more than anything is about making a personal commitment to change. You are sending the message to that inner you that the outside will match the inside. You can't do that if you're constantly making excuses and justifying the bad choices you make regarding food.
I read an article recently and something in it struck a chord with me. The author said that, where being healthy is concerned, you know what you should and should not eat, and you understand that there are consequences to being cavalier with those choices. So, if you never reach your physical potential, the fault lies in you. It's a simple message that speaks volumes.
If you want better, you do better. It's not rocket science.
And that change starts with you.
While I empathize with those who don't succeed, I know that if you want something badly enough, you'll make the effort to do it no matter what your circumstances. So, I've never been a big fan of any one who complains and gripes about bodily dissatisfaction if the only moves they've made towards changing is to talk about what they're going to do as opposed to actually doing it.
On a personal level, the majority of the women in my family are either overweight or obese and it's a condition most of them have come to accept—and even embrace—as a fact of their life. They've convinced themselves that they're just "curvy", "thick" or "real" women.
I often look to them as motivation to not become complacent because, as shallow as it may sound, my desire to be thin trumps any desire I have to over-indulge in the types of foods that were once a staple of my Southern upbringing.
That next level confidence I have in myself as a woman and as a, pardon my frankness, sexual being, comes in large part from being comfortable with my body—both clothed and not. You can't buy that sort of thing over-the-counter and you certainly won't understand the great love it inspires within oneself to know that you've set a goal and stuck with it.
Fitness more than anything is about making a personal commitment to change. You are sending the message to that inner you that the outside will match the inside. You can't do that if you're constantly making excuses and justifying the bad choices you make regarding food.
I read an article recently and something in it struck a chord with me. The author said that, where being healthy is concerned, you know what you should and should not eat, and you understand that there are consequences to being cavalier with those choices. So, if you never reach your physical potential, the fault lies in you. It's a simple message that speaks volumes.
If you want better, you do better. It's not rocket science.
And that change starts with you.
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